What Do You Know?

This article focuses on the fact that when the time comes for mechanical engineering students to look for their first professional jobs, how much does it count which computer-aided design system they learned in college. In the 1980s, when most engineering organizations were newly acquainted with CAD and computer-aided manufacturing technologies, employers emphasized their need for engineers with very specific knowledge of a particular computer-aided engineering system. Mechanical engineering majors should understand the methods behind solid modeling, such as the principle of orthographic projection. The method of representing objects does not include the viewer’s perspective and can take a bit of practice to pick up. Eifel maintains the CAD programs UGS and I-deas from EDS, and Catia from Dassault Systemes of Paris. Engineers use ICEM Surf from ICEM Ltd. of Southampton, England, for surface design, and Power mill from Delcam Plc of Birmingham, England, for CAM.