Good books for beginners 1

[HorrorNetwork]

Hello everyone. I'm going to start college real soon and looking to major in mechanical engineering. I was looking online for books on the introduction of the subject and there are many to choose from. Are there any books out there for beginners that this forum recommends? Thanks in advance!

 

[GregLocock]

Yup, read Structures, and the New Science of Strong Materials by JE Gordon. Those books will give you a great grasp of statics and materials, respectively.

Next read Unfair Advantage by Mark Donnelly (?). How an engineer thinks.

Next read Volume 1 of Richard Feynman's lectures. Ignore the tough bits, just try and get a feel for the ideas.

The easiest way to have a smooth learning experience in engineering degrees is to be 100% confident on the maths side. I don't know what level maths you have , or will need in your first couple of years.

The other stumbling block is often thermo. Some familiarity with steam engines and gas engines won't do you any harm.

Good luck








Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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[SomptingGuy]

Don't make the mistake that I made and immediately buy the books your lecturers recommend. I still own some dreadful books that I never should have bought.

I really wish I'd bought this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Thermodynamics-Work-Heat-Transfer/dp/0582045665

instead of whatever dross it was that I bought instead. And once you have one thermo book as a student, it's hard to justify buying another. Specially when there's beer to be drunk.

My Fluids book (Masssey) is still in much better physical condition than it would have been if I ever opened it.

- Steve

 

[SnTMan]

About anything by Henry Petroski.

Not textbooks, but about engineering.

Regards,

Mike

 

[JohnRBaker]

You may wish to review the thread below as many of of us have already answered that same question there:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=305679

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

UG/NX Museum:

http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[Cockroach]

I strongly recommend starting your own library or at least a small collection of "trusted" reference material. Like the old addage, you loose what you don't use. But a good engineer will know where to look!

I have about 3000 textbooks at the moment, moved the library to the basement because of floor structural issues. The idea was to have a very comfortable, accessable, mechanical design library where the company could carry out R&D innovations. Like Intuit, a games room with bean bag chairs were the software engineers could lay back while thinking about a problem.

Works quite well, a good investment. Why not start your own?

Kenneth J Hueston, PEng
Principal
Sturni-Hueston Engineering Inc
Edmonton, Alberta Canada

 

[dhengr]

Certainly hold on to most of your college science and engineering text books. You learned out of them, and they match your class notes and problems sets, and as a first step to a problem they may be the easiest place to start looking. They may not all be the best text, or an advanced text on any given subject, but they are worth more in your library as you move forward, than they are in resale at the end of the class. Even keep your chemistry, physics, math and EE books because from time to time you will have a passing need for their info. I am always amazed at young (any) engineers who sell their reference books in the very areas they intend to practice in.

I second SnTMan’s suggestion of anything by Henry Petroski. Otherwise, any books on ‘why am I am engineer,’ ‘how to engineer things,’ ‘how do mechanical and structural things work,’ etc. You need a strong interest in things structural and mechanical and why and how they work, so work to determine if that is to your liking.

 

[imagitec]

MIT's OpenCourseware site is an incredible resource, especially for prospective engineers like yourself - lecture notes, problem sets, some complete textbooks. The section on Mechanical Engineering:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mechanical-engineering/

Has a course called How & Why Machines Work:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mechanical-engineering/2-000-how-and-why-machines-work-spring-2002/

Which has a lecture called Overview of Mechanical Engineering

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mechanic...02/lecture-notes/lecture3MEoverview_fixed.pdf

How specific is that?

A fantastic resource for my primary field is Precision Machine Design:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mechanical-engineering/2-75-precision-machine-design-fall-2001/

By none other than Alex Slocum, same guy that wrote the $112 book of the same name.

Rob Campbell, PE
Imagitec: Imagination - Expertise - Execution
imagitec.net