Computer Graphics & Design · Mechanical Engineering
The class had 6 homework assignments, one of which was optional preparation for the midterm and 4 SolidWorks labs (25% total), a midterm exam (20%), a midterm project (20%), the final project (30%), and “professionalism” (5%). The homework and labs were very doable in my opinion, so long as they were spaced out and as I’ve mentioned, I appreciated the SolidWorks labs as less intensive means of practicing modeling in SolidWorks. The midterm exam was roughly the same difficulty as (if not slightly easier than) the homeworks. The professionalism segment of the grade was pretty much free – there wasn’t required attendance for the class, and there weren’t any peer reviews for the final project. The midterm project involved remaking a toy vehicle of your choice in SolidWorks as accurately as possible with minimal simplifications to the design – the one I personally did was the U.S. Army Jeep by Lollipop (they reuse toy models between semesters). It was tedious, but certainly made more manageable by splitting the time I spent on it over the ~1.5-2 weeks we had to do it, as well as making reasonable simplifications that I ran by the TA. The final involved building a mechanical (no circuitry) device to teach children addition and subtraction, accompanied by engineering drawings for the components and . My partner and I admittedly BS’d this one a decent amount since we were busy with ot…
3 giant pain-in-the-ass HW assignments, 2 easy (but brutally graded quizzes), 1 final project
I took Computer Graphics and Design with Prof. Vukelic in Fall 2023. I would genuinely say that it was one of my favorite classes (even those I’ve taken as a CS Major!). I thought the principles we learned about creating engineering drawings, dimensioning, tolerances were really interesting to learn about as an aspect of mechanical engineering while being fairly accessible (without needing much prerequisite knowledge). I also really enjoyed working with SolidWorks and by extension, applying the principles we learned. Then, I thought Vukelic was a very engaging professor and also very approachable by how he allowed students to come by his office when he was there if we had questions. The main thing I wish were different for the class would be having more time to work on both the midterm and the final since they otherwise felt like grinds for the time frame we had to work on them.
The material in this class is actually very easy to learn. The methods of instruction make the class tough. It works best to ascertain what tool they're trying to teach you to use, and then dink around with it, with no particular goal, for 20 minutes. This method is much faster than painstakingly following the tutorials. The homework is graded with a shocking level of arbitrariness. No grading distinction is made between a minuscule typo and a glaring conceptual error (such as using the entirely wrong tool to create completely wrong shape) - both of the above earn you 10 points off. On 2D drawings, it is almost impossible to do it "right;" there are 7 or 8 possible arrangements of dimensions and leader lines that are equally valid, yet she will arbitrarily select one of those combinations as "right." Ergo you have at best a 1/7 chance of receiving full credit, even if you understand the material fully. Same story on the grading of the tests. Worse still, grade grubbing is working less and less well with Basalo every semester - she's getting a hard heart.
Much larger workload than any other classes at Columbia. He claims that's his way of making up for the easy course material, which I think is a questionable teaching practice, at best. Homework assignments take twice the time of a standard engineering homework assignment, labs even more. Spent 50+ hours on the midterm project, which was immediately followed by an extensive final project. Grading is easy which leads to a high class average but he seems to draw ire every semester from students once final grades are submitted, as they are sometimes contentious. Do all extra credits and get your grade as high as possible to avoid any issues.
Class work consisted of tutorials every day. Home work consisted of 5 assignments throughout the semester. There were two exams (one midterm and one right before the end of the course) with 3 problems each. There is also a final project which you are supposed to complete throughout the semester.
He is enthusiastic which makes lectures enjoyable, but extremely extremely disorganized which makes the material hard to follow. This was compensated for by the fact that the course material was incredibly easy and likely the easiest course material I've had in my two years at Columbia. He showed up late to almost every class which was kind of unprofessional. Expectations heading into the class were mixed. Students had a wide range of opinions.
Professor Basalo was a solid teacher but she had a problem describing what she wanted for each assignment. Her online tutorials and lectures can be vague at points and if you do not ask questions she will not tell you things. That said she will explain things if you do ask. And if you attend the class and complete the daily tutorials you will be fine for the homeworks and exams. Class work consisted of tutorials every day. Home work consisted of 5 assignments throughout the semester. There were two exams (one midterm and one right before the end of the course) with 3 problems each. There is also a final project which you are supposed to complete throughout the semester.
11 assignments, 6 "drawing" homeworks, with a long midterm project (CADing a toy car) that is very similar to the final project (CADing a desk lamp). It appears that the grades students got were significantly lower in the Spring 2014 with this new professor than previous years. This class used to be a grade booster, so hope that it is when you take it.
In short, this class wasn't quite what I expected and apparently was different from previous years. Hopefully this new professor will find his groove and change the layout of the course. The course is split in two, with one day in the computer lab and the other day in the classroom. The lab day consists of an assignment, where you try to get as much done in class and the remainder is your homework. The classroom day is focused on not falling asleep, if you even show up, and you might catch some tips on sketching, dimensioning, or tolerances. The main assignments are all from one book, which does have some good tutorials but includes some obnoxious questions that the TAs weren't sure on. If you get anything out of this course, it should be CADing parts effortlessly, dimensioning and tolerancing drawings, and understanding basic design intent. Some non-ME students took this class simply because 3-D modeling is very useful, and while PTC Creo is by all measures not the best program out there, you are much further along in figuring out other CAD packages as a result of this class.