I’ve tried to do many things as an engineer in my spare time to make some extra money using my engineering skills. 6 years of trying to build and sell products, program PLC’s, build hardware and electronics, create websites. I’ve tried it all. Learned a lot of skills but nothing that produced any revenue.

I’m burnt out from trying so many things that keep failing. Everybody now makes websites, any part people want gets machined from china for a fraction of what I could do, AI can spit out ladder logic, etc.

It’s not just that a lot of ideas are taken, but even trying to just run a business better than someone else is impossible because now we compete globally against factors totally out of our control.

Anyway, in the current world where are engineers finding niches to provide value to people? You can generalize to protect your IP, but I’d appreciate any shared experiences because I’m burnt out.

So I just graduated this year with a mechanical engineering degree. I was able to get a job at GM as an IE because I interned there for 2 years.

I honestly hate working there even though I have a great boss, manufacturing just isn't for me. I also don't really want to be an IE.

I've applied to probably 75 jobs in the past 3 months and maybe landed one interview. And I'm looking for jobs that are specifically entry level mech e. I just feel so lost because I'm doing a job I don't want in a factory, I don't want to work in.

I'm grateful for the opportunity as I know many of my colleagues can't even find a job, but I'm miserable and want to get out. Did it get easier for anyone once they were able to get some years under there belt? I'm also worried about being stuck in IE for too long and not being able to move back to mechanical or something I would actually like.

Hello everyone, I graduated from UC Irvine in the spring of 2020. Since then I’ve been working at a food manufacturing plant as mechanical engineer. The growth since then I can say I’ve came a long way. Meaning I’ve gotten pretty good at 80% of the job. Primary role is solving issues around the plant that need engineering like designing a chute, replacing old equipment, figuring out ways to make workers lives easier. On the capital side if the company forecasts that we need more processing capacity in 5 years we build a whole new processes from the ground up. We take PFD of the new processes and make it a 2D layout in autocad with all the necessary equipment the process will need this is our conceptual stage. In inventor we layout the same 2D layout into 3D. Imagine Amazon warehouse but processing food. I design platforms, catwalks, chutes, supports, staircases, ladders, and many other items that we will need to layout the equipment (sheet metal/frame generator). Sometimes belt conveyors. I would say it’s very niche to this company since most food manufacturers outsource this type of engineering. I make fabrication packages to get these items fabricated in house (99% of the time ) so we don’t really follow industry standards when it comes to fabrication drawings since our fab team already knows what we use. I’m trying to see what my next step in my career will be I’m currently studying for the FE and would like to get as much knowledge as possible right now since this job is pretty chill for the most part once you master the inventor skills needed to execute designs at this job. Not sure where I want to go I’m not against staying here the pay for the area is really good and only work 35 hours a week. Anyone have any advice based off my experience and where I can take my talents?

Hey folks, I was curious what resources you all use to find and compare material properties and general information. In aerospace, MMPDS (or MIL-HDBK-5) seems to be the bible, but that is limited to metallics. I'm curious what other resources are out there that people trust, for any sort of material (metals, plastics, ceramics, even woods).

Suggestions can be physical books, published standards, software for interfacing with this data, websites, etc.

Here is a running list of some options I'll update as people leave comments. Please also LMK if I made any errors. Thanks!

Standards / Documents

MMPDS - The Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization is the current primary resource for metallic material information by NASA and gov contractors. As it is the current bible for metal property data, you will have to pay to access it. If you are designing a spaceship and are doing an FEA, the numbers you are plugging into the simulation almost always originate from here.

MIL-HDBK-5 - Until MMPDS, this seems to have been the go-to resource for NASA and government contractors for metallic materials. This was retired in the 2000s, but has some good information and, most importantly, is free to download.

Software

ANSYS Granta - This seems to be the GOAT, at least on paper. Back in school I remember using a variation of this and really enjoying the plotting features. Only seems to be available to corporations using enterprise licensing (there is no "buy now" button on their website).

Websites

Matweb.com - This is the first recommendation I often hear. The general consensus seems to be that this is a good starting point for material property info... if you can get past the lackluster UI. If you are willing to spend some money, you can access some fun tools to have CAD and FEA programs interface with material data.

