Mechanical Definition and 102 Discussions

Mechanical engineering is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems. It is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering branches.Mechanical engineering combines creativity, knowledge and analytical tools to complete the difficult task of shaping an idea into reality.
The mechanical engineering field requires an understanding of core areas including mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, materials science, structural analysis, and electricity. In addition to these core principles, mechanical engineers use tools such as computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and product lifecycle management to design and analyze manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, heating and cooling systems, transport systems, aircraft, watercraft, robotics, medical devices, weapons, and others. It is the branch of engineering that involves the design, production, and operation of machinery.Mechanical engineering emerged as a field during the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 18th century; however, its development can be traced back several thousand years around the world. In the 19th century, developments in physics led to the development of mechanical engineering science. The field has continually evolved to incorporate advancements; today mechanical engineers are pursuing developments in such areas as composites, mechatronics, and nanotechnology. It also overlaps with aerospace engineering, metallurgical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and other engineering disciplines to varying amounts. Mechanical engineers may also work in the field of biomedical engineering, specifically with biomechanics, transport phenomena, biomechatronics, bionanotechnology, and modelling of biological systems.

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  1. kingofjong

    Looking for a manufacturer to build a custom compound bow for me

    Hello I am looking for a manufacturer or mechanic that can build my custom compound bow. It doesn't have to be a big business. I would appreciate any help. Thank you
  2. Engineering77744

    Lift to drag ratio

    Would like help as to the method rather than the answer please. Classes haven't been very clear therefore everything is self taught. Many thanks. ' The Drag polar for an aircraft is given by: CD = 0.025 + 0.08 C^2L What is the maximum Lift to Drag ratio '
  3. timotola

    I Drawbridge falling before caught by rope/cable - Max force

    Hi, I'm currently looking into the forces exerted on a cable if the cable was to go from slack to taut due to a falling object that is pivoted about a lower hinge - such as a drawbridge but instead of slowly lowering, there is slack in the cable causing the bridge to freely rotate about the...
  4. Deepesh

    Mass and vibration frequency

    My query here is, Suppose there is a 2 kg mass To oscillate it/vibrate it, it will take some force and it will have some natural frequency Now I increase the mass to 5 kg so to vibrate it, won't it take more force and so at the end, won't the natural frequency of the object increase? as its more...
  5. M

    Engineering Help with pressure drop/transposing formula to get pipe diameter

    Hello. My attempt at the solution is as follows: l = 160m Q= 300 ls-1 R= p2/p1= 6+1.01/1.01 = 6.94 (2dp) d = Unknown Pressure drop = 0.3 Bar 0.3 = 800*160*300^2/6.94*d^5.31 0.3 = 1.152x10^10/6.94*d^5.31 0.3 ( 6.94*d^5.31) = 1.152x10^10 6.94*d^5.31 = 1.152x10^10/0.3 d^5.31 =...
  6. D

    Engineering Mechanical or electrical?

    Hello, I want to do what a mechanical engineer does but with the electromagnetic force. What should I study mechanical or electrical engineering? An ideal job for me would be designing the magnetic system for motion in a maglev train, for example.
  7. D

    Engineering Mechanical or electrical engineering

    How to know if I’m more inclined towards mechanical or electrical engineering?
  8. ramadhankd

    Shredder Cutting Area Calculation

    Hello everyone, I'm trying to design a plastic shredder machine, but I'm stuck on how to determine the cutting area of my shredder. I've already made some research, and I think that the cutting area depends on the blade thickness and the plastic thickness. As for why the blade thickness is...
  9. s4thishkmr

    How to manufacture this nozzle?

