organizational thinking through solidworks™ denny bonner

Organizational Thinking through SolidWorks™

Denny Bonner

Joshua Como

Brandon Huegel

Melissa Rudolph

The Pennsylvania State University

EDSGN 100, Section 024

Dr. Cox, Spring 2016

March 18th, 2016


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1. Abstract

This paper describes how the CAD program, SolidWorks™, aids in the development of

organizational thinking. This paper is based on the belief that organizational thinking “provides a

new systematic framework to broaden the possibilities and approaches to developing multiple

thinking and creativity in organizational action and learning in education.” (Cheng, 2005,

pp.605-622). The target audience is students enrolled in an introductory engineering design

course and the professors teaching the engineering design courses. A qualitative study was done

to observe if students currently enrolled at The Pennsylvania State University, taking EDSGN

100, completed assigned tasks, had the ability to produce individual models, and could

successfully convey the basic mechanics of SolidWorks™ through peer-to-peer interaction. The

paper describes how the techniques of application, self-evaluation, and experimentation matured

with continual exposure to the program, SolidWorks™. Finally, the paper explains if and how

organizational thinking aids in the solution of a multi-step problem. Once this conclusion is

reached, the paper moves to identify if constant practice leads to a progression of learning with

the SolidWorks™ program, which in turn furthers the development of organizational thinking.

2. Existing Conditions

2.1 Target Audience

In State College, Pennsylvania, Penn State Students taking EDSGN 100 have an interest

in a wide array of engineering fields such as Chemical, Mechanical, Biomedical, and Industrial

engineering. The reason for this broad spectrum of interest is that this course is required for all

engineering majors because design is a large part of engineering in the professional field.

EDSGN 100 is normally prescribed to first year students because the course gives students real

experience with drawing, design, and presenting ideas, all of which professionals do on a day to

day basis. The experience gained through this course allows students to determine whether they

enjoy design from an engineering perspective for students unsure of their major choice, and

allows students who are already committed to engineering grow their design abilities through

programs like SolidWorks™.

2.2 SolidWorks™ Program


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Randy Shih, a professor in Manufacturing and Mechanical engineering, describes

Solidworks™ as “an integrated package of mechanical Computer aided engineering software

tools developed by Dassault Systems...which is used to facilitate a concurrent engineering

approach to the design, analysis, and manufacturing of mechanical engineering products.”(Shih,

2014, pp. Intro 2-2). Solidworks™ is installed on the machines placed in the computer labs

located around Penn State’s campus and is utilized by engineering students who do not have a

copy installed on their personal computer.

2.3 Organizational Thinking in Engineering Design

Using SolidWorks to develop a student’s organizational thinking, which will be discussed

in detail below, allows a student to apply this methodical learning approach to other subjects in

an undergraduate engineering curriculum, such as physics and math, because many of the

problems dealt with in these courses have similar attributes. For example, both classes have

problems which present information and a student will need to decipher the information and

create a strategy organizing various steps in order to efficiently solve the problem. Learning how

to organize one’s thoughts to approach a multi-step design project can be implemented in many

other courses in an engineering curriculum.

Organizational thinking goes beyond undergraduate engineering students and into the

professional field even more so because the stakes are higher; money is involved and client’s

expectations must be met. “Engineering design is a systematic, intelligent process in which

designers generate, evaluate, and specify concepts for devices, systems, or processes whose form

and function achieve client's objectives or users’ needs while satisfying a specified set of

constraints.” qualifies design in terms of a client, and describes design as “a complex cognitive

process” where certain characteristics take place (Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, & Leifer, 2005).

These characteristics include “tolerating ambiguity that shows up in viewing design as inquiry or

as an iterative loop of divergent-convergent thinking, maintaining sight of the big picture by

including systems thinking and systems design, handling uncertainty, making decisions, and

thinking and communicating in the several languages of design.” (Chiu, 1-2). Design

professionals rely heavily on organizational thought to satisfy their clients.

2.4 Project Based Learning


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EDSGN 100 utilizes project-based learning through assignments on SolidWorks™ and

manual sketching. Project-based learning uses projects defined as “complex tasks, based on

challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision

making, or investigative activities, giving students the opportunity to work relatively

autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or

presentations” (Jones, Rasmussen, & Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller, & Michaelson,

1999). Project guidelines are given and students are encouraged to utilize resources available to

them such as peers or online tutorials instead of a professor providing specific step-by-step

instruction. This allows the students to figure out the steps required to approach a project through

trial and error.

