If the cooling tower has an integral basin and outlet nozzle, it can be done. Just depends on the type of cooling tower you buy, but this is generally done all the time.
Tables that determine the criticality of a line for pipe stress analysis are highly dependent on industry and even company. I don't think any two engineering companies have the same standard for what get stressed unless they are just copying the PIP standards. And even then, there can be...
I play music through headphones when I am doing low effort tasks like weekly reports or answering general e-mails. But I need silence when I am doing mentally intense tasks. If you can't get them to shut the music off, I would recommend a good set of noise cancelling headphones. My Sony ones...
Thank you everyone for the helpful advice and reminders. Right now I am in tool and template development mode (wrote all my piping specifications, working on drawing and calculation templates, etc.), but when I transition to this full time, I will let everyone know how its going - for good or...
I think a main difference between structural and mechanical here would be the client base. I will be limited to entirely industrial clients, whereas structural can hit inudstrial, commercial, and residential. I know you likely have a subset you serve more directly, but at least there is more...
Q1. What are your expectations in terms of money? Most business dont make money in the first two years (if you are lucky, some take five years). Plan for that.
I expect to be self-supporting out of savings most or all of the first year. Hopefully covering bills by year 2. Profit year 3.
Q2...
So I am very fortunate on the family front. My wife wants me to quit and go all-in yesterday. I am the planner of the two of us.
As for reputation, I have never left a job without them trying to keep me or hire me elsewhere, so I think I am good there. I also keep up with a mix of them every...
So I am friends/acquaintences with a couple mostly retired one-man-bands in my area. There seems to be a market overall, just with some frequent travel which I would expect.
As for my business plan, I have a somewhat two pronged approach. There is the main avenue which I mentioned above -...
Hey folks. This forum has been my favorite for a long time. Ever since I began reading here about 6 years ago, it has inspired me to hang up my own shingle. I really value your opinions on the business of engineering, so I wanted to lay my cards out in the open and get your thoughts on...
Not a lawyer nor an accountant, so take this for what it is.
I think SWComposites is right - "corporation" is a generic term for incorporated entities. I think an LLC would easily fall under that category. But idk if there is something MA specific. In my home state, all laws regarding...
@LittleInch, I think you and I talked about this a while back. Lined pipe in chemical plants is normally a flanged system where the liner is formed over the face of the flange, hence gaskets are often not required. It is limited to 150# systems and a derated 300# system usually (for pressure...
Yes, for just condensation prevention, you can insulate down the trunnion some length. For ice prevention or more severe cold services, you often use a thermal break in the trunnion such as a phenolic block and then you insulate through that block. It also allows a material of construction...
The only PE tank I installed had installation literature similar to the picture above. Hoses for pretty much all connections were required with omega or u-loops. And from chatting with the folks who did the installation, even the nozzles themselves with no connected piping were quite leaky due...
I work for a large EPC firm for context. For our clients, we will transmit any documents that are normally long term maintained (P&IDs, general arrangements, etc.) in PDF and DWG. Its a generally expected requirement due to how these facilities work. Drawings that are purely for construction...
Not much to contribute here myself other than these kinds of threads are why I love this board. I love hearing all your stories on how you started your business or how you are working in it today.
Thank you, OP, for starting another one. I, like you, hope to do similarly one day.
Physically, you can make a shoe or other standard support out of stainless steel and the support itself will be fine. As mentioned above, the problem with doing that is you are creating a fin through your insulation and you are going to get a big ole ball of ice on it. That ice can effectively...
I can't speak from the hiring perspective, but on the flip side I've found LinkedIn to have the most ease of use when searching for a job. It helps to combine networking and job applying all in one place.