Physics & Engineering
The theory that makes the shop work. Every course is taught through the objects of the Southern Appalachians: barns, bridges, forges, and stone walls. The math always has a workpiece attached to it.
Machine Design
The basics of mechanical design: loads, materials, and machine elements. Then the kinematics of linkages and arms, through to inverse kinematics, the joint angles that put a tool in a given position. Includes live notes and an interactive simulation.
In this course
- > Loads, stress & factor of safety
- > Machine elements & tolerances
- > Forward & inverse kinematics
- > Workspace & manipulability
Statics for Makers
Load paths, trusses, moments, and joinery. Why the barn beam holds and the shelf bracket doesn't. Ends with each student designing and load-testing a timber joint.
- > Forces, free-body diagrams, equilibrium
- > Trusses & the timber frame
- > Beams, bending, and the safe span
Materials: Wood, Metal & Stone
Grain, grit, and crystal structure. Why oak splits along the ray, why steel work-hardens, why granite carves the way it does. The science behind the traditional trades.
- > Wood: grain, moisture, movement
- > Metal: phases, heat treat, fatigue
- > Stone: bedding, cleavage, weathering
Electricity & Magnetism for the Shop
Circuits, motors, and the physics behind every tool with a plug. Wire a shop safely, understand VFDs and steppers, and read a schematic without fear.
- > Voltage, current, and safe wiring
- > Motors, VFDs, and steppers
- > Sensors & the CNC feedback loop
CAD & Parametric Design
Geometry, tolerance, and design intent. The bridge course from physics to the fabrication workshops: model a part, then cut it on the CNC or print it. The perspective study shows the projection math that CAD viewports use.
- > Sketching, constraints, parametrics
- > Tolerance & fit for real machines
- > CAD to CAM to G-code
Ready for the shop floor?
Courses build the theory; the hands-on workshops put tools in your hands.