If you are asking an engineer to be a skilled tradesman, then there is or will quickly be, a disconnect!
It’s not about the Engineer knowing how to swing a hammer or lay a bead of weld, more that they should be more aware of the constraints of tooling for any given job.
As a sheetie I have often found Draftsman / Engineers don’t have a clue about what is possible within the machines of the factory.
Simple things like knowing how close a step fold can be, as most folders and presses have a minimum distance between folds.
So many times I have been given engineering drawings only to find when you study them for cutting sizes you discover all sorts of contradictions in the measurements. CAD should have phased that out these days as the computer does all those calculations for you, but it raises doubts about their ability to calculate stress loads when they can’t add up a few measurements.
We currently have an Architect running the country at the moment.
She has drawn up a green six legged dog.
She is so proud of her design and wants to be remembered for generations (she will)
Some academics are patting her on the back telling her what a great thing this will be for mankind.
However, a lot of the ‘doers’ of the country have doubts that it will ever be able to walk straight.
It is felt that it will surely handicap our country as most other countries are still using the tried and proven four legged black dog.
It will however create more work for other Architects as they try to sort out the problems the design creates.
