Introduction to Engineering and Technology Concepts Unit Eight Chapter Two – Virtual Bridge Design

Instructions for Success: Each chapter of every unit will begin with a “Mindjog.” This is a warm up question that you should answer in your workbook in the proper chapter. Please take notes as you move through the presentations in the notebook that has been provided. Sections will come up in each presentation with an assignment notice. Turn to the section detailed on the slide in your workbook and complete the assignment before proceeding. Good luck!

Objective Students will create their own virtual, model bridge using the West Point Bridge Designer 2007 program.

Mindjog! On your worksheet, please respond to the following question: “We have discussed manufacturing and construction within this course. How important is a budget when building something?”

BEFORE MOVING ON: Make sure that West Point Bridge Designer 2007 is installed on your PC. Make sure you are viewing this presentation with a partner so that you may both work on the assignment together.

The Virtual World Some engineers work out their designs in the third dimension. This 3D, virtual representation of reality can estimate things like labor cost, material cost, construction quality, and showcase potential issues within the design. Next we will open up West Point Bridge Designer and walk through the steps to get us set up to build.

West Point Bridge Designer At this point, go to the area where your instructor has installed West Point Bridge Designer 2007 and launch the program. After the startup screen loads, close the “Tip of the Day” and you will be at the main screen. Select the option to create a new bridge and then select the OK button.

West Point Bridge Designer 2 Move through the Design Project Setup Wizard by leaving everything as default and then click Finish. You should see a screen like the following load: This is your main work area. Let us look at features specific to your assignment.

West Point Bridge Designer 3 The first two items to point out are the design tools and the calculator. The first thing you will want to do is connect beams across to start your bridge. Click on the beam tool and then left click and drag from one circle point to the next. You have created your first beam. Now, left click and drag again and again until it looks like this:

West Point Bridge Designer 3 Now, keep in mind that each beam and circle joint you lay costs money. At the start, the cost was already. Just after laying that material, the cost has gone up to. Now we will build some support for the roadway we just created. Click on the circular joint in the Design Tools Panel and then begin to left click above the bridge. Finally, go back and select the beam tool and connect those to the roadway.

West Point Bridge Designer 4 As you can see, the bridge is quickly beginning to take a shape. If you’ve made a mistake, click on the erasure icon or to turn the joint/beam mouse cursor back to a pointer, click the arrow. Again, with the additions to the bridge, the cost has risen. If I thought that I was finished at this point, I would need to test its stability. To do this, go to the test menu and then click load test.

West Point Bridge Designer 5 Because I have not finished the bridge yet, I received this pop up window: You may wish to look through the example designs to get ideas on how to build a solid bridge. Otherwise, click the Done button and go back to the work area and begin altering your design.

West Point Bridge Designer 6 Once you finish your bridge and you’re fairly certain that it is ready for testing, go and load the test. If your bridge is close to solid, it will generate a virtual animation, like this: Looking at this graphic, you can see where the current issues are in the bridge’s design.

Assignment #1 Load West Point Bridge Builder and turn to the next slide for your instructions.

West Point Bridge Designer Assignment 1.Using West Point Bridge Designer, you and a partner will create a Truss Bridge with a budget of $250, You may not change any of the defaults listed in the previous set of instructions. 3.You may not change the beam thickness or type, as when we go to create a physical model you will only have one size of straws that represent the beams. 4.If you go over budget, you must rework the bridge until it meets the monetary requirement. 5.Upon finishing a safe bridge, you must print out two copies of the design (one for each partner) and then you must do an engineer’s sketch of it in your workbook. 6.This assignment should take you two (2) full class periods.

BEFORE MOVING ON: Did you complete the “Assignment #1” Section under the “Unit Eight, Chapter Two – Virtual Bridge Design” section of your workbook? If you have, please proceed to the next slide.

Chapter Two Completed! Please close this presentation and launch, “Chapter Three – Standard Measurement.” You are only one more chapter away from going into the Technology Education laboratory.

References Wright, R. (2004) “Technology” The Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc.