Mechanical Engineers

Everyday people rely on engineers.  Engineers are responsible for almost any man-made object that people will encounter.  More specifically, any mechanical device that a person interacts with has had some sort of influence from mechanical engineers.  Whether people drive cars, ride in buses, ride on planes, or any other modes of transportation, they are relying on mechanical engineers.  The devices that mechanical engineers are involved in are very broad and are not limited to: transportation, climate control in buildings, plumbing in buildings, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, aerospace vehicles, and much more.

A mechanical engineer can take many different career paths as far as the main objectives of their job.  A few of these paths are:  design engineer, drafter, stress engineer, and test engineer.  The main thing that distinguishes the difference between each type is their main job duties.  Almost all types will be involved with some sort of team, and each member shares responsibilities.

Chevy Corvette

Design engineers are responsible for designing mechanical systems to specified requirements.  For example, if Chevy wanted to come out with a new Corvette that could go 0-60 mph in just over 3 seconds, multiple teams of design engineers would have to design the car with that requirement as a consideration along with many other requirements such as cost, weight, and safety.  Design engineers typically utilize some sort of Computer Aided Design software that enables them to use computers to model and visualize the actual parts and assemblies that will be built.

Every part and every assembly that a design engineer creates needs to have a drawing created in order for it to be producible.  Although some smaller companies assign this responsibility to the design engineers, most larger companies assign this task to a separate group called the drafters. Drafters typically use the same CAD software that the designers use in order to create 2-D or sometimes 3-D drawings.  They follow strict standards and drawing conventions so that misinterpretations of the drawing are minimized.  This job is very important as the drafters create the blueprints that allow a manufacturing group to create the parts and assemblies.

Now with every design project, safety is a huge concern.  If a product is developed with some sort of safety aspect overlooked, disastrous results could occur.  Even though the design engineers use safety as a factor in their design, there is still the possibility of something being overlooked. Stress engineers are typically responsible for identifying all safety concerns and examining them. As with the drafters, this responsibility may be the designers in smaller companies, but typically in larger companies there is a dedicated group of stress engineers.  Generally, a stress engineer will analyze a design by identifying key areas that need to handle high loads, run calculations on these areas based on geometry and material properties, and decide whether or not the design needs to be changed.  Stress engineers will typically use computer aided software to simulate loads on an object and to do complex calculations.

In some situations, computer analysis or analysis on paper of a design is not enough to justify it as being safe or functional to the requirements.  This is where the test engineers come into play. A test engineer will typically work closely with the stress engineers to develop test plans of components, carry out the tests, record results, and observe the results.  An extreme example of this could be related to the Corvette discussed earlier.  If one of the additional requirements was that the seat-belt restraint system must be able to prevent a 200 pound driver from hitting the dashboard during a head on crash with a concrete wall at 200 miles per hour, test engineers would be responsible for carrying out a test to so the design as good or bad.

As you can see, mechanical engineers have a large influence on day-to-day activities.  The field is a very broad field that pertains to almost any man-made object.  Although you may never see the engineers that were involved with the projects that brought you the objects you use in day-to-day life, remember they are the ones who have your interests and most of all your safety in mind.