(8/25/07)- Here in Madison, we are oh so excited! The new rules are out, SAP is being fired up, and design is underway. Look out everyone, we just designed an $180,000 Structural Efficiency bridge…perhaps the SAPing needs some work. Either way, we’ve hit the ground running and are off to what looks to be one of the finer years in UW SBT history. The quest for our first NSSBC Championship has begun!
(10/31/07)- What’s scarier than a scary thing on Halloween? The 2008 SBT Design. Its doesn’t weigh much, but its a scrapper. It’s lightning fast, razor sharp, and fears no mortal being. It will eat the load alive and spit out bolts. Oh yeah, this thing is wicked.
(11/16/07)- Design, Design, Design! We are eating, sleeping, and breathing analysis. Sometimes, we dream in SAP. Add Member. Run Analysis. Show Joint Loads. Delete Alarm Clock. Turkey Day is coming and the annual Day After Thanksgiving Analysisathon is just around the corner. Woot! Until next time. Outtie5k.
(12/14/07)- Well, the design is finalized, which means our work here is done. And by work I mean ordering steel. We still have tons of fun stuff to complete. Connections are close to finalized but not yet. And the drawings! Oh the drawings! The co-chairs can’t for AutoCAD to become their new love affair. And then pre-fabrication preceding fabrication, as well as post-fabrication proceeding fabrication. But let’s not look too far into the future. We have a lean, mean, statically indeterminate machine ready to go from our dreams to reality. Look out world, becauseBridge to be Named Later is on its way! Tune in next time for the next installment of the UW SBT D. Will Alex break all of our dovetail bits? Will David stab a pencil through his eye rather than look at AutoCAD any longer? Will Jon eat at Subway or Burger King for lunch at Endres? (remember Subway’s meal deal Jon) Check back daily, because I might just write.
(1/12/08)- I have good news to report! The Steel Bridge just had a little bridge named ” “. Upon completion, a high-five of epic proportions was hear round the world, shaking many to the core. Of course, we encountered the typical fabrication happenings: missing steel, Dremel fog, and connections that wouldn’t come apart and once they did, wouldn’t go back together. Fortunately, our streak of an injury free fabrication lives on, leaving the annual hospital trip to construction practice. Sharp connections = fast times = deep stitches = fun. Anyways, soon it’ll be back to the grind here in Madison, because we have a few things to add and that one load test thing to worry about.
(1/18/08)- 2500 lbs ain’t nothing to mess with! But neither is the bridge. That’s right, the bridge has been load tested and if you look at the seismographs from Madison, you’ll see evidence of another thunderous high-five, because the bridge was solid. We need to make a few minor adjustments, but for the most part, deflection and weight were right where we expected.
(2/10/08)- We had our first construction practice today and boy did we have a turnout. We had a dozen members come out for the team. The enthusiasm has been great, so I think our pitch of “Playing with a Big Erector Set” is working. The runs were slow at first, but we’ve already cut our time down by 20 minutes. If we keep up this pace, by Regionals, we should be Sub-Zero. FINISH HIM!
(3/3/08)- The bridge is getting ready for another load test. Just a few more fixes to finish up to make it street legal and we’ll be ready to go. Our C-team is still working their butts off every Sunday morning. We’re tesing out a few different ways to put this thing together, including Alex’s secret weapon. One thing is for sure though…everyone loves our shouts of “stable” that echo through the vast open spaces of ECB.
(4/28/08) – After an all-nighter prior to leaving, an interesting drive to Evansville, some last minute rule clarifications, a 11-hour wait, and incredible competition drama, the bridge pulled through and we captured the 2008 Great Lakes Regional. There were some great bridges there this year and the competition just keeps getting stronger and stronger. We’ve got a few fixes to make and things to iron out, but preparation for this year’s NSSBC in Gainesville has begun!