[Wolves] Linux and CAD type programs

[Andy Wootton]

Kevanf1 wrote:

>On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 14:29:45 +0000, Jono Bacon <jono at jonobacon.org> wrote:
>  
>
>>Kevanf1 wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>Unless you are an angler you may not know what I'm looking for, but
>>>here goes.  Is there a program - obviously for Linux - whereby I can
>>>see the relation between the thickness of a material and the amount of
>>>curvature it goes through when under pressure?  Think of a fishing rod
>>>bending.  I've been asked to make one out of split cane.  In order to
>>>do it properly I need to work out the thickness of the cane all along
>>>its length.  With a fishing rod it is not merely a case that it bends
>>>I also have to think about where the bend starts, tip or middle
>>>section.  So I think I am looking for some type of CAD program.  It
>>>must be a graphical output not just mathematical.
>>>
>>>Any ideas?
>>>
Kevan,

That sounds hard. You aren't dealing with a tube but with a long, thin 
cone made of a material with varying characteristics through it's 
section and thickness along it's length. I believe the bend actually 
starts at the last point that the hand holding the rod touches but only 
becomes significant nearer the tip as the diameter narrows i.e. there is 
no such point as 'where the bend starts', so you are aiming for a 
characteristic curve. I bet expert rod makers work on heuristics based 
on centuries of craft experimentation e.g. "Take a 2-3 year old piece of 
bamboo that has grown to a length of 2m in a peat soil..."

One thing might work to your advantage in your quest though; it seems 
like similar physics to sailing yacht masts! The forces there will be 
distributed along the mast rather than at the tip but I bet it has been 
researched more than fishing rods. Good luck.

If you end up having to build the world's first modelling tool for 
carbon-fibre racing yacht masts, will you be GPLing it? ;-)

Woo