State of the Chrome Union

February is almost over, holy schnikies!!!

The LT has been completely precision milled, and the frame 45's are ready to weld, so we can get the total LT frame jigged up and welded for each DK piece. 45 + 45 = 90, so that's real nice to know!!! Phil's gonna MIG the Ojos seeing how the TIG just seems too much of a burden.

Left to do: Plenty of various Doves.
Sheet metal work, caps and such, maybe more for Phil if we finish early.
Finish the OT, cut, prec. mill, weld the last sections up.
Lathework galore, OT and DK.
Gladiator work should be done on the lathe to speed things up.

Keep going Chrome-O's, the finish is nigh!

Chico Face Lift

The Wildcats up north have got an updated site. Looks good!

http://www.csuchico.edu/asce/

Bucky Bridge Ready to Rumble.

2/24/07

Construction commenced in Farmer's Paradise. Mike, Amy, Jessica, CQ and Jeff took a stab at it as the "Chrome Crew" practiced a bit with the 2005 bridge. Captains taught the basics of dovetail treatment and transport first so no unnecessary fractures took place. After that, they went through beam assembly theory and got acquainted with all the crap in the way on the 2007 site. Revetments suck. The 9'-0" river, however, will prove to be a good compromise.

Now looking east:

Hello Wisconsin!

The University of Wisconsin, Madison Steel Bridge Team is all done with their bridge, and ready to hit the construction site. No doubt the blood, sweat, and tears were pouring out at Endres. Keep working hard Badgers, and you'll be California Dreamin' before you know it! A big "sweet jumps" to y'all!

"After weeks of intense work, little sleep, and mysterious sickness, we have a bridge, and boy, is it beautiful. On to construction practice!"

http://www.engr.wisc.edu/studentorgs/bridge/

Quote of the...YEAR!

"Every year, a school comes up with a strategy that couldn’t possibly be done on a real construction project, and we want to keep it realistic,” - Frank Hatfield, head of the NSSBC rules committee.

"Open your mind. The world isn't what it was. We all need to evolve - learn from the student as the student learns from the master. New, fresh ideas are all around us. Listen, observe, think and go forth into the great wide open. We know less than we think." - anonymous

REGIONAL ASCE / STEEL BRIDGE CONFERENCE WEBLINKS 2007

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE:
TEX-MEX (COMPLETED) - REGIONAL CHAMP: TEXAS A&M AGGIES
HOST: TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: LUBBOCK, TX
DATES: JANUARY 12-13
http://www.asce.ce.ttu.edu/

MIDWEST (COMPLETED) - REGIONAL CHAMP: NDSU BISON
HOST: MINNESOTA STATE, MANKATO
LOCATION: MANKATO, MN
DATES: MARCH 9-10
http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~asce/Regional%20Conference%2007.htm

NEW ENGLAND (COMPLETED) = REGIONAL CHAMP: MERRIMACK WARRIORS
HOST: UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
LOCATION: STORRS, CT
DATES: MARCH 15-17
http://nesteelbridge2007.engr.uconn.edu/

DEEP SOUTH
HOST: LOUISIANA TECH - - REGIONAL CHAMP: ASU INDIANS? (MSU)
LOCATION: RUSTON, LA
DATES: MARCH 23-25
http://deepsouthconference.com/default.aspx

SOUTHEAST



HOST: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE - REGIONAL CHAMP: UF GATORS
LOCATION: KNOXVILLE, TN
DATES: MARCH 29-31
http://conference2007.utkasce.org/

OHIO VALLEY - REGIONAL CHAMP: YOUNGSTOWN PENGUINS
HOST: THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: COLUMBUS, OH
DATES: MARCH 30-APRIL 1
http://www.ceegs.ohio-state.edu/asce/ovrc.html

NORTH CENTRAL - REGIONAL CHAMP: LAWRENCE TECH BLUE DEVILS
HOST: MICHIGAN TECH UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: HOUGHTON, MI
DATES: MARCH 31-APRIL 2
http://www.cee.mtu.edu/asce/ncc2007/index.htm

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST - REGIONAL CHAMP: CSUN MATADORS






HOST: UC SAN DIEGO
LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, CA
DATES: APRIL 12-14
http://scse.ucsd.edu/Pages/pswrc07/

CAROLINAS - REGIONAL CHAMP: GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
HOST: GEORGIA TECH
LOCATION: ATLANTA, GA
DATES: APRIL 12-14
http://asce.ce.gatech.edu/conference.html

PACIFIC NORTHWEST - REGIONAL CHAMP: PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
HOST: UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, FAIRBANKS
LOCATION: FAIRBANKS, AK
DATES: APRIL 12-14
http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/cem/steelbridge/

METROPOLITAN - REGIONAL CHAMP: NJIT HIGHLANDERS
HOST: NYC COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY
DATES: APRIL 13-14
http://www.ascemetro2007.com/competitions.html

ROCKY MOUNTAIN - REGIONAL CHAMP: WYOMING COWBOYS
HOST: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER
LOCATION: BOULDER, CO
DATES: APRIL 13-14
http://asce.colorado.edu/

UPSTATE NEW YORK - REGIONAL CHAMP: SUNY CANTON NORTHSTARS
HOST: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: ITHACA, NY
DATES: APRIL 13-14
http://ceeserver.cee.cornell.edu/asce/Conference/conference.html

VIRGINIAS - REGIONAL CHAMP: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES






HOST: VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE
LOCATION: LEXINGTON, VA
DATES: APRIL 13-14
http://www.vmi.edu/asce/

MID-CONTINENT - REGIONAL CHAMP: UMKC KANGAROOS
HOST: UNIVRSITY OF KANSAS
LOCATION: LAWRENCE, KS
DATES: APRIL 26-28
http://kuasce.org/midcon07/

MID-PACIFIC - REGIONAL CHAMP: UC DAVIS AGGIES



HOST: SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY / SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: SAN JOSE / SANTA CLARA, CA
DATES: APRIL 26-28
http://asce.engr.scu.edu/index.htm

GREAT LAKES - REGIONAL CHAMP: WISCONSIN BADGERS
HOST: PURDUE UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: WEST LAFAYETTE, IN
DATES: APRIL 27-28
http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/%7Easce/reg07index.htm

MID-ATLANTIC - REGIONAL CHAMP: LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS
HOST: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
LOCATION: COLLEGE PARK, MD
DATES: MAY 4-5
http://www.eng.umd.edu/organizations/asce/concrete_canoe.htm

Bison fashions an updated look!