3. Target Conditions

3.1 Learning in Engineering Design

In engineering design education, the group of students in EDSGN 100 define learning as

when students are able to correctly complete their assignments and apply their knowledge to

create models of outside of the classroom. This demonstrates Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal

Development, as they follow the lead of the teacher until they are able to complete the tasks on

their own. Learning also means the students are able to provide assistance or teach another

student the material, demonstrating peer-to-peer learning and Palinscar and Brown’s reciprocal

learning (1984). The reason the group defined learning as such is because of how the program

being studied, SolidWorks™, is set up. SolidWorks™ allows students to complete unambiguous

tasks with one clear, correct result.

3.2 Thinking in Engineering Design

Design problems can be complex, with multiple interacting components that are

interconnected or connect to other systems (Lammi & Becker, 2013). Successful engineering

design students are able to plan ahead and think about how multiple parts of a system will

interact and anticipate any unintended consequences from these interactions (Dym, Agogino,

Eris, Frey, & Leifer, 2005). Prior experience and knowledge gained allows them to anticipate


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these consequences. This is crucial in any design phase, whether the beginning stages or the final

revisions, as not planning ahead could result in having to restart a project.

While students who are new to design might not have the knowledge and experience to

plan ahead with projects, they are able to learn this over time. SolidWorks™ is one program that

requires students to anticipate how parts of the drawing will interact and what consequences can

arise. For example, for an assembly, students have to plan dimensions and extruded bases or

cuts, so when they create the assembly, all parts align. If the parts do not align properly, the

model can not be completed, and the students will have to work backwards to fix the problem or

start over.

When students begin working with SolidWorks™, they have to alter their organizational

thinking process from designing by drawing. They have to consider multiple planes and which

will be best to build on in the long run. Instead of dimensioning the shapes first, they must

dimension each plane after they have already constructed them.

3.3 Research Question

How does SolidWorks™ develop students’ organizational thinking to approach a multi-step

design project?

The expectation is that with more exposure to the program, students will practice and

improve their organizational thinking before working on projects, which will allow them to

finish the projects correctly. If the students are able to adjust their organizational thinking and

complete the assignments correctly, apply their knowledge to an outside project, and teach a

peer, then they have learned. We cannot test this research question to the extent that we would

like with drawing. While drawing does require students to plan ahead, they do not have to

consider multiple planes or how assemblies will fit together. Once a drawing is constructed, they

do not have the ability to go back and alter the parts and change dimensions, as in SolidWorks™.

4. Methodology

4.1 Orientation


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In this qualitative study, data will be collected through completed SolidWorks™

assignments, individual SolidWorks™ assignments, and the observation of peer-to-peer

interaction.

The qualitative study was decided by the group of students (Brandon, Melissa, Dennis,

Joshua) enrolled in the EDSGN 100 because this study would be attainable to describe with the

data that was obtained. The group’s phenomenological orientation is to find out how students

make sense of both planning and organizing information for communication in general, and the

use of Solidworks™ as a tool for doing so. Therefore, this forces students to confront that

planning by making it explicit in Solidworks™ command structures and sequences.

4.2 Collection of Data

For the completed assignments, data will be gathered from the group’s work from the

semester in SolidWorks™. Each member of the group will provide a completed part of a

lampshade, lamp base, lamp wire, and completed assembly. For the individual assignments, data

will be gathered from any product completed in SolidWorks™ that was not assigned by the

instructor from the member’s in the group or from others that have used SolidWorks™ for this

purpose. For the peer-to-peer interaction, data will be collected through a carefully designed and

executed observation/interview entailing an individual with no prior experience with CAD.

4.3 Instruments

The instruments used to generate data include the SolidWorks™ program. The group first

made assigned projects using the program. Next, the program was used in order to create a visual

model of a group’s project to display for presentations. Finally, the program was used in the

observation/interview to prove if peer-to-peer interaction was successful.

4.4 Four Levels of Understanding

The methodology behind this qualitative design studies branches off of four levels of

understanding. The group collected data and looked for themes within the four levels of

understanding. Then, they were tested with assignments made up by the instructor in order to

strengthen their skills. Next, the students journey on by themselves with a novice understanding

to complete tasks on their own. With their newfound tools and experience, their knowledge will


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blossom. Each different person, in the group, will approach the process a little differently, with

the goal to achieve peer-to-peer learning. The experiment assigned will be to teach a student with

no SolidWorks™ background to complete a simple switch plate, showing they made sense of the

SolidWorks™.

