Survey of the Current Academic and Industrial Trends in Utilizing the CADD Technology

The era of information technology has influenced our personal lives, industries, and in a broader sense, our societies. Design and drafting technologies have been transformed over the years to increase the efficiency in the product and process development. Lean product development strategies have been a strong force in revolutionizing the computer-aided drafting and design (CADD) technologies. Increased economic pressure on our industries has influenced the engineering design and drafting process. Multi-tasking and multiple responsibilities have been increasingly observed as part of job requirements. Taking a product from ideation to the development stage used to require only a few designers and many drafters; this might be the reverse nowadays. Model Based Enterprise (MBE) has revolutionized our design and drafting departments in industry and influences the job market for both engineering designers and drafters. To obtain a clear understanding of similar large transitions in the engineering design and drafting industry, a survey was developed and distributed to both academic and industrial professionals in related fields of study. In this paper, we will present and discuss the results of a national survey on the topic of designing and drafting using CADD. The areas covered in this survey are: spatial thinking, 2D versus 3D CAD software, current trends in drafting versus designing careers, textbooks for CADD software, CADD taught during the college freshman year, the most effective ways of teaching/learning CADD, challenges in teaching CADD classes, challenges for CADD users in industry, and other similar topics. We would like to compare the responses from both academic and industrial professionals and discuss if there is any wide gap in the viewpoints from both parties on the topics related to the CADD technology.