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Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

(OP)
So I'm in an interesting situation. My project has an excess of funds, and my program manager has asked me to put together a wish list of equipment for the mechanical engineering team to purchase before the FY is out.

Problem is, we're fairly well equipped as it is. The type of work we do is quick design, modification, and prototyping projects to get stuff out to our guys in the field quickly. We manufacture most of our own stuff in house in low quantities. Here is what we currently have in addition to a well stocked standard toolbox:

CNC Mill and Lathe
Eden 500 3D Printer
Benchtop Mill / Drill
HALT/HASS Chamber
Bandsaw, Grinding wheel
Mobile A-fram crane
ANSYS Mechanical with CFD
Solidworks Premium
MathCAD, MATLAB, Labview
IR Camera

I'm thinking about picking up a FARO arm for QA and reverse engineering, and maybe some more instrumentation for field testing.

So, given what we have, what kind of cool / useful stuff would you guys put on your wishlist?

Thanks!

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Unless you don't to any sheetmetal a punch/laser/punch-laser machine seems interesting.

NX 7.5.5.4 with Teamcenter 8 on win7 64
Intel Xeon @3.2GHz
8GB RAM
Nvidia Quadro 2000

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

3D scanner, laser cutter, ping pong table

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Send me a Malvern Spraytec – Droplet Size Measurement machine. I've never had problems with excess funds.

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A Stereolithographer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography) would be a cool toy to have to impress customers and also do first pass prototypes.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

(OP)
Some good ideas here. We're somewhat space limited, our facility is already getting pretty full, so smaller machines are better. I like the laser sheetmetal machine idea, I'll look into that.

What would you do with stereolithography equipment? MEMS type work?

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

training
computer equipment
a scanner/faro arm/ CMM is nice to have. If you want something to work in the field look at something like the Creaform scanner. Don't forget the software like Raindrop Geomagic.


RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

I think your right Kenatsmile

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Sheesh. Can I come work for you?

A small manual ("tool room") lathe with a grinder attachement could be handy - for grinding form tools, sharpening cutters, and the little odd jobs that are just too small to warrant cranking up the CNC. It's also easier to fit vacuum pickups and cleanup a small lathe (and less costly when they eventually break due to grit getting into everything).

Waterjet cutter, laser cutter, CNC plasma cutter...depends on what materials you work with the most (waterjet is probably most versatile, but most $pendy).

Welding equipment?

Heat treat furnace?

Injection molding machine?

Investment casting foundry equipment?

Good parts washing equipment might be important, depending on what you are building...but likely not as you don't list a laminar flow bench in your existing list.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

While this is an albeit BLATANTLY BIASED suggestion, perhaps a more capable, and fully integrated, CAD/CAE/CAM system, such as NX.

Well, I warned you that it was going to be biased thumbsup2

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

(OP)
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I omitted it from the list but I just added three more monster CAD/simulation workstations to the network, so we're good on machines.

Again, we're almost completely out of lab space, so if we're going to buy equipment it needs to be benchtop size stuff. If I could buy lab space then I'd buy an injection molding machine in a heartbeat....

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Get a new Interociter from Electronic Supply Unit 16.[shadeshappy]

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

On a similar theme, you could consider getting the latest Turboencabulator with the WOM upgrade (write only memory).

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Shelves, cabinets, storage system for the ceilings.

And the engineer in me says the obvious answer is to just spec a few high dollar items that don't take up much space, and hold their resale value well.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A Jura coffee machine, or if you live in a civilised part of the world a china tea pot and tea cups.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

electron microscope

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

If we're gonna get silly how about an Atomic Force Microscope, just so happens I could line you up with a vendor...

Marginally more realistic, surface profilometer if you often care about surface roughness.

I guess the real question is what frequent tasks do you currently have to sub out or do work arounds for etc. where you could benefit from performing the function in house?

Posting guidelines FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm? (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A complete selection of force measuring gear, from handheld spring balances to load cells. The most fundamental question when designing one offs is how much load it needs to take, quite often.

The trouble with a Faro arm is that it takes a fair while, and continual practice, to come up with even half reasonable accuracy, at least on cars. Across a car I'd be pleased to get +/- 1mm repeatability from a Faro. That's good enough for practical purposes, but it isn't exactly the impression you get from their comics.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Seconding some sort of 3D printer/benchtop laser cutter. The best toys are the ones you can use to make other toys.

"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." -Scott Adams

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A benchtop materials testing machince like an Instron or equivalent would be very usefull. Also a fastener library and dril library. I second the CMM.

Doug

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

PMI gun?

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

an EDM

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Second the PMI gun. I find myself wanting one perhaps twice every three years - but then I want it right now..

A.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

I'd be asking for a week paid vacation to Hawaii, maybe a Ferrari as the offical company vehicle, sponsorship for inner city kids hockey club would be very cool, something more inventive than what I seen on everyone's list.

Regards,
Cockroach

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

Power supplies for the above!

More accurately, a UPS-battery backup power supply (supplies!) for the tools, AND for the office PC/copier/fax/telephones/thermostat equipment.

We had a power surge at the house when the new" green eco-monitoring power meter lost connection to the incoming main leads. The short blew every electronic item in the house: clocks, TV, playstation, digital coffee maker, microwave, AC controller, digital (zone) heater controller, refrigerator, VCR, and every surge protector.

The PC's and scanner/copier - which were on their UPS's and so isolated - came through just fine.

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A machine that goes "Ping".

- Steve

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

A shrubbery!

RE: Mechanical Engineer's Wishlist

I used to have a small machine shop to complement our R&D group. Here's a list of accessories that we used or bought over the years.

The 40k rpm high speed mill spindle option was an exotic, extra $ purchase that actually got used fairly often. Also we bought a 4th axis for the mill and a manual rotary indexing fixture, the latter used more often. I came to love the set of insert cutters I bought for the CNC mill.

We were always borrowing the QC departments' measuring tools:
digital height gauge, oversize digital caliper, multi-size digital micrometers, ceramic gauge block set (very useful), shadow graph profilometer (probably too big for your benchtop limit), large granite table, angle plates.

Occasionally we needed to buy in exotic raw materials, strangely they always had long lead times: PEEK rod, tefzel, ceramics, titanium, etc.

The ultrasonic bath cleaner was used daily.

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