Case Study: Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth achieves faster CAD learning and more hands-on engineering projects with SolidWorks

Creating a Passion for Engineering Education and Research With SolidWorks Soft Ware

Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth needed a 3D CAD system that let undergraduates get up to speed quickly on engineering concepts and complete hands-on projects while also supporting graduate and doctoral research. They replaced their previous CAD tool with SolidWorks 3D CAD software and SolidWorks Simulation to meet these needs.

SolidWorks supplied 50 licenses for roughly 200 students and was standardized across Dartmouth’s engineering courses, enabling students to begin productive work after about a 20-minute tutorial. The switch to SolidWorks shortened the learning curve, increased the number and variety of project-based activities (including the Formula One Hybrid Race Team, twist-car races, tilt-mazes, and bridge-crash contests), and supported graduate research such as designing a magnetically shielded room for advanced brain imaging.

Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

Solomon G. Diamond

Assistant Professor of Engineering