Back to the Drawing Board?

This paper reports on the results of a survey conducted within the Department of Design and Technology, Loughborough University, UK, in response to increasing concern over the quality and effective use of 2D modelling by design undergraduates at all levels. A survey, in the form of a questionnaire supported by ongoing tutorials, was conducted in an attempt to establish the underlying reasons why there was a perceived drop in manual drawing standards. Focusing on the use of manual draughting skills and formal engineering drawing, the survey includes a summary of academic backgrounds, experiences of 2D modelling in secondary education, student perceptions of the use of CAD and the importance of manual drawing skills, and the aspirations of students when embarking on tertiary education. The majority of the student entry for the Industrial Design and Technology programmes for the academic year 2001-2002 took part in the survey, numbering 120 students. Introduction In response to increasing internal censure concerning the quality and effective use of 2D modelling used by undergraduates at all levels, a survey was conducted in an attempt to establish the underlying reasons why a decline in manual drawing standards was evident. Although the quality of drawing was questionable for different aspects of drawing, it was decided that a focus on the use of manual draughting skills and formal engineering drawing was appropriate. This area was selected for three main reasons. I) Students tend to find this the most arduous graphics subject to tackle. 2) Students follow a structured course in engineering drawing as part of the first year of the degree programmes, which enabled the monitoring of basic skills and progress. 3) The radical changes in engineering drawing practice now defined by the British Standards Institution in BS 8888. It was decided that the survey should include a summary of academic backgrounds, previous experiences of 2D modelling in secondary education, student perceptions of both the use of CAD and the importance of manual drawing skills, and the aspirations of students when embarking on tertiary education. The majority student entry for the Industrial Design and Technology programmes for the academic year 2001-2002 took part in the survey, numbering 120 students. There have been many publications on the study and use of2D modelling in the design and technology field (see Garner, 1989, for example). These publications have highlighted the need to understand the use of such design tools when developing creative ideas, experimenting with form and communicating them to others. A specific and vitally important area of 2D modelling that has received less attention is the more formal discipline of engineering drawing. A reason, perhaps, why this area has received less attention could be attributed to the fact that it may be considered a less creative method of graphic communication in comparison with freehand sketching. However, the importance of engineering drawing in a design process must not be underestimated. It is the primary method of presenting the true geometric shape and technical manufacturing detail, unambiguously. Indeed, engineering drawings, from initial layouts and general arrangements through to final detail drawings, can be used extensively to experiment with scale and fitup of components. It further enables a more effective planning technique for product assembly, materials specifications and geometric tolerances. With these criteria in mind, it could be argued that the designer has, in fact, to be more creative whilst using such a modelling tool as it forces the designer to work within specified production and manufacturing constraints without compromising the overall design. It encourages the designer to adopt a concurrent engineering approach by forcing the consideration of production and manufacturing engineering techniques, appropriate materials selection and product costs. More recently, the emergence of CAD has enabled the generation of repetitively accurate engineering drawings, with the added advantage of providing almost seamless links between 3D graphics generation, photorealistic renderings and CAM capabilities. Thc digital format enables compact storage and much more rapid communication than its hardcopy predecessors. There is no doubt that the development of CAD over the last 15 years has revolutionised drawing offices and the way in which designers work graphically. As a consequence of this, further questions regarding the educational requirements and levels of competency in the use of technology without compromising key skills needs to be raised. This paper is aimed at adding to this debate. John R. McCardle