 Mechanical Engineering Profession

Technically, mechanical engineering is the application of the principles and problem-

solving techniques of engineering from design to manufacturing to the marketplace for
any object. Mechanical engineers analyze their work using the principles of motion,
energy, and force—ensuring that designs function safely, efficiently, and reliably, all at a
competitive cost.

Mechanical engineers make a difference. That’s because mechanical engineering

careers center on creating technologies to meet human needs. Virtually every product or
service in modern life has probably been touched in some way by a mechanical engineer
to help humankind.

This includes solving today’s problems and creating future solutions in health care,
energy, transportation, world hunger, space exploration, climate change, and more.

Being ingrained in many challenges and innovations across many fields means a
mechanical engineering education is versatile. To meet this broad demand, mechanical
engineers may design a component, a machine, a system, or a process. This ranges from
the macro to the micro, from the largest systems like cars and satellites to the smallest
components like sensors and switches. Anything that needs to be manufactured—indeed,
anything with moving parts—needs the expertise of a mechanical engineer.

Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering fields. Mechanical

engineers design and oversee the manufacture of many products ranging from medical
devices to new batteries.

Mechanical engineers design power-producing machines, such as electric generators,

internal combustion engines, and steam and gas turbines, as well as power-using
machines, such as refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.

Mechanical engineers design other machines inside buildings, such as elevators and
escalators. They also design material-handling systems, such as conveyor systems and
automated transfer stations.

Like other engineers, mechanical engineers use computers extensively. Mechanical

engineers are routinely responsible for the integration of sensors, controllers, and
machinery. Computer technology helps mechanical engineers create and analyze designs,
run simulations and test how a machine is likely to work, interact with connected
systems, and generate specifications for parts.

Major Disciplines Within Mechanical Engineering

Several of the many disciplines found within mechanical engineering are listed below, along with
faculty experienced in each discipline. Feel free to contact one of the faculty for more information.
ENGINEERING DESIGN
Engineering design encompasses the lifecycle of a product from an open-ended problem definition to
the final technical drawings and documents used to manufacture the final product. Design engineers
may also be involved in an iterative process of designing, prototyping, and testing a product before the
product is released. Design engineers work closely with manufacturing engineers to design a product
that is feasible and cost effective to produce.

MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing engineers use technical drawings and documents to design a manufacturing process
that will produce a specified physical part from raw materials. Manufacturing engineers also work
closely with design engineers to make sure the product being designed will not only be possible to
manufacture, but efficient and cost effective to produce.

MATERIALS
Materials engineers are specialized at understanding the properties of various engineering materials
and how they can be used in engineering design and products.

MECHATRONICS AND ROBOTICS

Mechatronic engineers design products that use a programmable controller to move motors or other
actuators in reaction to various sensory data and user controls. Roboticists apply mechatronics to
design machinery that can perform tasks considered to be too repetitive, dangerous, or expensive for
human operators to complete alone.

SOLID MECHANICS
Solid mechanics is the study of how forces affect the motion and shape of solid bodies and structures.
Mechanical engineers use solid mechanics to understand the forces and stresses that a product may
undergo during use in order design a product that will perform as intended throughout a desired life
cycle.

THERMAL SCIENCES AND FLUID MECHANICS

Mechanical engineers use the principles of thermodynamics and heat transfer to design and model the
transfer of thermal energy in a system or product. Additionally they design and model power
generating equipment (from small gasoline engines to large steam cycles in power plants) and
refrigeration/air-conditioning and heat pump systems. Fluid mechanics is the study of how gaseous
and liquid fluids react to various forces and how they can be used in engineering design.

 Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical engineers are typically involved with the generation, distribution, and
use of energy; the processing of materials; the control and automation of manufacturing
systems; the design and development of machines; and the solutions to environmental
problems.

Research, testing manufacturing, operations, marketing, and administration are some

other key activities associated with practicing Mechanical Engineers.

Mechanical engineers are characterized by personal creativity, breadth of knowledge,

and versatility. They are also valuable and reliable multidisciplinary team members.
 The technical subject areas that form the main basis for their work include
mechanics, energy transfer and conversion, design and manufacturing, and the
engineering sciences. Through clever use of analysis, modeling, design, and synthesis,
they solve important problems to improve quality of life.

Mechanical engineers work on teams responsible for developing a wide range of

products and systems including, for example, space shuttle vehicles, aircraft of all sizes
and shapes, automobiles, turbines, pumps, power plants, and factories.

Virtually any machine or process you can think of has benefited from the influence of
a mechanical engineer.

Everyday conveniences such as refrigeration, microwave cooking, high-fidelity

sound reproduction, transportation, communication, and copying are affordable largely
because mechanical and other engineers worked together to make it happen.

Mechanical engineers are in demand now, and projections for the future suggest a
long-term need for professionals in this specialty. About 20% of the nearly 3 million
engineers in the United States are mechanical engineers.

Important Qualities for Mechanical Engineers

Creativity. Mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and
machinery. A creative mind is essential for this kind of work.

Listening skills. Mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as
architects and computer scientists. They must listen to and analyze different approaches
made by other experts to complete the task at hand.

Math skills. Mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other
advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.

