Real-Life Math
A mechanical drafter-designer takes an idea from an inventor and
turns it into a drawing. It's this drawing that allows the object to be made.
In the past, mechanical drafter-designers worked with pencil and paper.
These days the profession uses computer-aided design (CAD). CAD allows a drafter
to create a drawing at a computer workstation. This means drafters don't have
to draw by hand as well as they once did. Plus, the computer handles many
of the mathematical requirements.
Even so, top-notch drafters still
need good drawing and math skills. A big part of working in the mechanical
drafting field is being comfortable with numbers. For instance, mechanical
drafters use the CAD system to check stress and strain, to calculate distances
and to conduct other types of analysis.
It's important for the drafter
to understand how the calculations are done. "Basic math is used frequently
-- area calculation, percentages, fractions, unit conversion, decimal-fraction
conversions, etc.," says Charles Bales, a professor of mechanical drafting
and design. "Word problem skills are [also] very helpful because real life
is all word problems."
Sometimes it's much easier to calculate a distance
or angle by hand than it is to draw it in CAD. You don't want to rely entirely
on the computer.
Some mechanical drafters create "fabrication drawings."
These are drawings used in fabrication or, in other words, manufacturing.
When
a drafter is called out to the factory, they don't want to lug around their
laptop -- especially not in a dusty, dirty environment. In these cases, the
drafter might do "on-the-spot" calculations either in their head or on a simple
calculator.
You've been called out to a worksite to check
on the progress of a modification to an outboard engine. You must check the
distance between 2 pivot points. If the distance is too great, it means you'll
have to go back to your drafting computer and start designing all over again.
On
a scrap piece of paper, you draw the following right triangle:
a
= 25 cm
b = ?
c = 45 cm
If it appears that the
distance is greater than 36 cm, then it's back to the drawing board.