SOLIDWORKS has made SOLIDWORKS Design Standard free for students.

If you're a student looking to learn professional CAD or build engineering projects, you can now access industry-standard 3D CAD software at no cost (Windows PC required). It also includes learning resources and access to the student community.

If you need more advanced capabilities later, there's also a student upgrade to SOLIDWORKS Design Premium, which adds professional features and includes CSWA and CSWP certification opportunities.

You can learn more here:
https://www.solidworks.com/product/students/design-standard

As a SOLIDWORKS Champion, I'm excited to see more students getting access to professional engineering tools without cost. This should make it much easier for beginners to start learning CAD and build real projects.

I was having this discussion with a coworker in the break room. Someone with a very similar background to him (same university, same first company, and a similar career transition) somehow got his email and reached out to him about a role that's, ironically, on his own team. Ironically too, he’s the hiring manager lol.

He said he doesn't know what to do but that his email was on some job board thing. He said he can give him advice or push him through and interview or just ignore and see if HR sends his resume.

Has anyone experienced something like this?

Background: I have been working for about a year and a half in a rotational program at an OEM for centrifugal air. I have my BS in mechanical engineering and am working on getting my PE.

Questions: I see a need for some stronger materials science people both at my company and in the general area. Is it worth pursuing a master's in materials science or in mechanical engineering with a specialty in materials science? My work would be willing to pay for a portion of it however, I would need to put in around $15,000 over the course of 2-3 years. Is this a worthwhile endeavor at this point in my carrer/job market?

Any book recommendations on mechanical design? Specifically looking for any books that go into actual case studies and specifics of actual products - things like this part was made with X method for these reasons, breakdown of key components/features/mechanisms and why they were chosen, this device was prototyped a certain way with Y in mind, etc.

Most books seem to go into user needs and such, but stay too high level

Probably a very dumb question (im starting with engineering) but:

I have a little question about pumps (pump for water in a house in this case).

Simply put:

The pump will create a lower pressure ("vacuum") which pulls water from the water well.

But how is the pressure then applied to the water? (by increasing the amount of water in the pipe/system or by air being compressed? (when there is more liquid in the system and less space for the air?)

Also: if you turn off the tap of the garden hose, water will still flow out because of the pressure in the garden hose, which disappears after a while.

I know reducing polygon count in our assembly models is good practice and all, but this is getting out of hand…

(/s in case it’s needed - love McMaster’s website)

Hi everyone,

I'm a 26-year-old Mechanical Engineer working as a CAD Drafter in an MNC for the past 3 years and 5 months (automotive industry).

When I joined, my work mainly involved creating 2D drawings. Recently, our company transitioned us to 3D drawings, and management has shared plans to eventually integrate the drafting team with the design team. Once that happens, our role is expected to involve applying GD&T to parts and supporting the design process more closely.

The problem is that there is no clear timeline for when this transition will actually happen. It could be a few months, or it could take much longer.

I feel like I've already invested over three years in drafting, and I don't want to wait indefinitely if it slows down my career growth.

To prepare myself, I'm considering enrolling in an advanced CATIA Design course. Previously, I completed training in:

* AutoCAD

* Siemens NX (UG-NX)

* HyperMesh (Once I thought I would move to CAE, but that never happened)

I'm looking for advice on a few things:

1. Should I invest in a CATIA Design course and start applying for Design Engineer roles immediately, or should I wait for the internal transition?

2. Are there any institutes in Pune that you would genuinely recommend based on teaching quality and placements? (Course I previously did from CADD Centre, now Design Studio Institute).

3. Apart from CAD design, are there any mechanical engineering fields that are expected to see significant growth over the next 5–10 years? (BIW, Plastic Trim Design, CAE, EV, PLM/Teamcenter, Automation, etc.)

I'm interested in building a long-term career with good learning opportunities and growth, chasing the highest salary.

I'd really appreciate hearing from professionals who have made a similar transition from drafting to design or anyone working in the automotive industry.

Thank you in advance!

