Drafting Portfolio

Screenshot of the splash page.

http://vincethigpen.free.nf

These past few weeks I have been working on a CAD Drawing Portfolio that I could direct potential future employers to so that they may view some of my work.

This thing has gone through a few iterations already.  My first version was not pretty, but it worked.  Bob told me that his big complaint with it was that it was hard to read because I used background images.

So I re-designed it with cascading style sheets and containers for the content on a solid background.  The CSS is key to making this site maintainable.  There are about 65 pages on the entire site, and if I want to change something across the entire site, like how the links display, I would have to open, edit, and save 65 pages.  But with a central style sheet, I can just edit the link properties, and every sheet refers to this style sheet for its display instructions.  Presto - the entire site is updated by editing one page. Much easier to edit and update!

Screenshot of one drawing display page.

Right now there are about 26 drawings and 21 solid models on the site.

In my CAD 2 class, Mr. Vitacco took a look at the portfolio and he was impressed.  He said that this one is one of the best ones he has seen.  

This isn't the most entertaining website out there, but that is not what this is for.  This is to show someone examples of my work in a solid conservative way.  I think this portfolio succeeds at that job.

Drafting

In August, last year, I began taking classes in the afternoon and evenings at Wake Technical Community College.  For the Fall Semester of 2023 I took CAD 1 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  On Wednesday evenings I took Introduction to Solid Modeling and Rendering.  

CAD 1 is 2-dimensional drafting with AutoCAD.  Quite a few new features have been added to AutoCAD since I last used it professionally.  I did very well in this class.  I ended up with a 98% average, but I think the instruction that I received 30 years ago was better quality.  This class raced through most topics.  At Cape Fear Community College, Drafting 1 met two hours a day, 5 days a week.  Of course, it took much more time to create the drawings on the board back then.

Introduction to Solidworks is 3-dimensional model creation with Solidworks.  I did some self-study
with the free version on OnShape online, and this helped prepare me for Solidworks.  This class met on Wednesday evenings from 6 pm til 10pm.  Those were some long days after working all day!  I ended up with a 98% in Intro to Solid Modeling.

For the Spring Semester I have been taking CAD 2, and it continues with AutoCAD.  Some topics are not even touched in this class - no surveying and no architecture for instance.  The school has a separate departments for geomatics and architecture.  I am doing very well in CAD 2 - I currently have a 102.6% average. I think that I am an excellent draftsman.

During the 9-week Summer Semester I am taking Intermediate Solid Modeling and Rendering.  It is offered on Wednesdays from 8 am til 4:20 pm.  To pull this off I am using vacation time to take 8 days off - every Wednesday between May 22 and July 30 (except June 19 which HexaTech is giving as a holiday).

I will finish the Mechanical Design Certificate this summer and I should have an easier time with my engineering graphics job search after this.

If you would like to view some of my school work, I created an online portfolio where my best drawings are available.  You can see this at vincethigpen.free.nf.