Hi all, I'm a transportation engineer focusing on highway design. However, I'm interested in multimodal design. Do yall know any good resources on things like rail, pedestrian facilities, bike facilities, and bus facilities? Also I feel like my understanding of qeuing analysis isn't as deep as I'd like it to be, do yall know any good resources on that?

Is there a calculation that will allow me to estimate the airflow needed for an enclosed gas fired AC generator? Taking into account things like engine displacment, engine temperature, etc.

I have some heavy metal paint at work for extremely high temp/emissivity applications. This stuff settles over time and if applied in that state causes failure.

I'm trying to find something like a large hot dog roller that would slowly rotate the paint container (plastic bucket not a metal paint can) all day and prevent settling.

All I can find via Google are... hot dog rollers and warehouse conveyor equipment. One unsuitable for the task, the other thousands more than I want to spend (and too large.)

Does anyone know what I need to be searching for specifically to find something like this?

For the past couple years I've been making these little high-powered desk fans for anyone who asks. I more or less stumbled onto a wiring solution that works and on the whole, they work great, people love them. But I can't figure out why the PWM pad is always super hot to the touch. It's like that on every single one of them. It's never burned anyone or caught on fire but you can't hold your finger on it. I just don't know why they get so hot and I feel like it's got to be something I'm doing wrong.

This is the first prototype which has been on my desk since pre-covid

Here's a close up of the controller, you can see the discoloration from the heat exposure

line diagram

Is there any way/where to find out and compare the insulative properties of different sized pockets of air? And does the material used to enclose them make a difference? I.e. foil/metal vs plastic, etc.

Looking to make garments or tent like insulated shelters that take up minimal space when packed away

Does anyone have any references on calculating sea anchor size based on wind speed/ drift velocity?

# Intro

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Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:

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* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network

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* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,

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## Guidelines

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1. **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:

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* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.

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* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.

We have a bunch of bags of good catalyst with metals on it in our companies yard. Instead of throwing it away, do any companies purchase the metals off the catalyst? If so, which companies do so?

TIA

imagine something like this, but the sealing surface is the perforated center, not the raised annulus.

I'm designing a system to seal multiple pressurized passages using a perforated flat rubber gasket and I'm considering the spacing of the passages. Are there any standards or guidelines out there for hole distance vs gasket thickness or anything like that? I've looked at shigley's and gasket manufacturer websites, but the only standards I've been able to find are related to bolt spacing, which is not a concern.

I’m looking at getting a custom display for a guitar and it needs to be able to take the force of me pushing down strings into it

Any suggestions?

Hi everyone. I'm still in school for my engineering degree, but I got a job working under an engineer and I feel like I'm in a constant state of confusion.(I get lost in the voids portion, especially)

Could someone please explain and guide me as to how this process is manually done? I like knowing how to check the work if the automated system breaks or something. Google talks about time when it seems I'm not using time in these formulas.

Also, the PE wasn't clear enough for me.

Thank you!

At work, I am occasionally forced to consider the behavior of pressurized gases inside of test vessels. According to Wikipedia, supercritical fluids generally like to mix with one another similar to how two gases would mix together.

However, it calls out a few exceptions (e.g., nitrogen and ammonia), and I am trying to find a resource on the behavior of ethylene/nitrogen mixtures above 1000 psi and ambient temperature. In a vessel of mostly ethylene, could there be a bubble of nitrogen at the top? Or would they mix completely as though they were at a lower pressure gas phase?

Any insights (and especially references) would be much appreciated!

I found a gear with teeth profiles which can barely be understood, see https://patents.google.com/patent/EP4310603A1/en

https://preview.redd.it/7c8jpks72hwd1.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=3647b031816a2350db384c68b748cfedfc935ffd

I wonder whether there are tools which can determine the profile of the teeth of a second gear, given the profile of the first gear as input. So I design one tooth profile, the tool gives me the involute corresponding profile.

# Intro

​

Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:

​

* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network

​

* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,

​

* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.

​

* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.

​

> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)

​

---

​

## Guidelines

​

1. **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:

* Job compensation

* Cost of Living adjustments

* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major

* How to choose which university to attend

​

1. Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)

​

1. Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.

​

1. **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.

​

## Resources

​

* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)

​

* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)

​

* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.

​

* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.

Not an engineer, so not really knowledgeable about what solutions are on the market.

