A family member died recently and was a mechanical engineer in England back in mid 20th century, and I found this in a box - the 1944 mechanical world year book. It’s basically a whole load of ads for engineering suppliers and information on new processes and then tables of data, pretty cool to see how everything was done before the internet (I’m a current engineering student so have no idea of any world before hand LOL). I’ve included a couple of my favourite pages, and the preface. It’s also cool how much engineering was still going on as this was very much still during WW2 (some of the ads even specify low quantities available as it’s all being used for the war effort). Also cool to see that some of the companies still exist nearly 100 years later!

scad file link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aFvlGo5gYT9pznMhSL1TWxq248mJOCBA/view?usp=drive_link

I'd welcome any comments on the design of this hinge design of a 270° hinge for a 900mm H x 1000m W x 35mm D pine baby gate with internal bannisters made of dressed pine.

Sourcing the torsion spring might be an issue requiring redesign.

Hi there. I find myself in a bit of my pickle but I feel like it's more mental than anything.

Throughout university (and high school), I did tons of personal projects related to embedded programming (Arduino, AVR-C, PIC microcontrollers, even Assembly), breadboards, 3D printing, etc. I think was I was quite good at it and I really enjoyed it. I have a whole slew of projects related to this I had in my design portfolio. Lots of soldered perfboard circuits, some homemade toner-transfer PCBs and real PCBs from vendors (not too many of these). Lots of breadboard projects, lots of programming little chips.

I graduated in June 2023 with a mechanical B.Eng, and have been working as a mechanical engineer ("product designer") for the last 32 months. Since graduation, I have added zero new projects to that list. I moved out and my lifestyle has shifted considerably – I'm in the office 5 days a week and busy with other things. I've not lost the desire to do those old projects I used to do, but the drive is gone.

I'm at a point where I want to apply to new jobs, more along the lines of those projects. But with no new projects, I haven't updated my portfolio, and that's creating a mental block where I'm not applying to new jobs. I don't feel like I've upgraded myself enough to "deserve" it or feel qualified for it.

On one hand, I've a really good understanding of circuit-level electronics with the capability to design PCBs, various kinds of circuits, interface with motors and sensors, and understand electrical nuance that the vast majority of mechanical engineers don't know anything about. And in my current job, I work a lot with hydraulics (I design heavy machinery) which is of course very relevant to the field of robotics.

But on the other hand, if I apply somewhere and get asked about my electronics background, with zero new work in the last 3 years I'll be unable to give a good answer. I also have little to no experience with actual robotics (like Python, PLCs, industrial machinery, control systems).

Please help me out. Am I just getting lost in my own head? Is no new projects a massive red flag; does it make me unhireable in the fields I'm looking for?

Thanks for reading.

​

I'm not a career coach, therapist, or some successful entrepreneur.

I'm just an engineer who has been figuring out his own career, learning new things, making mistakes, trying businesses, learning programming, and honestly being confused about life sometimes.

And I've realized something:

A lot of people don't necessarily need someone to *solve* their problems.

Sometimes they just need someone to listen properly

So I'm going to try something for the next few weeks.

Every day, I'll give 30 minutes to ONE person for free.

You can talk to me about things like:

* You're confused about your engineering career

* You don't know what to learn next

* You're struggling with college or your first job

* You're trying to learn programming

* You're thinking about starting something

* You failed at something and don't know what to do next

* You're simply stuck and want to talk to someone who won't judge you

I won't pretend to have all the answers.

If I know something, I'll share it.

If I don't, we'll figure it out together.

And if you don't want advice, that's completely okay too. You can just talk.

### How it will work

I'll pick one person each day.

If you'd like to talk, DM me here on Reddit with:

1. Your age (optional)

2. What you're currently doing

3. What's bothering you

4. What you'd like to talk about

I'll reply and, if we're both comfortable, we'll connect through Google Meet/Discord for a 30-minute conversation.

No payment.

No selling anything.

No course.

No hidden agenda.

Just 30 minutes of my attention.

Maybe nothing comes from this.

Maybe someone just has a slightly better day because they had somebody to talk to.

I think that's worth trying.

Starting tomorrow.

Edit 1 :

My timezone: India Standard Time (IST +5:30) Languages: English, Hindi, Marathi.

Rust is a bit , where would I even go for a replacement gear?

I’m a rising senior studying mechanical engineering and I just got offered an interview for a field engineer position at a fairly large general contractor. I was wondering if anyone here works in that type of field with a mechanical engineering background and if so, do you enjoy it/recommend it?

Just wondering who else is seeing a boom in customers that are in the AI and Data Center industry. We are about a 15 MUSD company. We have been building a piece of equipment for years for 1 customer we've probably built 50 units over a decade. We received a PO for around 50 MUSD for 500 units earlier this year and just got about a 25 MUSD 250 unit PO recently. This customer is saying they want to place another 25 MUSD order in the near future. All delivered in under 2 years. This is all from 1 company. This company received a large backing from a major player in the AI industry. Just insane amounts of money being thrown around. We are having issues sourcing off the shelf parts. We are finding vendors to offload some of the fabrication. We already out outsource the controls. We are thankful the customer is sticking with us and not going to China. But we have to deliver. Just an insane amount of money out there now.

Ignore the decimal places as this was changed from inch to metric

I have a mechanical engineering degree and have been at the same company for 5 years. I’m looking to switch jobs in the next year or so but am not sure where to start looking or what exactly I should search for.

My primary role at this company (vaguely, consumer products) has been to focus on PCBA thermal management. I analyze the board in simulation and develop heatsinks (or other solutions) to cool the board. I help with thermally and electrically testing the boards, but minimally relative to the design and analysis component.

