| |
This is an introductory engineering projects course in which students build mechanisms and devices from the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Students will use various computer-driven fabrication devices including a laser cutter and a 3D printer along with more traditional shop machines such as saws, drills, sanders, and dremel tools. Students are free to work in wood, acrylic, or any other media of their choice to render their projects.
Along the way, we will discuss the historical context of da Vinci's work and how his work applies to principles of modern-day engineering and design.
Useful reference sites are:
Turning the Pages, the British Library: a selection of pages from Da Vinci's notebooks.
Institute and Museum of the History of Science: Leonardo and the Renaissance Engineers -- a collection of mechanism simulations.