Wednesday, May 2, 2012

WPBD vs Knex - Hudson

Both of these tools are extremely fun and useful to build bridges. WPBD is semi-hands on in its approach in that there aren't many set designs to choose from, but building with the Knex allows you to really understand the difference in bridge strength.
WPBD and Knex are similar in that, in a way, you can understand how strong the bridge is that you made with each of them. They both also allow easy corrections and fixes.
WPBD is superior to Knex in that it tells you where your bridge will break, if it's a feasible idea, and the relative ratios on each member. WPBD also allows angles and thinner/thicker members that Knex does not. Knex are superior in that they allow you to actually feel the bridge you're designing and you can see how the pieces are going to break when they do and try to design around that instead of just making that member larger and stronger, because it's usually not the member that breaks, it's the joint.

Overall, I think both the WPBD software and Knex are good ways to get a feel for your bridge and understand how it works.

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