Any 3D Cad Modelers here??

Solidworks!

 

Yea, I actually went into mechanical engineering because I love motorsports, but never figured I'd end up working in the business because it is very location specific (unless you're in manufacturing ... but I became an engineer to do design work, not quality control on assembly lines ...). When I graduated I tried finding a job around my home state, but just wasn't finding any design work I really wanted to get into. Nothing available seemed like the start of a good career. During that time a friend called me up and said Ford was hiring and they thought I'd be a good fit, and I was like, "well, don't really want to move to Michigan, but let's check it out because the work sounds interesting." I visited, and the work seemed awesome, the company seemed really great, and the pay was hard to beat (I guess they try hard to attract people to the area by offering higher than average ...). Everything was a great fit for what I wanted, but the location was less than desirable. Honestly though, after living here for a bit, it's about like anywhere else. Well, except the roads are complete shit here. Seriously, some are worse than some of the roads in Iraq. But yea, suburbs are suburbs no matter where you go. There are a lot of lakes, and a great big wilderness up to the north. Of course it's nothing like the Appalachias I grew up in, but then again what is ... Maybe some day I'll get to move back down South, but for now I'm really happy doing the work here and it's honestly such a great company to work for I feel really lucky to have the opportunity.

 

@JoeRacer302 just curious why you bought a Toyota since you work for Ford? Not trolling but curious cause I'm guessing Ford probably offers their employees a significant discount?

 

What kind of jobs were you finding? I have an associates in drafting and have been doing design work for the past 5 years, just recently enrolled back to school for mech engineering so i'm curious.

 

I've owned 3 Mustangs, a Ranger, and an F150 Lightning before ... I <3 Ford, but I needed a new vehicle and wanted to get back in a truck, but the new F150 wasn't on the list because I like stuff that fits in my garage ... Plus, the Tacoma was offered with the correct number of pedals.

 

Around Nashville a lot of the work was manufacturing related (designing tooling, quality control, and such), and the design jobs that were available I applied for but never heard anything back other than, "we're looking at other candidates, thanks for applying though." My problem was I had focused on doing research for a PhD so I hadn't done any internships. I had been planning to do internships more towards the end of my PhD in a year or so, but then my funding unexpectedly ran out so I left with just the MS but with no internship/work experience.

Down in the South I think that Charlotte has a better industry for mechanical engineering though, so if I move back that ways I'm going to look for work in that area. There's a lot of work there in motorsports too. A buddy of mine was offered a job with a company that designs race car chassis and they wanted him for doing crash analysis, so that's definitely something I could get into

Honestly, with your 5 years experience + a BS, you'll be well set up to find work in most areas I'm sure. I'd still suggest doing an internship over the summer though. It never hurts to have more experience in the field

 

well im planning to keep working part time through school so that will have to do. Honestly im only going back because i got tired of working for mechanical engineers that thought they knew everything fresh out of school. I know they're not all like that but it seems that the ones im stuck with know how to do all the calcs they need and are great at math, but don't have a clue about manufacturing processes so they end up designing things that arnt practical. Either not possible to make or super expensive.

 

Yea, don't let them touch any tools either lol ... They'll learn though, just give them some time and guidance

 

You can also try the new autodesk fusion 360. Its cad cam in one program. Free for students and upstarts.

 

Ive driven on roads in MI and you're not kidding. How the roads are acceptable in that condition is insane.

 

I model and design to a certain degree industrial exhaust stacks, ductwork and structural support systems. Inventor really has trouble with some of the HRSG Stacks we design but it gets the job done in the end. Frame generator is pretty sweet though for Steel towers and duct stiffening.

 

solidworks is awesome its pretty similar to inventor though! Love working in solidworks all day, doesn't even feel like work haha

 

Solidworks, HSMworks, Surfcam, and Mastercam user chiming in.

Love SW, I've played with Inventor and Creo and I couldn't get back to SW fast enough.

 

yes! frame generator can be awesome, however we had an "incident" where someone deleted the original sketch within an assembly that was made with frame generator and it screwed us up quite a bit

 

yes, i agree this will work with some people, but the fact that im younger than them doesnt help. they have their pride and suggestions from someone younger than them without a degree seems to always be wrong. but i agree, they will learn! in time they will learn, some will be lost in the process,but the ones who are left i think will do some great things!

 

been using Inventor the past 10 yrs, with bouts of SW mixed in

 

Oh man I bet that was a complete disaster! We've had something similar happen here. Somebody that shouldn't have been moving files around did so and boom! It completely screwed the overall assembly.

 

I am an engineer and have been using Solidworks for roughly 7 years now as well as formally taken classes in ProE/Creo and AutoCAD but definitely not as proficient in either of those programs. Below are a few items that I have recently worked on but have yet to build, mainly because my local fab shop wants way too much to make these items. I work for a company that deals primarily in SS sheet metal so working with this sort of stuff day in and day out definitely helps.

 

Whats the first image of? A battery mount?

 

Its a mounting plate for a Blue Seas auxiliary fuse block and circuit breaker. Fits between the existing fuse block in the engine bay and the master cylinder for the brakes. Many people on this forum have done this multiple ways. Some with metal, some with Lexan, etc....