Hello,
I am a mechanical engineer. I have been designing industrial equipment for the past eight years. I am somewhat of a reference book junky and I recently purchased the AISC STEEL CONSTRUCTION MANUAL (14th Edition). This book seems very useful, but it also seems like it might be over my...
Hello,
I am a mechanical engineer with 7 years of experience designing industrial machinery. I am in the NJ/NY (USA) area. My current job functions are design and project management. The work is not bad, but it's not that technically challenging. The product lines were developed years ago and...
Hello All,
I recently spoke with an old college friend and he said that he was working 60 to 70 hours per week. I feel this is way above average, but not unheard of. Anyway, this got me thinking...
I see a lot of salary surveys in trade magazines (Machine Design, Design News, etc.), but they...
Hello Everyone,
Recently, I had a conversation with a teacher friend of mine and he was telling me how desperate high schools are for math and science teachers (nothing new there). I think it would be fairly easy for an engineer to switch careers and become a high school math or science...
Hello,
This has been bothering me for a while.
Please see the attached .pdf for reference.
I come across a lot of old drawings at work that use a simple dimensioning style that takes advantage of symmetry. I also see this style used in many catalogs.
I like this style because it gives the...
Hello Everyone.
I have a beam bending problem that I am currently working on (please see the attached .pdf).
I am looking for the max deflection of the beam.
A colleague gave me the direct formula from Constrado, “STEEL DESIGNERS’ MANUAL,” Fourth Edition, pg. 43.
However, I am a Roark’s fan...
Hello,
I am a 27 year old mechanical engineer and I have been working for about 5 years. My post-college personal life is now fairly stable (finally moved out of the parent’s house, etc.) and I am beginning to focus more attention on improving my engineering skills. I design steel refining...
Hello Everyone,
Recently, I was trying to explain the fundamentals of thermal radiation to a non-engineer and I discovered that I myself have a poor understanding of it. I understand that "thermal radiation is continuously emitted by all matter whose temperature is above absolute temperature."...
Hello Everyone,
Background:
I have been working as a mechanical design engineer at a small (<100 employees) OEM for a little over four years now. During this time, I have observed a disappointing trend and would like to hear other engineers’ thoughts on the matter.
Description:
While in...
Hello All,
Here is the situtation:
I create PART A. Then I create PART B. I insert PART A into PART B (then I add my additional features and what not). Next I create PART C. I insert PART B into PART C (then I add my additional features and what not). Finally, I pack and go PART C and it only...
Hello All,
I would think that this is no big deal, but I cannot apply a mesh control with a shell mesh using mid-surfaces. The part meshes fine, but it completely ignores the applied mesh controls. I am using CosmosWorks 2007 SP5.0 and SolidWorks 2007 SP5.0. I am able to successfully apply mesh...
Hello Everyone,
I have a question about tolerancing methods used on drawings. I work at a custom machinery job shop where we fabricate parts/machines from outside customer's drawings and our own in-house drawings (created by yours truly). Because I deal with a lot of other people's drawings I...
Hello,
I have been searching for a general chart or table that would provide me with the maximum obtainable (or perhaps the recommended) hardness when heat treating various common metals. Is there such a thing? I can't seem to find one in the "Machinery's Handbook" or "Mark's Standard...
Due to the nature of my work, I get to travel around quite a bit and visit many company's facilities. I see a lot of very complex automated machines (very cool stuff) all over the place. Mostly high speed injection molding (making plastic bottles), filling, and packaging machinery. Everytime I...
Hello Everyone.
I use both SolidWorks 2006 and PRO/E wildfire 2.0 for CAD.
Main Question:
How do I reference a model dimension while making a drawing in Solidworks?
In PRO/E, I would simply write something like "...drill &d45 dia. holes as shown..." Where "&" symbol is used along with the...
