Interview for vibrations position

[floattuber]

It looks like I'm going to have an interview in a couple weeks for a vibrations laboratory engineering position. I've already had a "get to know you" phone interview so I know the basic job description. Currently I'm in a lab position so a lot of my skills will transfer over, but unfortunately I haven't done vibrations since college, 6 years ago. The hiring manager knows all this and knows he'll have to mentor me and bring me up to speed.

The company is a very large corporation so the lab is pretty extensive. They test widgets for aerospace, military, etc, not buildings. I will be the only engineer there, under supervision from the manager, but there are three very experienced technicians.

Does anybody have any advice on what to study in preparation for the interview? I'll be studying up on my dynamics and vibes textbooks, but are there any other books or resources you'd recommend?

 

[KENAT]

I'm not vibe expert but you say the customers are largely aerospace/military. It may pay to at least familiarize yourself with the relevant Mil stds, I think Mil Std 810 is the one. Look at the last 2-3 revs not just the latest. Due the the long development cycles of some kit you may be required to be familiar with older revs. You may be able to acces it online at:

http://assist.daps.dla.mil/online/start/

 

[TPL]

Since you know some background about the job and the nature of the business, you might want to look up websites of suppliers of test equipment and transducers (I would guess B+K, Vibrometer would be a good start) and see if they have any support literature/case histories available that relate to this area of engineering.

You might care to do a little research on data acquisition tools/methodology as well

 

[SomptingGuy]

I agree with TPL. Most of the work is likely to be based around using specialised test equipment (the kind of stuff B+K sell) and processing the results using FFT analysers (B+K, LMS, etc). I doubt there will be much analytical work.

 

[HVACctrl]

Try to look up technical terms and jargon in that field onthe internet. Also, think up ways that your experience does "crossover" to the type of work you will be doing. There are bound to be many areas of crossover and similarity.

Be sure to listen well, have a bunch of well thought out questions prepared and show your eagerness to learn. Personality may be more than half the battle.

Ed

http://www.engineerboards.com

 

[sms]

Data acquisition, signal processing, experimental methods, transducer technology, statistics, would all be good areas to brush up on, but Kenat is right, being up to date on the relevant standards would be a great start.

In addition to B&K's web site, try PCB's (PCB Piezotronics). They make the accels you are likely to be using.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[sms]

Go to the Sound and Vibration website, you can leaf through their back issues and get some perspective...

http://www.sandv.com/

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[floattuber]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the advice. They did mention mil std 810 so I'll try to brush up on that and others.

 

[ctopher]

http://www.endevco.com/resources/tools.php

This is a very specialized field. Know the military specs and materials. Tight tolerancing is a must in a lot of cases.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-27-06)

 

[plasgears]

Get familiar with

f = (K/M)^0.5

where f = freq (rad/sec)
K = spring const (lb/in), eg
M = mass, w/g

This is basic to vibrations. Another topic worth reading about is Karman vortices, the cause of dancing suspension bridges and tall stack vibrations. Marks Hdbk gives a concise discussion on this. Also, get conversant on resonance: natural freq vs. driving freq.

 

[KENAT]

810 is pretty much the bible for military vibration so definitely take a look.

 

[Twoballcane]

Two books that I can recomend is Vibration Analysis for Elctronic Equipment by Steinberg and Vibration Spectrum Analysis by Goldman. The first has great pratical equations and the second has great pratical workings of how to use equipment for vibration.

Good Luck!

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[floattuber]

Anybody have a link where I can get the test specification RTCA Do-160?