Latest Engineering Articles

Industrial Layout

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:52:48 -0600

Industrial Layout is a discipline of technical drawing which is a combination of architectural and survey drafting. The application of this drafting discipline are used in almost any type of manufacturing including and not limited to plastic injection molding, furniture fabrication, automotive parts manufacturing, etc. It is where a plant floor plan is drawn out exactly to scale and used for planning the functions of an industrial fabrication process or processes.

The drawing starts with the blank or open floor plan of the plant which shows all the structural members of the building which are visible on the plan view and includes columns that are out in the floor area, interior offices, exits, etc. If the plant already has fixtures, presses, molds, generators, cranes, elevators, or work stations, these are included also.

If the building is void of any fixtures, the industrial or plant engineer makes sketches on the plan locating all the machinery and work stations that will be in the plant so that the drafter can add them to it an it can be used once the plant is fully operational. There is almost always one particular master drawing of the building that, as time goes on, is updated as the plant grows or new processes are added or removed.

From the main layout drawing, localized drawings are made at a larger scale of particular areas of the plant. If a new area is drawn or designed, these drawings are then integrated into the main plant drawing to keep it up to date. Sometimes machinery manufacturers will send detailed drawings of their machines or presses which can also be added into the main drawing.

Over the past century or two since the beginning of the industrial revolution, these drawings were maintained manually on the drafting board which was very labor intensive. With the advent of Computer Assisted Drafting, drawings can be easily integrated into one another just by importing a CAD file.

The drafter who keeps these drawings updated are usually title general drafters. The term general is used because of the many disciplines they must posses to perform their job. These include architecture, survey and topographical, machine or mechanical drafting.

Choosing Between Timber Or Steel Frames and Trusses

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:27:10 -0600

When choosing between timber or steel frames and trusses for your kit home, there are several considerations to keep in mind. These considerations involve many factors such as the location of your kit home, the exposure to certain environmental and climatic conditions, and your budget. But whether you choose timber or steel, you can be assured you are buying a quality home to meet your family needs.

Don't Pester Me

Choosing between timber or steel frames sometimes comes down to considering the pests where you will be building. Termite damage in Australian homes costs home owners millions of dollars every year in repairs. A steel framed and trussed kit home provides extra protection against termites. There's not a termite in the world that can eat its way through steel! If you live in an area with termites, steel is the best choice for your home construction.

It should be mentioned that the framing for wood and steel is very similar. The differences are quite few. Steel doesn't have to settle like wood. That means steel framing is ideal for locations where there is a lot of moisture. Unlike wood, steel will not expand and contract when exposed to different moisture amounts in the air. Though the wood used in kit homes is of high quality and always properly treated and sealed, wood is sensitive to moisture. A steel frame never has the possibility of warping, shrinking, splitting or twisting due to moisture.

I Can Handle That

Many people choose to build their own kit homes in order to reduce labour costs. Steel frames are already punch holed, weigh less and do not need to be chemically treated like wood. Owners who decide to build their own kit homes find these features important, because they make the job simpler all around.

One of the big advantages of steel construction is the fact steel beams are not as heavy as wood timbers. Yet steel is stronger than wood even though it weighs less. When you live in an area with high winds, steel framing and trusses provide extra protection against the weather.

Steel is also recommended for areas which are subject to frequent wild fires or are built in areas where the fire threat is high. A wood home is much more likely to catch on fire quickly, and once on fire, the damage is extensive. Steel framed home are better able to withstand fire threats and will sustain less damage than wood framed homes.

Another reason why steel frames and trusses may be desirable over wood in a particular home is the fact steel can span a longer distance than wood. When you custom design your home as an open floor plan, you may need to choose steel over wood to meet construction standards.

Don't Forget Wood

Despite all the advantages of using steel for framing and trusses, houses built with wood have pluses also. Wood costs less than steel so when termites or extreme weather are not problems, wood is a good choice. Wood is a versatile material for construction purposes also. You can easily adapt design any floor plan or house style using wood.

Choosing between timber or steel frames and trusses for your kit home requires an evaluation of the environmental features of the area in which you will be building. But the one thing you can be sure of.....the steel and wood kit home will be well built and enduring.

Structural Designing: combination of civil and structural engineering

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:00:40 -0600

Structural Designing is basically subject to civil engineering and it depends up on structural engineering. Structural Designing, the word it self suggest that when we are doing construction of any building, malls, bridges and dams then we have to first design the structure of that particular construction. When we are doing any construction, we have to be very careful about stability and safety of that construction and it should be analyzed by structural civil engineers.

Structural Designing is a very complicated field but on other hand it is very much creative also. But it requires higher level efficiency and knowledge. In this field you require more efficiency when you are doing construction of residential building and other big construction. You need good and proper planning for resistant of loads and external forces. Civil engineers closely observe the situation and prepare a proper strategy for construction. In their strategy they will try to make a construction strong enough to resist from loads and other natural external forces.

In structural engineering the main and important parts are beams, walls, column and floor, because structural designing is basically responsible for building’s support. The other important thing is material used for construction. While you are doing a construction then you have to use high quality material for your safety purpose. When we are doing construction of any building then it is not a simple task you have to be very careful about load capacity, designing of columns, beams, floors, roofs etc. So, you have to choose expert structural designing engineer for that, because only an expert civil engineer can do a proper planning and apply a good strategy for construction.

There are also several construction techniques available in structural designing and you have to choose the best construction technique for your construction. Only a structural engineer can decide which construction technique should be used to provide a most favorable design that is easy to implement and cost-effective. A good structural design engineer can save your money, time and efforts.

So, structural design is used in structural engineering in this way. You can say it’s a combination of civil and structural engineering. After complication of construction the job of civil engineer is start with building survey and settlement reports to find any construction fault.