I need to monitor the flow of a water system run through 8mm pneumatic tubing, and it needs to interface with a computer/datalogger so data can be tracked. This is a low pressure system at like 30 psi for irrigation. Doesn't need to be terribly accurate, just need a relatively simple low cost solution to monitor 4 separate lines.

Basically need to track when water is flowing through each line, at what rate, and would be a plus if it monitored total volume.

Thanks!

Edit: Sorry, by low cost I meant like a few hundred dollars.

Question for the hive mind.: I have an application where I need to create a co-axial set of fluid bearings with the inner and outer pieces rotating (at different speeds) suspended on a fixed middle segment.

My question is what special considerations need to be taken for that rotating outer ring? Will a conventional oil-dam still work if it's on the ID?

Anyone with experience in this design case?

I have a 2012 Ford Fusion that I purchased on Facebook market place as a project. I intend to only use it on the parking lot near my house which is almost always empty.

I would like to add the ability to RC control the car steering. Looking on YouTube there are many solutions but almost all of them don't leave room for the driver.

I would prefer it if I can sit in the car normally, drive it to the parking lot normally, and then enable RC steering.

Things that I have attempted so far:

1. Cut a gear in half and welded it to the steering column, just behind the steering wheel. Then mounted a DC motor on the dash and used a chain to drive the column.

Principally this is sound, because the original Stanford self driving car Stanley did this. But my execution was sloppy and instead of turning the column, it pulls it towards the motor.

I tried mounting it above the column, but again it's just not a good solution.

2. Reverse engineering the lane keep assist EPS ECU. This works a bit, however there's a min speed limit since this is meant only on the highway, and also a torque limit for the same reason.

The next option is somehow mount a linear actuator, but maybe that is going to be very limited in max steer rate?

What options do you guys think I can try next?

Does anyone have a precedence or general guidelines for sizing a cistern in relation to a PV array? I’ve looked through the Fire Code and have parsed through NFPA standards like 855 and 1142. I haven’t been able to find a general guide for sizing a cistern since PV arrays are not included in the occupancy or construction classifications though I’ve been treating it as non-combustible construction. Any help is much appreciated, thanks!

Hello All,

I am a recently hired ME to a specialty manufacturing company that has been around for almost 40 years. Currently I am trying to get the company to go to a digital solution for ECM's. At my previous employer, I had several years experience with Azure DevOps, that was customized for ECM, which we used in combination with NetSuite, but even that had its issues. This company is currently using Pro Logic for and ERP system, which is not only old but horrible to use in combination with PVCS and paper ECM process.

We are looking at purchasing a system for 15-30 users. Are there any recommendations for full solution SCM/ERP systems or even just stand alone digital ECM system solutions, there are so many options out there and it is hard to do a deep dive into all of them? I appreciate all the help I can get.

Hello all! I’m trying to replicate a sigmoid curve shaped path and am planning on using a linkage configuration to help me do this. I’ve designed a slot to move a point along the curve, but it feels a bit basic. Any suggestions?

I was wondering if there are easy ways to quantify the pros and cons of each type of measuring instrument.... We'll take a torispherical 20,000L vessel and I'm adding 200L with an accuracy of 0.2% of the measured value (lets say everything is water) and let's say I have 5 incoming lines doing the same (one addition at a time)

1. Load cells -

pros -

Easily meet accuracy

you don't need them on every addition line -

Cons - makes piping design more awkward and you may be forced to use flexible connections

Needs to be tared before you start the process

2. Coriolis flow meters -

Pros

Easily meets accuracy

Cons

Get very expensive if you have a lot of additions

3. Guided radar rod

Pros

Easily meets accuracy (there are some caveats I.e. At very low volumes etc)

Cons

Can break easily

4. Differential pressure

Pros

Probably will meet my accuracy (word probably doing the heavy lifting)

Cons

None (maybe that it takes up more nozzles but we can ignore that)

Scenario 1

There is no outflow from the vessel at the same time that it is filling but there is an overlay using air of let's say 50mbarg but there's a control valve to make sure it doesn't go over 100mbarg

scenario 2

If you want to do a 2 point level control (outlet has flow meter and control valve) - inlet, you're free to pick what you want to use but it needs to be applied for all 5 inlets (only one active at a time and yes for REASONS I can't combine 5 inlets into one line)

In the above scenario I think load cells or the guided radar rod win out because I save 5 flow meters? (You can assume the pump and outlet control valve have a big range they can work to if you want to avoid control valves on the inlet and addition flows are let's say 1000L an hour with a pressure transfer, receiving vessel as a pumped transfer out and is vented)

I'm looking for the cheapest solution that will meet the accuracy requirements and the cons

Thanks!!

