MCAD Tech News #170

Engineering for the Future

FIRST Robotics Competition challenges
high school students in technology and life

In this newsletter in the past, I’ve voiced my concern about the state of high school education with regard to math, science and technology in general. Many high school students view careers in engineering as “intimidating” or “uninteresting.” Further, many of these same students see engineering as too solitary an activity because they want human-level interactions. Last Saturday, I attended an event that confronts these problems head-on: the FIRST Robotics Competition.

The competition, this year celebrating its 15th anniversary, is the brainchild of its founder, Dean Kamen of Segway Human Transporter fame. I attended the 2006 FIRST Robotics Great Lakes Regional Competition, which brought in 63 teams from Michigan; Ohio; Missouri; Texas; and Ontario, Canada. This was one of 33 regional events taking place around the world over the next few weeks, in which more than 1,100 teams (more than 28,000 high school students) compete and qualify for the championship to be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, in late April. The competitions aim to combine the practical application of science, technology and engineering principles with the fun, intense energy and excitement of an extreme sport. Read more>>

by Mike Hudspeth, IDSA

We work hard on our designs. We take great pains with accuracy. We agonize over our Class A surfaces to make sure they look their best. We build parametric models so changes occur easily down the road. We do all we can to produce models of exacting quality. That's how we maintain our place in the market. But unless we make every part of our product in-house, something rarely done today, we must pass our data to an outside vendor or bring in outside data. Read more >>

Mark Your Calendar: MCAD Events

National Manufacturing Week
March 20-23, 2006
Rosemont, Illinois
Conference and exhibition for U.S. manufacturers, offering information, contacts, technology, products and services to grow business and compete globally.

For Cadalyst's full calendar of events, click here>>

Get the Code!Cadalyst’s March code from Hot Tip Harry is now available for download. This month's $100 winner is Section Lines from Bill Townsend, a routine that draws section lines in a drawing three different ways.

Cadalyst Daily Update! For all the latest news and new products, subscribe to Cadalyst Daily e-newsletter. Plus, every issue includes a feature you won’t find anywhere else -- hardware and CAD software reviews, success stories, AutoCAD tips and much more! Here’s a sample of what you missed in the past week:

Dissecting Dassault's Bid for MatrixOne, Part 1 : As PLM consolidates, competitors and analysts put the acquisition under a microscope

Event Report -- DaratechSUMMIT 2006: PLM market growing steadily; Daratech predicts disruptive technology might be around the bend