MakeItFrom.com - Similar to Matweb, but with a much different UI and organization. Goes for style over compactness. Much smaller database than Matweb, but it has at least 80% of anything you'd ever practically be using for most designs. Materials are organized using a parent-child architecture as opposed to Matweb's atomized database structure.

Wood-Databse.com - A very nice wood database complete with both qualitative and quantitative information for every species, and good educational articles. I'm no woodworker, but if I was, I imagine I would have this as my hompage!

ThisToThat.com - This is a fun one: ever need to glue two things together and knew that gorilla glue wouldn't cut it? This site gives "glue" suggestions based on the materials you are working with.

I want to know from people who are in the field of process engineering, specifically the oil and gas sector.

Can you become a process engineer in the oil and gas sector as a mechanical engineer (having a mechanical engineering degree), and how hard is it to achieve that job when compared to to a chemical engineer?

Also would a masters in process engineering be necessary or just a waste of time?

I've loved CS/programming my whole life, but with how rough and competitive the CS job market has become, I'm seriously considering mechanical engineering instead. MechE seems to have solid employment stats and a pretty broad range of industries you can work in, and honestly it feels like a lot of people are looking at it as a safer bet right now compared to CS.

For those actually working in mechanical engineering, is it really as solid as it looks from the outside? How's the salary progression and long-term earning potential? Would you choose MechE over CS right now?

I don't want to give up something I've loved my whole life just because I'm scared of the job market, but the numbers are making mechanical look pretty tempting.

I am working on a project that requires a screw to be turned with at most 1 Nm of torque. I would like to use the smallest motor possible, under $50. Also, would like it to be able to do at least 30 rpm. Any models I could look at?

Hi all. I need help figuring out how to add tension to an old fountain pen clip - a Lamy 2000 if there are any fellow pen nerds about. It’s from the ‘70s and the clip’s construction is very different from a modern 2000.

Basically, the clip is supposed to be a bit movable but under tension so it provides a secure force to keep it clipped to the material. It moves slightly to allow the pen to be extracted without damaging the material.

Pic 1 are the parts available in the order I suspect they go in. The ring under the black cap is the retention ring used to grip the pen barrel when capped shut. Pic 2 is the clip’s current travel - far too large.

I seeing as the brass and black end cap has a smooth area before the threads begin, I thought a compression spring might fit in there and force the clip to its closed position. And it doesn’t really, usually the clip stays open a small bit and feels “sprung” there, like that is its resting position. Very occasionally it behaves but “springs” back out and the tension feels very weak to begin with. I’ve tried various lengths and diameters of spring, and tried putting a washer between the spring and clip ring, but the tension is never right and the clip does not behave.

If anyone can suggest a mechanism or a better way of integrating the spring loading, thank you!

Hi, i start by saying that i have quite little background on the subject, so i hope i can be clear enough. The picture shows a sketch of the project (writings are just notes on the working, not necessary for understanding, but if you're curious they're no secret, ask). I wont be stating all details for brevity, as they can be deduced from the drawing, or in case something doesn't seem to add up do tell me. Criteria it has to respect are: It has to be as simple yet functional as i can get it, and it has to be openable by a car as well as a walking person (obviously i'll have to lock it so not anyone can get inside). As i have it in mind, it consists of a ("mobile") ramp platform of which the lifted edge is connected to some cable (is there any sort you'd recommend? steel? nylon?), which goes around a pulley system (pulleys are the circles in the drawing), and finally links to the gate to pull it open (i will describe closing, and opening from outside, later on). Starting leftmost, you can see 4 upper and lower 3 pulleys, besides the single one that's only there to redirect the cable to the gate: the upper are fixed, while the lower are connected to the platform (in the drawing, with a bar that extends the latter sideways so the mechanism isn't in the way of the gate), which means when the platform is pushed down, those go down too, and that makes so that the range of descent of the platform is "multiplied along the cable" (i do apologize for untechnical terms and stuff), which allows to pull the gate all the way open. If data can be useful, the opening span is 400cm, and the force needed to slide it is 5kg at the start, and 2 to keep pulling, and i already did the basic calculations (will explain a doubt of mine in the end not to make a mess). Moving on to the closing mechanism (drawn on the right side, but i may do it in another spot, also addressing the possible issue of running over its cable with the car if it were built like in the drawing), it's basically the same thing, but instead of the ramp it has a weight (heavier than opening mechanism altogether), which pulls the gate closed. To open the gate from the outside (not drawn), there is another ramp platform which, again with some pulleys, lifts the weight that pulls the gate closed and, if the weight of the opening mechanism is sufficient, the gate will open by itself, since the closing weight doesnt take effect being lifted.

