What is Mechanical Engineering?



Definition of Mechanical Engineering

My personal definition of Mechanical Engineering is If it needs engineering but it doesn’t involve electrons, chemical reactions, arrangement of molecules, life forms, isn’t a structure (building/bridge/dam) and doesn’t fly, a mechanical engineer will take care of it… but if it does involve electrons, chemical reactions, arrangement of molecules, life forms, is a structure or does fly, mechanical engineers may handle it anyway

Although every engineering faculty member in every engineering department will claim that his/her field is the broadest engineering discipline, in the case of Mechanical Engineering that’s actually true (I claim) because the core material permeates all engineering systems (fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, control systems, etc.) Mechanical engineering is one of the oldest engineering fields (though perhaps Civil Engineering is even older) but in the past 20 years has undergone a rather

• Computer Aided Design (CAD):- The average non-technical person probably thinks that mechanical engineers sit in front of a drafting table drawing blueprints for devices having nuts, bolts, shafts, gears, bearings, levers, etc. While that image was somewhat true 100 years ago, today the drafting board has long since been replaced by CAD software, which enables a part to be constructed and tested virtually before any physical object is manufactured.

• Simulation. (CAD): allows not only sizing and checking for fit and interference's, but the resulting virtual parts are tested structurally, thermally, electrically, aerodynamically, etc. and modified as necessary before committing to manufacturing.

• Sensor and actuators:- Nowadays even common consumer products such as automobiles have dozens of sensors to measure temperatures, pressures, flow rates, linear and rotational speeds, etc. These sensors are used not only to monitor the health and performance of the device, but also as inputs to a micro controller. The micro controller in turn commands actuators that adjust flow rates (e.g. of fuel into an engine), timings (e.g. of spark ignition), positions (e.g. of valves), etc.

• 3D printing:- Traditional “subtraction manufacturing” consisted of starting with a block or casting of material and removing material by drilling, milling, grinding, etc. The shapes that can be created in this way are limited compared to modern “additive manufacturing” or “3D printing” in which a structure is built in layers. Just as CAD + simulation has led to a new way of designing systems, 3D printing has led to a new way of creating prototypes and in limited cases, full-scale production.

• Collaboration with other fields:- Historically, a nuts-and-bolts device such as an automobile was designed almost exclusively by mechanical engineers. Modern vehicles have vast electrical and electronic systems, safety systems (e.g. air bags, seat restraints), specialized batteries (in the case of hybrids or electric vehicles), etc., which require design contributions from electrical, bio mechanical and chemical engineers, respectively. It is essential that a modern mechanical engineer be able to understand and accommodate the requirements imposed on the system by non-mechanical considerations.

These radical changes in what mechanical engineers do compared to a relatively short time ago makes the field both challenging and exciting.