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Recent content by tdstructural

  1. tdstructural

    Technician to Engineer

    At my CC an associate degree did not make you ready for your junior year at the university. The AS degree required courses that were not needed for a BS degree and lacked some that are required. Sit down with your CC advisor and make sure they understand your long term goals so you don't end up...
  2. tdstructural

    Speakerphone Etiquette

    I think the OP is doing everything right. I too prefer a conference room for these types of meetings but have worked for companies where more often than not those rooms are occupied. Use speaker phone in a cubicle as a last resort. Hopefully it's rare that you do this and your coworkers are in...
  3. tdstructural

    fees for subcontracting engineers

    This post spawns from an earlier one but I don't want to take over another post and it is still a different topic. I'm a licensed PE with 18 years of experience. All of my experience is in structures. I work on the west coast so high seismic is the norm for me. The typical bill rate (+/- $5 or...
  4. tdstructural

    self employed vs hiring employees

    I'm self employed but I'm the subcontractor everyone is referring to. I assist companies like yours by working only when you need me. No OH costs, no taxes - I just send you an invoice once a month. In my area I bill you at $75 per hour and you can bill me out to your client anywhere from $85 -...
  5. tdstructural

    structural analysis software

    I love RISA, plus they offer either free or incredibly inexpensive PDH that educate you as to the additional functions of their software. Every webinar I take I learn new powerful tools within the software. Also, they have great customer service. They spent 1.5 days working with me online before...
  6. tdstructural

    Structural Engineering Services Pricing

    @ teguci 'Could you imagine if we had to charge a high prototype fee for every project without regard to competitive experience gained? That would be terrible for everyone.' But can you imagine that if all SE did this we might actually be making money? Hee hee - just kidding. It's a nice...
  7. tdstructural

    Need to determine capacity of steel assembly through testing - how many tests?

    We as structural engineers already rely on tested capacity values when hand calcs don't suffice: Concrete expansion and epoxy anchors, screws, Simpson holdowns, etc. The last airplane you flew on might very well have had 3M double sided tape helping to keep the wing skins in place. These are all...
  8. tdstructural

    Need to determine capacity of steel assembly through testing - how many tests?

    I’m working for a mechanical fabrication facility and we need to perform tests to determine the capacity of our lift lugs on our Air Handling Units (AHU). These units are commercial and some are extremely large and the lift forces can be 4k – 5k in some cases. I’m not concerned about the lift...
  9. tdstructural

    Structural engineering market in the UK

    Regarding the time it took for you to earn your degree - it took me 8 years to earn a 4 year degree because I couldn't always afford to be a full time student. Sometimes I was part-time and some terms I couldn't afford any classes. I too would be leery to state 'health problems'. I think I...
  10. tdstructural

    what materials are included in ASTM B31

    XL83NL - thanks for your response. I don't have a copy of the code and my question was a very generic one. I am designing pipe supports for a fabrication facility (process pipes). We (as structural engineers) need to determine the seismic force acting on the pipes. Our structural code gives...
  11. tdstructural

    what materials are included in ASTM B31

    Hello all mechanical engineers. I'm a structural engineer and somewhere along the way I was told that only steel pipes are included in the ASTM B31 code. Is this correct? I have a project that uses HDPE and other 'plastic like' products. Thanks! Tracy
  12. tdstructural

    How do you calculate the force in a compression flange?

    Hokie - that's what I would do. M/depth of the beam is a close and still conservative compression and tension force.
  13. tdstructural

    Impact force

    I agree with TXStructural (see above). I've always used 2 times the weight.
  14. tdstructural

    Do I need a business license to consult in California?

    It sounds like your business is not located in CA. I owned a small business in Oregon and some of my clients were located in Washington. I had a federal ID # and an Oregon State business license but I never needed a Washington State business license because the physical location of my company...
  15. tdstructural

    Using a mechanical duct to support live load

    To: BigInch I didn't realize there were rules against posting the same question in two different forums. The reason I posted in the mechanical forum is that I thought a Mechanical Engineer might have run across this problem sometime during their career and they would have some information for...

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