Student Jeff Bynum and assistant professor David Lattanzi created this 3D-printed steel sculpture -- a smaller, scale-accurate version of AISC's steel teaching sculpture. (Photo by David Lattanzi)
Students are gaining a true visual understanding of steel framing and steel connections from the more than 170 steel sculptures at colleges and universities across the United States and around the world. The American Institute of Steel Construction provides instructions for the sculptures, but the steel for these structures, can be very expensive.
At the Volgenau School of Engineering student-faculty team of Jeff Bynum and Assistant Professor Dave Lattanzi adapted the AISC instructions and built smaller replica with 3-D printing technology.
"Jeff's enthusiasm, motivation, and creativity made the project a success," said Lattanzi. "The project gave Jeff a chance to explore all phases of the engineering design process: conceptual design, visualization, fabrication, and construction. This is a major challenge in engineering education."