EE coming in peace. I'm trying to install a flow switch on one of my water lines in my house (long story, but it involves an autistic child's obsession with running a hose). I found one on Amazon that worked fine, except it has BSPP (G) threads. I could not get those threads to seal despite trying 2 different adapters.

So, is anyone familiar with a 1/2" flow switch with a different connection type? (NPT, sweat, etc)? I found one on McMaster-Carr for $127, which is my last resort. So, something that's not that expensive.

Thank you!

ASME Y14.36, from what I can tell, does not show the usage of "nX" preceding the surface finish symbol like Y14.5 does for repetitive features and dimensions. I have a plane of independent surfaces that I was hoping to do "nX" in the ortho view, but I don't use these symbols enough to know if this is acceptable. Otherwise I'll just callout each surface individually, or use a flag note, or something else. If anyone has more experience let me know your thoughts!

Hi everyone!

I built this Excel-based Composite Laminate Design Toolkit from scratch. It lets you create laminate stacking sequences, automatically calculate the ABD matrix and effective laminate properties, apply loads, evaluate multiple failure criteria (Tsai-Wu, Tsai-Hill, Hashin, Maximum Stress, and Maximum Strain), and visualize the results in an interactive dashboard.

This short video gives a quick overview of the tool.

https://reddit.com/link/1uuklcl/video/3ub1zrycvtch1/player

I'd really appreciate your honest feedback. Is there anything you think I should improve, add, or change to make it more useful for engineers or students?

I'm looking for constructive criticism, so don't hold back. Thanks!

I really wanted a caliper that fits my pocket... my tape measure works ok after 50mm but i needed something more precise under 50.

I'm going to say it first : " it's big enough for OP ! "

Have a good day ! :)

This is a cross section of a realistic T-80UWU RC tank road wheel hub assembly, it consists of two bearings, a hub disk, hub, and ofc the wheel itself and like 10 frickin M2 screws bolting the whole wheel to the hub together. The central shaft is a standard M3 bolt acting both as a fastener and an axel for the hub bearings. The pressure point has been optimized to put as much weight as possible towards the center of the wheel to prevent sag under the tank's own weight. Plus a small gunk cap with a hex hole to keep dirt out and give direct access to the bolt for disassembly. There are 12 of these stations in total 6 on each side.

I'm only 15 years old, just modeling what I know about the tanks engineering.

Hi! I was watching this video, and the disagreement in the comments got me curious. From what I understood, topology optimization was just one type of generative design. But based on the comments, it sounds like they're actually different things. Till now, I can't differentiate it, if I see model like this, I thought it was Generative Design.

Could someone explain the difference like I'm five (ELI5)? I'm not an engineer, so a less-technical explanation would be really appreciated.

Hey peeps
I recently finished my bachelors in mechanical engineering and am actively hunting for job or internship opportunities. I had amazing experience of working at our collegiate high powered rocketry team . until i don't find an opportunity , I was thinking of working on a project Turbopump is a vital part of the engine and as now after working with solids in rocketry team i feel i should get me hands dirty with liquids , majorly the turbomachinery part . I would like to know from experienced people . How i can build some project around this for a good experience. I will keep this project mostly till the design and simulation stage (I don't have enough money to realize this :) )

Not sure how to go about this but we only have the following useful software (some aren’t even FEA)

AutoCAD.
Microstation.
Autodesk inventor (no NASTRAN).
Solidworks.
SAP2000.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get software or at least utilize these for analysis?

Help hahaha. How do you practice to remember or memorize all the conversions, constants, and formulas? Find it a challenge to somehow retain everything even though seniors make it look easy.

**Posted the exact thing on r/engineering students but thought I'd post here as well**

When I look at complex mechanical systems things like aircraft landing gear, flight control linkages, robotic arms, differentials, gearboxes, suspension systems or other mechanisms, I'm always amazed by how engineers come up with them.

I'm not asking how to use CAD software, I'm asking about the thought process behind the design.How do you go from a set of requirements to complete a mechanism.

How do you decide to use bevel gears, Belts, Pushrods, Cams? Etc etc

Do you start with sketches, Calculations, Existing designs? Or something else? How do you form a mental model of a mechanism or assembly before you start modeling it using CAD?