(Part 2) Best products from r/engineering

I remember doing 2 years of almost solid maths, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, solids, materials etc. It was so uninspiring that I started teaching myself programming (C++) and playing around with 3d graphics (ah, good old days when Quake was the shit!)
I got good grades, but I was not a model student. So, although my 3rd and 4th year focused on 'mechatronic' subjects, I graduated not really knowing what a transistor was or how to solder anything. I was a decent programmer though.

Luckily, I got a job with a really patient, knowledgeable guy who helped me fill in the gaps. I coded stuff, but he explained how the hardware worked, I sometimes understood (or pretended, and when I couldn't figure it out later we went over it again).

I highly recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Third-Edition/dp/0071771336

So here's what worked for me: (eventually :) )

• Get a practical grasp of basic electronics. Thevenin and Kirchoff and all that are important, but ...
  
• No matter how good the book/teacher, the best way to learn something is to actually DO IT.
  
• Learn C or C++
  
  So, as far as practical stuff goes:
  
  Start basic.
  
  
• Get a LED. Turn it on or off with a switch. Make it brighter. Make it dimmer.
  
• Use a transistor/FET in the switching circuit.
  
• Use a GPIO / micro controller to turn it off and on.
  
• Make it turn on for 1 second, off for 1 second. Repeatedly.
  Bonus
  
• Make the duty cycle dependent on a trimpot / variable resistor
  
  Get More Practical:
  
  
• Get an old printer.
  
• Take the stepper motor out of it. (Don't throw anything else away yet)
  
• Make a circuit to drive the motor from GPIO/ microcontroller
  
• Figure out how to make the motor turn. Both ways.
  
  
  
• Make an assembly where the motor drives a "crane arm". You can make it a rotating crane or a linear crane arm (eg, like how the printer heads move). You may need a gearbox.
  
  
• Hang a small weight (load) on the crane.
  
  
• Figure out how to make the crane move from/to a certain position. With minimal load movement.
  Bonus:
  
• Figure out how to move the crane from/to ANY position with minimal load movement.
  
  Old computer power supplies are great if you are on a budget.
  

Bruhn, Niu, Roark and Niu (again) are the bibles for aerospace structures. Bruhn is always ridiculously expensive but it's hard to beat. Not sure why they won't put another edition out, everyone uses it.

Best way to learn FEA is by doing. Taking a class to understand the theory is very helpful (in my opinion). Gives the user a deeper insight into how the model is working - especially how the nodal DOFs of each type element work. Making models in "one button push" FE packages like Solidworks or ProMechanica is only so helpful. Building the models by hand or creating your own programs is the best way to develop an understanding.

If you are motivated, here is a good class with all the chapters and notes online.

Thanks, if you are really interested in antenna systems, then you should pick up The ARRL Antenna Book. If you want to get your Ham liscense then you should also pick up the License manual as well. I briefly covered the SWR and the Smith Chart in the first videos. It's kind of hard to jump into antenna design without a background in electronics, physics and mathematics, but I'll try to explain everything the best I can. In a nut shell, you want to match the antenna antenna to the transmitter/receiver. For the series I am assuming transmitter/receiver impedance to be 50ohms. The closer the match, the lower the SWR and the more efficient the power transfere becomes. An SWR under 2 is a common goal. SWR is not everything and you'll need to research common geometries when deciding on what type of antenna you want. In order to know what the radiation pattern will look like, you'll need to use NEC antenna modeling software or plot it in a FCC type lab that prevents reflections and interference. Without test equipment or software it's really all about experimenting and what works best for your application, which is totally fine. You can get a general idea of antenna designs online, but unless you used the exact materials and conductor diameter, your performance will differ. The radiation pattern will remain very similar to others you see online so if you make a 1/4 wavelength monopole, the radiation pattern will still look like the one I showed in the video even if you're a little off of optimal performance. I'm trying to keep the videos under 5 minutes so once the videos are all done it might make more sense. After the series is done, I'll do a write-up to fill in all the gaps of information.

