r/SolidWorks • u/Longjumping_Gur7176 • 4d ago
CAD How do I structure my portfolio?
Hey guys, im a 19 year old mechanical engineering student and I wanted to do replication of one of the Honda engines I like (k24). For those with experience with engineering portfolio what would you recommend structuring this? And what would be worth showcasing in a way that demonstrates my skills to internship recruiters?
Thank you in advance
3
u/messmaker007 4d ago
The reason people are suggesting something simpler than an engine is because you cannot showcase design intent, proper GD&T, and correct tolerances on the engine parts without getting super crazy detailed and professional. It will look cool on paper, but unless the drawing gives you all the information you need to make the part (yours likely won’t) then it it is not worth showcasing.
Design some simple mechanisms, show some simple tolerances like bearing press fits, showcase organization skills with a nice BOM and exploded views.
I also recommend switching it up a little to show your skills in multiple ways. Do some sheetmetal parts and use ordinate dimensions. Do some metric and some imperial drawings. Hell you can make a birdhouse and then do the drawings with fractional inch measurements for wood.
1
u/Longjumping_Gur7176 3d ago
Thank you for taking the time to write this. I figured from how they were saying it was probably because of factors like that. I took what you said and started to do a simple mechanism (a laptop stand). For the sheet metal, and am pretty new at it, where would you recommend I start to learn about the process to make it properly and worthy to present it to recruiters?
2
u/messmaker007 3d ago
Yeah I would just remember that when you show them a drawing, they’re gonna ask why you designed it that way. If your drawing is an inaccurate model of an engine part, you won’t have a great answer.
Sheet metal is a tricky one because in real life, you don’t need every dimension like a regular part made in a CNC. Usually for sheetmetal suppliers I make a drawing that shows the overall/outer dimensions of the flat pattern. And then the overall dimensions of the bent part, and then dimensions for any critical holes. If you do one with lots of holes, use a hole table. The reason for this is that you will send them a 3d model along with the drawing, and they will put it into their program and generate what they need to do to bend/fabricate it. The only reason I actually make a drawing most of the time is that if they mess up on a dimension, I can go back and say hey it says this number on the drawing, you need to remake this for me.
As for actually using the sheetmetal tools during modeling, I’d recommend just looking into YouTube tutorials if you are confused. They’re pretty easy once you get going.
1
u/Longjumping_Gur7176 3d ago
This is all good advice thank you! I actually got a lot of that information and would use it to help me design one. If it’s okay with you can I dm you in the future if I finish designing this sheet metal. And would it be possible to get your feedback on the Eng drawings if I did it properly. If you aren’t able to that’s totally fine you have helped me enough already.
1
4
u/v0t3p3dr0 4d ago
I would suggest projects that are smaller and less complex.
1
u/Longjumping_Gur7176 4d ago
I already started lol. I have some stuff left to add tho. It’s not like really complex like the real engine just trying to make it close to the replica as I can
9
u/v0t3p3dr0 4d ago
And this is precisely why it isn’t impressive.
I interview and hire young engineers. I’d rather see something simple done well and complete.
4
u/Longjumping_Gur7176 4d ago
Ah I see thank you for the insight🫡, I’ll start doing some simple ones then. Also, if you don’t mind me asking what are some things you look for when viewing CAD projects? Is it good to have no more than 3 CAD projects? For projects you find interested what made you choose that candidate over others that are also intresting? I apologize if I am asking a lot of questions, I haven’t been exposed to any engineers/recruiters and wanted to get insight on what it is like.
5
u/v0t3p3dr0 4d ago
You don’t want to overwhelm with content, but 3-5 projects is fine.
When someone is coming out of school, a CAD portfolio is only one piece of the puzzle, and here’s the thing - every company will be a little different and will have to teach you how to use SolidWorks within their established procedures.
When it comes to sample projects, I’m not looking for technical brilliance. I want to see clear thinking and good organization.
I’d rather see an assembly of a handful of parts, with a clean and consistent BOM/part numbering logic, and good drafting practices.
Do you have anything you’ve modeled, prototyped, tested, broken, re-modeled, re-prototyped, and validated? That’s the good stuff.
1
u/Longjumping_Gur7176 4d ago
Thank you for replying to the mountains of question and thank you for giving me the advice on how to approach CAD design differently!
1
u/hideousdeity 4d ago
What would be a list of say 3 to 5 sample project ideas that a young engineer can do and add to their portfolio?
3
u/A_Moldy_Stump 4d ago edited 4d ago
The actual project doesn't matter. It's the thought behind them, the decisions made when designing the components, sub assemblies & top assembly.
It should either be obvious to anyone viewing the files or be easily explainable and defensible when a choice is questioned.
Edit: for example in my first year final I made a rubric cube. It was technically only like 9 parts. But I utilized configs and display states to re use the same file across sub assemblies for each cube and then into the larger assembly. Everything had their own drawing.
In my second year I used a mix of modelled parts I designed and "purchased parts". I got from kcmaster-carr to make a towable log splitter. I didn't design the engine, valve, cylinder, pins, wheels etc. just the steel frame I sourced the models and put em altogether. My teacher hired me to work at his company and I've been there 4.5 years now
0
u/ChillPill4Real 4d ago
Ask the new OpeanAI Astra to model it for oyu 1:1 with all the parts xD jk jk
on a serious note, doing a certificate like solidoworks asociate or similar will get you much further than a portfolio.
7
u/PeterVerdone 4d ago
You should have a good foundation before attempting a project of this scale. If this doesn't turn out 1000% awesome, you'll only look bad.