When I got my first job as an manufacturing engineer, my boss immediately told me to get a subscription to Machine Design Magazine. “Awesome!” I thought to myself, followed by, “I wonder how much that’s gonna cost?”
MatWeb is easily the most comprehensive materials database freely available on the web. When I used to work as a deign engineer I probably went to MatWeb at least a couple times a week.
As of this post, MatWeb has over 77,000 materials in it’s searchable database, and they are all free to access, although there are advanced features (advanced search, side-by-side material comparisons, data download capabilities) that require you to register for a free account. Premium accounts cost $100 per year and give you increased search and comparison functionality and the ability to download materials right into your favorite design software. Read the rest of this entry »
There are a lot of free trade magazines available for engineers and designers. These can be fun to read, and have lots of great pictures to flip through when you’re bored at work. How often do you actually find yourself referencing one of these free magazines, however, when you have a truly complex technical problem that needs solving? Probably never. You search google and you may search some engineering forums, but odds are what you’re looking for is tucked away in an expensive, subscription only, unsearchable academic journal. So how do you find this information? Enter DeepDyve. Read the rest of this entry »
During my first few months as an engineer out of college I designed an assembly that would allow me to tighten a knurled nut, increase friction between multiple surfaces, and ultimately regulate the torque applied between a motor and a shaft. I spent weeks iterating this design and probably a few thousand dollars in machining time before I realized I could buy what I needed for a few hundred dollars from dozens of companies within 50 miles of my plant.
Robotbox is a site to share and collaborate on do-it-yourself robotics projects. I know there are a lot of engineers out there who have half completed projects sitting in a box in the basement or garage.
Check out the top rated projects already in the system.
These holes full of rubble would sure slow me down on the expressway, even if they are a little bit aggressive as a speed deterent. If you hit one of these at more than a a few miles per hour, you would risk breaking an axle, or at least blowing out a few tires.
courtesy: David Yanko of Virtual Saskatchewan
This blog is about “finding better ways to pour coffee.” At the risk of sounding like a bureaucratically-generated cliche, it’s a little like a more focused “think outside the box,” which I hate. Allow me to explain what I mean, starting with a quick story.
Industrial Interface co-founder, Chris Powell, presented to the local San Diego SAMPE chapter. In his presentation he discussed a variety of things that Engineers don’t normally encounter. Read the rest of this entry »
Industrial trade magazines and online content for engineers and designers