Questions tagged [mechanical-engineering]

Questions within the problem domain of mechanical engineering. Mechanical Engineering can be a broad field; consider choosing more specific tags if they apply.

Suitable questions for this tag

As it is a basic engineering discipline this tag can cover many questions. However in order to use this tag the question should be about a mechanical system or machinery. Below is a brief outline about topics covered by mechanical engineering.

Overview of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering is engineering field that deals with:

  • design
  • analysis
  • production
  • operation and
  • maintenance of

mechanical systems and machinery

Examples of these mechanical systems and machinery are manufacturing machines, heating and cooling systems, aircraft, watercraft, weapons, medical devices and machinery, robotics, automobiles, rolling stock, fluid systems.

Scope of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering fields of study can be summarized as:

  • Mechanics
    • Statics
    • Dynamics
    • Mechanics of Materials
    • Fluid Mechanics
    • Kinematics
    • Continuum Mechanics
  • Mechatronics and robotics
    • Micro Electromechanic Systems (MEMS)
    • Control System Design
  • Structural Analysis
    • Failure Analysis
    • Fatigue Analysis
  • Thermodynamics and thermo-science
    • Heat Transfer
    • Thermofluids
    • Energy Conversion
    • Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
  • Design and Drafting
    • Computer Aided Design (CAD)
    • Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
    • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
    • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Mechanical Engineering and other fields

Because mechanical engineering covers a vast area of knowledge, it overlaps with many basic science and engineering disciplines with varying amounts. These are:

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Metallurgical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering
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What is a reason that handlebars fit to a motorcycle and steering wheel fit to a car?

What is the reason that handlebars are installed on motorcycles and steering wheels are installed on cars? Notice that the way to use both handlebars and steering wheels are quite similar, but a steering wheel allows for much more rotation than a…
fronthem
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Forcing a part into "home position"

I have a design with two parts (at the moment): a fixed 10cm ring with vertical tracks a freely rotating block with a cut that may freely slide along that tracks: I'm trying to find a low profile way to ensure that whenever the cut in the moving…
John M.
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"Sliding door" - is top weight bearing more efficient?

I'm an artist building a project which one could think of as a "sliding door" – a very narrow panel running on grooved wheels riding in tracks at top and bottom. It will be motorized and driven by a stepper motor, timing belt and pulleys. I will…
spring
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Force in a crank system

Statement In a crank system, as described in the picture, we know the values of: the width of the connecting rod ($m$), the width of the crank ($b$), the torque in the crank ($M$) and the angular velocity $\omega$ which we apply to this torque. We…
JnxF
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Creating smooth shaft resistance

I am trying to emulate the resistance of a hand wheel which moves a table via a series of shafts and chains which turn an acme screw. I am switching to a CNC system that will allow the user to keep the old style crank for manual positioning. The…
Mister Tea
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Stiffening of Tesla turbine rotors

Recently I've begun thinking about experimenting with the construction of a Tesla turbine for steam use. The key issue I can find is that most of the examples out there of such turbines use either optical discs or HDD disks to make the actual…
ecfedele
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Why ductile materials fail in shear when subjected to torsion?

I was reading the book Mechanics of Materials by Beer and Johnston.The author points out in torsion chapter that ductile materials generally fail in shear.And brittle materials materials are weaker in tension than in shear.From this they concluded…
user471651
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Why are nuts 6-sided?

Why are nuts 6-sided? Why not 4 or 8?
Filip Haglund
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Is this Square Track Cam valid?

I want to convert rotary motion (the orange propeller) onto a square path (the dark gray path). Is this a valid way to go about it? Would it be possible to use a square peg instead of a round one (the red circle) in order to keep the peg level as it…
skibulk
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What does a higher eject force do in a clutch?

I am looking at two clutches and the details on both are identical. The only difference is the eject force. One is 3300 and one is 3600. Does a higher eject force mean higher performance? And also does it have any drawbacks? Like is the clutch…
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What is this pan-tilt system called?

Based on the description of friend I drew this small example of a specific pan-tilt mechanism I'd like more information on, but as I'm not an engineer I don't really know what terms to use and can't seem to find anything. I think I might have seen…
Jasper
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Shape of chain saw teeth

Looking at the teeth of a chain saw, I believe the chain moves from right to left while cutting. It has two wedges A and B. I've never owned a chain saw, so I've been trying to visualize how these two wedges work. And I feel stuck because the…
sadhvika
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Why are turbo compound engines not more widely used?

Turbo compound engines extract some exhaust energy by using it to power a turbine connected to the driveshaft. Why are these engines not more widely used?
Brinn Belyea
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Circular motion and Car's Tire Angle

I'm trying to figure out what angle to turn the front tires of my small robotic car (about a foot in length) so that it moves in a circle (on level ground) of radius $r$ (will be accommodating circles of different radii). In addition to being able…
S.C.
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Name of spring actuated component

I need to get another component like this but I can't seem to find any manufacturers / retailers. To describe it: It is spring mounted on a shaft and retained by bushing on the top and an enlarged shaft diameter bottom. E-clip on top is for…
Eduards
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