Contents
1 • WHAT IS ENGINEERING? 1
1.1 Engineering Has Many Fields 2
1.1.1 Aeronautical Engineering 3
1.1.2 Agricultural Engineering 4
1.1.3 Biomedical Engineering 4
1.1.4 Chemical Engineering 5
1.1.5 Civil Engineering 5
1.1.6 Computer Engineering 7
1.1.7 Electrical Engineering 8
1.1.8 Environmental Engineering 8
1.1.9 Industrial Engineering 9
1.1.10 Materials Engineering 9
1.1.11 Mechanical Engineering 10
1.1.12 Mechatronics Engineering 10
1.1.13 Naval Engineering 11
1.1.14 Nuclear Engineering 11
1.1.15 Petroleum Engineering 12
1.1.16 Systems Engineering 12
1.2 Some Engineering Professional Organizations 13
1.2.1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (www.aiaa.org) 13
1.2.2 Biomedical Engineering Society (www.bmes.org) 14
1.2.3 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (www.aiche.org) 14
1.2.4 American Society of Civil Engineers (www.asce.org) 14
1.2.5 Association for Computing Machinery (www.acm.org) 15
1.2.6 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (www.ieee.org) 15
1.2.7 IEEE Computer Engineering Society (www.computer.org) 16
1.2.8 Institute of Industrial Engineers (www.iienet.org) 17
1.2.9 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (www.asme.org) 17
1.2.10 Society of Petroleum Engineers (www.spe.org) 18
1.2.11 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
(www.asabe.org) 18
1.2.12 American Society of Naval Engineers (www.navalengineers.org) 18
1.3 The Engineer: Central to Project Management 19
1.4 Engineering: A Set of Skills 23
1.4.1 Knowledge 23
1.4.2 Experience 24
1.4.3 Intuition 25
Key Terms 26
2 • WHAT IS DESIGN? 27
2.1 The Use of the Word “Design” 27
2.2 The Difference between Analysis, Design, and Replication 28
2.3 Good Design Versus Bad Design 36
2.4 The Design Cycle 39
2.4.1 Define the Overall Objectives 40
2.4.2 Gather Information 40
2.4.3 Identify and Evaluate Possible Design Strategies 41
2.4.4 Make a First Cut at the Design 41
2.4.5 Model and Analyze 42
2.4.6 Build, Document, and Test 42
2.4.7 Revise and Revise Again 44
2.4.8 Test the Product Thoroughly 44
2.5 Generating Ideas 47
2.5.1 Ground Rules for Brainstorming 48
2.5.2 Formal Brainstorming Method 48
2.5.3 Informal Brainstorming 53
2.6 Design Examples 58
2.6.1 Model Vehicle Design Competition 58
2.6.2 DVD Production Facility 66
2.6.3 Automatic Pipette Machine 71
Summary 82
Key Terms 82
Problems 82
3 • PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TEAMWORK SKILLS 91
3.1 Working in Teams 91
3.1.1 Building an Effective Team 92
3.1.2 Organizational Chart 94
3.1.3 The Job Description 95
3.1.4 Team Contact List 96
3.1.5 Team Meetings 96
3.1.6 Working with Other Teams in the Organization 96
3.2 Managing Tasks: Keeping the Project on Track 99
3.2.1 Checklist 99
3.2.2 Timeline 100
3.2.3 Gantt Chart 100
3.2.4 PERT Chart 101
3.3 Documentation: The Key to Project Success 106
3.3.1 Paper versus Electronic Documentation 106
3.3.2 The Engineer's Logbook (Notebook) 107
3.3.3 Logbook Format 108
3.3.4 Using Your Engineer's Logbook 109
3.3.5 Technical Reports and Memoranda 111
3.3.6 Software Documentation and the Role of the Engineering Notebook 111
