Life Before CAD and My Home Engineering Office Yet Today...

[OldCarGuy]

Here's a picture of my Home Engineering Office. Other than the computer sitting on my desk. It has been unchanged for the past 50 years. And have used this Hamilton Drafting table. Though I upgraded the Universal BenchMaster arm type drafting machine to the present K &E Auto-Flow track style around 1990. That still receives lots of action today for drawing part prints, buildings, or laying out machinery. The drafting machine in on the left with an aluminum and clear blades. On the far top RH side is my trusty 1955 Machinist's Handbook,, Bible we'd call it. Left are circle and elliptical templates. Circle and beam Compasses for large circles. Triangles 30-60-90 degree along with a French Curve. Square root, Trig tables, and die maker's Radius Charts. Of course a slide rule and scales. Mechanical pencils in three different lead hardness. Horse hair drawing brush, spare leads, and sharpener.. Electric eraser & shield.. All that's needed to engineer a plastic injection mold, diecast dies, stamping dies, architectural buildings, or for that matter anything mechanical. Fact be told we put a man on the moon using nothing more than what's in this office. No computers just slide rules made all the calculations...

For a short time I ventured off using a computer with both CAD and CAM. But since abandon both in favor of returning to pencil and paper. I made all the architectural plans for my additions and garage shops on paper and submitted them to the county.

Typical engineering office...

 

[coolidge]

God I remember actual blueprints, now I feel old.

 

[ChazzC]

And the smell of duplication fluid.

 

[pdentrem]

My uncle did the 1950s drawings on paper as shown all the way to CAD when he retired in 2000. He found working on 3D CAD was fantastic and wished it had been available much sooner in his career. Most of his work was for Dominion Engineering, working on hydroelectric power stations. Designing the turbines, and all the bits to make them work. His first career was as machinist working on the shop floor, so his view in building was more realistic verses some of his peers.
Pierre

 

[ChazzC]

My uncle did the 1950s drawings on paper as shown all the way to CAD when he retired in 2000. He found working on 3D CAD was fantastic and wished it had been available much sooner in his career. Most of his work was for Dominion Engineering, working on hydroelectric power stations. Designing the turbines, and all the bits to make them work. His first career was as machinist working on the shop floor, so his view in building was more realistic verses some of his peers.
Pierre

I tried to get the Process Engineering groups at Hershey to implement a program where new (while still probationary) “engineers” (typically not PE’s) would work on the factory floor for six weeks so they would have an appreciation for how things were done and how to work with people. It didn’t get anywhere.

The last 15 years of my career I managed design teams at an A&E firm and did what I could to have as many members of a project team, at all levels, get to construction job sites to better understand the importance of constructability In designs.

 

[pdentrem]

Yeah, suits never see the problems just dollars signs of “wasted productivity”, which is just the opposite of what it is. I have seen so many bad designs that makes one wonder if the “professionals” even know how anything is actually made. Pathetic. So much time and money lost on junk when it hits the shop floor.
Pierre

 

[OldCarGuy]

These are my actual slide rules.. My life long computers, never needs batteries nor plugged in. The top one i used in Junior High School. The middle one I used through High School. The bottom one I used in college and years beyond...

 

[Larry$]

I've still got one of my slide rules. I used CAD in my business but since retiring I've gone back to drafting.
When I got out of the Navy I worked in construction up into management. After seeing all the stupid things done, I decided to see if I could out do their lack of real world experience. Getting a degree in architecture was sort of fun, for me. Maybe not so much for my profs, whom I challenged at every turn. Turns out way too much time is spent on appearance VS function. I spent my final semester in London where I encountered the same issue of appearance VS function. My favorite classes were materials, structural design, acoustics & lighting.

 

[Chip Hacket]

I tried to get the Process Engineering groups at Hershey to implement a program where new (while still probationary) “engineers” (typically not PE’s) would work on the factory floor for six weeks so they would have an appreciation for how things were done and how to work with people. It didn’t get anywhere.

The last 15 years of my career I managed design teams at an A&E firm and did what I could to have as many members of a project team, at all levels, get to construction job sites to better understand the importance of constructability In designs.

I designed the electrical controls of a dual handle applicator for the syrup line in Hershey PA. Is that where you were? I'm sure we would have bumped into one another, the building only has floor space of 50 sq. miles!!

 

[Chip Hacket]

Here's a picture of my Home Engineering Office. Other than the computer sitting on my desk. It has been unchanged for the past 50 years. And have used this Hamilton Drafting table. Though I upgraded the Universal BenchMaster arm type drafting machine to the present K &E Auto-Flow track style around 1990. That still receives lots of action today for drawing part prints, buildings, or laying out machinery. The drafting machine in on the left with an aluminum and clear blades. On the far top RH side is my trusty 1955 Machinist's Handbook,, Bible we'd call it. Left are circle and elliptical templates. Circle and beam Compasses for large circles. Triangles 30-60-90 degree along with a French Curve. Square root, Trig tables, and die maker's Radius Charts. Of course a slide rule and scales. Mechanical pencils in three different lead hardness. Horse hair drawing brush, spare leads, and sharpener.. Electric eraser & shield.. All that's needed to engineer a plastic injection mold, diecast dies, stamping dies, architectural buildings, or for that matter anything mechanical. Fact be told we put a man on the moon using nothing more than what's in this office. No computers just slide rules made all the calculations...

For a short time I ventured off using a computer with both CAD and CAM. But since abandon both in favor of returning to pencil and paper. I made all the architectural plans for my additions and garage shops on paper and submitted them to the county.

Typical engineering office...

That was back when men were men, they didn't need GPS—if you got lost, you just stayed there and built a new town!