Noted psychologist Dr Abraham Maslow once said, “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” When someone runs across a problem, the initial inclination is often to figure out how to use the tools they already have to solve it. One example of this is the use of spreadsheets to solve engineering math problems. Spreadsheets are ubiquitous. They’re everywhere. Most engineering departments run on them. The fact that Excel is capable of dealing with some reasonably challenging math problems doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best tool for the job.
Excel requires that expressions be written in a text-based language, which is then hidden from view behind the values in the cells of the spreadsheet. Without selecting a cell, you have no idea what functions are being performed. And if you need to cross-reference multiple cells, forget about it. You have to dig deep to really understand what is going on. Spreadsheets don’t use the symbols associated with mathematics, algebra or calculus. It’s just not intuitive for those trying to build engineering calculations. The potential for hidden errors is huge, while readability and traceability are often both lost.
PTC Mathcad does what spreadsheets, word processing, presentation software and programming applications simply cannot do – it brings powerful calculation capabilities into human-readable form. It integrates these readable, live calculations with plots, graphs, text, and images into a single, interactive, professionally presented document. This ease and familiarity of an engineering notebook enables design exploration, validation and verification, and the clear communication of critical engineering information.
Mathcad is used by engineers and scientists in various disciplines – most often those of mechanical, chemical, electrical, and civil engineering.
You don’t need to be a Mathcad expert to read, understand or create Mathcad documents. There’s no long learning curve required before doing something useful, run through a couple of short tutorials, and you’re ready to get some work done.
We are now able to supply Mathcad Prime Express for free. Express contains the most commonly used functionality from Mathcad Prime, with no time limits, so you can use it as often as you like for as long as you like. To download your copy…