Strategic Learning of Simulation and Functional Analysis in the Design and Assembly of Mechanisms With CAD on a Professional Master's Degree Course

Currently, programs that teach 3D CAD as part of an industrial engineering qualification in Spanish universities are structured around four pillars: solid design, surface design, model assemblage, and the drafting of plans. In this article, we add two new pillars: 3D CAD simulation and kinematic analysis of both mechanisms and assemblages, as part of the professional master's degree course entitled Master's Degree in automotive components. We should stress the novel content selected for this advanced CAD subject matter, in accordance with the needs of a group of firms and our prior experience of component design. Moreover, we recount our experiences, over two academic years, of student learning processes when using the EHEA-based learning method that we refer to as strategic knowledge. The various innovative improvements throughout this experimental teaching approach were subjected to qualitative analysis. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 19: 146-160, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com; DOI 10.1002/cae.20300