    Hi guys , Need help and suggestion in finding best way to manufacturing this nozzle. Thanks
  10. L

    Gears create more torque? Prove it

    Hi guys, I was sizing up a servo motor the other day and started thinking. While we all know gear ratios will effectively "convert" speed into torque. I couldn't help wondering about the initial starting conditions.. The problem below... Lets say I have a motor with a max load of 1Kg...
  11. S

    Torque required to rotate a hollow cylinder containing chips

    I am designing a prototype to remove cutting oil from waste metal chip during Gun Drilling. My prototype consists of a netted(meshed) metal cylinder rotating horizontally about its axis with help of shaft and a pressurised air blown from above. The metal chips will be put inside netted cylinder...
  12. Justin71

    Screw ball torque

    Hi I don't understand what Fa mean ? This the weight or no ? And i don't understand too why in the torque TL, we have an additional part with the preload, the internal friction coeff of preload nut ... What is it ? Thanks.
  13. T

    Toys, Demos, Gyros, etc.

    Does anyone know of a website that sells mechancial devices that demontrate the principles of mechanical engineering? Dynamics (gyros, etc.), Fluids, Deformation, Heat Transfer, etc? For undergraduates
  14. J

    Meshing & connection issues for a beam/line solid

    I designed two geometries (one for beam/line reinforcements and other second for a solid block shown below) in Ansys workbench spaceclaim for static structural analysis. In Ansys workbench Mechanical, I got a weird mesh for the reinforcements which I modeled as beam in Spaceclaim (shown...
  15. E

    Regulatory bodies for manned submersibles in Canada

    Hey guys, new member here! I am an undergrad engineering student and I am currently working on a project for a course that requires designing a ballast system for a manned submersible and I was wondering... Are there regulatory bodies in Canada that you know of that is responsible for...
  16. S

    Pump selection

    I need to pressurized argon gas from 1 bar pressure to 2 bar pressure. Flow rate outlet is 0.5 LPM. Can anybody suggest me a pump or compressor which is small in size? Minitiarised diaphragm seems good option but is it right one?
  17. JTC

    Best way to learn control theory for mechanical engineers

    Hello, I have begun to teach myself Control Theory. I am looking for a book that is focused for mechanical engineers. I do not mind examples in electrical engineering, but they bore me (no offense). Also, I find some books begin with Laplace Transforms. Yet I found this online lecture...
  18. Jay Macarus

    Tips for someone looking to study MechEngr

    Hello my name is Jay, I recently joined the forums to increase my exposure to physics while I begin a pathway into Mechanical Engineering. I'm currently in some basic courses that should give me a head start come my freshman year this fall, but I wanted to collect some tips/advice. Anything...
  19. Davidkippy

    Aerodynamics course order?

    I'm going to be an aerospace/mechanical engineering student at UAH next year and I am coming up with my four year plan. Two courses, "fundamentals of aerodynamics" and "compressible aerodynamics", are not prerequisites for each other, and they are both required. Based on your experience with...
  20. PeppaPig

    Elastic Collision Problem

    Homework Statement Both object A and B have mass M and are moving. An object with mass of m and moving with velocity u collide with the object B elastically. (m < M) Find the following after m collide with B 1) Velocity of m after bouncing back 2) Velocity of B Then m collide with A and bounce...
  21. F

    Mechanical equivalents of electronic things?

    Only recently, just 2-3 years ago, I discovered Mechanical TV, Mechanical amplifier. I was pleasantly surprised. Mechanical TV was invented by Beard. Mechanical amplifier uses air pump to amplify the sound, completely avoiding any electronics. Also, it seems there exists mechanical frequency...
  22. A

    Electromagnetic Ring Expansion Test

    If my professor tasked me with finding out where to find the materials for setting up an electromagnetic ring expansion test, where is a good place to start? Generally, what is a good procedure to follow when setting up an experiment? I am not very experienced but I would like to learn. The...
  23. A

    What is a thyristor?

