This report describes the restructuring of transportation courses at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine to use CAD-software in student project designs. The current version of Bentley’s MicroStation for Windows x86 is used. This report shows examples of student work from the 2004/2005 academic year. The overall effect of introducing computer-aided help, i.e. the Microstation software, as a design tool in the transportation courses is that the presentation quality of the designs have improved. Overall, the technical quality may not have improved but neither has it been impacted negatively. A major advantage with computer aided design is that modifications of ‘final’ drafts can be done numerous times without losing quality as when hand drawings are modified (irrespective of if ink or pencil is used). Other advantages are that measurements become more precise and that repeated characteristics easily can be duplicated. A major disadvantage is the time it takes students to learn to master the not so user-friendly software. Also, sketching which can be integrated when doing pencil designs still has to be done before going into the computer-based design.
This document has been developed by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Trans...
The article contrasts minimal vs. sophisticated MIS computer system requirements in terms of the level of functionality and support that each could pr...
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