MIT Optional Essay
After my first season on the robotics team, a senior team member gave a workshop on using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to design robots at a local off-season event. I went out of curiosity. At the workshop we learned how to make a basic drive train and much to my surprise it was quite simple. I was so moved by this I wanted to go home and design an entire robot from scratch, though at the time I did not know enough about all of the intricacies of the robots to completely design one myself. After a summer of extensive tutorials, I wanted to get my hands dirty in CAD. I wanted to know all of the “why’s” and “how’s”. I was eager.
The next season I was ready. It was my junior year and I felt I knew a considerable amount, at least enough to create my own thorough design. After the game was revealed, we brainstormed strategies and discussed possible robot and component designs, as usual. Typically, team members go home and start working on designs individually or in groups after kickoff and then return two days later for another design meeting.
I worked diligently for the next two days. That night I jotted down and sketched on paper every idea that came to mind, also comparing with another team member that was doing the same for the software aspects instead of mechanical. My design was a combination of what I had learned in previous years and a few new ideas. I spent hours in front of my computer with my hand glued to my mouse and my eyes glued to screen. Autodesk Inventor crashed every few hours, my wireless mouse battery died and I didn't have a spare, my lack of sleep kept making itself apparent as my head would nod every so often; it was discouraging. Every hole, cut, and extrusion was vital. I didn't want to stop, but I eventually went to sleep that night and saved the arm and gripper designs for the next day. Hundreds of parts later and about a dozen assemblies later, I was done! From concept to 2D sketch, to 3D sketch, to assembly, to render, I had created an entire, full-scale robot. I was proud of my work. Though most of my ideas didn't make it to the final robot, it was a great experience. I picked up a new skill and hobby.
Computer Aided Design is a major factor behind my love for engineering, specifically Mechanical Engineering. I think it is fantastic to be able to imagine an idea, sketch it in CAD, and then almost instantly have parts sent out to be fabricated -- all in such a short span of time. I also view it as a form of expression, being able to communicate with others precisely and visually. Imagining a crazy idea and possibly having it in my hand the next day is simply amazing; recently the case with the new rapid prototyping machine we have at school. With these skills, I feel empowered. I have the ability to design, create, and innovate.
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