    What is a thyristor and how do they work?
  24. EngineerK

    Making Energy Generating Gym Equipment

    Hello Everyone, I am an engineer and I wish to implement a gym system that generates energy from the user. I am originally an electrical engineer by trade, and have limited knowledge in mechanical design. This is why I need your help. My current design follows the outline of a basic cable...
  25. O

    How to optimize this part for production

    I would like to produce the 3mm thick sheet metal steel part shown bellow but I have a few questions. I have my doubts about the whether the bending of the top right part (with the holes) will work. The 5 mm spacing has to be there as the tool will be inserted into a 3 mm surface Feel free...
  26. O

    How to increase the stiffness of a simple structure

    Hello everybody, I am currently working on desinging a tool, and I would like to get your advice on how to increase it's stiffness. The tool will be used for correct positioning of a component. It consists of 2 parts : And
  27. Sanchayan Ghosh

    The principle and mathematics behind Klein's construction?

    Hello, I tried looking this up a lot and just could not find it. For four bar linkage, Klein's construction is used to find velocity and acceleration of piston and connecting rod. Here is a link for the procedure of the same...
  28. Sanchayan Ghosh

    How to further metrology study from machine design approach?

    Hello, I have metrology in my 4 semester in Bachelor's of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. However, the books that we get (Engineering Metrology, R.K Jain,) give only a brief principle of how the instruments work. I want to further my study of this subject with an intention to design...
  29. lawa44

    Direct Stiffness Method for a distributed load

    I'm working on a question which asks to determine the deflection, curvature, forces and moments of a simply supported beam with a distributed load. diagram shown in here http://imgur.com/a/wpI4k Initially, I've done the calculation with 1 plane beam element with 2 nodes. At L = 0 and L = 3...
  30. A

    Engineering Engineering jobs for a naturalized US citizen

    I want to obtain a mechanical engineering degree and work in a respective field in USA. But I will be looking for ME jobs as a naturalized US citizen (I am from Europe, but will soon become US citizen). I heard that it would be harder for me to find a job as any kind of engineer because I...
  31. Septenary

    Engineering Mechanical Engineering with no maths?

    I'm 19 and I have a passion for cars. I'm thinking about pursuing a mechanical engineering degree & possibly creating a company in the future. There's one problem though; I didn't take algebra 2 or any maths after that (I had consumer math in hs). Is the math in mechanical engineering advanced...
  32. D

    Offset Torque Concept

    Hello guys, I am doing some basic design work and can't remember how offset torques work. I am doing the sum of the torques should be equal to 0 in order to find the tipping point around either of the wheels. My problem is with the 1000N applied at to top taking the pivot point around the...
  33. S

    Programs Physics Minor - Course Selection for ME

    Hello! I'm a Mechanical Engineering major considering a minor in Applied Physics; however, there are so many choices and I like all of them. I was hoping someone could give me some feedback. Perhaps, what physics courses are most relevant for a Mechanical Engineer. In my university, New Jersey...
  34. E

    How to Calculate Drag Load of Sticker on Fast Moving Vehicle

    Hi Great Engineers, Need you help. I am required to calculate drag load on sticker to ensure it is not peeling off in operation. The vehicle may moves as fast as 220 km/hr with rectangular sticker size of 30 cm x 40 cm, thickness 0.0635 mm on its body. Wind direction is parallel to 40 cm length...
  35. A

    Congratulations Mechanical Engineers

    People spend so much time drooling over the millions or even billions made by software tycoons and their sometimes very crappy software, that we may forget about the tangible accomplishments of mechanical engineers. Here is a beautiful example. Do you have more...
  36. UMath1

    Engineering Electrical vs Mechanical Engineering: Jobs, Demand, Roles

    I am a high school senior debating between these two majors. In high school, I enjoyed both Mechanics and E&M very much so its really tough for me to decide which of the two engineering fields I'll like more. Whichever field I pick, I am also planning to minor or double in Physics and Computer...
  37. V

    Mathematical Base for a mechanical engineering undergraduate

    Hello PF friends, My name is Visakhan,and I'm presently pursuing my BE in Mechanical Engineering in India. 3/4 way through the course now,But I feel unsatisfied with my grasp of mathematics and programming. I scored marks and passed the examinations,but i don't get that feeling of satisfaction...
  38. T

    Engineering Transferable skills and the industries for engineers?

