Any CAD users here?

[pfahls1]

ME's at my place of work spend probably 70% of the time doing paperwork and the rest for design. We are regulated by the FDA and TUV so we have a lot of paperwork to do. I work for a medical company.

The amount of CAD work you have also depends a lot on how your future employer categorizes responsibilities in the development process. If you want to be a CAD user the majority of the day, I would stay away from the ME role (at least where I work) and go for the AA in Drafting/Design. Get your foot in the door of a good company upon completion and try it out for a while to make sure you want this to be your career. Then you could go back if you wanted and get your BS (hopefully your employer will pay for that). I know a few designers that make just as much on a AA as some engineers make with a BS. No BS.

So I am still considering a career, as I am a sophomore in High School.
I know I want to go into an engineering field, and I love using sketchup in my spare time. Do most mechanical engineers with their BS use CAD at work or? I want a degree where I would get to use CAD

[matt]

Solidworks on occasion.

I'm guessing EDA doesn't count as "real" CAD to you guys?

[blefevre]

I wouldn't count on doing CAD as a mechanical engineer. This is coming from a mechanical engineer with a lot of professional engineering friends. If your job focus is design, R&D, or tooling, then you can use it a lot. I do R&D and we use it for manufacturing prototypes, but I wouldn't title my job as CAD.

If you JUST want to do CAD then stick with a two-year drafting job. I have a friend that does that and he enjoys it.

[Turd]

I've used AutoCad and Pro Engineer through highschool and now into my college career as a Mechanical Engineer student. Pro/E had me at hello.

[george graves]

I learned autocad back in the day of using the command line and the huge digitizer tablets.

I use Eagle cad, and a few others tools.

[matt]

I learned autocad back in the day of using the command line and the huge digitizer tablets.

I use Eagle cad.

[IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qg37553jmQ4/TBXPmgSR8zI/AAAAAAAAB04/Ue6LSK-12lE/s1600/manualroute.png

I don't like eagle, but there are so few alternatives.

I am saving for Altium but not holding my breath.

[z31maniac]

you prefer MS paint? or scribbles on the back of a soiled napkin? engineers and employers love that. ;)

One of the top level service guys at MerCruiser (think fix production problems, solutions to problems found while the boats/drives were in service and such), an absolute engineering genius.

He ONLY used MS Paint to for special tool drawings and stuff like that.

[AndrewBird]

I learned AutoCAD and Inventor in high school, and worked for a drafting firm for several years drawing blueprints. Got REALLY proficient at AutoCAD. I use it for pretty much every project I make. Also used a lot of it for school as well.

Drew my watch in highschool:


Steam engine I designed from scratch and drew. Piston diameter is only 3/4". I was going to machine it all, but ran out of time.


Some blueprints from work:

[george graves]

I should dig out my hand drawn blue prints. ;)

[pfahls1]

They quite teaching "board" at the local schools (including junior colleges) around here in 96. I think every drafter should start out on the board. It's rare that you see people in the industry that actually knows how to place views and projections without ever being on the board.

I should dig out my hand drawn blue prints. ;)

[blefevre]

I was lucky and they were still teaching it in 2001 when I started with CAD/drafting in High School. It was a good experience.

[snitzer]

bentley microstation and autocad

[george graves]

We weren't allowed to use rulers the first month or two of the class. You learn to draw with out aids, and it really stays with you.

[Moto-Mucci]

Industrial Designer - Rhino4 pretty much every day. Alias AutoCAD for 3 years.

Bike I designed a couple years ago:





And the model:

[bad_azz_bmr]

Not to thread jack but does anybody use or have access to revit? I have a file I got from a client, and all I have is navisworks, but I'm trying to break out individual areas of construction, it's an industrial construction project and is a fairly large file

I have revit mep at work, I could break it up for you, along as it's created in the correct worksets, pm me