Sunday, June 5, 2011

Review Essays of Academic, Professional & Technical Books in the Humanities & Sciences

Technical Drawing 5th Edition by David L. Goetsch, William Chaulk, John Nelson (Thomson Delmar Learning) newly updated edition focuses on the drawing skills and information that are vital to a successful career in drafting. Coverage spans from basic to advanced aspects of engineering and industrial technology, providing readers with fundamental exposure to design and visualization for computer modeling, as well as the more traditional methods of technical drawing. All-inclusive coverage features the latest information on CAD, GIS, the Internet, ISO 9000, and solid modeling, with applications to various drafting disciplines. Related technologies such as welding and present-day manufacturing are also emphasized.
Excerpt: Technical Drawing is intended for use in such courses as basic and advanced drafting, engineering graphics, descriptive geometry, mechanical drafting, machine draft­ing, tool and die design and drafting, and manufacturing drafting. It is appropriate for those courses offered in com­prehensive high schools, area vocational schools, technical schools, community colleges, trade and technical schools, and at the freshman and sophomore levels in universities.
There are no prerequisites. The text begins at the most basic level and moves step by step to the advanced lev­els. It is as well suited for students who have had no pre­vious experience with technical drawing as it is for stu­dents with a great deal of prior experience.
Chapters 1–18 are to be used to help students develop the design and drafting skills that are fundamental to all drafting fields. Instructors are encouraged to use all of these chapters to build a solid footing of design and drafting knowledge for students.
Chapters 19–24 allow students to develop advanced knowledge and skills beyond the fundamentals. Instructors are encouraged to use these chapters to help their students develop an in-depth understanding of these discipline areas: Welding; Modem Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Automation; Drafting Applications: Pipe, Architectural, and Civil Engineering, Electronics and Printed Circuit Boards; Charts and Graphs; and The Design Process.
Chapter 24, The Design Process, is important in preparing the student for entry into the job force. The steps of the design process are defined and the reader is taught how to be creative in analyzing and solving problems. Modem design processes such as DFM, DFA, rapid prototyping, and reverse engineering are addressed.
Chapter 25 is provided to help students who have developed the technical skills needed to succeed on the job learn how to get a job. Instructors are encouraged to use this chapter to help students develop and refine their job-seeking skills.
Jobs in the modem workplace are done in teams. In order to succeed in today's workplace, design and draft­ing technicians must be good team players. Instructors are encouraged to use Chapter 26 to help students devel­op teamwork skills before completing their training.
An advantage of the text is that it has evolved during a time when the world of technical drawing and design is going through a period of major transition from manual to automated techniques. Computer-aided drafting (CAD) has become the standard tool, but elements of the traditional methods and tools remain.
This transition created a need for a major text that deals with both CAD and traditional knowledge and skills. Technical Drawing fills this need. Even though the world of technical drawing and design has become automated, drafters and designers will still need to know the traditional basics and technical drawing fun­damentals. Therefore, the fundamentals are treated in depth in this text.
What has changed, and will continue to change, is the way that drafters and designers prepare technical draw­ings. For this reason, CAD is treated in depth, and most of the drawings and illustrations were prepared on vari­ous CAD systems. Along with this treatment, Technical Drawing offers students and instructors a special blend of the manual and automated knowledge and techniques that will be needed into the twenty-first century.
Another advantage of the text is that it was written after the latest update of the most frequently used draft­ing standard—the ANSI series. Consequently, all dimen­sioning and tolerancing material in Technical Drawing is based on this most recent edition of the standard.
  • Chapter 1 was updated to reflect modem technologi­cal advances in such areas as CAD and solid modeling.
  • Chapter 5 was updated to include new material on three-dimensional visualization.
  • Chapter 11 was updated to strengthen the coverage of solid modeling.
  • Chapter 20 was updated to include a section on thermoplastics and thermosets.
  • Chapter 21 was updated to include coverage of geo­graphic information systems (GIS), more civil engi­neering material, and coverage of preengineered/ prefabricated metal buildings.
  • Chapter 26 was updated to include material on quality and competition in addition to teamwork.
  • All dimensional and drawing errors pointed out by reviewers and instructors who use the text were corrected.
  • CAD Instructions have been added for all drawing projects that are to be completed mechanically.
  • The supplemental package has been updated and expanded.
  • An enhanced supplement package contains a new Workbook, Instructor's Manual, e.resource CD-ROM with electronic instructional material, and access to World Class Learning M distributed learning courseware.
  • Chapter 24 (The Design Process) covers modem design practices and standards.
  • Chapter 25 (Finding, Getting, and Keeping a Job) teaches students how to market themselves.
  • Chapter 26 (Quality, Competition, and Teamwork on the Job) teaches students how to succeed in today's work environment.
  • Discipline-specific icons highlight the drawing problems, enabling the reader to quickly choose problems pertaining to his or her drawing field.
  • Chapter 1 (CAD, the Internet, and Technical Drawing) has been updated to contain Internet coverage.
  • Review questions are formatted as multiple-choice and true/false for rapid testing and grading.
  • New drawing problems are contained in the primary drawing chapters.
  • Boxed articles covering real-world applications exist in all chapters. This reinforces the relevance of the chapter content to today's job environment.
  • New math problems are contained in selected chapters for additional practice.
  • Step-by-step explanations of drawing procedures and techniques.
  • Written in language students will understand; techni­cal terms are defined as they are used.
  • Unique black and plum color format depicts isomet­ric views more clearly than "flat" black-and-white drawings.
  • Text and illustrations are located in direct relationship to each other wherever possible.
  • Real-world techniques are highlighted in the Industry Application boxed articles.
  • Although the emphasis is on mechanical drafting, other pertinent drafting subjects are included for a comprehensive, well-rounded approach to technical drawing.
  • Contains in-depth drafting applications in architectur­al, structural, civil, piping, and electronics drafting.
The complete ancillary package was developed to achieve two goals:
  1. To assist students in learning the essential infor­mation needed to prepare for the exciting field of drafting.
  2. To assist instructors in planning and implementing their instructional programs for the most efficient use of time and other resources.
The Technical Drawing package was created as an integrated whole. Supplements are linked to and inte­grated with the text to create a comprehensive supplement package that supports students and instructors, beginning or veteran. The package includes:
Workbook—This newly revised and expanded work-book assists in developing the skills needed to create and read technical drawings. Advanced coverage includes dimensioning and tolerancing and commer­cial components such as fasteners, gears, cams, and springs. ISBN: 1-4018-5761-2.
Instructor's Manual—This ancillary contains general information, lesson plans, objective tests, and solutions to the text problems and review questions. Solutions are also provided for the Workbook, including the solutions to the CAD problems. ISBN: 1-4018-5763-9.
e.resource--This is an educational resource that cre­ates a truly electronic classroom. It is a CD-ROM con­taining tools and instructional resources that enrich your classroom and make your preparation time shorter. The elements of e.resource link directly to the text and tie together to provide a unified instructional system. With e.resource you can spend your time teaching, not preparing to teach. ISBN: 1-4018-5764-7.
Features contained in e.resource include:
  • Syllabus: Lesson plans created by chapter. You have the option of using these lesson plans with your own course information.
  • Chapter Hints: Objectives and teaching hints that provide the basis for a lecture outline that helps you to present concepts and material. Key points and concepts can be graphically highlighted for student retention.
  • Answers to Review Questions: These solutions enable you to grade and evaluate end-of-chapter tests.
  • PowerPoint® Presentation: These slides provide the basis for a lecture outline that helps you to present concepts and material. Key points and concepts can be graphically highlighted for student retention.
  • Computerized Test Bank Over 800 questions of vary­ing levels of difficulty are provided in true/false and multiple-choice formats so you can assess student comprehension.
  • CAD Drawing Files: Drawing files are provided that link to problems in the Workbook. Students download the files to complete the problems.
Understanding Construction Drawings, 4th Edition by Mark W. Huth (Thomson Delmar Learning) Updated to the 2003 International Building and Residential Codes, the fourth edition of Understanding Construction Drawings continues to highlight a range of real construction projects - from residential dwellings to commercial structures. This enhanced edition takes a detailed approach to reading construction drawings by providing thorough coverage that builds the foundation for a broad understanding of the entire construction process, - beginning with a simple duplex home that focuses readers on the fundamentals of views, lines, basic dimensioning, and symbols. Next, coverage of a multi-level single family home goes into more depth in orienting and cross-referencing drawings. The third section explores multifamily construction and is accompanied by more complex drawings for practice and more advanced interpretations. The final portion of the book introduces readers to elements of commercial construction, including structural steel, masonry, and reinforced concrete. A set of drawings accompanies each building so that readers can apply important skills and gain a "real-world" understanding of construction drawings.
Understanding Construction Drawings is intended for students in construction programs in two-year and four-year colleges and technical institutes, as well as apprentice training. Designed for a course in print read­ing focused on both residential and commercial con­struction, the book helps you learn to read the drawings that are used to communicate information about build­ings. It includes drawings for buildings that were designed for construction in several parts of North America. The diversity of building classifications and geographic locations ensures that you are ready to work on construction jobs anywhere in the industry. Everyone who works in building construction should be able to read and understand the drawings of the major trades.
The book is divided into four major parts and several units within each part. Each part relates to the prints in the separate drawing package:
  • Part I, Drawings, The Language of the Industry, introduces you to the basics of print reading by covering views, scales, lines, symbols, as well as the various plan views, elevations, and sections and details.
  • Part II, Reading Drawings for Trade Information, provides information on how to interpret drawings for project specifics–everything from footings and foundation walls to room finishing and cabinets.
  • Part III, Multifamily Construction, dives into the details of more advanced residential print reading and applies the skills learned in Part l and Part II to other types of construction, as well as mechanical and elec­trical trades.
  • Part IV, Commercial Construction, presents the need-to-know information on interpreting prints for commercial construction including structural drawings, mechanical drawings, and electrical drawings.
The drawing package contains prints for four buildings: a simple two-family duplex that is very easy to understand, a more complex single-family home, one unit of a townhouse that uses different materials and methods than the first two buildings, and an addi­tion to a school.
  • The individual units are made up of four elements: Unit Objectives, the main body of the unit, a "Check Your Progress" checklist, and Assignment Questions.
  • Unit Objectives appear at the beginning of the unit so that you will know what to look for as you study the unit. The body is the presentation of con-tent with many illustrations and references to the prints for the building being studied in that part.
  • "Check Your Progress" gives you a quick check on how well you understood the main points in the unit.
  • Each unit contains ten to twenty Assignment Questions that require you to understand the con-tent of the unit and requires you to apply that under-standing to reading the drawings. There are more than 600 questions in the book.
  • A drawing package conveniently boxed with the book contains four separate plans that relate to each of the parts within the book.
  • At the back of the text you will find several helpful aids for studying construction drawings. Math Reviews are an innovative feature that has helped many construction students through a difficult area. These are concise reviews of the basic math you are likely to encounter throughout the building construction field. As math is required in this text-book, reference is made to the appropriate Math Review. All the math skills needed to complete the end-of-unit assignments in this book are covered in these Math Reviews.
  • A glossary defines all of the new technical terms introduced throughout the textbook. Each of these terms is defined where it is first used, but if you need to refresh your memory, turn to the glossary.
  • A complete list of construction abbreviations used on the prints, along with their meaning, is also included.
  • Another appendix explains the most commonly used symbols for materials and small equipment.
  • Understanding Construction Drawings, fourth edition includes up-to-date information on the latest in the industry, as well as a new look:
  • Updated to the International Building Code, 2003 Edition, the book contains references to this standard for the building trades
  • A new unit on Roof Trusses provides information on new roof framing practices
  • All-new design and photos present the content in an easy-to-follow format, as well as illustrations of the latest tools and materials in the industry


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