Going in to college, I already had some CAD (computer aided drafting) experience under my belt. Specifically, I had used the Auto desk Suite in high school (AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit) as a part of the magnet program I was a part of (The Academy for Math, Science, and Engineering). As a sophomore at Boston University, I took a CAD class, "ME359 - CAD & Machine Components", which taught me how to use a more advanced CAD software, PTC Creo (formally known as ProE). For most of the class, I was instructed on how to use the program, mainly through exercises in which I had to draft various objects and create part drawings, mechanisms, assemblies, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Throughout the class, I learned a lot about designing for manufacture, tolerancing, gears, bearings, cam systems, and metrology. At the end of the class, however, I had to complete a project in which I had to take a part an electric drill and model the gear box inside of it. This entailed using all of the skills I acquired over the course in order to analyze the internal workings of the commercial product.
Update: It is now my Senior year as I write this and I have become a Learning Assistant for this class. I enjoyed this class so much that I decided to help teach it!
Update: It is now my Senior year as I write this and I have become a Learning Assistant for this class. I enjoyed this class so much that I decided to help teach it!