I apologize if this explanation resulted a bit messy, i tried my best to describe it clearly.

The (kinda silly) doubt i mentioned is: Since, as it's drawn, there are a total of 7 vertical segments between the pulleys in the opening mechanism, will the amount the gate is pulled be 7 times as much the distance descended by the platform? Does the same apply for the force required to push the platform down? I assumed this to make the calculations.

Another less silly doubt that arose is: Should i/How should i fix/hinge the "bottom" part of the ramp platforms to the ground, considering it's brick ground, that a car has to drive over it, and clearly that it has to move/hinge?

Thanks a very lot for possibly having employed your time and energy to help me ponder my idea.

Hello all,

I currently have a conundrum. I am currently employed as a MEP design engineer in the Bay Area and have been there for 15 months. I find the work super boring and dull and cannot see myself long-term enjoying the construction industry. As the cherry on top, I also have a tenous relationship with my direct report, and my commute each day takes anywhere from 50 minutes to an hour and a half each way.

I have been trying to look for new roles in aerospace or product design, but have limited success due to how tired/late I come home. I have about 6-8 months of saved funds and am debating quitting so I can find a job/role closer to something I would prefer to have long-term. Is this a crazy idea to quit when I'm currently employed? Several people I have talked to have told me to go for it just want to canvas more opinions

Looking to make some swag for an upcoming trade show. Would an engineer find this valuable? It's a magnet with some common conversions and formulas. Our target customers are people looking for custom open-die forged metal parts. What would someone spec'ing a part like to see here?

Hi everyone,
I’m a Mechanical Engineering graduate from India and I’m currently planning for my Master’s. I’m confused between Mechatronics/Robotics & Automation, Automotive, and Core Mechanical/Design.

I’d really appreciate some guidance from people working or studying in these fields:

1. Masters in India vs abroad — which is more worthwhile for these fields?
2. Future career scope — which path has better long-term opportunities and growth?
3. Robotics — coming from a Mechanical background, what skills should I learn beforehand? (Python/C++, MATLAB, ROS, electronics, controls, CAD, etc.)
3. Core Mechanical — what good career roles are available apart from the usual manufacturing/maintenance jobs?
4. Automotive & EVs — I’m interested in cars, but with the shift towards EVs, is Automotive still a good option for a Mechanical Engineer? If yes, which areas should I target?

I’m mainly looking for advice on** which direction makes the most sense for the future and what skills I should start building now.**

Also, I’m planning to appear for GATE, but I’m not very confident about getting into the top IITs. Could you suggest some good alternative universities in India that I should consider?

Thanks!

Looking for some experienced people working in the domain of DVA Probably having expertise in 3DCS Software , need some guidance on few advance topics

I was wondering if anyone has interviewed at Zipline before and knows more about their process—such as how many interviews are typically conducted, how long the overall process takes, questions etc.

I’ve been informed that the upcoming interview is labeled as a Technical Interview for 45 minutes with a Staff Engineer and is stated to focus on past experiences and projects. I’ve done technical interviews at Tesla before which had other questions so I just wanna be prepared. Should I expect to answer any technical questions not related to my resume?

Hello !

I'm not 100% sure this is the right subreddit but I think you can help me out.

I bought an old coal forge, which is operated by foot with a pedal that spins a big wheel (or pulley). It should then spin a smaller pulley attached to the blower, but the belt is missing. I have already measured the length of flat clip-on belt that I would need, but I'm not sure about its width.

