Course Summary:

 

Introduces the world of 3D thinking, representation and communication, with a focus on spatial thinking. Provides the foundational skills and knowledge needed to understand, create, and use computer-generated 3D representations.

 

This course is an introduction to spatial thinking and graphical representation and communication. As a foundations course, it aims to expose students to spatial thinking concepts and to provide them with the basic knowledge and technical skills required to envision three dimensional structures, visualize and think in three dimensions and to analyze and solve specific spatial thinking problems using sketching, computer-based geometric modeling, and physical modeling.

 

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe and use spatial thinking.

2. Use graphical representations and communication in different problem domains such as design, art, medicine, business and engineering.

3. Examine and interpret 3D representations via drawings, computer-based models and physical models.

4. Visualize and define spatial problems and proposed solutions, create and manipulate 2D and 3D solutions,

5. Select various representation tools and techniques and make associations among them when working on problems requiring spatial thinking: e.g. parametric CAD applications.

 

Instructional Approach:

The course consists of one 2-hour lecture and one 3-hour lab each week. Lectures are related to project/lab material. In addition to weekly exercises, students complete one, final group assignment surrounding the design and fabrication of a functional automaton. This automaton is constrained  in that it must demonstrate one rotational and translation movement of a maquette using a solitary hand crank.

 

Skills:

Exploration sketching, Perspective projection drawing, Orthographic and isometic drawings, Missing View problems, modelmaking, CAD (e.g. SolidWorks).