A Multimedia Handbook Of Mechanical Devices

In the past few years, the author has been developing motion simulation courseware based on Working Model 2D (referred as WM2D) and Working Model 3D (recently renamed to visualNastran and is referred as WM3D in this paper) [1]. Visualizing mechanisms in motion is an important aspect of an engineer’s design ability and is also one of more challenging aspects to many engineering students. Students today generally have less experience with machinery, mechanisms, and “tinkering” than engineering students of the past, making it more difficult for them to visualize the motion of mechanisms. On the other hand, students today are comfortable and familiar with interactive software. Additionally, most textbooks and classroom teaching are verbal, deductive, and sequential, and this environment cannot meet the needs of some students who are sensing, visual, inductive, active, and global learners [2]. So using modern software for motion visualization both fills a need for the students and generally suits their background and learning styles.