Collaborative Design Education Using 3D Printing

Design education is important at technical universities and colleges. In general, real product design requires collaborative work. In this chapter, the authors discuss collaborative design education. An A360 cloud platform on Autodesk's 3D computer-aided design “AutoCAD” is adopted to illustrate a collaborative design activity implemented in the Engineering Graphics class offered at the College of Science and Technology, Royal University of Bhutan. By using A360 cloud, students can share a 3D model with group members. Based on feedback received, students can modify the initial model, share it, print, and discuss the modified object with members. This collaborative work allows students to create enhanced 3D design objects while engaged in discussions and interactions. The authors also discuss some difficulties encountered during the collaborative process and offer recommendations and future research ideas.