Engineering Design Communication: Conveying Design Through Graphics

Engineering Design Communication: Conveying Design Through Graphics, Second Edition, offers a new approach to the traditional engineering graphics course. This text is designed for students who are learning to use graphics, especially 3D modeling, as a tool for engineering design. The text takes a streamlined approach, emphasizing the how and why of 2D sketching, reading and visualizing objects from 2D views, and creating 3D models that will function as the design database. Case studies and industry examples illustrate ways that these skills support practicing engineers in their work. Students will learn to develop models that capture the design intent for a product or system, update properly when changes are made, and serve the many purposes associated with their role as the design database. Practical tips and step-by-step instruction support the hands-on nature of the course. The text is designed to be used with any modeling package, but it can be bundled with the SolidWorks Student Design Kit (and the authors point out specific SolidWorks tutorials that coordinate well with the chapters).. A reverse engineering project is continued through the text.

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Engineering Design Communication: Conveying Design through Graphics—PRELIMINARY EDITION is a new approach to the traditional foundation course in engineering graphics. The emphasis in the text reflects the changes that many schools are making to their graphics courses, including the importance of sketching, incorporating the coverage of design necessary for effective modeling and use of the 3D solid model as a design database that may be used throughout the engineering design process.

• Presents the CAD file as a database of design information that is developed over time. The use of solid and parametric modeling software makes it possible to follow the design process through the course—students first learn to sketch their ideas, transform 2D sketches into 3D models, refine the models and use them for analysis, and finally use the models to document the design. The Designer ¿s Notebook feature highlights the use of sketching in the context of industrial practice helping motivate students to learn to sketch well.

• Introduces topics that will help students learn to reflect design intent in their models. Building effective models that will update correctly requires some consideration of the goals for the design. For beginning students unfamiliar with design issues, Engineering Design Communication anchors modeling techniques in the context of design to help them build an understanding of design intent as they learn to model. Up to date case studies which reflect the content of each chapter help students remember the material by placing it in a context relevant to their career interests.

• Emphasizes the nature of visual information. Because the concurrent engineering environment expects engineers who can present ideas and work with non-technical personnel, Engineering Design Communication presents the wide variety of software and presentation tools that an engineer will use to visualize design.

• Designed to be used with a tutorial guide for a specific computer-aided design package. A step-by-step tutorial guide that follows the organization of the text is available for Pro/Engineer. Guides are being prepared for other parametric modeling packages.

• Supports instructors and students with a companion web site. offering updated materials, additional exercises, links to sites of interest and much more.

This preliminary version of our text was designed to garner feedback and recommendations for improvement . We welcome your comments and encourage you to join us in shaping a text that will meet the needs of tomorrow¿s engineers. Please send mail to us at lockhart@me.montana.edu or cjohnson@seacoast.com. You can also contact Addison Wesley at edc@awl.com.