Bracket Engineering

Jim Bredt is a retired inventor and machine designer who worked for 30 years in the 3D printing industry. He has been active at Artisans Asylum for 10 years and used the shops at AA to develop hardware for one of his 3DP startup companies. In addition to mechanical design and fabrication, he also teaches a weekly figure drawing class.

This class will be especially valuable for new shop users who wish to integrate the available CAD tools in the Design Shop with the fabrication tools in the Metal Shop. Rather than teaching the use of individual tools, this class will teach a production path using CAD design and multiple tools in sequence. We will be introducing Solidworks on a basic level and advancing to the sheet-metal design tools and data processing for the Metal Shop CNC.
Please follow this link to view a flowchart of the different processes we will address:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1foLJvXYtBPbTLjzVAPaNdW0FgM_H24YC/view?usp=drive_link
Each class has a unique set of projects. We fabricate useful components for various shops around the facility. Students are encouraged to bring their own projects too.
This class will have three 3-hour sessions, generally following this sequence:
1. Mechanics: Introduction to mechanical design; overview of the Metal Shop; lessons on the tools; start work on a class project.
2. CAD: Introduction to computer-aided design (using AA’s installations of Solidworks 2024) and training on the utility software for the CNC plasma cutter.
3. Training: Training in CNC plasma cutting, bending, welding, and powder coating. Finish the class project if time allows.

Solidworks will be taught in the Design Shop in the Holton building. Besides design, tasks such as bitmap-to-vector conversion and merging data from different sources will also be addressed. Tools for cutting, bending, and welding sheet metal are in the Antwerp building Metal Shop. The direct path from Solidworks-generated DXF data through the CNC plasma cutter will fan out to some subset of the following: Hydraulic shear; drill press; jump shear; finger brake; hydraulic benders; torches and welders; finishing with sand-blasting and powder-coating. These tools will be demonstrated to the students in the first session, and training given in the third session.

The materials fee for this class is $30. This is separate from the ticket price and is to reimburse the instructor for any tools or materials used in this class. This will be paid once, directly to the instructor at the start of the first class meeting. This instructor accepts payments in cash or through Venmo.

• Basic mechanical design
• Basic training in Solidworks
• Advanced training in Solidworks sheet metal tools
• Data path from Solidworks to CNC plasma cutting
• Training in CNC plasma cutting
• Training in bending, cutting, grinding, and welding
• Training in other tools as needed

Steel and aluminum sheet for fabrication; fasteners; welding and brazing consumables; painting and finishing consumables.

Closed-toe shoes and natural fiber clothes, per Metal Shop rules. Metal shop will provide PPE beyond that.

This is an engineering class so students are encouraged to take notes.

Students are encouraged to bring project ideas.

Students must be 16 years or older. Students under 18 must be accompanied by and under the direct supervision of a responsible adult.

Learn more about our class and ticket cancelation policies Here.

Please email [email protected] with any questions.

*Sales end 24 hours before the start of the class to allow the instructor and staff time to prep.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Artisan's Asylum, 96 Holton Street, Boston, United States