CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND THE USE OF HAND-SKETCHING IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN

Abstract

In the Mechanical Engineering Design Process, sketching has been used as a tool to foster engineers' work. However, with the integration of the computer, computer tools and software are replacing what many previously did by hand. Capstone Mechanical Engineering sketching assignments and final reports were analyzed with sketch coding schemes, including the New Content-Based Sketch Coding Scheme that was created for this research. The "Mechanical Engineering Visual Design Mediums Concept Inventory" was created to begin to understand the current role of sketching and students' conceptual understanding of sketching and CAD within the Mechanical Engineering design process. Literature and previous research enriched the content of the Concept Inventory. Sketching assignments and data from students' design notebooks were analyzed to obtain more breadth and natural data. With the various data and analyses, insight on sketching in the Mechanical Engineering Design Process is obtained.