https://preview.redd.it/tlgb3qw7bkge1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=98d57b2ccd52efd6adf5468c5dfde148c81ccf46

Hello. I am building for my home gym a little setup which requires a beam which is about 3 meters long, and which would need to hold 200 kilograms from the middle, while the ends of the beam are supported. What I was thinking was just to attach two 2by4s together to make a strong and cheap beam that way, but then I got worried that it might bend from the middle due to the weight, so I started thinking that what if I would add a flat steel bar between the 2by4s to prevent it from bending. I was thinking that this might actually work great since this way the 2by4s now prevent the flat steel bar from distorting and "buckling" to the sides while the fat steel bar gives the 2by4s additional support against bending, hence they both help each others in this Engineered Composite Beam thing.

Also, the entire thing would be held together with screws or nuts (meaning that there are little holes in the flat steel bar to allow the screws/nuts to go through it).

I post this here because I would like you guys educated opinion that would this be a good idea if the goal is to have this be able to hold 200 kilograms from the middle point without significant distortion to the structure? It would also need to hold 400 kilograms from the 1:4 point (75% away from one end) while also being supported from both ends.

What I was also thinking was to make this entire thing from just two 2by8 boars without the flat steel bar between them. What do you guys think - which one of these would be the best:

1. two 2by4s (I am a bit sceptical could this hold the weight without bending and maybe even breaking)
2. this Engineered Composite Beam (as in image)
3. one 2by8 (this sounds to me like it might work but I would be working on the very limits of what this can hold)
4. two 2by8s (this to me sounds somehow as good as the Engineered Composite Beam with 2by4s and the flat steel bar)
5. or maybe something else you guys know about

Feel free to school me since I am self-admittedly totally clueless regarding these type of things.

Hi guys,

I hope this question isn't too vague. I am relatively new in my career with only a few years experience under my belt as a design engineer working for a fairly small manufacturing business.

I have a job interview coming up for the position of "Engineer - Auxiliary Systems" or a large defense company that manufacture naval ships. My problem is, I don't actually really know what "auxiliary systems are". Anything I read on google doesn't seem to really answer my question so thought I would try here - What are "auxiliary systems" and what are examples of them in the case of naval ships specifically?

Thanks in advance for any answers - I'm fully expecting comments of "dude, how do you not know this?"

Can anyone provide some insight on how to become a supplier quality engineer. I have a masters in mechanical engineering with a focus on design and manufacturing, and have worked in a machine shop for around 6 years now as a cnc programmer. I have yet to work as an actual engineer. I’d like to transition towards supplier quality engineering.

How did you get to where you are? Were you a quality engineer first? Are entry level positions typically offered as a supplier quality engineer?

Hey everyone. I’m on the hunt for a piston style hydraulic accumulator rated to 500psig. My application strictly limits size (12” long, 4” diameter) and weight (~6lbs allowance) while providing the max amount of fluid volume displacement for that footprint.

All accumulators I’m finding are rated to 3500-4500psi which cause them to be ~16lbs for the footprint. Anyone know of some lighter duty piston accumulators that aren’t made of carbon steel?

I have completed my aerospace engineering. I am interested in mechotronic engineering is it possible to get admission for masters in mechotronics?

Hi all. In my last review my manager asked me if there was any training I wanted to do. Last year I started in a design office for boilers and pressure vessels. We mainly use ASME I and ASME VIII, but also sometimes use EN 13445, PD 5500 and EN 12952.

Last year I did a self pace E learning from ASME for ASME VIII Division 1. It was and introduction level course but I found it to be very good. I have noticed they do more thorough courses but I think they are just to do with understanding the code. While I think this is important, I want I also develop my technical knowledge a bit.

I’m told we do have access to PV elite and Finglow software for calculations but I haven’t used either yet. We don’t have many licenses but it’s definitely something I want to learn.

Can anyone recommend good training courses or resources on this subject?

Not sure if there’s a complete design course but I would like to do something maybe with PV Elite, and I was thinking of doing ASME IX(welding) and ASME V (NDT).

Like the title says I graduate soon with my BSME. It seems like most of my classmates already have a job lined up and I really have nothing yet. I haven't had any internship experience, I worked the summers instead as a river guide to have some other cool life experiences before being an engineer for the rest of my life.

Is the best thing to just apply everywhere online? Seems like I'm wasting my time with that, people only seem to get hired through connections and I have none. How do I find a good entry level position?

I graduated in the spring of 2024, but have not started a full time engineering job due to the job I had lined up falling through, and a concussion I received at the end of the summer causing me to not be able to live on my own until now. I am looking for resources to stay current on what I learned in school/quiz myself to see what I remember. I have started reviewing my coursework from junior and senior year, but am wondering if there are any good resources to stay current post-grad that you all would recommend.

Is that a thing? Can i make a rack that is driven by a bevel? Thank you

just got back into school and im bout to finish my as in mech eng. do you think i can get a decent job with just this as or should i stick it out?

Guys I know this might sound dumb but I'm just a highschool 15 year old and I'm curious. I was in ap enviro class and we are learning about electricity and how it's great by a spinning turbine and blah blah blah. But basically I was thinking about it and if cars use gas to spin the wheels why can't you just use the spinning wheels to spin a generator and create more power? I know that this wouldn't work and l'm aware of regenerative breaking but can someone explain why this dosent work?

After getting denied from Purdue and UIUC im left with: I feel a little bit dissapointed because I tried so hard in Highschool and Sat just to go to a school that wouldve accepted me had I done way less work

• Iowa State

*Iowa

Tennesee Knoxville Miami Ohio Mizzou

Willing to know other opinions on this please.

Hi! I’m using the Student Edition of NX to create CAD models, but it seems that I can only export in STL format, not others. I would like to export my models in STEP format. Does anyone know how I can convert .prt files to .stp?

Thanks in advance for your help!

EDIT: I've already solved it. Thanks!

Hi everyone I'm selected for get 2025 of reliance industries. I'm from mechanical branch. Actually I am looking for role as design engineer or simulation engineer but reliance has not clarified the role . So should I take it? Also I have recieved another offer from Thermax which is less paying than reliance but may provide me role of design engineer which is not sure because it can be random(as they have said that we can't assure you about the role).

Recently I started traveling more for vendor visits. I bring around 9 A3 sized pages of a printed drawing and need to write down dimensions on them as they get measured. There is a lot of scrambling as I look for the page I need while standing and it’s a bit awkward. I keep the pages unstapled to be able to take out any of them to the front.

Here is the issue:

1. Drawings get folded in half to fit an A4 sized folder in my backpack for the travel

2. Because they get taken out and unfolded no stationary sleeves or binder functions can be helpful here. I need to pull out the whole large page to look at it. I get confused as I constantly change order of the pages

3. There is no hard surface to write on while standing so I find the spot I need, fold the papers back again to stiffen it and write. A clipboard is just more weight in my backpack and it wouldn’t even be that convenient with the size of the print anyway

Do you have any tips on how to speed up sifting through the print on the go?

So far as I was writing this I figured I should staple the edge of the prints to maintain the order as I’m looking through it and put a sticky note on the outside when folded with the tool info on it to grab the correct one easily.

Edit: My plight has been solved by Reddit in minutes. Here is the solution:

Full sized ballooned drawings get printed out and hole punched on the left to be inserted into a binder and folded in half for travel. When unfolded they can be flipped through for reference. Then, print a spread sheet with inspection points and fill that out by hand. This skips the step of looking for inspection points on the drawing with data to document them after the vendor inspection.

I am inspecting some existing spring hangers (variable and constant) that were installed 20+ years ago.

As part of my analysis, I am comparing what I observed in the field versus the hanger schedule. Having access to an old Fronek Spring Hanger catalog would be very helpful since the nameplates on the Fronek Hangers list some information I am looking for but not all of it. I can use the information provided coupled with a Fronek catalog to extract this information.

I understand that Piping Technology and Products (PTP) took over Fronek but the PTP Figure Numbers, Spring Sizes, etc. do not follow the same conventions as Fronek.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

I have a question about using needle thrust bearings. Thank you for your help in advance!

So I have this rough sketch of a dead axle (black in the image) assembly that I need to build. The hub (orange) needs to spin between 750-1250 rpm and will encounter radial and thrust loads. The block/frame (blue) is stationary. Because of the relatively small height constraint and need to be able to disassemble the axle, I believe that a needle thrust bearing is the best way to bridge the gap between the body and the hub.

I haven’t dealt with thrust bearings before, so I am kind of confused about how to properly align it. Right now I am thinking of cutting pockets into the hub and block to set thrust washers (red) in. Then, I would just put the thrust bearing itself in between them when assembling.

The question that arises is friction. Would this setup be able to both align the thrust bearing and be fine with friction? Do I need to worry about friction between the bearing itself and the axle shaft? Or is this something that a bit of grease could solve?