4.5 SolidWorks™

Completing a SolidWorks™ assignment can be a challenge for a first time user. “The

starting point for any SolidWorks™ project is a SolidWorks™ model called an assembly or part.

First material properties, loads, and restraints are defined. Next, the model geometry is split into

relatively small and simply shaped entities called finite elements.”(Kurowski, 2013,pp.

8).Clearly, this program is quite different and uses many aspects of CAD that most students are

not familiar with. This unconventional program could cause frustration for many users who do

not understand its approach on modeling. The SolidWorks™ program contains commands that

are used in order to draw and assemble parts. For a first time engineering design student, it may

be a cumbersome task even learning the most basic commands.

4.6 Individualized Projects

Once an individual understands how to use the SolidWorks™ program, they have the

ability to start a project of their own. “ A framework is presented in which links approaches to

experimentation and the structure of underlying knowledge...the framework here suggest that

where underlying knowledge is sufficiently strong, effective learning takes place outside the

environment.”-(Pisano, 1994, pp. 1). After someone has decent exposure to the SolidWorks™

software, they become closer to the peak of success, in terms of their education that associates

with the program.

4.7 Peer-to-Peer Learning

Thirdly, the educational experience furthers with the jump to peer-to-peer learning

through interaction. An article titled Peer to Peer Learning in Higher Education: Learning From

and With Each Other states, “Peer learning should be mutually beneficial and involve the sharing

of knowledge, ideas, and experiences between participants.”(Boud/Cohen/Sampson, et al.,


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2001,pp. 3). The group members using their experience in the past with the program to aid in the

experiment, so the student can accomplish the task efficiently can achieve this.

The process done in this study explains how an undergraduate student enrolled in

EDSGN 100 can develop a student’s organizational thinking to approach a multi-step design

project using the SolidWorks™ program.

5. Data Analysis

The group of students is trying to find out if SolidWorks™ helps develop organizational

thinking and if students really learned how to use SolidWorks™. The group of students was

interviewed about their experience with using SolidWorks™ and was tasked with completing an

experiment on one of their peers. This was to show if they truly developed their organizational

thinking and learned how to use the software.

5.1 Data Collection

In an interview, students, Brandon Huegel, Dennis Bonner, Joshua Como, Melissa

Rudolph, and Shawn Scroger, who have been taught SolidWorks™ in the Penn State EDSGN

100 course, were asked what they have created in SolidWorks™. All of the students made a light

switch plate and lamp pieces but others have also made a candlestick, flashlight, snowboard, and

a wine bottle. They were then asked if the received full marks on their models. All of them

replied yes except one who received full marks on all but one of his models.

They were then questioned if they could create a model on their own that they thought of

themselves instead of following directions. Most of them replied that they thought they could as

long as it was not a complex model and was within the functions that they have learned in their

class. This shows that There ZPD did not increase much after they did the tutorials and learned in

class. One of the students said that he created multiple models of ideas he had for a class project.

The first idea was a dome that would hold a projection room as seen in Figure 1. The student

used a function in SolidWorks™ to color the model to seem more realistic. He then said that the

dome got scrapped and out of that idea a new outdoor projection screen was born so he used

SolidWorks™ again to create a model for it as seen in Figure 2.


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Figure 1

Figure 2

As seen these student have become proficient in the basics of SolidWorks™ they have

passed all their assignment and have been able to create models outside of the assigned projects.

Their main project was to create a lamp made of multiple parts put together. It consisted of a

lamp base, a wire and a lampshade. Figure 3-1, figure 3-2, figure 3-3, and figure 3-4 show four

different lamps that were made and assembled by four different students for their class.

Figure 3-1


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Figure 3-2

Figure3-3

Figure 3-4

Some of the students did say that there were parts of the assigned projects that they

struggled with. There were many different functions that they struggled with such as the revolve

function where they made a line and used that function to create a wire. Another example was


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creating different planes so they could use the loft function. The students tried to go through the

process again and tried to complete the task a different way but they could not figure out how to

complete the function. They were then asked if they received help and/or figured out how to

resolve the problems they were having. They all replied with yes and most were confident they

could do the function without any problem again if they had to perform it. This shows that the

projects were difficult enough to challenge the students and even trip them up at points but with

the right amount of help they can push through their problems and learn how to use the different

functions properly.

