2007 LHS ECAD PROJECTS
with Mr. Tom Wilkinson, LHS ECAD
Instructor
SEE MR. WILKINSON'S FEATURE ARTICLE FROM THE HERALD DEMOCRAT
AND ECAD COMPETITION RESULTS FROM GCC HERE!
WEEK 2
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| Matt P., Michael S., Jeremy B. and Eric W. | Mark H., Trevor T., & Dillon V. |
An engineering project involves many things that are seemingly unrelated to Computer Aided Drafting but which are important to the overall project. For instance:
what are the deadlines for completion of various tasks within the project
how does the Drafting activity depend on the building materials specification
how can we divide work among team members to shorten the overall project time
given certain costs & time standards, what is a reasonable estimate of the project’s design cost
All of these factors should be part of any project, and CAD drafters are expected to participate in the project planning.
So far the four teams have completed the designs of their bridges and have progressed into the construction stage of the project. The bridge designs are shown below. Pictures are two of the teams building sub-assemblies: Mark H., Trevor T., & Dillon V. are working on the SUSPENSION BRIDGE, and Matt P., Michael S., Jeremy B. and Eric W. working on the CABLE-STAYED BRIDGE.
Next week the bridges will be judged on meeting design specifications (ACCURACY), meeting schedule (SPEED), and construction workmanship (NEATNESS) representing the top three desirable qualities of a good drafter. After the judging, the bridges will be subjected to load testing of one-half of the calculated design load.
WEEK 1
Up until this week the two ECAD-I classes have been learning the fundamentals of Computer Aided Drafting (CAD). For three weeks we will use our knowledge of these fundamentals to design and make drawings (“blueprints”) of a model bridge to span a one-half meter river gorge. The classes are divided into 4 teams, and each team will work with a different bridge style including:
a Cable-stayed bridge a Cantilever bridge
an Arch bridge a Suspension bridge
Examples of real bridges of these types are shown.
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CABLE STAYED BRIDGE |
CANTILEVER BRIDGE |
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ARCH BRIDGE |
SUSPENSION BRIDGE |
We will build, construct, and test bridges of each of these designs per the “blueprint”. Project notebooks will be made identifying the steps in the project with special emphasis on designs, schedules, problems and progress.
Watch this space for postings of significant progress with pictures.
Trivia: Modern blueprints are not really blue; although they were originally white lines on a dark blue background. Blueprints were made by passing a semi-transparent master drawing and a photosensitive copy paper through a machine. The machine would shine a bright light through the master drawing onto the copy paper. The copy paper was then “developed” in an ammonia vapor to produce white lines where the shadows of the lines on the master drawing fell on the copy paper. With modern technology we often use many colors on a white background to make the drawings easier to read. But the name “blueprints” to identify working design drawings has stayed with us.
