CAD & 3D Printing
Mechanical design fundamentals using Onshape and Inventor
The CAD curriculum covers mechanical design fundamentals using industry-standard tools — primarily Onshape for cloud-collaborative work and Inventor for projects with more advanced surfacing and rendering needs. Students start with parts that constrain and mate correctly, progress to assemblies and motion studies, and finish each cohort with a printable, working design.
Every cohort prints its final project on the lab's Flashforge machines. We teach slicer settings, supports, infill, and the kind of practical print-orientation thinking that separates a CAD file from a part that actually fits.
Frequently asked
Do students need to bring a laptop?
For online sessions, students need their own laptop with Onshape or Fusion 360 installed (we'll send setup instructions before the first session). For in-person sessions at the lab, we have a small set of lab laptops available — but students who can bring their own will get the most out of the cohort, since their work persists between sessions.
Minimum specs: any laptop from the past five years that can run a modern browser will be fine for Onshape. Fusion 360 wants slightly more — we have install notes we can share.