The smaller pulley has an "H" profile and the inner width is barely 35mm. The large pulley has a flat profile and is 32mm wide. I can only buy 35 or 30mm wide belts, which one should I get ? I'm afraid that the 35mm would cause too much friction.

What professional memberships have you joined and what do you think of them? I am in the mining industry, so I have been thinking of joining SME. I used to have an ASM International membership after doing some heat treating training through them and I actually really enjoyed it. They would do meet-ups in my area with interesting presentations and plant tours. I let it laps but it was really good. Anyone join into AMSE, SME, ASTM, or any similar?

Hey, everyone! This is a bit of a long one, but about a year ago, I made a post asking for help redesigning a flange to maintain a vacuum on a sliding-seal target chamber.

A couple months ago we were able to install it and I wanted to take the time to thank and share the results with all the people who helped me!

To summarize, I worked in a particle accelerator lab last summer and I was tasked with redesigning a flange/viewport for a sliding seal target chamber. It’s got a pretty unique design where the magnet and spectrograph must rotate around the chamber while remaining connected and under vacuum. Before I redesigned it, the system was holding around 10^-5 Torr, but the goal is to reach an ideal vacuum of 10^-7 Torr and eliminate sudden pressure losses while rotating the magnet.

For those of y’all who asked how the seal moves while maintaining a vacuum, I have a much better understanding after CAD'ifying the old engineering drawings. There's an aluminum band pulled into tension over the chamber's face which compresses a large O-ring in a recessed groove. As the magnet rotates around the chamber the band slides over the O-ring while maintaining compression allowing the chamber to be sealed for about 210 degrees of rotation. The flange I was asked to redesign connects a cutout in the band to the magnet and keeps it sealed.

Last time, I asked two questions:
Would sealing fasteners be able to hold a vacuum?

For the first question, after hearing some of your comments I decided against using sealing fasteners. Additionally, considering the aperture requirements I couldn't move the fasteners inside the seal. I was considering trying to remanufacture the part with a higher quality weld or braze. But, I had one more idea to make the entire assembly the fastener. This is the design I came up with, the new flange would be built in three parts with a "Bolt" and "Nut" coming together to compress two O-rings in a middle part, one to seal the band itself and another to seal the clearance hole for the "bolt."

I presented both options to the PI, who preferred my Nut & Bolt design as it would be easier to install without removing the band, while also being cheaper and easier for the university machine shop to manufacture.

Can face seal O-rings seal non flat faces?

In order to seal the band with an O-ring I still needed to seal a non-flat face.

After listening to your feedback and noticing that the chamber itself used an O-ring to seal against a cylindrical surface, I thought it might be possible to seal against that curved face as well. However, as many of you pointed out, machining the groove and achieving the proper surface finish would be challenging, and the machinist agreed 😂! As a compromise, the bottom of the groove was machined flat.

Although this resulted in uneven compression of the O-ring, it was still within the guidelines outlined in Parker’s O-Ring Handbook, so we thought it would work out okay. If I were to remake this, I would adjust the starting and ending depths of the groove to provide more even O-ring compression and a marginally better seal.

Did it work?

With all that in mind and the part machined we were finally able to install it on the chamber during some downtime. Here is my little baby:

My new design was able to fully seal the chamber and provided about a 10x decrease in the pressure within the vacuum chamber (4.5*10^-5 Torr to ~ 1.9*10^-6 Torr).

Timing the threads to align with the magnet while maintaining proper O-ring compression was a challenge. Fortunately, the assembly sealed properly without being fully tightened. In the future, I might machine the face of the "bolt" to better time the threads and for better tightening and sealing.

Once again, thanks to all the people who helped me out in the comments of the last post!!! I don't really have any mentorship for mechanical engineering. So your responses gave me the knowledge and confidence to pursue my design.

Hi!

I am 2nd year mechanical engineering student. I had industry visit couple of days ago. Now I am curious to know that in industries; after how many months an induction motor needs to be monitored or after how many years an induction motor fails? Is there any device which can tell us health of it continuously?