{"id":455,"date":"2021-08-11T15:05:16","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T19:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/?page_id=455"},"modified":"2025-07-31T16:21:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:21:22","slug":"drawing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/get-started\/drawing\/","title":{"rendered":"Drawing, CAD, and CAM"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>The starting point for every project is a drawing<\/h4>\n<p>A drawing is a way to communicate your ideas and how you want to make them.\u00a0 \u00a0Drawings are the &#8220;contract&#8221; between an engineer and the manufacturer. In EPIC, even simple tasks such as &#8220;cutting out a rectangle&#8221; or &#8220;quickly drilling a hole&#8221; still require a drawing.\u00a0 It is better to work out the problems on paper than making mistakes on expensive materials!\u00a0 Sometimes you can just bring in a hand sketch but most of the time you will need a CAD model and a drawing.<\/p>\n<h4>Getting started with CAD<\/h4>\n<p>As a professional, you will need to develop CAD models of your parts.\u00a0 While &#8220;learning CAD&#8221; can sound daunting, OnShape is a great way to get started.\u00a0 They have fantastic tutorials and the software runs through your web browser so no need to load software onto your computer and worry about compatibility.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a couple of links to get started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Request a free <a href=\"http:\/\/bu.onshape.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BU.ONSHAPE<\/a> account <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/vj98KKdeczhuGWXr6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with this Google Form<\/a>*<\/li>\n<li>Watch a <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.onshape.com\/courses\/onshape-essentials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">short video on the basics of CAD<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Explore <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.onshape.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Onshape&#8217;s tutorial and learning center<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Never done CAD? Start here: <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.onshape.com\/learning-paths\/introduction-to-cad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Introduction To CAD<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some CAD? Start here: <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.onshape.com\/learning-paths\/onshape-fundamentals-cad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Onshape Fundamentals<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Course on Onshape education enterprise accounts: <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.onshape.com\/courses\/introduction-to-education-enterprise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Introduction to Education Enterprise<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*BU.ONSHAPE accounts are available to any BU community member, ENG affiliation not required. This form is not managed by EPIC, if you have any issues requesting a BU.ONSHAPE account contact ENG staff Bryan Batista batista@bu.edu or Scott Morris semorris@bu.edu<\/p>\n<h4>CAD Drawings<\/h4>\n<p>Once you have your CAD model, you will need to create a drawing.\u00a0 A drawing gives all of the dimensions and material information so you can make the part.<\/p>\n<p>CAD drawings are a powerful tool for communicating your design intentions if they include all of the necessary information. At EPIC, you should include the following in all of your drawings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Projected Views<\/li>\n<li>Dimensions<\/li>\n<li>Material<\/li>\n<li>Quantity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/epic\/files\/2021\/08\/Onshape-Drawing-636x491.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"491\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Hand Sketches<\/h4>\n<p>If you need to get started and don&#8217;t know CAD, hand sketches are an acceptable form of drawing. Ideally, include the material, dimension, tolerance(s), and quantity.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/epic\/files\/2021\/08\/Hand-Sketch-636x449.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"449\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Drawings for Laser Cutting<\/h4>\n<p>Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/equipment\/laser-cutters\/\">Laser Cutters<\/a> page<\/p>\n<h4>Drawings for Waterjet Cutting<\/h4>\n<p>Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/equipment\/waterjet\/\">Waterjet Cutter<\/a> page<\/p>\n<h4>Solid Model Compatibility for CNC Manufacturing<\/h4>\n<p><u>New as of Fall 2025:<\/u> Autodesk&#8217;s plans to take HSM Works offline so we have transitioned to using Fusion CAM.  Fusion 360 has been rebranded to just Fusion. You may install a free education version on your personal computer through your Autodesk account. Autodesk Fusion also has integrated CAD functionality, or you can continue to design in Solidworks or Onshape.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/solutions\/cam-software\">Visit Autodesk to learn more about Fusion CAM<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/education\/edu-software\/fusion\">Visit Autodesk to install the free student version<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Design Review<\/h4>\n<p>To schedule a design for manufacturing review meeting visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/calendly\">Calendly<\/a> page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The starting point for every project is a drawing A drawing is a way to communicate your ideas and how you want to make them.\u00a0 \u00a0Drawings are the &#8220;contract&#8221; between an engineer and the manufacturer. In EPIC, even simple tasks such as &#8220;cutting out a rectangle&#8221; or &#8220;quickly drilling a hole&#8221; still require a drawing.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15230,"featured_media":0,"parent":610,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3536,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/455\/revisions\/3536"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}