An Approach To Teaching Computer Aided Engineering To A Diverse Student Population

This paper chronicles experiences in teaching a graduate course on Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) to a very diverse student sample. An aspect of the diversity was the undergraduate degrees that the students had which included: mechanical engineering, electronics engineering technology, industrial technology, chemical engineering, business administration, and psychology. These degrees were earned from US, China, and Japan. The age group was from 26 to 48. Four were fulltime graduate students and two were full time employees in the local industry. Their industrial experience varied from zero to 20 years. Four of them had used Mechanical Desktop for 3D modeling. One used AutoCAD for 2D drawings. One did not use any CAD software. Most students had little background in mechanics of materials and design. The challenge that this rich diversity presented also afforded a good learning experience. The topics covered included: 3D modeling using Pro/Engineer, finite element analysis using ANSYS, and rapid prototyping using the Helsisys and Stratasys machines. The pedagogical approach adopted was to use a term long project as a vehicle for applying CAE knowledge in contrast to focusing on theoretical concepts. A multidisciplinary team based approach was used for the project completion. The motivation behind the project was to get overall idea of product development cycle starting from the conceptual idea to manufacturing a prototype. The selected product was ‘banana hanger’. This product had simplicity regarding design, modeling, analyzing, and prototyping. Each student was directed to bring his/her own natural ideas based on their educational and industrial background. This paper explains the different stages of the product development project during entire semester.