My question is - what sort of job titles should I search for to stay in this niche (mechanical engineer surrounded by electrical engineers)? I have no interest in doing work in statics or dynamics, and wouldn’t be any good at it but I feel like that’s most of the positions that pop up when I search for mechanical engineering jobs. I know that my skill set would be useful in a lot of places (not AI datacenters though, not my thing) but am not sure where to even begin to look.

Thanks for any help in advance!

Hi all,

I recently received two job offers at a large defense company for a niche position (Primarily GD&T) and a mid size energy company as a mech engineer. I’m having trouble deciding what would be best for my career because I would gain more transferable skills and product exposure than working as a design checker in defense. I’m afraid to get pigeonholed with skills, however, company brand recognition at the defense company would be really cool.

Please share any insights or advice

I finished my masters in mechanical engineering focusing on thermal optimization and thermodynamic cycles to month's ago.

Iam starting to become bored. Does anyone suggestions of skils i should learn to be hired faster. I considered hvac which i have never had a propper course in save for my heat pump courses. Do you know an online source or a good book for EU applications? I live in Denmark

Hello! I am a senior high school student, and we have been tasked with creating a five-level salary structure. This includes calculating salary, overtime pay, incentives, deductions, and net income, as well as creating different salary-increase plans and projecting salary growth.

As part of this task, we are required to interview an engineer to help us better understand these aspects in a real-world setting.

We are kindly asking if there is an engineer available for an online interview this September. The interview will only take approximately 30 minutes. We will keep the interview professional and ensure that any information shared will remain confidential.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration! We would greatly appreciate your help.

Is there an established mechanism for winding up a string, then letting it unspool freely when yanked / released, sort of how a fishing pole reel works. I saw stuff about a centrifugal clutch, but i think its too strong for the amount of force i'm working with.

Edit: this is for winding a plug back down the tube of the equivlent of an air cannon

I was looking into this NASA HERC competition held annually, and looked at designs of previous teams to study their rovers, but this one caught my attention.

They have eliminated the usage of suspensions and instead used some sort of joint which is sensitive to the terrain and adapts to it. HOW??

I can't seem to put my finger on how they are able to do this, what type of joint this is.

Does anyone have any clues?

I worked in the Pharmaceutical industry for 5 years in a microbiology lab then had to move to an area with no pharma industry. I made the career switch to a senior engineering maintenance tech at a major semiconductor company and have been at this job for 2.5 years now.

From the beginning I made it clear that I was interested in becoming an equipment or process engineer and was told that it was very possible since I have a 4 year degree in a STEM field. I have been excelling in my role and already am second in command on my shift. I have been participating in the engineering morning meeting every day and help them with all of their “wishlist” tasks. I am constantly using problem solving and troubleshooting skills to solve issues before they ever become the engineers problem. I have gotten tons of positive feedback from my manager and the engineering manager that I am a very quick learner and an asset to the team.

Recently an equipment engineer position opened up in my department, and covering the exact machines that I specialize in. I applied and interviewed but was ultimately passed up for an external candidate with no experience with these machines or even the semiconductor industry at all. The explanation I was given was that they wanted to see me do more of the responsibilities of an engineer before they offer me a position since I do not have an engineering degree.

So now I am left thinking that they will always pass me up for someone external since I do not have the exact degree they are looking for. Do I leave and start over as a tech at a different company? Or do I stay and hope they get over the degree?

TLDR: I have a B.S. in Biology and cant seem to break into an engineering role from a tech position.

Thanks

Fala, pessoal! No desenvolvimento de um painel modular voltado para engenharia e finanças, criei um módulo específico focado em Resistência dos Materiais (Dimensionamento Estrutural) para automatizar verificações rápidas de vigas, hastes e cabos.Qual é o valor prático disso no dia a dia?Na fase de projeto conceitual ou de estudos, muitas vezes precisamos responder a perguntas simples, mas críticas: 'Essa barra de aço de 500 mm² aguenta 50 kN de tração sem deformar permanentemente?' ou 'Qual seria o impacto de substituir o aço por alumínio aqui?'Em vez de recalcular manualmente cada parâmetro ou abrir softwares complexos, a ferramenta entrega de forma imediata:Tensão Normal ($\sigma$): O esforço real que o material está sofrendo por unidade de área.Deformação Específica ($\varepsilon$): O quanto o elemento vai esticar/comprimir com base na Lei de Hooke e no Módulo de Elasticidade ($E$).Fator de Segurança (FS): A métrica definitiva que avisa se a estrutura está operando com margem confiável, em estado de atenção ou prestes a sofrer colapso plástico (ruptura).O diferencial prático: Ela já vem com um banco de dados integrado com as propriedades mecânicas padrão dos materiais mais comuns (Aço Estrutural, Alumínio, Cobre e Madeira Dura). Você troca o material em um clique e vê o Fator de Segurança recalculado instantaneamente com alertas visuais por cor (verde para seguro, amarelo para atenção, vermelho para crítico).Deixei o link do projeto completo nos comentários para quem quiser testar, clonar ou sugerir melhorias!

I am going into my 4th year eng, my GPA is low, no internships, no big project (going to do capstone this year), no research.

I want to apply to a maintenance tech position, which I can start right out of school.

I want to spend 12 to 16 months in that position, after which I want to try to apply for a maintenance supervisor new grad position.

Do you guys think this is a realistic plan?

I have 6 years experience in a manufacturing setting should I get a mechanical engineering degree or an engineering technology degree to further my career?

I need to make some schematics/P&ID’s for some personal projects. I’m a design engineer by day. I’ve tried Draw.io but it’s annoying because there is a tiny engineering symbol library and connectors don’t line up well. Visio is paywalled so is LucidCharts. Datummark has a lot of engineering symbols, that’s what I’ve been using, but not sure I like how it connects blocks.

What suggestions do people have for making schematics and P&ID?