I personally do a lot of automation of reports/actions for a tool I support to help my team and provide transparency for quality goals. However it feels like everytime I put time (hours-days) into actually developing a solution it gets waved away/shot down by a more senior engineer.....even if its something requested by them, usually because the tool honestly has some shit design (no api overwrite for things that can be done manually using the UI prompting workarounds) honestly makes me wonder "WTF am I here for if apparently nothing I do is good enough?" Always get great performance reviews but its really annoying and eats away at the self confidence to have my work be shut down constantly

Hi everyone!

I work in the food industry, where we manufacture bags with bone guards designed to prevent meat bones from cutting through the material. Our process involves applying a film onto a polyethylene roll, which is later converted into bags during a subsequent step.

To ensure proper adhesion, we validate the process using two tests: measuring adhesion strength and checking the adhesive weight to verify proper application on the surface.

I’m looking for ways to measure the adhesive application automatically during the process. However, the challenge is that our adhesive is water-based, which makes most existing sensors unsuitable for our needs.

Has anyone worked with a similar process or faced this challenge before? What alternatives or solutions can you recommend?

I’ve attached pictures of the bags to provide more context (apologies, the patch isn’t behaving as it should, but these are the clearest images I have).

https://preview.redd.it/cgcgfjf4mzfe1.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=600bbc08286fbdbe4be54cf9c555f29e6b7d0042

Hello everyone,

I run an early-stage healthcare robotics startup, and for quite some time we've been facing a challenge in sourcing actuators for MVP development as well as for initial client-units. Specifically, we need geared, high-torque, pancake BLDC motors (similar to MIT Cheetah for reference). Until now, we’ve been using motors from a Chinese brand called MyActuator. To be slightly more specific, we are talking around 20 Nm (geared).

We’re looking to transition to a European supplier, and we’re only interested in the mechanical part - we build our own electronic drivers.

We are open to adapting our design to accommodate any suitable alternative. If anyone has dealt with a similar situation and could offer insights into the best approach, I’d greatly appreciate your advice. At present, we don’t have the budget for in-house production, so we’d be looking for off-the-shelf or semi-off-the-shelf options.

Please note that I have done my own research, I know about Maxon, Plettenberg, Nanotec, and even talked to an interesting startup in the market. I am more interested in your testimonies and maybe an advice in the case you feel like our approach is flawed and we are overlooking something important.

Thank you!

EDIT: The application is a wearable exoskeleton, so a supportive structure the user wears for assistance and rehabilitation. The limitation is hence size, current consumption and mass. What fits the requirements well is the previously mentioned https://www.myactuator.com/product-page/rmd-x6-s2

I'm currently researching procurement methods for transportation construction projects (such as highways, bridges, etc.), specifically comparing Design-Bid-Build (DBB) and Design-Build (DB). As construction values increase, there’s a noticeable trend toward more DB contracts and delivery methods. The typical reasons stated for preferring DB are its speed, single point of accountability, fixed costs, and the potential for innovation. However, I’d like to dive deeper and explore large-scale projects delivered using DBB. The largest DBB project I’ve personally been involved in was ~$125M, and it was highly successful. What other personal examples come to mind? Also, does anyone know of public databases that track this kind of information? I find it interesting because many of these are counterfactual problems, where you can't go back and redo things for comparison.

Hey everyone! I’m looking at building a buoy (filled with sensors) that can be opened and closed and maintain a water tight seal, I don’t even know the first place to look. Would appreciate any tips, dms, websites, subreddits,YouTube videos or books to read about the topic!

Thank you very much for your time!!

Hi my knowledgeable peeps. I'm looking for a scroll saw to cut 2mm carbon fiber. I can't afford a cnc and don't know CAD. I can't afford a laser cutter that can do the job, so I'm going to use a scroll saw.

So far iv found •Delta 40-694 •Dwalt DW788 •Proxxon DS 460 •Hegner multi max 22-v

If also found Flying Dutchman ultra reverse blades to use.

If anyone can drop some information about these scroll saws\blades for CF It would be much appreciated. Or if you have better ones, I'm happy to listen. I'm a first timer.

My company is doing an R&D project where we need to view customer parts inside of a vacuum furnace that will reach 2100 F in temp and 2 bars of pressure during the heat treat process.

Installing a viewing window is very unlikely because we would need to install it on the bottom of the furnace and because of the furnace's make up it would result in severly lowering the furnace's lifespan.

Does anyone know if there are any cameras/housing that could handle these conditions inside the furnace or have any other ideas on how i could go about achieving this. It does not have to be a live feed it could be a recording that we retrieve after the process is over.

