From Knowing to Doing—The Power of Engineering
Look around you. Wherever you are—at home, in an office, in a café, or out on the street—chances are you’re surrounded by the work of engineers. From computers, factory equipment, and roads to skyscrapers, airplanes, and urban landscapes, their work has shaped nearly every area of our daily lives.
There are many types of engineering today, and the fields are specialized—aerospace engineers and civil engineers don’t spend a lot of time in class together. But they all share a common purpose: putting knowledge to work to make possibility practical.
Since it’s National Engineers Week, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate what engineers do and suggest a few AU classes to help the engineers among us up their game.
Civil Engineering
In the beginning, most engineers worked for the military, designing catapults, balustrades, moats, highways, and more to help win the battle. Anyone who designed a road, bridge, or aqueduct for purposes other than warfare was thus dubbed a “civil engineer.” And they’re still the ones who plan how we’ll move dirt, place stones, and pour concrete today. In this 2018 instructional demo, Using InfraWorks 360 for Better Site Logistics, Don Josephson shows how InfraWorks can be used not only for design, but to plan and manage projects.
Structural Engineering
Structural engineers are responsible for the bones of a building. In their 2018 instructional demo, Connected BIM for Structures, Tomasz Fudala and Dieter Vermeulen explore how to use the products in the AEC Collection to streamline structural workflows and deliver full-process digitization.
Mechanical Engineering
How does something work? Mechanical engineers can tell you. Whether it’s an engine, a pipe, or a nanoparticle, MEs make sure that things fit together and function. In his lab, Perfecting Piping and Duct Systems in Revit, David Butts explains key project settings that can affect an entire project. Learn how to improve the quality of your construction documents and how to create the target-source relationship between parts.
Electrical Engineering
Phones? Lights? Transistors? Circuit boards? Electrical engineers handle that and much more. In this instructional demo from AU 2018, Using AutoCAD Electrical for More than Just Electrical Schematics, Randy Brunette shows you how to access symbol libraries, create your own drawing type, and link to different types of drawing components in AutoCAD Electrical.
Scientists discover and designers design. Engineers put knowledge to work and ensure things function. So here’s to the engineers. Check out the wealth of learning resources available at the new AU. Leave a comment, connect with colleagues, and find your place in the future of making.
