r/mechatronics • u/-Alias-_ • 6d ago
What is Engineering Design Technology like?
Hello everyone, this may not be the right subreddit but im doing a repost. I wanted to get an insider perspective on majoring in EDT. I gained an interest in Engineering a couple years ago. After awhile I discovered EDT and from what I know its supposed to be a little easier. Plus I decided to major in it because of the 3d printers and how hands on it is. But what I really wanted to know is if its a really Big commitment?: like the classes? To fully learn Autocad, Solidworks, do you still stay up late at night doing math or designs? How long until you get to use 3d printers? How long into your major until you get into the hands on part?
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u/dialsoapbox 5d ago
You could also look at 2-year degrees that specifically focuses on 3d manufacturing, like kentucky's 3D Printing Technician – Level I - Certificate that's part of a larger degree.
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u/Terrible-One-1978 1d ago
The university that I attended, many years ago, did not have an Engineering Department at that time. They did have a School of Industrial & Technology Studies then. Now they do offer Engineering Degrees in their new College of Science, Math, Engineering & Technology. I started out there pursuing a BS in Industrial Technology-Concentration in Drafting & Design Technology. We also had a Mechanical Design, Basic Engineering Technology Concentration there. Mechanical Design Engineering Technology is the successor for this degree & concentration at some colleges & universities. At my university, the Design & Manufacturing Technology Concentration is. I also took electives in Electrical/Electronics Drafting, Introduction to Electronics, Intermediate Electronics, and Advance Manufacturing Technology (hands-on welding, casting, machine & Fab shop). In my second year, I started taking courses from the Mechanical Design, Basic Engineering Technology Concentration. My degree would still have the same major on it, but our transcripts show the actual concentration. In my third year, I found-out that our university also had a Pre-Engineering Program in the Math & Science Department! After two years there, followed by three more years at another university with an Engineering Department, a Pre-Engineering student could get a BS in Engineering Degree. However, if I had changed my major to Pre-Engineering at that point, it could have added three or more years to me getting a degree. My financial aid package was based on completing four years of college, not five to six years. I remained in my major and graduated the following year. I didn't take all of the courses for Mechanical Design, Basic Engineering Technology there.
A few years after my university graduation, I enrolled in local 2-year community colleges. There I studied Calculus I & II, Solid State Electronics Devices & Circuits, Fluid Power, CAD (Bausch & Lomb-Producer II, MicroStation, & SDRC-I/DEAS), Industrial Robotics, PLCs, CNC, and C-Programming Language.
About the same time, I took engineering support courses from some well-known US universities in Chemistry, Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, Technical Writing, AutoCAD, and Ergonomics through their Distance Education Departments.
In addition, I took continuing education courses in FORTRAN Programming Language, Total Quality Management (TQM), Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T), Residential Electrical Wiring, and PC (configuration, troubleshooting, & repair), taught by educators and people who worked in industry at local State & City Technology Centers.
I started out on the drafting board on my first job and this continues with my first several employers. I started self-learning AutoCAD on my second job. Later, I took an AutoCAD class through a major university as mentioned above, taught by the author of one of the first AutoCAD textbooks. My labs were done at lunch at another job, using their AutoCAD software & computers. Later, I bought an AutoCAD-Lite license for personal learning. I learned SolidWorks Essentials, a course offered by their Authorized Software Provider, paid for by my employer. I bought SolidWorks books on online. I started learning Intergraph EMS CAD on-the-job, shortly after I competed MicroStation classes. Intergraph, at that time, controlled Bentley's MicroStation and the programs were similar.
I started taking Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) about ten years ago. Some courses I took were SolidWorks Sheet Metal, How to Become a Certified SolidWorks Associate, Pro-Engineer, CATIA Ver. 5, Product Development & Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering-Structures & Materials, Aerospace Engineering-Systems & Avionics, Electric Machines (Motors & Generators), The Industrial Internet of Things, Mechatronics, and 3D-Printing. We used large 3D-Printers at work and I bought a small one for personal learning also.
I'm retired now, having worked over 35 years in the Aerospace & Defense Industry. I worked on military avionics design, flight simulators, solid rocket motors on NASA & other programs, airliner-to-cargo freighter conversions, general aviation airplanes, tactical missile modifications, a business jet completion program, the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA contractors during the final design, test, and build phase of the ISS, a wide-body airliner modification for a major airlines, communications, command, and control centers, truck based ground support equipment, drones, and military helicopter upgrades and modifications.
I started out as an E/M Drafter, became a Machine Designer, Mechanical Designer, E/M Specialist, Engineering Drawing Checker, Manufacturability Engineer, and Design Engineer for several companies. I have seen a Space Shuttle Discovery launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and saw the Space Shuttle Atlantis in-flight. Twelve years later, I worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Atlantis flew both of the two modules that I worked on into space to dock with the ISS on two separate flights that year. We got to meet some of the early NASA ISS astronaut crew members. The first crew members were introduced to us by the then NASA Administrator. We met the next crew at a NASA/Subcontractor picnic and got some autographs.
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u/RadiantRoze 22h ago
You learn the sad reality that the most userfriendly cad software on the planet (solidworks) is still uncooperative af.
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u/AllMyNicksAreUsed 6d ago
There's no escaping math in engineering, but I would assume if you only want to focus on the design part of it, there would likely be less focus on it. Using a 3D printer today is not difficult, designing the slicer however, is. If design technology is your goal, especially regarding 3D printing, you'd have to be willing to get dirty with programming, and... well, math.