ECU Engineering Experiments with SolidWorks

By: Ashley Wilford, EC Scholar and Honors College Freshman

As I begin working towards my engineering degree at ECU, one of the classes for my major is Engineering Graphics. The course focuses on drawing design and modeling software and is required for all first-year engineering students. Once a week, we meet for the lab of this class in order to utilize a Computer Aided Design software called SolidWorks. With SolidWorks, I have already learned how to create individual parts, such as heat sinks, flanges, and brackets; assemblies, such as doors and pulley systems; and drawings for both parts and assemblies. The class is taught by the wonderful Dr. Howard, who also wrote the textbook for the SolidWorks software. This class is a great and fun
introduction to engineering design!

I am excited for what we will be learning later this semester with SolidWorks and discovering all of its possibilities, including modeling moving parts and thermodynamics. Also, for our final project, we must create an assembly with multiple parts and drawings for each part and the assembly on our own. While I have many ideas for possible project ideas, some projects that have been completed in the past include a playground, jewelry pieces, clocks, and a Rubik’s Cube! I’m looking forward to the rest of this semester
experimenting with SolidWorks!