The students then were asked how doing a multi-step build, and assembly helped them

with their organizational skills and how planning ahead affected the ease of the assembly. Many

of the students said that SolidWorks™ did in fact affect how they approached their task. One of

the students said, “After using SolidWorks™, I consider each part of an assembly one part at

time and work to construct and dimension it. Once I completed each part individually, then I

consider it as a whole and line up to assemble each part. I also learned to work backward, and

construct the object before adding dimensions to it or make the object before cutting a section

out of it.” (B. Huegel, personal communication, February 24, 2016). Drawing before

dimensioning is the way that SolidWorks™ works to make it easier for the user. However the

students had to make sure that all the dimensions lined up and made sure that the planes that they

were drawing on were lined up so every piece would fit together. One of the students had a

problem with the plains that there objects were on because a lack of insight into the bigger

picture and planning for all the pieces to match up.

The final question that the students were asked was if they could walk a person who has

no SolidWorks™ and computer assisted design experience through making a model. They all

replied with yes. They were then asked to test it out. The students were instructed to walk one of

their peers with no CAD background through making a switch plate. One of the student’s peers

took about 7 minutes to complete the switch plate and there were no times when the student’s

peer was confused or lost while making the switch plate. As you can see in Figure 4-1 and Figure

4-2, the students with no CAD background were able to change the color. Their switch plates

were compared to the switch plate in Figure 5, which received full marks. Their switch plates

looked no different from the ones that the people with CAD background made. This shows that


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the students learned SolidWorks™ enough that they were able to share their knowledge with

others who were able to correctly make the design.

Figure 4-1

Figure 4-2

Figure 5

5.2 Data Analysis

As seen through the data, students were able to learn SolidWorks™ and become

proficient in using the software. All but one the students that were interviewed received full

marks on all of their SolidWorks™ models. This shows that they were able to learn about the

methods used for creating models and were able to apply those methods correctly. They all feel


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confident enough that they could create a model on their own and one student did just that for

another project in their class. This shows that they could apply the knowledge they learned

through SolidWorks™ to other projects. There were some times when some of the students were

not able to complete a task, but with more help and a little bit of practice they were able to figure

out how to complete the task. They also felt that they could complete the task again with no help

if they were asked. This shows that they can learn from their mistakes and are able to learn the

techniques as long as they put in the necessary work. These students taught their peers with no

CAD background how to create a model and their peers were very successful in creating the

model. This shows that the students could use the knowledge they gained of SolidWorks™ and

teach someone else who does not have any background in CAD.

6. Conclusion

The paper describes how organizational thinking, which occurred as a result of learning

the software, was observed through the use of the SolidWorks™ program. After successfully

completing the assigned tasks, individual projects, and the peer experiment, the students showed

progress in using the program. The qualitative process has come to a close, and the once novice

designers are now apprentices. The students have a better understanding and recognize their level

of learning has increased, too. Furthermore, they know how to think organizationally, since they

have a better understanding of how to use a program, like SolidWorks, to develop a skill so

unique as organizational thinking. This essential skill is a key component in order for design

education to ensue.


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References

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https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dHN9AwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=peer

+learning+in+higher+education+learning+for+and+with+each+other&ots=45zxQPpC3j&sig=9

M0OkxevOL2yXarA8ENr12XMYT8#v=onepage&q=peer%20learning%20in%20higher%20ed

ucation%20learning%20for%20and%20with%20each%20other&f=false

Chiu, J. L., & Linn, M. C. (2011). Knowledge integration and wise engineering. Journal of Pre-

College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 1(1), 2.

http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/vol1/iss1/2/

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Thinking, Teaching, and Learning. Journal of Engineering Education

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[Online interview].

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Pisano, G. P. (1994), Knowledge, Integration, and the Locus of Learning: An Empirical Analysis

of Process Development. Strat. Mgmt. J., 15: 85–100. doi: 10.1002/smj.4250150907

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learning", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 19 Iss: 7, pp.605 - 622.

Appendix

Interview For Analysis

Did you complete all the SW (SolidWorks) assignments correctly?

Can you create a SW model on your own?


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What was the hardest thing to learn in SW? Did you learn how to use that function?

What have you made in SW?

How has SW developed your organizational thinking?

organizational thinking through solidworks™ denny bonner

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