It has been 1 month so far into the new year. For early 2025 Job Seekers, how has your experience been?

For me, I live in the Bay Area (2+ YoE in HVAC trying to transition out) and it's still rough there. Job hunting definitely is better than January of 2024 though.

Graduated w/ BSME in 2017, no I haven't had a job related to the field since well, ever. Question: any suggestions to getting hired? My thoughts were taking/passing the FE to prove I still can comprehend / know the information.

Suggestions?

Edit: I word dumb..

Edit 2: Work history: different warehouses & general labor & various companies/staffing agencies since 2019 - present. I don't apply to engineering job like I should. Wouldn't mind getting a assembly/machinist type role and work up idk.

right in college I’m debating what engineering I want to major in. The job I want to have better has these perks good pay, life-work ratio balance and high demand. I was and still am thinking ME, but a butload of people recommended me to enter civil engineering in real estate like buildings since that’s where the money is.

Idk I need help I want to do something in engineering but I don’t even know the fields

Hey y’all!

I am currently a Mechanical Engineer in the semiconductor industry and am considering a career switch. To be more specified, I am an Equipment engineer so I basically oversee a fleet of equipment that aids in the chip making process. While I have some interest in what I do, I lately have found a great interesting in coding. I have completed CS50, CS50P and currently taking CS50W and I am enjoying the challenges. At work I have also created projects that implemented the coding skills I have learned over the years: I have created a dashboard using Perl, SQL, JavaScript/HTML that pulls information from a data base and displays it on a webpage, all in one place which is convenient for me, since I had to look multiple places for the same piece of information.

Another project I just completed was basically making another webpage that pulled data from an excel file and rendered it as a webpage depending on what the user clicked on. This was using python/django. This project was also interesting/ fun for me and I’m curious to try more projects like that at work. However I haven’t really looked at other jobs for job hopping and I feel I need to get the most out of my job if I end up staying for a few more years. Which is why I’m considering getting a Masters degree. My job will cover it , so I would just have to work full time while I complete the program if I do it.

• I am not interested enough in getting a Masters in Mechancial Engineering.
• Computer science would be my top choice, however when I look at programs, the pre req classes to get in the program would take me about a year or 2 to complete so I don’t think that’s practical considering I don’t want to be in school for too long lol.
• I considered Data science, however after looking online , it seems it is very statistics and math heavy and it is a more specialized field. So it seems the more practical option would be Data Analytics ?

I have been watching videos and it seems like Data Scientists mainly do Data Analysts work anyways so I wonder if the Data Analytics Masters would make the most sense.

What do y’all think ? I still debate what I should go for but I just know in the future I would want my career involve coding similar what I explained in my projects, or also being able to automate things that everyone else around me manually does.

Hi guys,do i have a question to ask for all this engineering community,i’m currently studying Marine Mechanical Engineering and i’ve already spent 4 months on the sea working as an mechanical cadet,and in all this period,i’ve realised that this job career isn’t for me,i don’t feel like i could spend all my live on the sea or at least for such long periods,so here’s my question,after i get my degree,there are other paths that i could take?bcs i really like the mechanical field and i enjoy the mechanical design but does my degree help me get a job on the same or familiar field of the mechanical engineering or i have no other options?i still have to do my master,i didn’t decided yet what master i’ll do but i could use some help or ideas bcs i’ve got in a place where i think that i could use some help to see alternatives to my career.

Forgot to mention,i’m from europe

If you had free college, right now, mid career, what would you go back to school for?

Not sure if I need a masters, I guess it would be ok. I could get something else. Basket weaving sounds fun? (Kidding) looking for ideas to think about for some college money I have available. I have thought about taking some law classes to see if I like it (have worked with some patent stuff some) but sounds like a full law degree could be daunting. Opinions please.

Hi there! I wanted to make a small belt sander to sand and generally postprocess my 3D prints. So i was thinking about a design which is only supported on one side, for easy belt changes. Therefore, my wall will need to be stiff and i'd need 2 bearings per roller, probably separated by a fair bit to keep things straight.

Now, i would love to use M12 threaded rod and just slam it into bearings, so i would have threads on which it would be really easy to then mount the roller wheels and coupling to the motor, but is it a horrible idea?

Do i really need to buy a precise 12mm rail and cut the threads myself for all parts except those that go into bearings? Seems like awful lot of pain with just manual threading die at my disposal. I wish i had space for a lathe lol.

What could go wrong if i just ever so slightly sand down threads to fit them through the bearings and lock them with nuts on both sides of bearings?