[Design and Technology] help 3D CAD

Tue Jun 2 11:19:36 AEST 2015

Copy for DESTECH Teachers

From: esnet [mailto:esnet-bounces at iiate.asn.au] On Behalf Of Powter, Aaron D
Sent: Tuesday, 2 June 2015 11:10 AM
To: ESNET @ iiate
Subject: Re: [esnet] help 3D CAD

Dear ESNET subscribers,

My 2 cents on the CAD debate:

As Technology Educators, we should preparing our students with the necessary
CAD knowledge & skills required for employment or further education (TAFE /
Uni).  Therefore, any CAD program taught should be a full parametric
software and be capable of meeting AS1100 drawing standards.  Now a program
that keeps coming up in this forum GSU and it does not meet those
requirements!  I invite you to do what I did when setting up a new trade
training centre in the western suburbs of Melbourne.  Call, visit and speak
to industry (manufacturers, engineers and fabricators) and ask them.  I did
and not one of these use GSU!  However, what they are using is Inventor,
SolidWorks, Pro-Engineering, CATIA and or CREO.

Now, two arguments that I constantly hear down here from my fellow D&T
colleagues are:

.         We use GSU because it's free and the school can't afford a CAD
software

.         We use GSU because the kids find it easy to use and they're not
capable of using other software

As for the free argument, I'm sure all ESNET'ers know that Autodesk has made
their entire software line free to education institutions.  If you didn't
know please click on the link supplied and see for yourself

http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/academic-resource-center.
Recently I was speaking to the head of I.T. at a large university in
Melbourne and they were spending $80K per/year on licences.  They now pay
nothing.  On the argument that the "kids find it easy" and this will sound
controversial, but honestly who's in charge of the learning?  I'm sure
students find it easier to listen to an audio book rather than picking up a
novel and actually reading it for themselves.  However, we still have to
teach kids how to read.  I agree, teaching CAD is hard work.  You need to
teach the fundamentals (work planes, sketches and features) and the students
need to understand and apply "Design Intent".  I was originally trained in
Pro-Desktop at Griffith-Uni back in 2002.  However, in 2013 I made the
decision to purchase and teach SolidWorks.  Now I'm pushing 50 and I'm
becoming a crusty old son of B!  But I'd like ask to the following question
in regards to GSU, "is it actually the students that find it easy or is it
the classroom teacher"?  Hey, I could have kept using Pro-D because it was
easy and I knew it inside and out, but this wasn't the best decision for my
students' education.

In closing, if your school uses Mac instead of PC that's fine.  Download
Fustion360 and use that, I do at home on my MacBook-Pro .  Fusion360 also
has integrated CAM that you can use to post-process to your CNC milling
machines, you can even export files that actually work in your 3D printer
(no plugins required). Take a look at Autodesk Pier-9 R&D centre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO1GKQ2dKck

All the best.

Aaron

Mr. Aaron Powter (Cert IV Trainer, Adv.Dip.E, B.Tech-Ed)

   Trade Training Centre Manager

   Engineering Faculty Leader

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  "More focused, more effective, more relevant "

    Address: 76 Suffolk Road, Sunshine North, Victoria 3020

    Mailing Address: PO Box 165 Sunshine, Victoria 3020

    College: 03 8311 5510

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    Email: powter.aaron.d at edumail.vic.gov.au

    Website: www.harvestercollege.vic.edu.au

    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DCTTeacher1

From: esnet [mailto:esnet-bounces at iiate.asn.au] On Behalf Of Gillespie, Neil
Sent: Tuesday, 2 June 2015 8:28 AM
To: ESNET @ iiate
Subject: Re: [esnet] help 3D CAD

Astrid

At Monaro High School we preach from the same pulpit with using Google
Sketch Up for all CAD in all Stages. Cant beat it I reckon. Find the others
too complicated and too hard for students (i.e. CREO etc.)

We have just purchased a 3 D printer as well. How do you find printing to 3
D printing using Google Sketch Up ( with patches etc.) Easy? We are about to
start this journey of investigation. Any advice would be appreciated.

Now back to minus 7

Cheers 

Neil Gillespie
Head Teacher TAS/VET

  _____  

From: esnet [esnet-bounces at iiate.asn.au] On Behalf Of John Perdriau
[theperds at bigpond.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 2 June 2015 8:00 AM
To: ESNET @ iiate
Subject: Re: [esnet] help 3D CAD

You can't beat Trimble SketchUp

Cheers

Astrid

Sent from my iPad

On 1 Jun 2015, at 11:54 pm, David Slade <davidgrant607 at gmail.com> wrote:

Try fusion.

On Monday, June 1, 2015, Warwick Garred <Warwick.Garred at spcc.nsw.edu.au>
wrote:

Good evening all.

I have been using Solid edge for the last 5 - 6 years and love the software.
I have changed schools and I am struggling to find and alternative as my new
school is entirely Mac based. Does anybody have any suggestions on a good
Mac based alternative for solid edge.

-- 

Warwick Garred

TAS Teacher

St Philip's Christian College Cessnock
10 Lomas Lane, Nulkaba NSW 2325
PO Box 833, Cessnock NSW 2325
p: 02 4007 5000   f: 02 4007 5099

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