9th Grade – Introduction to Engineering Design

Course Description

Students dig deep into the engineering design process, applying math, science, and engineering standards to hands-on projects. They work both individually and in teams to design solutions to a variety of problems using 3-D modeling software, and use an engineering notebook to document their work.

The Engineering Design Process

The engineering design process is a series of steps that engineers follow to come up with a solution to a problem.

Many times the solution involves designing a product (like a machine or computer code) that meets certain criteria and/or accomplishes a certain task.

Students learn that the engineering design process starts when you ask the following questions about problems that you observe:

  • What is the problem or need?

  • Who has the problem or need?

  • Why is it important to solve?

This is the very first process that students will learn in their beginning course, while taking the concept to their future classes through the Engineering & Design pathway.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

Students complete activities and assignments that teach them the basics of CAD in engineering technology. We use the Autodesk program called Inventor, which is free for students. They learn multiple uses for CAD, such as:

  • 3D Modeling

  • Multiview Sketches

  • Dimensioning & Measuring

  • Assembling Objects

  • Animating Assembly


Automata Box & 3D Printing

Towards the end of the semester, students learn how to build models in Inventor that will later be 3D printed. They learn how 3D printers render and print models, then later use these models as cams (gears) in their Automata Box project.

This allows students to learn about 3D printing, motions graphs, distance vs. displacement, and many other tools and skills related to the industry of engineering.