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Facilities
The facilities at Rio Hondo
College's ACEDD - GIS department feature the latest in modern
Computers, Printing Reproduction Equipment, drafting, and Rapid
Prototyping. Our facilities are open on Saturdays and extended hours on
weekdays to allow students the opportunity to work outside of scheduled
class times.
Computer Labs
The ACEDD - GIS Department boasts 4 computer labs with 25
workstations each. Most open lab workstations range between 3.0
GHz and 2.5 GHz Quad Core based systems with as much as 4GB of memory. Our network is
anchored by several multi-processor severs offering about 10 TB
(Terra Byte) of
centralized storage. Students can save their files to their own
personal network drives, allowing them to work at any workstation.
CD-Writers and DVD-Writers are available in each lab to
allow for easy data backup and portability. Optical mice offer
the latest in reliable control and accuracy. Monitors range in size
from 19 to 24-inches. Disabled access stations are
available in every lab. During class, instructors are able to broadcast
their presentations, demos and graphical aids to a large projection
screen at the front of the room AND directly to each student's monitor,
delivering an optimized, interactive visual learning experience.
Printing and Reproduction
Printing facilities at Rio Hondo's "Visual Technology"
Department includes three heavy volume laser printers capable of
printing "A" size (8.5" x 11") and "B" size (11" x 17") documents. A
network volume color laser printer handles exacting color reproductions
of graphics and photo-quality documents on "A" and "B" size paper.
Large format printing in both color and black and white are processed by
a large format inkjet printer (pictured above), capable of printing
photo-quality documents up to 42 inches wide. Students may make use of
a large format color scanner to scan floor plans, maps, and large
layouts. An industrial-grade large format copier takes care of large
format copying in seconds.
Drafting Labs
The "Visual Technology" labs includes two drafting labs with 24
stations each. Each station offers a large 60" x 42" height- and
tilt-adjustable drawing surface, omni-positional lighting, track
drafting machines with mounted straight-edges, and ergonomic,
height-adjustable seating.
Rapid Prototyping
The FDM 3000 from Stratasys (Visit Stratasys' website
here) meets the
department's rapid prototyping requirements. FDM stands for "Fused
Deposition Modeling", referring to the building process this machine
uses to create models. The machine fuses material together by melting
ABS plastic and depositing it in formation in as small as 1/12th of an
inch layers, providing accuracy down to even smaller scales. Designers
can see their drawings...
"...go from art..."
"...to part..."
...in a matter of hours (the brown "support" material seen in the
picture washes away in a water-soluble solution). This allows the
designer to test his creation for form, fit, and function.
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