Explore high-paying careers in clean, high-tech Connecticut manufacturing.

Name of NGM Educator:

Dave Salonia, Technology Education, Berlin High School

Name of Host Company:

Mechtron, Inc.

Grade Level:

Grades 9 - 12, high school

Student Work Types:

• Engineering Journal
• Field Trip
• Lab activities

Task Abstract:

Students will gain a greater understanding of the practical uses of Autodesk Inventor software as it is applied in the workplace, through lab exercises, a field trip to the host company and through an engineering journal.

Task Objectives:

This externship project will be shared with other teachers in the Project Lead the Way network. Some of this information is not currently covered in the PLTW tutorials or curriculum. It is hoped that the information presented to students will be utilized by PLTW administration to enhance future curriculum udpates.

Esssential Understandings/Questions:

Students will be required to do several lab activities that will enhance their understanding of Autodesk Inventor.

Task Description:

Labs:

1. Create center of part or datum. Work places and axes can be easily established. This is accomplished by projecting geometry, origin, centerpoint, and rt. click done (on sketch).
   
2. Establish a new part from an existing part. This is called a derived part. Create a new part file. click return to close the sketch. Click derived component. Include or exclude the required items. Also can change the scale of part and mirror the plane.
   
3. Change the color of one feature of a part. This can be done by right clicking on a feature (press & hold control key to select more than one feature). Click on properties. Change the face properties (colors) as required.
   
4. Calculate physical properties of a part. In graphics window, select part. Right click, Properties. Press Physical tab and then press update. To find weight, elect File, 1 Properties, Physical Update.
   
5. Making an adaptive part. Make the first part. Open an assembly. Use the selected face to build a mating part. For example, make a box, and then using the box, make a cover for the box. This procedure makes the cover an adaptive part. Now, any changes made to the box will be automatically made to the cover once the update button is pressed.
   
6. Placing a standard component into an assembly . By using the standard part library, you can cut design time on a project significantly. This is a very useful tool when making an assembly that requires standard fasteners such as screws, nuts, bolts, etc. Instead of making the part, use the content center built into Inventor. Thousands of additional parts can be added to your data base by downloading the Thomas net (Thomas Register) standard parts database. For more information, see the Thomas Register Web-site.
   
7. Using equations for dimensions. The use of equations that relate to other dimensions is a powerful tool. This allows rapid update of all the dimensions based on the changing of one dimension. This feature is also beneficial when you must design a family of parts. For example, if the length of a part is always related to its width, the length dimension would have a value of d0. If the width is always half the length, the dimension value for width would be d0/2.
   
8. Use of Design Accelerator. This is a new feature available in Inventor 10. It's similar to a standard parts library but it creates a custom part based on the user's specifications. For example, by inputting all the required variables a custom gear can be made.
   
9. Linking an Excel file to provide parametric dimensions. Excel files can be imported into Inventor to provide a part's dimension features.

Engineering Journal: Students will be required to keep an engineering journal containing sketches, data, revisions, and conclusions for their project. The journal will then be graded against a standard rubric.

Field Trip; Students will participate in a field trip to the hosting company to observe the operation and have an opportunity to ask questions to gain a further understanding of the design process and various aspects of the Inventor program a it relates to real-world engineering applications.

Resources Required:

Autodesk Inventor software

Prior Learning Required: N/A

Educator Comments:

My curriculum includes a specific problem that the students need to solve given a certain set of constraints. Then, the students must use the knowledge that they've gained to solve this problem. They use higher level thinking skills and begin to create their own knowledge during this process. Many of my engineering students have said their engineering classes "have been the most important and fun classes during their entire high school experience." I believe this is a significant statement and it attests to the value of this curriculum. When a student can learn and have fun at the same time it's a tremendous accomplishment, not only for the student, but for the teacher as well. It's much more gratifying to teach a group of students that want to learn as opposed to students who are learning out of obligation. With this curriculum, students are motivated to learn because they have a goal that is meaningful to them. It's a much more real-world approach.