Contextual Knowledge Framework in CAD Education from the Perspectives of Practicing Engineers

Abstract

The contemporary industry landscape requires engineering graduates to have expertise in utilizing advanced Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools. However, prevailing practices reveal a lack of contextual knowledge among Mechanical Engineering undergraduates and fresh graduate engineers in effectively employing 3D CAD modelling software for optimal product design development. Consequently, this study was undertaken to address this issue, with a specific focus on the integration of contextual knowledge into 3D CAD modelling. The study aims to elucidate the fundamental elements of contextual knowledge regularly employed by practicing engineers in their daily design endeavours, specifically in 3D CAD modelling. A transcendental phenomenology approach was used, and four engineers from the engineering department of a shipbuilding company in Peninsular Malaysia were purposefully selected as respondents. The analysis yielded three recurring themes central to the application of contextual knowledge in visualizing and presenting models through 3D CAD modelling: Realization, Design Intention, and Normalization. These elements are pivotal in assisting engineers in contextualizing their design work during the modelling and presentation stages of the new product development process.