Any help is greatly appreciated thank you.

# 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.

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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.

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## Resources

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* [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 trying to make a seal for a glow plug and I am struggling to find clear documentation on how the seal works. I have found that it is a combination of a o-ring and a tight threading.

I have been looking at Bosch glow plugs which are all have metric threads which I don't think have a taper, so I am questioning the sealing ability and I can't find any information on where the o-ring would go.

This is the glow plug I intend to use: https://www.boschsparkplugs.net/bosch-0250201039-80006-glow-plug

Any help would be appreciated!

Say you have a cylinder (like one that holds a gas) and it tips over. How would you calculate the force with which the top edge of the cylinder hits the ground? Does the fact it’s moving in an arc change the calculation or is it the same as if it fell linearly?

Edit: here’s the data I have to work with

The cylinder tipped over and hit the ground from a standing position on the ground. It did not fall off of a table or anything

Cylinder weighs approximately 75 lbs and is around 4 ft tall. I have zero idea what was in it except “some form of gas”

I'm working on an application in a class 1 div. 2 environment that will use a Pepperl+Fuchs 3000 series z-purge to protect the components in in a free standing electrical enclosure. The difficulty is that my customer's specification requires that the control panel be UL certified, but they are requiring us to include some components in the system that are neither UL listed nor recognized. My electrical engineers tell me that our shop cannot build a UL certified panel with such components inside of it. That part makes enough sense to me.

I suggested that maybe the UL certified and recognized components could be segregated into sub-enclosures, within the main free standing enclosure, and that these sub-enclosures could then each be UL certified as control panels, but the main enclosure would not. The non-UL components would be mounted on their own in the main enclosure. We'd plumb the enclosures in series, per my sketch, to make sure they are all purged and pressurized, including the large main enclosure, consistent with the manufacturer's guidelines ( see page 22 ).

This concept is satisfactory to my customer, but my electrical engineers can't tell me if it's allowed or not. They don't know if it's compliant with our shop's UL698A certification. I'm concerned that it's becoming a federal issue. They're talking about potentially trying to get the system evaluated for UL certification as an assembly, but I do not like the sound of that.

Can anyone familiar with UL offer some advice? Am I totally off base or is there anything we can do or not do to make it work, apart from eliminating the non-UL components from the system entirely?

How do you calculate the final wind load when given these parameters? (Canada)

• building importance factor: post disaster, lw=1.25(ULS) and lw=0.75(SLS)
• q50=0.58 kpa
• Terrain type: open
• Design wind pressure: +/-0.92 kpa(ULS), +/- 0.55kpa (SLS)

Our subcontractor is saying the resultant load is 40psf, and therefore the specified fencing is no good, it’s with the engineers for review I’m just a busy bee at the GC, but I’m trying to understand how they’re getting 40psf. Are they adding the q50 loading to the ULS loading and then multiplying it all by the 1.25 factor?

Hi all. Very very new to all of this. I'm having trouble locating an off the shelf bearing.

I'm looking for a rotary bearing with some sort of detent mechanism to "lock" the rotation at 0,90,180,270. It needs to have a 5mm profile or smaller. 60mm in diameter. To be sandwiched between two platforms to allow the top platform to rotate. It will be holding about 350gm.

Any ideas? I have no way to manufacture this item. Cheers

Hey experts,

I'm electrical with limited mechanical structural knowledge - so I typically over design my mechanical stuff so much that I know it won't fail. I remember in college - in one lecture on heat transfer, the professor said "I know how you electrical guys do this - you design your circuit, build it, and test it. If it gets too hot, you add a fan."

To the problem - below is an image of a table I'm building for my van - with a list of the steel inventory I have on hand. The top is 1/2 inch acrylic. I currently have a 3/4 inch thick piece of plywood on the right side that is fastened to the top and floor with angle brackets. Dimensions are as shown on the image. Some hidden lines are not shown to reduce clutter on the sketch. I'm now ready to weld the steel base plate and the 3 pieces of tubing/angle iron together. The request is - what is a good design, using my available steel stock, to build this frame? All joints will be fully welded . I do have a 12x12x1/2 steel plate I can use for the base piece - but I can get another size if needed. I will support the base with multiple 7/16 or so bolts through the floor with another steel plate located under the van - so I am assuming the steel plate is essentially bedrock. I can add an angle support (triangle) to any corner except for the right side of the support tube to the base plate. It would be nice to be able to support a 100lb static load on the front left corner of the top surface. Not sure how brittle that acrylic top is - but I think it could handle 1/4 inch of deflection when loaded. The typical load will be under 20 pounds.

