2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

SOLIDWORKS is a frequently used CAD program in various engineering disciplines. Generating solid models allows students to develop the skills necessary to become proficient in the software. The traditional grading method of the student submitting their work and their teaching assistant or professor grading is time-consuming, with delayed feedback for the student. One solution for the instructor is Graderworks, which reduces the grading time for the faculty by comparing students’ files with the solution file using a rubric. While this helps the professor, students usually cannot redo their assignments to learn from their mistakes. Because of this, an automated grading program has been developed. With the program, students email their work to a dedicated email, and the program grades their work, sending them the grading rubric with their score. The program currently can grade SOLIDWORKS models and assemblies, including different configurations. In addition to the grading, the program also checks for plagiarism by comparing the features in each student’s model with the other models that other students have submitted for that assignment, alerting the instructor if the program finds a match. Students at California Baptist University used the program in CAD classes for two different majors. Assignments included tutorials included in SOLIDWORKS and other drawing assignments based on an engineering drawing. At the end of the semester, the students completed a survey concerning their experiences with the program. Overall, the students liked using the program and appreciated the instant feedback and the chance to improve their scores.