Abhishek Das is a Fictiv Customer Program Manager with over 7 years experience in aerospace design and manufacturing and Samson Olanrewaju is a Fictiv Technical Applications Engineer with over 10 years of aerospace engineering experience.

Here are their top tips:

1. Fundamental Principles:
   • Understand the basics and fundamental principles behind aerospace engineering, including aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, materials science, and propulsion systems.
2. Material Research and Testing:
   • Focus on learning about the materials you are using. Research them and test them out.
   • Understand the finishing processes and why you should choose one over the other.
3. Software Proficiency
   • Gain proficiency in industry-standard software like ANSYS, MATLAB, SolidWorks, etc.
   • Understand how to leverage these tools to your advantage.
   • Don’t overlook surface modeling as it can be a powerful tool in your engineering arsenal.
4. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD):
   • Develop a great understanding of CFD, as it can reduce design iterations.
5. Design for Manufacturability:
   • Consider manufacturability when designing any part.
   • When setting up a model tree in CAD, keep the process flow in mind.
   • Stay updated with current manufacturing technology improvements.
6. Hands-on Manufacturing Experience:
   • If you have access to a machine shop, try manufacturing processes yourself.
7. Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T):
   • Learn to master geometric tolerances early on; this prevents excessive use of direct limit tolerances.
   • Consider tolerance stack-up early in assembly design.
8. Prototyping:
   • Utilize 3D printing for prototyping CNC machined parts.
   • Gain as much hands-on experience with prototyping as possible.
9. Poka-Yoke Principle:
   • Apply the poka-yoke principle when designing fixtures/jigs, theorizing about manufacturability, and determining how to assemble parts.