3.3.7 The Importance of Logbooks: a Case Study 113
3.4 Legal Issues: Intellectual Property, Patents, and Trade Secrets 116
3.4.1 Patents 116
3.4.2 Patent Jargon 117
Key Terms 117
Problems 117
4 • ENGINEERING TOOLS 123
4.1 Estimation 123
4.2 Working with Numbers 130
4.2.1 International System of Units (SI) 130
4.2.2 Reconciling Units 132
4.2.3 Significant Figures 132
4.2.4 Dimensioning and Tolerance 133
4.3 Types of Graphs 136
4.3.1 Semilog Plots 136
4.3.2 Log-Log Plots 139
4.3.3 Polar Plots 139
4.3.4 Three-Dimensional Graphs 141
4.4 Prototyping 144
4.5 Reverse Engineering 150
4.6 Computer Analysis 152
4.7 Specification Sheets 165
4.8 The Internet 166
4.9 Spreadsheets in Engineering Design 168
4.10 Solid Modeling and Computer-Aided Drafting 177
4.10.1 Why an Engineering Drawing? 177
4.10.2 Types of Drawings 178
4.11 System Simulation 183
4.12 Electronic Circuit Simulation 185
4.13 Graphical Programming 187
4.14 Microprocessors: The “Other” Computer 189
Key Terms 191
Problems 191
5 • THE HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE 201
5.1 How People Interact with Machines 201
5.2 Ergonomics 202
5.2.1 Putting Ergonomics to Work 203
5.3 Cognition 205
5.4 The Human-Machine Interface: Case Studies 206
Key Terms 222
Problems 222
6 • ENGINEERS AND THE REAL WORLD 227
6.1 Society's View of Engineering 227
6.2 How Engineers Learn From Mistakes 231
6.3 The Role of Failure in Engineering Design: Case Studies 232
6.3.1 Case 1: Tacoma Narrows Bridge 233
6.3.2 Case 2: Hartford Civic Center 233
6.3.3 Case 3: Space Shuttle Challenger 235
6.3.4 Case 4: Kansas City Hyatt 236
6.3.5 Case 5: Three Mile Island 239
6.3.6 Case 6: USS Vincennes 240
6.3.7 Case 7: Hubble Telescope 241
6.3.8 Case 8: de Haviland Comet 242
6.3.9 Case 9: The Collapsing Roof Panels 242
6.4 Preparing for Failure in your Own Design 247
Key Terms 247
References 248
Problems 248
7 • LEARNING TO SPEAK, WRITE, AND MAKE PRESENTATIONS 250
7.1 The Importance of Good Communication Skills 251
7.2 Preparing for Meetings, Presentations, and Conferences 251
7.3 Preparing for A Formal Presentation 252
7.4 Writing Electronic Mail, Letters, and Memoranda 258
7.4.1 Writing Electronic Mail Messages 258
7.4.2 Header 258
7.4.3 First Sentence 259
7.4.4 Body 260
7.4.5 Writing Formal Memos and Letters 262
7.5 Writing Technical Reports, Proposals, and Journal Articles 266
7.5.1 Technical Report 266
7.5.2 Journal Paper 266
7.5.3 Proposal 267
7.6 Preparing an Instruction Manual 267
7.6.1 Introduction 267
7.6.2 Setup 267
7.6.3 Operation 267
7.6.4 Safety 268
7.6.5 Troubleshooting 268
7.6.6 Appendices 268
7.6.7 Repetition 268
7.7 Producing Good Technical Documents: A Strategy 272
7.7.1 Plan the Writing Task 272
7.7.2 Find a Place to Work 273
7.7.3 Define the Reader 273
7.7.4 Make Notes 273
7.7.5 Create Topic Headings 274
7.7.6 Take a Break 274
7.7.7 Write the First Draft 274
7.7.8 Read the Draft 274
7.7.9 Revise the Draft 275
7.7.10 Revise, Revise, and Revise Again 275
7.7.11 Review the Final Draft 275
7.7.12 Common Writing Errors 275
Key Terms 277
Problems 277
INDEX 281