Engineering / education advice

[jhelgesen]

Things are going great at my new job, boss loves the work I'm doing. Told me they don't want me going anywhere. Having the where do you want your career to go in the next few years talks this month.

I'm doing plastic and metallic part design and project management for an appliance manufacturer.

He would like me to learn more about formal design calculations and FEA/stress analysis for the project we're working on. My background has been more in design, so calculations have never been part of my duties. I've always had a good idea of good and bad structures, so he would like me to be able to back them up with some numbers.

Where should I go, what should I do to learn more on part and structure design. There aren't any engineering schools close by, so going back to college is out of the question. Know any on-line courses, self study or reference books out there? Any Engineering for dummies books?

Thanks!

[onewhippedpuppy]

By nothing nearby, do you mean no engineering specific schools? Sounds like you need a mechanics of materials class, any school that offers an engineering curriculum should offer it. Are there any public universities nearby? It doesn't have to be MIT for you to learn the basics of structural analysis. I think that kind of class would be a challenge online, and this is coming from someone that has taken multiple online courses.

[IROC]

Believe it or not, I use my Shigley and Mitchell's "Mechanical Engineering Design" and my statics & dynamics textbooks from college. I have them right here at my desk and use them often. These will get you probably 90% of the theory and practical knowledge that you need to do the analyses. IMO, most of the neat tools out there (NASTRAN, etc) are cool but you really need to understand the fundamentals of analysis to really utilize the tools.

One idea...

Mike

[onewhippedpuppy]

Good point Mike. Check out books by Hibbeler, they've been the most straight forward of all the engineering books I've had thus far for school.

[IROC]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Good point Mike. Check out books by Hibbeler, they've been the most straight forward of all the engineering books I've had thus far for school.

Yep, my "Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics" book is by Hibbeler. 3rd edition - copyright 1983! :>)

Stangely, if you're really creative and can make some simplifying (conservative) assumptions, you can analyze most things using 2 or 3 equations. I use sigma = F/A, sigma = Mc/I and tau = V/A (or 4V/3A) for alot of simple analyses. Throw in some Euler/Johnson column equations and you can do alot.

These three equations and the shear, moment and deflection equations for beams in the back of Shigley's will get you a long way.

Mike

[stevepaa]

Sorry, but you will need several courses just to start to understand FEA/stress. And then you will need to know when the code is giving back an unreal answer. If your boss really wants FEA, he will have to pay for it. Far easier than you trying to become FEA expert.

[TerryBPP]

Originally posted by IROC
Yep, my "Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics" book is by Hibbeler. 3rd edition - copyright 1983! :>)

Stangely, if you're really creative and can make some simplifying (conservative) assumptions, you can analyze most things using 2 or 3 equations. I use sigma = F/A, sigma = Mc/I and tau = V/A (or 4V/3A) for alot of simple analyses. Throw in some Euler/Johnson column equations and you can do alot.

These three equations and the shear, moment and deflection equations for beams in the back of Shigley's will get you a long way.

Mike

I used his book 4 yrs ago at FSU! Just sold it for $80. By far the most mind numbing thing I have ever read. He assume you are a pro and every type of differential equation and skips all those steps. Over my head so I was happy with a nice C in the class. Also made me commit to being a CE instead of a ME.

[vash]

i agree. before you use all those equations, you still need to look at the forces and draw all those freebody diagrams. you will need some training to learn where all the equations are coming from. i would kill to go back to college! my answer is the same as steve's.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by vash
i agree. before you use all those equations, you still need to look at the forces and draw all those freebody diagrams. you will need some training to learn where all the equations are coming from. i would kill to go back to college! my answer is the same as steve's.

Wanna trade me spots? I'd kill to be done!

[vash]

enjoy it while you can grasshopper. engineering gets alot less fun on the outside. the paycheck is nice though.

[masraum]

You guys make it sound so fun. I went to school for an EE years ago, but never finished. Now nearly 15 years later I'm going back, but this time for an ME.

[vash]

i have been kicking the idea of going for my ME too.

you students, have fun! "my poor dear aunt sally......"

[MotoSook]

Interesting. I kept all my engineering and physics text books from college with the intention of MAKING my children learn the the content before I send them to college Punishment with college text books (evil grin)


...statics, dynamics and material science seems to be where you are headed. Engineers are born IMO, but I believe you CAN train yourself to be an engineer. I know a lot of engineers and had a lot of friends in engineering school that were not born to be engineers...some of those guys are probably better doing something else, but yet they are engineers. The point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to understand the the entire range of engineering to be a useful engineer. If your job (John) is to determine or validate form and structural designs from an engineering perspective, you can train yourself.

You will need to start with some basic statics. You can pick up some used statics and dynamics books and start reading. Some freshman or sophomore level physics books are good too. They will cover mechanics on a lower level. Start there. You need to understand the fundamentals before you start cracking the topic specific books.