2006 defending Champs pimp their page a little. There's a good article by Lena Singer on the 2006 NSSBC in Salt Lake City here - Ong Bak and Jeremy made the photo section while practicing in the downtown skating rink. Revell gets the quote, an all too true quote regarding the sleep vs. time to competition curve eh?

Awesome stuff! Good Luck in Mankato NDSU!

http://www.acm.ndsu.nodak.edu/%7Eamersoci/STEEL%20BRIDGE.htm

Sabado - 2/24

Bright and early in the Bridge Lab. 9:30

We've got:

1) LAT FRAMES
2) DK DOVE/FRAME PREP FOR NEXT WEEK
3) OT TIGGIN' TO FINISH
4) CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE AND PREPARATION!!!

Get ready to roll y'all! Mid-Pac's knocking on the door and will be here before you know it (and want it).

Random Bursting of Encouragement for the Day to all the SBT's Out There!!!

"We are born with a chance
Rise above
Were gonna rise above!"

Midwest Conference Gearing Up!

The Midwest Regional Steel Bridge Competition is all set to fire on from March 9-10. Matt has decided to kill two birds with one stone by seeing some ole' high school amigos while in Minneapolis and heading down to Mankato for the competition that Saturday. Should be good to see what this very competitive conference comes up with. In the Midwest include the defending 2006 NSSBC Champs in the North Dakota State University Bison, perennial Canadian contender Lakehead University, the always fast assembly of Iowa State, and a slowly emerging University of North Dakota Steel Bridge Team. Others in the contest will include, Iowa, Minnesota State-Mankato, South Dakota State and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Good Stuff!

The Golden Gophers are on top of things, and have their bridge done ahead of schedule, and apparently in far better shape than typically anticipated. Looks like a solid "Spider Leg Warren", nice design, should show solid numbers with good connections. Note the deeper deck and lateral "diamond" truss alongside it, good for lateral rigidity, and helps reduce the amount of members put on the bridge. Only see maybe 2 or 3 lateral braces over the span, a few up top, and two at the piers of course, looks good!

























































Link to the 2006-2007 Golden Gopher effort:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~asce/bridge/

Some other Midwest Conference SBT's:
Minnesota State University-Mankato (2007 MW Regional Host)
http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~asce/

North Dakota State University
http://www.acm.ndsu.nodak.edu/~amersoci/STEEL%20BRIDGE.htm

South Dakota State University
http://learn.sdstate.edu/ASCE/Steel%20Bridge/STEELBRIDGE2006.htm

University of Wisconain-Platteville
http://www.uwplatt.edu/org/asce/

University of Iowa
http://css.engineering.uiowa.edu/~asce/steelnews.htm

University of North Dakota
http://www.und.nodak.edu/misc/sem/ce/cestudactivities.html

Lakehead University
http://www.luess.com/

Iowa State University
http://www.stuorg.iastate.edu/asce/steelbridge.htm

Still pluggin' away here, this is bridge has so many details it's hard to keep track of them all, but piece by piece it's starting to really turn into something special. Keep on Aggin' Chrome Ollie!

The knee bone's connected to the...

Oooooooh Lordy!

Alright, Sr. Tomás Bell is on the prowl. The DK doves need to be welded to the DK frames on the Tinius beam. Usually this takes a while, but nobody inserts less heat and gets more strength in Davis, CA then Tom Bell, so thanks for that. Setups will need to be conducted to get Tom in and out as fast as possible. Need to move the Tinius beam within range of the Miller TIG.













Besides the obvious need to start getting the DK's together, we have some joint angles on the OT that need to be TIGged. In the student shop we can cut and finish precision milling just about all the LT stuff, the LAT's, the PIER bases, the PIER DK Frames, and the Chrome Stone atop the whole enchilada.

Construction Team needs to step in and get busy, we don't want the learning curve to be too steep come April. The Assembly stakes for this season will be much higher than the Clan had to deal with, so get busy and get comfortable with it all starting this Saturday.



















"Life is like riding a bike. It is impossible to maintain your balance while standing still." - Linda Brakeall (funny name for such a quote...)

Keep on truckin' Ags, plenty more details to take care of. Multiple DT's need to be finished as well.

DK's in the house

Okay, the DK frames have been welded up and Philthy Phil is just about done burning through the A.G.S. DT's. This means when we get the Tinius beam back from 104L we'll get Sr. Tomas Bell on the payroll Tiggin' some sweet shizzle, hopefully. Minimizing set up time we'll be paramount as we'll try to take advantage of every hour from 8am-noon/1pm-5pm. Cranks will have to be welded to main structural members on top of the A.G.S.ers, so we'll need those ready.

In the meantime we have a ton of structural features to precision mill and we still have to cut/precision mill the OT, which will take a delicate touch due to it's Eulerian geometry.

Hang in the Fab Crew - it's a new dawn it's a new day, second wind's coming around...