Mechanical · CAD & Manufacturing
Complete Product Design (CAD + FEA + Manufacturing)
Advanced 6 weeks 40-70 hours
Design a real product in CAD, 3D print it, then physically load-test it with weights to validate your FEA stress predictions. Bridges design and real-world testing.
Major
Mechanical
Focus area
CAD & Manufacturing
Total hours
40-70 hours
What you'll need
- PLA PETG 3D printer filament 1.75mm 1kg
- load cell 5kg with HX711 amplifier weight sensor kit
- Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
- digital caliper 6 inch stainless steel measuring tool
- calibration weight set for testing
- dial indicator gauge 0.001 inch measurement tool
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Steps
- Pick a real product like a bracket or phone stand and design it in CAD.
- Run FEA to predict stress and deflection under your target load.
- 3D print the part and measure its dimensions with calipers.
- Build a load test rig with the load cell and dial indicator.
- Load the part with weights, measure deflection, and compare to your FEA prediction.
- Document the full design cycle for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- CAD exploded view
- printed part
- load test vs FEA prediction
- deflection measurements
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Designed and built a complete product design using CAD design, FEA validation, 3D printing
Applied mechanical testing and GD&T to implement, test, and validate the system end-to-end
Quantified performance with [insert your result, such as accuracy, error reduction, response time, or load capacity] after iterative tuning
Skills you'll show off
CAD designFEA validation3D printingmechanical testingGD&T