In engineering school we went through that same process. You don't want to get ahead of yourself and over look anything. A good engineer needs to consider all the parameters, and it may be difficult to so without understanding the fundamentals. The lower level physics books will help there.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the basics, then you can hit the "big" books. You will learn and appreciate the higher level concepts and designs easier. Most higher level books will touch on the basics at the beginning, but IMO those sections should only serve to refresh the memory for those who had already learned the concepts.

So! Get yourself a physics book, then a statics and dynamics book (or books as the two are generally taugh separately) and finally a material science book.

Visit or have someone you know visit a college book store and buy some used books. You'll probably spend a couple hundred dollars, even for used books! (rememeber the expensive engineering books, guys?)

Most text books have an accompanying solutions guide. Get that too. It will help you with the problems. You have to perform calculations and go through the problems yourself. You can't start to think like an engineer until you have gone through the thinking process required to solve the problems. Engineering is more problem solving than anything else. Creativity is also critical, but not knowing the problems one might encounter in a creative design can lead to expensive solutions...or rather mistakes.

Onces you start to understand engineering concepts and start to think like an engineer, FEA will be a powerful tool! Since you already have that at your disposal (I've seen some of your designs and they can easily be imported into an FEA program for cruching), you should learn faster than the average engineering student. I had a difficult time with some concepts, but after college and after having experienced the real world, a lot of the concepts were much easier to understand. They "clicked!"

You're in a good environment at your current job to teach yourself enough engineering...and do it fairly easily. You have to be dedicated as the books will bore you. Use what you have available (software at work) to make learning fun. Try to solve the problems or at least see the results using your programs to illustrate the lessons.

In engineering school, it was always difficult for me to see the results because I couldn't see it in the real world. Some of the most successful students seemed to absorb the lessons without questioning the application. They just took the lesson for what it was and were content with arriving at the correct answers to problems. It's sort of like faith. I'm not too keen on faith , but the lessons, once I found the application for it in my head, were better engrained, and so they became a part of my problem solving skill set....experience without the experience you might say.

There! Just some misc. ramblings to get you thinking.

[MotoSook]

Terry..when did you graduate from FSU? (I went there to finish the ME degree I started at the U of Illinois..after I got my first degree which I changed to there because engineering bored the piss out of me )


Engineering in the real world can be fun too..yes I'm a geek. But really, it can be a pretty easy job once you understand what you are doing. It's like playing god in your field , and it's fun because what comes so easily for you is like a mental mountain climb for some...makes you smile to think what you do in your sleep and get paid well for is so confusing to the "mere mortals." LOL!!!

[MotoSook]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Wanna trade me spots? I'd kill to be done!

When the stress of a demanding engineering job and the stress of real life responsibilites get to you...you too will wish you were back in school


I wish I was back in school sometimes...but then I remember the debts and the stress of meeting the rent as a self supporting college student...and then I remember how nice it is to get a check for doing the stuff I did when I was in school. It's a terrible "the grass is always greener" situ. Just enjoy it Matt. It's hard to go back to being a college student! Ramon noodles taste much better when you choose to eat it in the real world

[vash]

honestly, i think the next REAL fun i have in engineering will be when i over-engineer my home remodel. i want to ride out the next earthquake in style. but souk is right, except for the god complex that i dont have, my job is pretty cool. love spending the money. right now i have 200k for a small project to play with.

[TerryBPP]

Originally posted by Souk
Terry..when did you graduate from FSU? (I went there to finish the ME degree I started at the U of Illinois..after I got my first degree which I changed to there because engineering bored the piss out of me )


Engineering in the real world can be fun too..yes I'm a geek. But really, it can be a pretty easy job once you understand what you are doing. It's like playing god in your field , and it's fun because what comes so easily for you is like a mental mountain climb for some...makes you smile to think what you do in your sleep and get paid well for is so confusing to the "mere mortals." LOL!!!

Actually I went to FSU from 1997 to 2000 then moved to Boca Raton where I graduated from FAU in 2001. Hard to turn down a job that pays for the rest of your schooling %100. Plus it was very hard to stay focused up there (you know what I'm talking about).

[MotoSook]

Originally posted by TerryBPP
(you know what I'm talking about).

Indeed I do

We may have crossed paths...

[einreb]

M.I.T.'s coursework is available online. Lectures, homework etcetera. Here's the mechanical engineering section...

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mechanical-Engineering/index.htm

I can't imagine the kind of personal discipline it would take to teach yourself the fundamentals required to have a good grasp of F.E.A. You need some decent calc, difi q's, physics, statics, dynamics and materials coursework under your belt. I seem to recall that my F.E.A. coursework was in my junior year.

-Bernie, P.E.

[M.D. Holloway]

You can do it on-line through UMass and Colorado as well. Duke has been doing a great deal on-line but that might be a tough pass if your boss is from UNC!