[allsk8sno]

ok so i am on my last leg of college, graduate with BS ME in dec of '05 and i am torn between taking an advanced manufacturing class and a computational fluid dynamics class.
anyone have any insight to these classes?

i took an advanced 3D modeling class this last semester for reference
ah!! what to do....i am leaning towards the manufacturing class

 

[Nate at RIT]

Depends on what you're looking to get into after college. A CFD class will be helpful if you've already have several fluids courses.

 

[MMike]

CFD if you want to be an aero guy of some sort.

 

[kinghami3]

Go with the manufacturing, it's good to know as an engineer.

 

[Kornphlake]

the manufacturing class will probabally be less specific, but it might give you some useful knowledge if you plan on going into anything related to manufacturing.

 

[stinkyboy]

"A career? I've thought about this quite a bit sir and I would have to say considering what's waiting out there for me, I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I dont want to sell anything bought or processed or buy anything sold or processed or repair anything sold, bought or processed as a career. I dont want to do that. My father's in the army. He wants me to join, but I can't work for that corporation, so what I've been doing lately is kick-boxing, which is a new sport...as far as career longevity, I dont really know. I can't figure it all out tonight, sir, so I'm just gonna hang with your daughter."

 

[neanderthal]

It should be obvious, go with advanced manufacturing and become proficient
at CNC operations. That way you can make customized bash guards for all of your
friends.

All kidding aside, I'm partial to advanced manfacturing. Your 3D modeling experience
will be beneficial in many phases of advanced maufacturing. One area of particular
interest to me is rapid prototyping. RP permits you to generate a fully functional
part or 3D model quickly. There's an incredible industry demand for RP.

 

[Kornphlake]

I can see two FDM machines from where I'm sitting. We've bought both in about a year's time, they sit idle about 3 hours in a 24 hour day unless they are in need of repair and I work for a company with less than 150 employees. I'd say there's a great demand for rapid prototyping, but I'm not sure if there is enough demand to make a career out of it unless you plan on starting your own business.

 

[Mike B.]

I'd definetly go for the manufacturing class unless you know you have a good use for the CFD. I've worked with far too many MEs that don't understand basic manufacturing principles. You can usually work to an agreeable solution/design compromise but it would be so much easier & faster if they had some background in manufacturing. I'm not saying all MEs are like that but those that are can be quite difficult to work with.

 

[GeoffW]

I'd also go manufacturing. I took 3 classes of CFD using Fluent. While it was interesting, one course will not get you nearly enough to do much with a CFD program that is really useful in the work place. If you are required to use it, you'll likely have to learn a new program or be sent on training for it. From the summer jobs I've had, and the job I have now, the manufacturing class is more universal than the CFD class and I think would be beneficial in that it gives you somewhat of a background in the processes needed to create or design almost anything.