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The engineering field is one of those practical courses of study that is best suited for hands-on learning. Within the university, utilizing tangible and practical teaching aides imparts the applied knowledge that they need in order to enter the workforce. Most importantly, that experience is usually only gained once on the job, but having that opportunity while still in school offers a head start for engineers in training.
In order to facilitate that type of learning, professors can utilize online CAD drawings as a practical learning aide. By modeling situations, equipment, and industrial supplies that students are likely to use, design, repair, or optimize, engineers can start building hands-on experience in the university setting.
Teaching Concepts
One of the cornerstones of an engineering degree is the understanding the physics that governs how industrial equipment operates. For example, centrifugal pumps are used to pressurize liquids, but they use a non-intuitive mechanic. The typical example of a pump would be a piston and cylinder setup, where work is applied to a liquid to compress the contents of a cylinder. The idea of a piston head working on a column of liquid is easy to grasp. When it comes to centrifugal pumps, however, a different mechanic is at work.
Centrifugal pumps pressurize liquids by accelerating the liquid's flow rate through a spinning impeller and then passing the high velocity liquid through a volute. The volute is a curved funnel section of the pump where the total volume that the liquid may occupy increases which in turn slows down the liquid. This causes kinetic energy to be transferred into pressure in order to keep the system balanced. To gain a thorough understanding of such a system, CAD drawings are almost a necessity.
Using CAD's Features To Teach
In the above example, seeing a centrifugal pump and its volute section rendered in three dimensions with the proper proportions is the perfect illustration of the concept. CAD drawings can also be manipulated in real time, allowing students to "play" with a pump, turn it over in their "hands" and see it from multiple angles. Modeling the flow of a liquid through a pump system using CAD is much more effective than a two dimensional schematic or a drawing on the chalkboard. Models can even be viewed from the inside out in order to see the working internals of a pump. This offers unparalleled accessibility and learning opportunities short of being in a plant itself.
Design Concepts
Learning the theory behind how industrial supplies work is the first step on the way for students to learn how to create designs of their own. CAD's ability to exist as a virtual, freeform drawing board and design space is the most economical and accessible way for students to learn the design process. CAD drawings allow a quick and easy method for students to create and revise designs without having to expend materials and large amounts of time. Imagine the amount of industrial supplies that are saved from having design hiccups occur in a virtual program rather than with real life materials.
CAD add-ons and program accessories can add more functionality to designed objects. Animations and solid objects can model moving systems, complex machinery, and processes in action. Freeform surface modeling can be combined with generated solids in order to allow students to create industrial supplies that fit the human form and visual requirements as well as interfacing with a machine or process. Every component within a system can be independently manipulated to allow intricate design of complete systems.
This type and scope of experimentation is extremely cost prohibitive in the real world, but CAD drawings make them accessible to students and teachers. The cost of failure in a virtual environment is zero, providing learners with a safety net and decreasing training costs. Employers will use the same tools for their employees, even though they have long been out of school. This synergy will carry over for students as they enter the workforce with both CAD skills and the technical and theoretical knowledge they need to excel.
Furthermore, CAD is an integral part of product lifecycle management. When industry designs systems, one person never creates them. The large scope of work mandates large teams an effective oversight. Document management and revision control is utilized through CAD drawings and documentation. This easily allows evaluation of changes as components are designed and integrated together to identify potential issues and to visual the workflow process.
All of these learned skills, with help from CAD drawings, arm students entering the industry to succeed.
Greg Palmer is an author for Reid Supply, an industrial supplies distribution company with a 60 year history supplying customers in all 50 states and over 40 countries with tools and online CAD drawings.
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Although it is well understood in academic circles, a large number of clients (and even a number of commercial social researchers) I have worked with have only a tenuous grasp on the concept of qualitative data collection and analysis. As far as data collection is concerned, most clients are fairly happy with the idea of in-depth interviews or focus groups, for example, yet when it comes to the analysis, they have a tendency to ask for the figures. It is at this point that I have to explain that there are no figures; the analysis is qualitative. This can often lead a lot of head scratching and furrowed brows, and comments such as - Well, it is just hearsay or How does that tell us anything? So, what is the point of qualitative analysis, and what can it tell us?
Firstly, what it cannot tell us is how much, how many, who or when; that is statistical data derived from quantitative data collection and analysis, such as surveys and audits. What qualitative data tell us is why, how and what the particular research object means to the respondent. The most powerful use of qualitative methods on commercial social research is either alongside quantitative techniques, or when the statistical evidence is already known. If the quantitative data represents the skeleton of an answer to the research questions, qualitative data gives it flesh. Once we have established with the client that the figures come from a different source and the focus group or the interviews are about the meaning of the research object, the next question is - How do you know they were telling the truth, or if they have made a mistake? That is the biggest question of all and the answer is I do not know. Without exclusive access into the head of another person it is impossible to know if they are telling the truth. More prosaically, they may be telling the truth as they see it but be mistaken. This leads clients to then question the value of qualitative research, feeling that there is no scientific element to it. But they are wrong.
Qualitative research can be as rigorous as quantitative research. Take the example of in-depth interviews. The researcher uses a basic script or aide-memoire to ensure that all the pertinent tissues are discussed with the respondent, but the respondent is allowed to ramble to a limited extent as he or she may then introduce other pertinent issues that the researcher had not thought of. These issues then enter the script and are used when interviewing the next respondent. This tends to ensure that all issues are dealt with in the data collection. The analysis of the data begins immediately upon completion of the first interview. The researcher develops a series of themes and perspectives that can be best thought of as mini-theories about the issues being researched. After each interview he or she reviews and amends those themes and perspectives, and possibly adds new ones. At some point during the process, it becomes clear that now new ideas are coming from the interviews. This is the signal to the researcher that all the issues have been explored and the interview process can end. He or she then goes back through the collected data and his or her themes and perspectives and comes up with the final analysis.
Back to the issue of truth. Max Weber (1863 to 1920) basically stated that unless we know that someone is lying we must assume that they are telling the truth, and in some ways all social research depends upon that commonsense idea. In a more refined way, it would be nonsensical to believe that 20 or 30 people would all tell the same set of lies to the researcher. In our own practice we do however, part from Weber on this issue to some extent. From experience we can tell if we have a rogue respondent, as they will project a series of answers and ideas that are completely at odds with those of the other respondents.
To sum up, qualitative research is valid and useful in its own right or as part of a mixed methods approach with quantitative research, as it gives us insights into the meanings of specific objects or activities, but it is the job of quantitative research to come up with the numbers.
Stewart Kirk I run a small social research, evaluation and design agency in the UK, http://www.stewartkirkresearch.co.uk. I have a sociology degree,and a doctorate in Social Policy and Social Work. In 2001, I set up my own research agency. In 2005 I expanded the agency portfolio into web design and hosting. For more details on our web design practice please visit our website.
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