Edison Phoenix is one of the many thousands of Indian Engineering students that use GrabCAD everyday to design and share their CAD models as well as to teach and learn about CAD software. Edison is a prolific user, with more than a hundred uploaded files and renders and is always conversing and commenting on GrabCAD. We got a chance to talk to Edison about his story and what drives him.
Edison is in his final year at ACCET in Karajkudi in Tamal Nadu state, located in the southern tip of India. Of middle class upbringing, Edison’s parents wanted him to become a doctor yet the only thing that really interested him was computer science and engineering. During his first few years at ACCET, Edison picked up skills in AutoCAD, Pro-E, CATIA and Solidworks. “I really wanted to become a Master in Solidworks.” Edison commented.
He discovered GrabCAD only a few months earlier in March while searching for images of a Tricycle design for a competition. “I saw an image of Steintrikes Mungo recumbent trike and then went through the site and at once i am frozen.” Edison recounts. “In first 30 days i modeled 80 models and got 3 badges. Then i want to model a Audi TT with the help of our Mateusz Kliber video tutorial.” For him, there is no better way to share and find CAD models than GrabCAD. In addition, he started GrabCAD’s unofficial Facebook page to share his work with a wider audience and his school buddies.
Edison’s ambition to become an engineer was to create a ‘great auto design company’ and ‘help the next generation of Indians grow economically and technically’. I then asked him what how he could use GrabCAD to create a cheap affordable car for anyone, like the Tata Nano. “Definitely”, Edison responded enthusiastically. He created and shared with us a list of who would make up this design team.
Developing such a ‘GrabCADmobile' or GrabCAR would need a surface modeling team made of Venkatasubramanian, Abhijeet, naveen thontepu, FIYAZ P.A and a Part Modelling team made of Sudhir Gill, Amos Roger, Pranav Panchal, Suraj.mal, Sasank Gopinathan and Er.akshay sharma. “We’d work as a unit with the guidance of Mateusz Kliber, Fateh MERRAD, Hamza Boulkrar, J E Paz, Andreas Gkertsos and Greg. Edison has no doubts. “Definitely, the best car will be ours. For more guidance and support we need William and Stefan Varga as well."
Edison's idea is food for thought. There is a growing need for a cheap yet reliable vehicle for the many millions within rapidly developing countries like India. Ultimately, it will be up to all of their young and talented engineers to solve these problems. For Edison and everyone else that is utilizing GrabCAD to share and support one other, crowdsourcing is an incredibly effective way to design a car.
