Engineering drawings - Essay Example

Engineering drawings Introduction Development of engineering drawings is the first and the foremost pre-requisite of any kind of engineering. Mechanical engineering requires mechanical drawings, electrical engineering is guided by electrical drawings, whereas civil engineering projects are executed following the construction drawings. Engineering drawings accurately reflect which elements are to be constructed, what would their dimensions and specifications be, and what materials would be employed in their construction.

Engineering drawings show each dimension of an element as well as its front and rear views, elevation, side-views, and plan. No engineering project can be executed unless the engineering drawings have been prepared and approved by the concerned engineers and/or architects. Engineering drawings depict what the element, project, or facility would look like once it is constructed even before the start of the project. Construction of engineering drawings requires comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the design and architectural concepts.

In a vast majority of cases, engineering drawings have to be approved by both engineers and architects to ensure that the design is not only structurally safe but also aesthetically appealing and environment friendly. Leonardo Da Vinci Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most talented and renowned engineers and architects in the history of the world. Leonardo was a guru of the principles of mechanics. The equipments and systems he used included but were not limited to leverage and cantilevering, parallel linkage, cranks, pulleys, bearings, and lubrication systems.

Leonardo had a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the principles of friction, aerofoil, momentum, and centripetal force and actually applies the principles into his inventions. Leonardo’s engineering contributions were numerous. “From his fertile mind sprang designs of flying machines and instruments of war, as well as practical theories and concepts in engineering, mathematics, and science, many of which were centuries ahead of their times” (Engineering.com, 2006). Leonardo expressed his abilities in the military engineering in a letter he wrote to Lodovico Sforza; the Milanese duke.

“It is only in the closing lines of the letter that he speaks of the value, even “in time of peace”, of his talents as a civil engineer, an architect, and a sculptor well qualified to execute the equestrian monument” (Marinoni, n.d., p. 111). Leonardo was also assigned the task of building the equestrian monument in Milan. During his 17 years of service for the Sforzas, Leonardo developed the model of a gigantic horse in clay. Leonardo also developed the models of numerous war machines in Milan, one of which was the “drawing on folio 1070r/387 r-a of the Codex Atlanticus” (Marinoni, n.d., p. 112). This engineering drawing by Leonardo portrays a large wheel with a diameter of nearly four meters.

The wheel’s outer surface is made of steps scaled by a team of workers whose weight causes the wheel to move. Leonardo provided a sturdy defence structure with a loophole to protect the whole. Four crossbows containing arrows were joined to the four spokes. Once set in motion, the wheel stopped upon the falling of the crossbow aligned with the loophole. In the year 1502, Leonardo drew a bridge spanning 720 ft for a civil engineering project executed by the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II from Istanbul.

The design and the length of bridge were determined so that it spanned the inlet at the Golden Horn; the Bosphorus mouth. Considering the construction of a bridge of this complex a design impossible, Beyazid abandoned the plans of pursuing the project. However, Leonardo’s bridge design was practicable as it was resurrected in the year 2001 in the form of construction of a smaller bridge of the design proposed by Leonardo in Norway. Subsequently, the Turkish government also planned to construct the bridge with Leonardo’s design for spanning the Golden Horn around the mid of the year 2006.

The design of this bridge is shown in the Fig. 1. “…the “Golden Horn” Bridge design is an eloquent synthesis of form and function typical of [Leonardo’s] universal thinking” (leonardobridgeproject.org, n.d.). Fig. 1: Leonardo Da Vinci’s Bridge Design (ThorNews, 2012). Conclusion Engineering drawings are the most fundamental essentials of any kind of engineering. It takes a comprehensive knowledge of structural design and architecture to develop an engineering drawing. Therefore, most engineering drawings are mutually prepared by engineers and architects.

Leonardo Da Vinci was a famous artist, engineer as well as architect. He was a master of mechanics and has developed various engineering drawings in his life ranging from bridges to the models of war machines. Leonardo’s designs are still very famous among the designers and architects and the construction of the Golden Horn Bridge is one of its evidences. References: Engineering.com. (2006, Oct. 12). Leonardo da Vinci. Retrieved from http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/34/Leonardo-da-Vinci.aspx. leonardobridgeproject.org. (n.d.).

Leonardo's Design. Retrieved from http://www.leonardobridgeproject.org/leonardo-design.htm. Marinoni, A. (n.d.). Leonardo’s Impossible Machines. Retrieved from http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/automobile/pdf/marinoni_engineer.pdf. ThorNews. (2012, Feb. 22). Leonardo da Vinci’s Bridge – in Norway! Retrieved from http://thornews.com/2012/02/22/leonardo-da-vincis-bridge-in-norway/.