Leveraging Mechanical 3D CAD Systems Through Improved Model Quality Based on Best Practices and Rubrics

Abstract

CAD data quality may be leveraged by quality-oriented CAD instructional strategies, but current mechanical CAD practice fails in enforcing quality. The concept of CAD model quality is reviewed to discover how to convey different dimensions of quality through rubrics. The paper describes lessons learned from pilot studies designed to gain knowledge on introducing best practices throughout the training period of novice product designers. Best practices are conveyed by rubrics, so leading to increased quality in CAD models. Rubrics must adapt to the specific concept practiced at each stage of the training period. In this way, they become helpful in disclosing which currently available strategies and tools to enforce quality may be early comprehended and how they are better introduced. Lessons learned from pilot studies are proposed to be reformulated as strong hypothesis that should be validated or rejected in the future, by way of experiments with suitable statistical power.