I work in a tube mill that produce pre galvanized erw tubes(square and rectangle) and pipes using pre galvanized steel. Since the forming rollers are cooled by coolant/ water some water gets left over on the inside and the outside surfaces of the tubes. When bundled in wet condition, white rust( a form of zinc rust, in white power form) forms on the outside surfaces of the tubes which affects the sellability of the products and cause for returns.

Currently we are using compressed air to dry the tubes, drilled pipe manifolds to dry the outside and nozzles to dry the inside. Its not very effective at removing water and consume a lot of compressed air which increase the noise levels and energy costs.

I hope to get an insight from you guys about effective blow drying methods used in the industry and other solutions to prevent zinc rust like chemical passivation agents.

Thank you for your time.

Is the process to get PEng easier through APEGA or PEO? Does residency matter?

Ahoy,

I've got about 16 hours of CPD time I need to put in before the end of the year. Would any of you have suggestions? I'm trained mechanical, and the bulk of my work is around developing structures to support pedestal cranes.

I do have company support to take courses as I see fit, but I suspect I've missed the boat for most organized courses that would happen before the end of the year. My back up plan is to do some self-study of various related codes that I could stand to be better acquainted with, but I'm open to other ideas.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Hey,

I’ve been thinking: why isn't Computer Science considered a fundamental science of engineering, like math and physics?

Today, almost every engineering field relies on computing—whether it’s simulations, algorithms, or data analysis. CS provides critical tools for solving complex problems, managing big data, and designing software to complement hardware systems (think cars, medical devices, etc.). Plus, in the era of AI and machine learning, computational thinking becomes increasingly essential for modern engineers.

Should we start treating CS as a core science in engineering education? Curious to hear your thoughts!

Edit: Some people got confused (with reason), because I did not specify what I mean by including CS as a core concept in engineering education. CS is a broad field, I completely agree. It's not reasonable to require all engineers to learn advanced concepts and every peculiar details about CS. I was referring to general and introductory concepts like algorithms and data structures, computational data analysis, learning to model problems mathematically (so computers can understand them) to solve them computationally, etc... There is no necessity in teaching advanced computer science topics like AI, computer graphics, theory of computation, etc. Just some fundamentals, which I believe could boost engineers in their future. That's just my two cents... :)

Edit 2: My comments are getting downvoted without any further discussion, I feel like people are just hating at this point :( Nonetheless, several other people seem to agree with me, which is good :D

Engineering core concepts.

# Intro

​

Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:

​

* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network

​

* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,

​

* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.

​

* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.

​

> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)

​

---

​

## Guidelines

​

1. **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:

* Job compensation

* Cost of Living adjustments

* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major

* How to choose which university to attend

​

1. Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)

​

1. Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.

​

1. **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.

​

## Resources

​

* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)

​

* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)

​

* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.

​

* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.

I am working to define and improve the process where Design Engineering asks Sourcing to identify suppliers and obtain quotes for components that we might to use on a new product. I am looking for input to better understand how this process works in other organizations and also to learn what terminology and/or templates are commonly used.

Here's the scenario: low-volume high-cost manufactured industrial products. Design Engineering is asking Sourcing to assist with Requests for Quotes for a "List of Potential Components."

This List of Potential Components is similar to a Bill of Materials -- and it would most often start as a flattened preliminary BOM. However, it will also include alternate components to be evaluated. After the RFQ process is complete, Design Engineering will likely eliminate some of the the components on this list due to cost or availability concerns.

Any components that are not eliminated more forward to next stage, where Design Engineering determines which components to use for a prototype build... and creates Purchase Requisition(s) to communicate to Sourcing the components (and quantities) to order. Naturally, some of the ordered components will be eliminated during prototype testing and never make it to the final BOM.

What do you call the "List of Potential Components?" Do you have a name for the early quoting activity or process? What type of templates do you use to support the process?

At previous employers, Design Engineers were responsible to identifying and vetting potential suppliers and the associated design options. We would not get any sourcing support until the design was complete and released to production. Additionally, we nearly always evaluated alternate options much earlier in the product development process -- long before a prototype build. That's not how it works here (yet). :)

Thanks!