CAD-CAM tools in structures and construction self-learning processes

This paper presents the continuation of previous experiences of self-learning through the realization of physical models by teams of students in a competitive environment. We added to the process the development of new skills as prior planning, the use of CAD tools and the manufacture of the models incorporating the CAD-CAM by means of a laser cutter.Student teams are introduced in the use of procedures typical of their future professional activity, besides learning about structural behaviour. In order to build a structure, they must develop a project subjected to regulations (economic rules), economic restrictions (the amount of material they can use) and the limitations imposed by the laser cutter (technological restrictions). The proposed challenge is developed during the course and concludes with the load test of the models and the subsequent analysis of the causes of the collapse, in an act in which students from the different participating schools gather together. The activity is completed with a conference given by a first level engineering firm that exposes real cases of construction of this type of structures.