SolidWorks and a Cool School Project

Recently, one of our SolidWorks Education customers was featured in a local news story. Steve Higley, engineering teacher at Maranatha Christian Academy (a close neighbor to Symmetry Solutions’ new facility in Brooklyn Park), facilitated a project with about a dozen engineering students. The project involved designing a bridge to replace a bridge in desperate need of repair on the Superior Hiking Trail, where the students from Maranatha take regular hiking trips. Before the manual labor began, the students designed the bridge using SolidWorks. Tom Denecke, a local engineer, volunteered to help the students. The new bridge they designed was 36 feet long and 10 feet high. 

After completing the 3D design, they produced the 131 pieces for the bridge, and then assembled it in the school parking lot.  The challenging part was then transporting the pieces, 4 hours by vehicle and nearly a mile on foot into the woods. It was definitely a group effort, and an exciting way for the students to learn firsthand how SolidWorks can help turn an idea into reality. The bridge that started as a design on a computer screen will be enjoyed by many hikers for years to come.

Click here for a video of the project by a local news affiliate