    Hello everyone, I want to give some brief background info about myself before asking; I am a junior/senior undergraduate living in Southern California studying mechanical engineering, and leaning towards the thermo/fluids side of mechanical engineering. However, when it comes to "my true...
  39. G

    System simplification through state space

    Hi guys! I study Electrical Engineering and, don't-know-why, I don't know anything about state space. Now I'm working on a project where I have a non-linear system. The first task in the project is to separate the linear and the non-linear part of this system, and then obtain the state space...
  40. Z

    Programs 2nd year student can't decide between engineering and physics

    I have been struggling to make this decision for the past year. I am a straight A 2nd/3rd year mechanical engineering student and I really can't decide between engineering and physics. My whole life I have always wondered about the universe, and why things work the way they do. I am way more...
  41. FQVBSina

    Pressure and flow speed relationship in wind tunnel

    I need 250 m/s of airflow speed in a wind tunnel. I can assume for this purpose, the test section of the wind tunnel has uniform flow. However, the wind tunnel can only generate a flow rate of 100 m/s but the pressure can be increased. I am drawing a blank on how could a generic boundary layer...
  42. T

    How to tell if a spring is fatigue, creep or degrade?

    I'm doing some spring endurance test. If the spring is exceeding its cycles limit and causes fatigue failure, how normally the spring constant changes? For example, after the expected limit cycles (lets say 2million load-unload cycles), will the spring constant gradually decreases? or...
  43. M

    A gyroscope as weight for a lever

    if i got a beam of 40 meters and one side (35m) is 12 metric ton how do i calculate the forces on the gyroscope. I tried to caclutate it but i just get a torque and a angular momentum, how do i converted torque and angelur momenten in Netwons?
  44. Z

    Programs Best minor for a Mechanical Engineering student?

    At the university I'm planning on transferring to in a year I pretty much have to take a bunch of technical electives which can come from any STEM department. For example, I could take a bunch of theoretical physics classes that will count towards my degree or I can take more ME classes that...
  45. Divya Shyam Singh

    Why is the addendum of the gear kept equal to the module?

    In general calculations of gear design, addendum is taken as a factor of the module of the gear such as equal to module or 0.8 times the module and dedendum is taken as 1.25 times the module. Why are both these defined in terms of module? How did we reach to this conclusion?
  46. Rajesh Shirsagar

    What is mechanical testing?

    Is there any importance of mechanical testing ? and what are the types of mechanical testing?
  47. Divya Shyam Singh

    Is there a tutorial series for LMS imagine.lab amesim 14?

    I needed to learn LMS imagine lab 14 software but I cannot find any tutorial video on youtube which explains everything from the scratch. Please help me out..
  48. P

    Verify Sol. of an Dynamic Problem with 2 Wheels

    1. The problem is the following: Starting from stillness @ t = 0, we are looking for the acceleration @T=0 of the 2 wheels (rolling without slip, in particular in point P4 we have a gear wheel contact so we can have that the reaction R2y of the plane could be also in direction y2, in this case...
  49. S

    Transmission of mechanical wave on two different ropes

    Homework Statement Two infinite ropes, rope 1 and rope 2, of same linear density ##\mu=0.1 kg/m## have the same tension ##T=100N## and lie on the same plane, one perpendicular to the other. The two ropes are connected in the origin. On one of the two branches of rope 1 an harmonic wave is...
  50. martinbandung

    B Analysis Of Stilts Movement Research

    Hello all, I'm planning to do a research about stilts movement. I chose it because stilt is a traditional game in my country. In my plan, i want to analyze the velocity of the walker, the frequency of stilts, and the length of steps. I need some other idea to be added to my research. Such as the...
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