Introduction to Robotics: Mechanics and Control by Craig (http://www.ashkanheydarian.com/images/introduction_to_robotics_mechanics_and_control_3rd_edition.pdf)
That will get you a good reference, good explanations of transformation matrices, etc. Examples and exercises use Matlab, which is pretty standard in industry for robot control development, at least in R&D. If you use python instead, its pretty easy to go back and forth.

If you can find a cheap copy of http://www.amazon.com/Ingenious-Mechanisms-Designers-Inventors/dp/0831110848, get it, its a pretty cool book. You can also google things like this, so it isn't essential, just a nice to have. When you are trying to figure out how to get a certain motion, chances are someone has already figured it out and you don't need to re-invent.

It is also essential to understand, on a deep level, how any sensors and A/D hardware you are using works. Always be very careful to make sure you are measuring what you want to measure and what you think you are measuring. I don't have any good books for that, but the interwebs are good for researching sensors and wikipedia's entries on A/D conversion are good.

r/robotics
r/mechatronics
r/mechanicalengineering
r/ECE
r/arduino
etc...

On the home hobby side, you can always get into Arduino and/or raspberry pi projects. There are a ton of kits, open source hardware, and open source software available for both. When you get a job, budget for side projects :)

I am an ME major EE minor and would agree it is a better route to aerospace. But that need not stop you from studying aerospace topics!

I think an awesome space engineering (if you are interested in astronautics) book you can jump into without a lot of heavy pre-requisites is SMAD (http://www.amazon.com/Space-Mission-Engineering-Technology-Library/dp/1881883159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462136211&sr=8-1&keywords=smad). If you are having fun it is easier to learn, rather than trying to plow through a calculus or thermodynamics book. Edit: But get the 3rd edition, not the most recent one.

Other really good options would be to get hands on experience building stuff, programming & wiring arduinos and building stuff at a hackerspace. Building a 3D printer from a kit would be a good starting point.

• Shigley's is my go to for any machine component calculations
  
• Engineering Materials by Budinski is pretty good for material information and selection if you can get how full of themselves the authors are
  
• BASF Design Solutions Guide (PDF link) is a pretty good resource on designing things like snaps, fits, ribs, etc. and other things related to injection molding design.
  
• Machinery's Handbook is just incredibly useful for anything involving fits, threads, etc.

I am a current EE student right now and saw you ask in another comment about book recommendations so I thought I would throw a few in:

• a frequently recommended electronics book is :Art of Electronics
  
• A frequently used (us included) electronics book is Microelectronic Circuits
  
  
• For introductory circuits we use (and i enjoy) : Fundamentals of electric circuits
  
  
• I am hoping to get through : Signal Processing and Linear Systems
  
  
• instead of the above the smartest professor I know recommends anything by : Oppenheim
  
  
• a couple good books for brushing up/learning engineering mathematics: Engineering Mathmatics and Advanced Engineering Mathmatics
  
  
  You should probably throw in some electromagnetic and semiconductor physics for good measure as well.

This bad boy: the [Casio FX-115ES.](http://www.amazon.com/Casio-FX-115ES-Advanced-Scientific-Calculator/dp/B000A3IAHM "shiny") For taking the FE exam in April.

Also: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I already torrented it, but I like to support films like that, because it's fantastic.

The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall through the Floor
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Materials-through-Princeton-Library/dp/0691125481

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

http://www.amazon.com/Structures-Things-Dont-Fall-Down/dp/0306812835/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

Great real world overview of lots of mechanical engineering concepts like stress/strain, how I beams work, how cracks form etc.
Not too theory/equation heavy, very well written. 1960s Era but still pretty relevant.

Stuff Matters is a easy read without all of the calculations, so it's a really go way to learn theory without getting bogged down with math - it's also on Bill Gates book list. Also, this is the only textbook I've ever read cover to cover - my professor was a nut, but we learned a shitload. Good luck, OP!

https://www.amazon.com/Vela-Sciences-Advanced-Hardcover-Notebook/dp/B01M1NWVUS

I havent bought this particular notebook ( i usually get softcover because theyre cheaper) but 144 pages, hardcover, good reviews at $16 seems alright to me. While its obviously not fair to compare a small company like OPs to what is probably some wholesaler on amazon, the difference adds up.

