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Recommend the best design book or website for the inexperienced MechE 2

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airibreath

airibreath

Mechanical
Nov 27, 2012
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I'm looking for a good website or book that has many examples of design. I want to learn what an experienced machinist might know about how to design rather than the theory of design. I want to see lots and lots of examples of how to design different elements of products and machines.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
 
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I found the book "Vertigungstechnik" by Fritz & Schulze quite useful- lots of *dos* and *don'ts* when it comes to design for manufacture (how to design and what to avoid in, say, welded or bolted constructions, cast, forged or machined parts, &c). I've been told there is an english translation of the book.
 
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Back when drawings were done with pencils Design Graphics textbooks often had a lot of info about shop practices. Sometimes even in a separate chapter towards the back, near the chapter on graphical solutions and nomagraphs.

Lincoln Electric's bargain Design of Weldments has a lot of practical info.

If you are lucky enough to be using a shop within driving or walking distance a face-to-face to review the preliminary design drawings can be most productive and informative. Not all shops do things the same way. There are some genius fabricators out there.
 
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Machinery's Handbook Guide

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"
 
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Well as far as websites there have been many threads on relevant topics here - you may want to look around.

For instance a quick search turned these up: thread404-278305 thread404-163892 thread404-314910

The first one gives links to a couple of fairly good online resources especially has a lot.



Posting guidelines faq731-376 (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​
 
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Give you a good tip, Airibreath. Go to a trade school and take a machinist course.

That's what I did years ago, manual mill and lathe, then CNC programming. A year or two in a shop would further increase your understanding of the trade.

That coupled with your mechanical engineering degree, would make you an attractive candidate in pretty much any industry.

Regards,
Cockroach
 
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Ditto previous suggestion of Machinery's Handbook. It is the bible for any serious machine designer. Not a lot of examples of finished machinery, but more detailed information than you will ever use about machining practices, procedures, and standards. Invest in one now.

Also, get your hands on all the old printed catalogs that you can. Items like cylinders, speed reducers, bearings, conveyors, power transmission devices. Most of the old school catalogs had engineering sections in the back with a lot of good information. And there's just something about a printed paper catalog for general browsing, learning, investigating...

I also learned a lot by studying, IN INTRICATE DETAIL, the drawings done by those that came before. A paper mill I worked at had drawings done in ink on linen from the 1800's. Real pieces of art. Those guys spared no effort to make a clear, easy to understand, fully detailed drawing.

When you're looking at an existing drawing, take some time to study it. Pick some small design detail, like a flange, or a hole, or a finished surface, and just start asking yourself questions - "Why did he do it that way? Wouldn't it have been simpler to do it some other way or not at all? What would happen if he had done it this other way?" Those questions will lead to answers that become lessons. And if you can't figure out the answer, ask someone older.
 
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It may seem these folks are not answering your question but there simply is no text or course that will teach you what you want to know. The subject matter is simply too diverse and dependent on the machining equipment being used. Hands-on experience is the way to go, and if you don't have access to that, take every single opportunity you can to watch, ask questions, and learn about the system. Where I work now we design machined parts and there is not a single manufacturing center in our facility - it's all done by local shops.

When you draw up a part, take time to ponder how it will be manufactured - what kinds of machines will do the work, where will they start cutting from the raw material or casting, what finish operations will be required, etc. Then after your part is reviewed by a manufacturing person follow up with them and let them describe how they would attempt to make it. If possible, go see the manufacturing whenever you get the chance. It's a long, slow process to learn but this subject matter is possibly the most important thing that differentiates a below-average engineer from an excellent engineer. All the calculations in the world will not save you from an overpriced or unmanufacturable design. Some of the very finest engineers I know started out as machinists, no coincidence there.
 
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The best way to learn is when you start designing, makes sure the machinist is part of your approval loop. Trust me, you will get feedback and learn the wrong way and the right way to make the part.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
"People get promoted when they provide value and when they build great relationships"
 
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Tool and die machine shops are always looking for young people to learn the trade. The beauty about tool and die machinists is that they would not get involved in mass production as they would most be involved in one of a kind piece and that's the environment that you should be involved.
 
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I was on the same kind of quest many years ago. Shigley's book is good for theory, but I discovered the working world revolved around practical (and fat) cook-book applications that were more focused on getting the design done rather than being an elegant, optimized design. Machinery's Handbook was one of the best sources for this, IMHO.

Also thought Omer Blodgett's weldments books from Lincoln Electric were some of the best bargains for old school wisdom of weldments etc.

Hit the Carr-Lane (and other tooling components) websites, get the catalogs, and start the journey of discovering exactly what all those little doo-dads are meant to do, and why they are designed that way. I have on my shelf SME's "Handbook of Jig and Fixture Design." Is of some interest, but isn't used much. If you can find a copy to borrow, that would be best.

I saw a lot of examples of equipment design practices by going to trade shows and ASME & SME local chapter meetings and tours. You could make good contacts there, also.

More recently I went on a discovery journey about "precision engineering", or how to design machine components for extreme tolerances. There are a couple books out there on the market, but you could start by websearching for a Ph.D. thesis by Layton Carter Hale entitled "Priciples and Techniques for Designing Precision Machines." This was posted on some government lab or university website for free download and contained a lot of similar info as the two books I purchased on the subject. Exposure to this gives good insight into what is required to attenuate mechanical vibrations for extreme precision devices.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
 
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Suggest you join ASME for they have a virtual library. Once a member you can review the books electronically. If you join IMechE they have three technical libraries that you can download. About 1500 books.

Another benefit of membership is get to go to technical presentations, meet people in industry and even serve on committees. The latter may be later in your career but certainly gets you to the cutting edge of standards.

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
---B.B. King
 
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Years ago I bought a book with title "Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook (2nd Edition) by Nicholas P. Chironis and Neil Sclater".

I found this book pretty useful.

The 5th Edition with Neil as the only author is available from amazon.

 
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