Intro to M.

Eng Midterm Materials

Chapter 1: The Mechanical Engineering Profession

 The word “engineering” comes from the Latin root ingeniere, meaning to design or to
devise, which also forms the basis of the word “ingenious”.

 Engineers apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to research and
develop economical solutions to technical problems.

 At the end of the day, the objective of an engineer is to have built a device that performs
a task that previously couldn’t have been completed or couldn’t have been completed so
accurately, quickly, or safely.

 U.S Department of Labor describes the mechanical engineer profession as follows:

Mechanical engineers research, develop, design, manufacture, and test tools, engines,
machines, and other mechanical devices. They work on power-producing machines such
as electricity-producing generators, IC engines, steam and gas turbines, and jet and
rocket engines.

 Mechanical engineering is one of the largest engineering fields.

 Mechanical Engineering’s Top 10 Achievements:

o Automobile
o Apollo program
o Power generation
o Agricultural mechanization
o Airplane
o Integrate-circuit mass production
o Air conditioning and refrigeration
o Computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology
o Bioengineering
o Codes and standards

 Available opportunities for mechanical engineers:

o Design and analyze any component, material, module, or system for the next
generation of hybrid vehicles
o Design and analyze medical devices, including aids for the disabled, surgical and
diagnostic equipment, prosthetics, and artificial organs
o Design and analyze efficient refrigeration, heating and air-conditioning systems
o Design and analyze the power and heat dissipation systems for any number of
mobile computing and networking devices
o Design and analyze advanced urban transportation and vehicle safety systems
o Design and analyze sustainable forms of energy that are more readily accessible
by nations, states, cities, villages, and people groups
o Design and analyze revolutionary manufacturing equipment and automated
assembly lines for a wide range of consumer products
 o Manage a diverse team of engineers in the development of a global product
platform, identifying customer, market, and product opportunities
o Provide consultant services to any number of industries, including chemical,
plastics, and rubber manufacturing; petroleum and coal production; computer and
electronic products; food and beverage production; printing and publishing;
utilities; and service providers
o Teach mathematics, physics, science, or engineering at the high school, 2-year
college, or 4-year university level

 Some jobs requiring mechanical engineering degree: product engineer, systems engineer,
manufacturing engineer, power engineer, electro-mechanical engineer, mechatronics
engineer, power engineer, etc

 Skills mechanical engineering graduates are expected to have:

o Ability to apply knowledge of maths, science, and engineering
o Ability to design and conduct experiments, and to analyze and interpret data
o Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within
realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical,
health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
o Ability to function of multidisciplinary teams
o Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
o Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
o Ability to communicate effectively
o Understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic,
environmental, and societal context
o Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning
o Knowledge of contemporary issues
o Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for
engineering practice

Chapter 2: Mechanical Design

 Requirements Development:
The system requirements developed by design engineers consider the following issues:
o Functional performance: What the product must accomplish
o Environmental impact: Effects during all phases of production, use, and
retirement
o Manufacturing: Resource and material limitations
o Economic issues: Budget, cost, price, profit
o Ergonomic concerns: Human factors, aesthetics, ease of use
o Global issues: International markets, needs, and opportunities
o Life cycle issues: Use, maintenance, planned obsolescence
o Social factors: Civic, urban, cultural issues

 Conceptual Design:
The process starts by divergent thinking (a diverse set of creative ideas is developed),
once a rich set of concepts has been generated, the process is guided by convergent
thinking (eliminating ideas and converge on the best few concepts with the most
potential to satisfy the requirements).

 Detailed Design:
At this point, the team has defined, innovated, analyzed, and converged its way to the
best concept. However, there are still some issues to be determined:
o Developing product layout and configuration
o Selecting materials for each component
o Addressing design-for-X issues (such as design for reliability, manufacturing,
assembly, variation, costing, recycling)
o Optimizing the final geometry, including appropriate tolerances
o Developing completed digital models of all components and assemblies
o Stimulating the system using digital and mathematical models
o Prototyping and testing critical components and modules
o Developing production plans
 An important general principle in this stage is simplicity. A simpler design concept is
better because fewer things can go wrong. Engineers must also be comfortable with
iterations (the process of making repeated changes and modifications to a design to
improve and perfect it).
Although engineers clearly are concerned with a design’s technical aspects (forces,
materials, fluids, energy, and motion), they also recognize the importance of the products
appearance, ergonomics, and aesthetics. The interface between the user and the hardware
should be comfortable, simple, and intuitive.
Engineers must be very diligent in documenting engineering drawings from the
design process, meeting minutes, and written reports so that others can understand the
reasons behind each of the decisions.
Patents are a key aspect of the business side of engineering because they provide legal
protection for the inventors of a new technology. Patents usually contain 3 components:
The specification, the drawings, and the claims.

 Production
Production process is preferred to be realistic (building something that can actually be
built) and low cost.

 Main classes of manufacturing processes:

o Casting: Process where liquid metal, such as gray iron, aluminum, or bronze, is
poured into a mold, cooled, and solidified.
o Forming: Shaping raw materials by stretching, bending, or compression. This
process takes a large amount of force
o Machining: Process where a sharp metal tool removes material by cutting it. Most
common machining processes are drilling, sawing, milling, and turning.
o Joining: Process to assemble subcomponents into a final product by welding,
soldering, riveting, bolting, or adhesively bonding them.
o Finishing: Treating the components’ surface to make it harder, improve its
appearance, or protect it from the environment. The processes include polishing,
electroplating, anodizing, and painting.

Chapter 3: Technical Problem-Solving and Communication Skills

 To solve technical problems, we must first, approach it. Approaching includes writing a
short summary of the problem, listing the major concepts, assumptions, equations, and
conversion factors that we expect to use.
 Next, we must find the solution. Solutions to engineering analysis problem will generally
include text and diagrams along with your calculations to explain the major steps that are
taken. If possible, include a simplified drawing of the physical system being analyzed,
label the major components, and list the numerical values for the relevant dimensions.
When you substitute a numerical value into an equation, be sure to include the units. A
number without a unit is meaningless and vice versa. At the end of the calculation,
present your answer using the appropriate number of significant digits, but keep more
digits in the intermediate calculations to prevent round-off errors from accumulating.
 Lastly, discussion. Discussion demonstrates the understanding of the assumptions,
equations, and solutions. First, use intuition to determine whether the answer’s order of
magnitude seems reasonable. Second, evaluate your assumptions to make sure they’re
reasonable. Third, identify the major conclusion that is able to be drawn from the
 solution and explain the answer from a physical standpoint. Finally, mark your final
result so that there is no ambiguity about the reported answer.
 Base unit: Fundamental quantity that cannot be broken down further or expressed in
terms of any simpler elements.
 Derived unit: Combinations or groupings of several base units. (Ex: velocity)
 International System of Units:
Quantity SI Base Unit Abbreviation
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance mole mol
Light intensity candela Cd

Quantity SI Derived Unit Abbreviation Definition

Length Micrometer/micron µm 1µm=10-6 m
Volume liter L 1 L = 0.001 m3
Force newton N 1 N = 1(kg · m)/s2
Torque (Moment
newton-meter N·m -
of a force)
Pressure (Stress) pascal Pa 1 Pa = 1N/m2
Energy, work, or
joule J 1J=1N·m
heat
Power watt W 1 W = 1J/s
Temperature degree Celcius ºC ºC = K – 273.15
Although a change in temperature of 1 kelvin equals to a change of 1 degree
Celcius, numerical values are converted using the formula.

 Prefixes (tera-pico)
 Base units in the US

 Significant Digits
Precision: the precision of a number is half as large as the place of the last significant
digit present in the number.