Above is a good book. Our school actually had permission to republish it in a binder.

Personally, I like this and is great for gearbox and shafting design. and is explained more in analytical geometry than Calculus.

https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Elements-Mechanical-Design-4th/dp/0130618853/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481326480&sr=1-3&keywords=robert+mott

Another one that is a staple is this often found used and they sometimes came in 2 books or all in one (one statics one dynamics)
https://www.amazon.com/Vector-Mechanics-Engineers-Statics-Dynamics/dp/0073212229/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481326943&sr=1-1&keywords=beer+and+johnston+statics

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Engineering-Drawing-Specification-Documentation/dp/0080966527/ref=oosr

The above is a good textbook on engineering drawing, it's based on BS8888.

The most important thing is to think about how a component is going to be manufactured. If you have an array of holes for which the location relative to each other is important then position one relative to your datum and then dimension the rest of them relative to that hole.

Take care with running dimensions as you get compound tolerances.

Mitutoyo is absolutely the best, but just in case you want to pickup a few calipers that are very near the same quality at budget pricing, I can highly recommend: iGaging ABSOLUTE ORIGIN 0-6" Digital Electronic Caliper - IP54 Protection / Extreme Accuracy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INL0BTS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_02MAyb2RWWRKM

I have purchased several of these for our engineering department and they are leaps and bounds better than other cheap units. The sliding action is smooth with no slop. The display updates very quickly. Accuracy and repeatability have been tested to be comparable to the Mitutoyos.

If you like this video their is an entire chapter in the book,The Evolution of useful things. There are other chapters dedicated to how the paper clip was made and other such other detritus of modern life.

Yes, spec writing drains me as well. I'd say eat as clean as you can, get sleep, and lift weights.

For references:

https://www.youtube.com/user/CSIConstruction/videos

https://www.amazon.com/CSI-Construction-Specifications-Practice-Guide/dp/0470635207/ref=pd_sbs_14_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0470635207&pd_rd_r=52ef635e-ae7b-4ad4-9009-4112f443f0dc&pd_rd_w=Jon2h&pd_rd_wg=qlFgJ&pf_rd_p=52b7592c-2dc9-4ac6-84d4-4bda6360045e&pf_rd_r=PM032SZDX9VQX3FGZ26A&psc=1&refRID=PM032SZDX9VQX3FGZ26A

in regards to your second link... i would not recommend...it has piss poor reception and the mousepad is not i would call quality, it has tracking issues for sure.

Honestly a Apple Trackpad might not be a bad idea. Just turn sensitivity up so he doesn't have to move his hand very much.

This very question gets asked occasionally on reddit. Out of all the calculators on the list, the Casio fx115 clearly has the most bang for the buck, as well as having a couple of nice features that the others don't have. Even though you aren't going to use the HP, it should nonetheless be noted that the quality with HPs have gone down and the later models can be quite buggy. I think most of the engineering for them got outsourced. BTW, the Casio is a dual solar with battery backup.

I've had good luck with Vela Notebooks, particularly their smaller computation notebook. I also have one of their larger project notebooks which I'm currently using for a study. Not being able to remove pages allows me to maintain a chronological order of my notes, and helps me when I need to find something (a formula, a specific problem with some machine, etc.) quickly.

Some notes about me: I'm still a student at a military academy, so I have to have a notebook of some sort on me pretty much all day. I use the Vela offerings because they are very durable, the paper stands up to fountain pens, and the ink on the page is a nice photocopier-blue.

Maybe this isn't exactly what you were looking for, but I think the notebook route is the way to go!

I took this test (well, I took the paper one, so YMMV). Get the MERM, along with the practice problems/solutions by the same publisher. Get the NCEES practice exam. Get an old edition of Shigley's. Get a thermo book for the tables. Get some sort of HVAC book, and learn how to read those ASHRAE charts.

I went through the MERM, marking useful pages with flags. After each chapter, I went through the sample questions, and flagged the pages in my references that had useful info. The weekend before the test, I barricaded myself in my office to do the practice exam, exam-style; with proper timing and breaks.

Don't forget snacks and earplugs. If the snacks are crinkly, repackage them into a sandwich bag.

