College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies
Date
3-2025
Primary Advisor
Michael Haungs, College of Liberal Arts, Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Department
Abstract/Summary
I have spent the last three years as a Design team member of Cal Poly Rose Float, the last year as a Design Lead. As a member of the design team, I followed blueprints, bent pencil steel into shape, and welded those pieces together. I worked as part of a team, and eventually led my own small team. Cal Poly Rose Float teaches its members many skills and abilities. Not just bending and welding metal, but also teamwork and leadership skills. However, it doesn’t teach us everything. Every leadership member gives input on the overall theme and design of the float. However, the exact design of the float and all of its elements is done by only one person each year, the Scales Coordinator. One person compiles all the input, creates a 3D model of the entire float and each element, and creates blueprints for them. A design member works under a design lead, and a design lead coordinates a team of members to build an element. However, even the design leads have very little control over what they build, only following blueprints. This means that Cal Poly Rose Float Design fails to teach most of its members a very important aspect of float design; how to actually design floats.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/laessp/80
Step by step instructions on designing and constructing a parade float element.