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Instructional Philosophy

THE FUTURE OF MECHANICAL DESIGN

The future of mechanical drafting design leads in many directions. The era of the “T-Square, drawing board and the resulting drawings that were developed by hand is behind us, as is the typewriter, the phonograph record and the reign of the Studebaker. The future is built around the computer and its potential as the driving force of our modern world. The two dimensional drawing common to all areas of manufacturing, construction, and our industrial world is being replaced by the three dimensional world of solid modeling and computer aided manufacturing. The integration of the traditional fields of drafting and design (CAD) with the production end of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) has resulted in the effort to create a seamless digitial path between design and manufacturing known as CAD/CAM, computer aided drafting/design and computer aided manufacturing.

While CAD/CAM has been part of American Industry in one form or another for many years, the future will see the problems of costs and complexity solved, and CAD/CAM will become the expected norm; the standard by which we design and manufacture. The Mechanical Drafting and Design Program at TCC utilizes the latest software from Autodesk, a leader in the field of Computer Aided Drafting and Design. We currently use AutoCAD and the Inventor Solid Modeling software in our program. Inventor Software with its ability to save files in STL, STEP, IGES as well as its own and related file formats, allows the student to create solid models then save them as needed for use in the formats most used in the manufacturing sector. These digitial CAD files can then be converted, modified or loaded directly into MasterCAM, FeatureCAM, or other computer numerical control software (CNC) used in computer aided manufacturing.

If you are looking into the future of CAD/CAM or the future of your own professional career you can get there from here. Join us and complete your AAS Degree and transfer into the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at ODU, (through our articulation agreement), talk to us about your interests in the Design Co-op Program with Northrup Gruman ( that will pay for your tuition while you complete your degree), or use your degree as the foundation for other technical and collegiate possibilities of your own choice.



	Home \| Program Description \| Ready for Prime Time \| Ready to Invent the Future \| Student Designs \| Professional Organizations\| Courses Taught \| email Me \| 3 Dimensional Designs \| Instructional Philosophy Instructional Philosophy THE FUTURE OF MECHANICAL DESIGN The future of mechanical drafting design leads in many directions. The era of the “T-Square, drawing board and the resulting drawings that were developed by hand is behind us, as is the typewriter, the phonograph record and the reign of the Studebaker. The future is built around the computer and its potential as the driving force of our modern world. The two dimensional drawing common to all areas of manufacturing, construction, and our industrial world is being replaced by the three dimensional world of solid modeling and computer aided manufacturing. The integration of the traditional fields of drafting and design (CAD) with the production end of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) has resulted in the effort to create a seamless digitial path between design and manufacturing known as CAD/CAM, computer aided drafting/design and computer aided manufacturing. While CAD/CAM has been part of American Industry in one form or another for many years, the future will see the problems of costs and complexity solved, and CAD/CAM will become the expected norm; the standard by which we design and manufacture. The Mechanical Drafting and Design Program at TCC utilizes the latest software from Autodesk, a leader in the field of Computer Aided Drafting and Design. We currently use AutoCAD and the Inventor Solid Modeling software in our program. Inventor Software with its ability to save files in STL, STEP, IGES as well as its own and related file formats, allows the student to create solid models then save them as needed for use in the formats most used in the manufacturing sector. These digitial CAD files can then be converted, modified or loaded directly into MasterCAM, FeatureCAM, or other computer numerical control software (CNC) used in computer aided manufacturing. If you are looking into the future of CAD/CAM or the future of your own professional career you can get there from here. Join us and complete your AAS Degree and transfer into the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at ODU, (through our articulation agreement), talk to us about your interests in the Design Co-op Program with Northrup Gruman ( that will pay for your tuition while you complete your degree), or use your degree as the foundation for other technical and collegiate possibilities of your own choice.