Honestly, Google is generally going to be the fastest method for finding information for a given alloy from a list.

If you're having to compare standards (especially international standards) I would highly recommend the Handbook of Comparative World Steel Standards my firm deals with standards and customer specifications from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, so we use this book frequently.

Also, buying a searchable PDF of it makes life so much easier than searching through physical pages of the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Comparative-World-Standards-Publication/dp/0803133626

A distressingly-high ratio of pop psych nonsense suggestions in here. Sticking to engineering, one of my faves is Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down by JE Gordon (and The New Science of Strong Materials by the same author). Does a great job of qualitatively AND quantitatively explaining structures and materials.

The Art of Electronics, 2nd Edition. You can easily find free pdf versions of the book online just by typing "the art of electronics pdf" into google. Or you can purchase the book on sites like amazon for ~$100.

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The best textbooks out there for facilities are the two volume set by Maurice Steward and Ken Arnold.

https://www.amazon.com/Surface-Production-Operations-Handling-Facilities/dp/0750678534/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536008589&sr=8-2&keywords=oil+production+facilities

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Buy this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Engineering-Drawing-Specification-Documentation/dp/0080966527

This is your bible for engineering drawing, a copy of BS 8888 is very useful as well as ISO EN 129.

Does it absolutely HAVE to be a trackball? If a D-pad+software could be better, I could maybe build it out of a USB NES controller. I've already made one just for the sake of doing it, so it would be a piece of cake to make another shell to fit his hand. I know that's wired, but IIRC you can get adapters that can let you use USB stuff remotely (USB->adapter->goes through air->other adapter->USB port on computer).

I just found this too, would that work?

>Harbor Frieght calipers

Whenever I hear/see someone using these, I show this alternative.

They're no B&S or Mitutoyo, but they are soooo much better than those HF jobs while being cheap enough that you can travel with them without (monetary) fear of them getting damaged/lost/confiscated.

Oh crap yeah u right I found this book to be helpful as well https://www.amazon.com/Shigleys-Mechanical-Engineering-Design-McGraw-Hill/dp/0073398209

Anything by Henry Petroski is a good bet, especially The Evolution of Everyday Things.

My husband did his masters in space systems engineering and SMAD was pretty much the bible. Maybe you can find it at a library near you.

Callister is pretty common http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470419970?pc_redir=1408455443&robot_redir=1

This is the textbook I used throughout college and still use today. Talks about all types of mechanical designs, like belts, gears, shafts, welds, lifting lugs, bearings etc etc. I think I'm going to run through the book front to back one more time, I think its a fun book to use. Comes with practice problems so you can put the info to use.

Try ingenious mechanisms
https://www.amazon.com/Ingenious-Mechanisms-Designers-Inventors-Set/dp/0831110848

Also look use NASA Technical Reports Server to look up papers that are available.

There's many good books/papers out there on these kinds of things.

Composite Airframe Structures, Michael Niu

usefulness depends on what industry you're in I suppose.

buy this
http://www.amazon.com/Shigleys-Mechanical-Engineering-Design-McGraw-Hill/dp/0073529281/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415033746&sr=8-1&keywords=mechanical+design

you will probably need it for your design class if you havent taken that already and has a whole thing on gears.

I've got these at work, they lay flat.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00INL0BTS/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1517528088&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Digital+caliper&dpPl=1&dpID=51r2J68iW3L&ref=plSrch

> The New S.M.A.D. (spacecraft mission and design)(for astronautics)

It's called Space Mission Engineering now.

Start reading here.

Pick a project, try it, break it, learn from it, then do it again.

Also, if you need a reference, The Art of Electronics is the bible of electronics.

A book that gets mentioned a lot is Shigley's. It covers the basics of design for a wide variety of mechanical components including gears, shafts, bearings, etc. It also covers stuff like material stress, fatigue, and failure theory. I don't know what you're printing or what is it for, but this should help for anything that's not too complicated.

Here you go:

• Shigley - Mechanical Engineering Design
  
  
• Gere & Timoshenko - Mechanics of Materials
  
  Between those texts, you will have everything you need to know about stress analysis and design in products.