Well, maybe I lied a little there, the graph paper only comes in when I’m doing something very fancy the back of an envelope is fine as long as the dimensions on the diagram are correct. If I’m making something then by far the quickest way for me to visualise its design is to draw it, first a freehand sketch to get a feel of how everything will sit, then a series of isometric component drawings on graph paper with careful attention to dimensions and angles. PAD, you ask? OK, it’s an acronym of my own coinage, it stands for Pencil Aided Design, and it refers to the first-year undergraduate course I sat many years ago in which I learned technical drawing to the old British standard BS308. Don’t build this, it’s fundamentally flawed! Sometimes the front of an envelope is as effective as its back. It has helped me work on electronic projects, on furniture, on car parts, robots, and even garments, and it is likely that I will continue using it periodically for the rest of my career. Of all the skills that I have picked up over the years as an engineer, there is one that has stayed with me and been a constant over the last three decades.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |