Featured Guest Blogger: Robert Mote
Motagg’s Blog by Robert Mote
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One of the interesting habits I’ve seen along the way through my career is the abnormal attachment some structural engineers have for MathCAD and leave Excel a bit aside. I understand some of the reasons, it may be something learned at university and the interest kept alive. It might be that it adds value intrinsically to the experience, the engineers enjoys using it because it is supported by many examples. The MathCAD software library is loaded with engineering examples so it seems a natural extension of oneself as an engineer.
As an engineer, I have used MathCAD in pursuit of research, calculating free-convective heat transfer properties or the Boussinesq Bulb of Pressure. I must admit I would never use it to calculate the theoretical wind load to be applied to a piperack in StaadPro. If truth be told, in a profession where the only mathematical excitement may be an occasional square root; as a practicing engineer, I haven’t yet found a power use for MathCAD. [Read more…] about The Battle Between Excel and MathCAD