Graphical communication has traditionally been a basic part of the mechanical engineer’s education. The production and reading of drawings have long been considered an attribute of ‘literate’ engineers. Today, that assumption is under attack, as is the very definition of a drafting course. Typical questions include “Why should we teach pencil/paper drawing in an AutoCAD age?” “Why not just teach solids modeling and forget the old-fashioned stuff?” At Mercer University we teach in the sophomore year a single two-semester-hour laboratory course containing three modules: pencil-and-paper drawing, computer-aided drawing, and solids modeling. The course attempts to balance the presentation and mastery of traditional descriptive geometry principles and skills with the need to prepare engineers for practice. The goal in each module is to teach enough skill to provide a base for experience and future learning in both course work and professional practice. The approach in each module is to start with the basic skills of that particular method, and progress to the production of working and assembly drawings. Rationale and learning objectives for the course are presented, as well as representative examples of assignments and projects.

Freshman design courses are fypically hampered by the /act that /reshmen, even in their second semester, have had very little in the way of engineering course work.