For every manufactured part or product, there are drawings that describe its physical shape completely and accurately. These drawings communicate engineering concepts to manufacturing. CAD drafters and designers work with engineers to translate ideas, rough sketches, specifications, and calculations into working drawings which are used in making products. As industry needs expand and technology becomes increasingly complex, more companies rely on skilled CAD drafters to interpret the ideas of engineers and designers. Students use Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks software.

Program Objective

• Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree Awarded
• 4 semesters-2 academic years
• 60 weeks-65 Semester Credits

Product Design & Engineering Technology is an occupational program that provides experience in creating the CAD drawings required to describe the design of mechanical products. It combines the necessary skill training, mathematics, and technical knowledge to prepare students for an entry-level Engineering CAD position, and gives them a strong base to enable advancement in the field. The program is designed to mirror industry.

• The first semester focuses on fundamental skills in creating drawings and the information necessary to communicate to manufacturing while introducing SolidWorks as a tool for drawing preparation.
• Second semester builds and sharpens CAD skills by working on various projects, learning design for manufacturing, and problem solving.
• Third semester focuses on using ProENGINEER for both bottom-up and top-down modeling, as well as tool design.
• Fourth semester students delve deeper into ProENGINEER design software and apply the material learned during the first three semesters to a large, group-based reverse engineering project.

Courses emphasize career professionalism, teamwork, and interdepartmental relationships and communication. These skills give the graduates of this program an edge in the competitive business environment and will significantly contribute to their career growth.

Instructors

Dan Podzimek
Mr. Podzimek joined NTI in 2008. He comes to NTI with 15+ years of experience in drafting, design and CAD software implementation and training. He is also the founding member and chair of the Minnesota SolidWorks user group, and the Midwest Chair of the SolidWorks User Group Network, as well as a Marine Corp veteran.

Education Credentials: AAS in Mechanical Technology, Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN; Certified SolidWorks Professional; Certified SolidWorks Support Technician; Associate Engineering Technician in Mechanical Engineering Technology, NICET; Continuing studies in ‘Career, Technical Education and Training’ at University of Wisconsin, Stout.

Jason Ehrreich
Mr. Ehrreich started his career at Lockheed Martin after graduating from NTI in 2001. He worked as a mechanical designer, design engineer, and trainer. He also helped develop and establish procedures for Windchill and PDMlink.

Education Credentials: AS, Engineering Drafting and Design Technology, NTI; Pro/ENGINEER: Introduction, Production Drawing, Advanced Part Design, Surface Design, Sketcher Workshop, Advanced Assembly Design, Recovery Tools Workshop, Sheet metal Design, Mold Design, and Piping and Cabling, RAND Technologies.

Our Unique Approach

• Experienced Instructors: all instructors have worked in the Engineering field in various capacities
• Each student has his/her own CAD station
• Two semesters of Pro/ENGINEER; two semester of SolidWorks
• Occupational Associate of Science Degree Awarded
• 4 semesters, two academic years, 16 month program

AAS Product Design & Engineering Technology

Links to Occupational Profiles on O*Net

_{Notes. 1 – Tuition, fees and textbook costs are current as of July 1, 2011 and represent estimated costs for students completing the program “on-time”; 2 – “Median Federal Loan Debt” is the median value of total debt from federal student loans for students completing the program in the 2009-2010 award year; 3 – “Median Private Loan Debt” is the median value of total debt from private loan sources for students completing the program in the 2009-2010 award year; 4 – “Median Institutional Loan Debt” is the median value of total debt from institutional financing plans for students completing the program in the 2009-2010 award year; 5 – the “On-Time Completion Rate” reflects the percentage of students completing the program in 2009-1010 who did so within the normal program length; 6 – Job placement rate is calculated according the standards of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC – www.accsc.org) for the 2010 reporting year and includes a cohort of students beginning the program in 2007; 7 – O*Net is the U.S. Department of Labor’s database for job titles and information related to employment in specific career fields. The occupations listed in the table above result from entering the program’s CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) Code into the O*Net Crosswalk at http://www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/.}