Maybe I can scrap the plywood on the right and just add another steel support from front to back (same as left side) under the acrylic welded to the back steel support?

Thanks in advance!!

Tom

• Element 1 = x x 26 (tube or angle) - thickness
• Element 2 = x x 28 (tube or angle) - thickness
• Element 3 = x x 30 (tube or angle) - thickness
• Element 4 = 12 x 12 x 1/2 plate

https://preview.redd.it/9zoyjbi8q7ee1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89555538c965654fdc24b796c58ca63e9ec951bc

We are all aware of very cheap products that can be got from online retailers that don't comply with safety standards. A lot of the time these products still work and most of the time they don't kill anyone. Adding layers of safety costs money. Ensuring a product complies with safety standards costs money. How do people developing product standards strike a balance between the added cost and the marginal improvement in safety? Is there a point of diminishing returns? Is there an acceptable level of risk (as long as it kills less than 1 person in X million it's ok ???)

# 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 need to source this hinge and am coming up blank on what to call it. The tubing is approx. 3/4" OD and the tubing end of the hinge goes inside the tube. I am not certain on how it couples together.

https://preview.redd.it/jub0502zdlde1.jpg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e14a3463dec592f919eaba5672e060a4ca63641

I want to create a relatively large (~20'' diameter, ~10'' tall) cylinder that is transparent (for use in a laser system) and watertight (to serve as a tank). The base does not need to be transparent.

These are uncommon dimensions and difficult to find a vendor that sells anything close to these dimensions. Some vendors like UVacrylic (https://uvacrylic.com/plexiglass/acrylic-tube) do offer open-ended tubes that I can cut to the desired height and attach to a custom base, but these are 1m long and expensive, so there will be a lot of waste.

I'm wondering if anyone has advice or suggestions on how I can custom fabricate it? I have access to a machine shop, including a CNC machine. I'm also open to using glass, and outsourcing certain tasks. I have a budget of $300 but would prefer to get this done as cheaply as possible.

One idea is to take acrylic sheets and bake it in the oven. Then bend it to the shape of a cylinder and use waterproof epoxy to seal it. Then finally, epoxy it to a base. However, I am concerned about the watertight-ness as well as the structural integrity due to the water pressure. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

I’m specifically work for a distributor but our lines include robotics, motion & control, safety, RFID/Sensors/vision, pneumatics, linear actuators, aluminum extrusion, etc. pretty much covering anything on the factory floor.

Anyone here in a similar industry or involved with it?

Greetings,

I'm trying to reverse-engineer a machine for home use (please see attached video).

I have a good grasp on the internal construction, except that the extension must be 2/3 of the total cycle (retraction being 1/3).

I have a feeling this can be solved with a four-bar linkage, but I haven't spent enough time with them to know for sure. Perhaps there's another linkage I haven't considered?

Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks in advance.

Hi guys

In EU, so no imperial please.

When you design structures that use e.g. a metal frame to which a wooden panel gets screwed. How do you manage the details like holes (countersunk, regular, slot, ...) and wood screws? Are there standards you use for manufacturing in Europe and China? With bolts it's easy and built-in (currently using SW) but with wood screws I'm a bit lost.

Thanks for any help!

I have run across one of these before in my search for CFM airflow testing. I found one very much like it in France, but with a different number of rings. There is one currently on eBay which is identical aside from the gauge. Does anyone have any information on this or a set of instructions?

https://preview.redd.it/bsfyw398z0de1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b639ede1b2189ba2680a37ebfc827163c31816ba

Airablo link

eBay link

I’ll provide below a short description of the problem with given circumstances and you come up with a solution you believe to be most cost effective and practical.

A 40’ shipping container needs to be moved approximately 20’ transversely to its length. DL is 10kips (contents included) and currently sits atop 3 railroad ties.

Conditions: The container is in a pasture full of grass with surface conditions slick enough to get a 3/4 ton pickup truck stuck (2WD).

Railrod ties are $20 ea.

It would cost $450 to have a piece of equipment come out and move it from the dealer.

It would cost $700 to rent a t770 bobcat

A gas 4cyl 1963 Ford 2000 tractor is available https://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/000/2/5/255-ford-2000.html

And a neighbor with a similar tractor is also available.

If the tractors aren’t able to pull it due to slick surface conditions as well, how would you move the container with cheapest option?

You can ask whatever questions you want and they will be added to the post to help others.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend any good sources or materials for studying engineering mathematics. I’m looking for something that explains the concepts clearly and provides useful practice problems.

# 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.