Shop Math = Trigonometry or Bust

Khan Academy got me through some pretty heavy vector maths when writing a game expansion (Google my forum name and Kerbal Foundries if curious). 3Blue1Brown if you're in the mood for advanced Calculus.

That all being said, I don't do trig manually myself any more. If I need to work something out, I draw it up in a 2D cad sketch and get the computer to do the heavy lifting for me. It's literally impossible to get the wrong formula or have a brain fart with the calculator. I can even do this on the Onshape phone app!

Its funny: "you don't always have a calculator with you" was a phrase often thrown around to encourage manual calculation when I was in school...

Hold. My. Beer.

Brushing up on an overview of trig it is great, but further than that, time could be better spent learning a cad package. In my humble opinion.

I use CAD literally all the time in my shop. Not that I draw everything up in 3D - often it's simple 2D stuff like hole patterns. Great example is T nuts: I wanted to knock four out of a single piece of stock. I could have manually calculated the hole spacing, giving allowance for saw cuts, cleanup etc.... It took me literally a minute to knock up a 2D drawing, which then allowed me to show dimensions from any datum. I defy anyone to do it quicker with pen and paper. More like using it as a truly graphical calculator in this context, and it works just as well for stuff you'd ordinarily need trig for: Draw your triangle. Dimension the bits you know. Click to display the dimensions you don't know and the solver does the heavy stuff in a nanosecond. Need to change it? Modify any dimension and everything else is automatically recalculated. Food for thought, anyway :)
What CAD program would you suggest?
FMC 360 is just too hard for my little bird brain.
 
I highly recommend
Kahn Academy

You pick your level and pace, it stores where your at to pick back up, tests you...everything. I had the same need as O.P.
 
I got decent grades in math, but did not use much of it for so long I have forgotten many critical principles.
Lazy fellow that I am, I simply downloaded a "Triangle Calculator" app for the phone. Never without it, and it is always SURE which equation to apply.....
 
Back in 1963 at technology school we were shown how to use a slide rule and math tables. To this day I look up the values of trig functions in the same book of math tables. No one dreamed about using a small portable wireless phone to replace all the books and professors we had at the time.
 
Math, beyond simple addition, division, multiplication, has always been a challenge for me as I generally like to learn new things that I can use and trig was not something that I found a use for until I started my metal working hobby and educating myself via this forum and YouTube.

The below Joe Pieczynski video for setting a lathe compound to precision angles is a good example of a lathe trig application and yes I had to watch it several times before it started to make senses.

 
Math, beyond simple addition, division, multiplication, has always been a challenge for me as I generally like to learn new things that I can use and trig was not something that I found a use for until I started my metal working hobby and educating myself via this forum and YouTube.

The below Joe Pieczynski video for setting a lathe compound to precision angles is a good example of a lathe trig application and yes I had to watch it several times before it started to make senses.

I SOOO didn't think I'd would ever need this stuff in school (not that I would have retained it this long) It's like you should live your life backwards, I'm ready and willing to learn now what I scoffed at in my youth. Its almost fascinating to me now?:teacher:
 
Back
Top