Mechanical skills. Mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts
and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems.

Problem-solving skills. Mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take

scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products.

Disciplines within mechanical engineering include but are not limited to:

Acoustics
Aerospace
Automation
Automotive
Autonomous Systems
 Biotechnology
Composites
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
Control Systems
Cyber security
Design
Energy
Ergonomics
Human health
Manufacturing and additive manufacturing
Mechanics
Nanotechnology
Production planning
Robotics
Structural analysis

 Roles of Mechanical Engineering in the Society

Mechanical engineers research, design, develop, build, and test mechanical and
thermal devices, including tools, engines, and machines.

Mechanical engineers typically do the following:

Analyze problems to see how mechanical and thermal devices might help solve the
problem.
Design or redesign mechanical and thermal devices using analysis and computer-
aided design.
Develop and test prototypes of devices they design.
Analyze the test results and change the design as needed.
Oversee the manufacturing process for the device.

Mechanical engineers are critical to the inner workings of today's society.

Mechanical engineers research, design, develop, manufacture and test a variety of
mechanical devices including tools, engines, and machines. Ultimately anything that can
be imagined, designed, and built has an aspect of mechanical engineering to it.
Mechanical engineers work on a wide variety of machines, which produce power from
electric generators to internal combustion engines to steam and gas turbines. Their
expertise is essential throughout the research, design, planning, production, testing,
installation and maintenance of mechanical devices.

Mechanical engineering is a diverse subject that derives its breadth from the need to
design and manufacture everything from small individual parts and devices (e.g.,
microscale sensors and inkjet printer nozzles) to large systems (e.g., spacecraft and
machine tools). The role of a mechanical engineer is to take a product from an idea to the
marketplace. In order to accomplish this, a broad range of skills are needed. The
mechanical engineer needs to acquire particular skills and knowledge. He/she needs to
understand the forces and the thermal environment that a product, its parts, or its
subsystems will encounter; to design them for functionality, aesthetics, and the ability to
withstand the forces and the thermal environment they will be subjected to; and to
determine the best way to manufacture them and ensure they will operate without failure.
Perhaps the one skill that is the mechanical engineer’s exclusive domain is the ability to
analyze and design objects and systems with motion.

Since these skills are required for virtually everything that is made, mechanical
engineering is perhaps the broadest and most diverse of engineering disciplines.
Mechanical engineers play a central role in such industries as automotive (from the car
chassis to its every subsystem—engine, transmission, sensors); aerospace (airplanes,
aircraft engines, control systems for airplanes and spacecraft); biotechnology (implants,
prosthetic devices, fluidic systems for pharmaceutical industries); computers and
electronics (disk drives, printers, cooling systems, semiconductor tools);
microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS (sensors, actuators, micropower generation);
energy conversion (gas turbines, wind turbines, solar energy, fuel cells); environmental
control (HVAC, air-conditioning, refrigeration, compressors); automation (robots, data
and image acquisition, recognition, control); manufacturing (machining, machine tools,
prototyping, microfabrication).

To put it simply, mechanical engineering deals with anything that moves, including the
human body, a very complex machine. Mechanical engineers learn about materials, solid
and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, control, instrumentation, design, and
manufacturing to understand mechanical systems. Specialized mechanical engineering
subjects include biomechanics, cartilage-tissue engineering, energy conversion, laser-
assisted materials processing, combustion, MEMS, microfluidic devices, fracture
mechanics, nanomechanics, mechanisms, micropower generation, tribology (friction and
wear), and vibrations. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) currently
lists 36 technical divisions, from advanced energy systems and aerospace engineering to
solid-waste engineering and textile engineering.

 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN NATION BUILDING

Mechanical engineers have roles in Nation Building. Today, we are living on an

advanced world. A Highly developed societies run by highly influential people. As time
goes on, the needs of improvement on the society is a necessity for the many. For them
our nation should continue building its blocks towards success and development. Nation
building for them is a commodity that should sustain its needs in order to obtain their
ultimate goal.[ Nation-building refers to the process of constructing or structuring a
national identity using the power of the state. This process aims at the unification of the
people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run.
Nation-building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development
to foster social harmony and economic growth. Although our nation is improving , it is
much better to have companions in this goal towards success.

Mechanical Engineers is one of the perfect partner toward this aim. Mechanical
Engineers are modern professionals trained by highly competitive instructors with world
class institutions. They are modern individuals trained to help the nation on building it’s
block towards success and development. They have skills and abilities required fir the
Nation Development. The presence of Mechanical Engineers towards this ultimate goal is
highly appreciated and should always demand for their presence because their skills are
very useful.

In order for a nation to grow and develop, it should first improve the quality of life and
technologies that it cover in order to fully enforce its improvement. There are many
aspects and fields in Nation development, and few of it is covered by the field of
specialization of Mechanical Engineers. Some of it is very useful and necessary in
improving the level of development on a certain nation. Some of the factors that is
covered by Mechanical Engineers are Heat and Energy, Transportation/Automotives,
Machines, Mechanical Designs and Industrial plants. These are only few of the fields
covered by Mechanical Engineers that can possibly help in Nation building. As you
continue reading, you will be reading the different fields of Mechanical Engineers that is
required in Nation building.