(Part 2) Top products from r/MechanicalEngineering

I've worked with some designers who had books like these:

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices

[507 Mechanical Movements and Designs]
(https://www.amazon.com/507-Mechanical-Movements-Mechanisms-Devices/dp/0486443604/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484237480&sr=8-2&keywords=mechanisms)

Honestly though, these books might be good bathroom reading, but design comes down to experience. The more problems you solve, and the more things you make, the better your designs will be.

Having been a design engineer for a while now, the absolute best advice I can give you is to talk to the other people who will be using the stuff you design. Starting out, your designs aren't going to be the most elegant. Focus on getting something that is functional.

Then, talk to the machinist who is making the parts. He'll have some advice on what features are difficult to machine, or some features you could include that make your parts easier to manufacture, such as adding a flat surface to use as a datum for machining setups, or "bonus holes" that can be used for lifting or securing the parts on the machine. Maybe if you loosen some tolerances, he can order a piece of mill standard pipe instead of having to hog out a huge piece of round stock. Maybe if you tweak the geometry just a little bit, the part can be made on a manual machine instead of having to wait for the 5 axis CNC to open up.

Talk to the techs who have to operate or maintain the machines. What makes their jobs difficult? They'll know best what parts are hard to access, or which tightly packed assemblies don't have clearances to fit tools in, or what's constantly breaking and needs to be replaced often. They'll show you the "custom made tools" that they improvise so that they can actually work with your equipment.

Talk to the people in procurement, or your suppliers and vendors. Is there cheaper hardware you could use? Maybe switching materials would make it easier to source raw stock. Maybe there's an off-the-shelf coupling you could use instead of machining a custom bracket to join two components. These guys work with lots of other people in your industry, and will gladly share "how the other guy did it".

There's two textbooks that are commonly used to teach material behavior and mechanical component design (such as springs, bearings, etc). Both these textbooks are what I had to learn with.

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Behavior-Materials-4th-Edition/dp/0131395068

http://www.amazon.com/Shigleys-Mechanical-Engineering-Design-McGraw-Hill/dp/0073398209

Both these textbooks are easily to obtain if yer a pirate, as well as the solution manuals. They start fairly basic, however, they quickly go quite in depth. Shigley will probably be most useful for you, but definitely flip through them both. There will be a lot of over-lap content wise. I doubt you will find any textbook material on starter springs specifically because they are a specialty spring, however, mechanics of springs still apply to them.

Have fun :p Component design can get very complicated and convoluted so try and not get frustrated if things don't make sense. Let me know if you have any more questions, and feel free to PM at anytime. I can't promise I'll have a good or correct answer for you all the time, but I can try. Component design was actually one of my least favorite classes so it's definitely not my strong suit, but I understand the majority of what is taught in Shigley's and Dowling's.

Not exactly a coffee table book, but "How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer" by Adrian Newey is fantastic if he has an interest in cars.

I took a graduate-level advanced dynamics course for my Master's. I was going to recommend the same textbook that's listed in your syllabus: Principles of Dynamics by DT Greenwood. It's an excellent book. However, it's not going to help you much if you don't already have a strong foundation in dynamics. If you want to get up to speed, spend some time with Hibbeler's undergraduate-level textbook on Statics and Dynamics (https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Mechanics-Combined-Statics-Dynamics/dp/0138149291/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=229ANRZ1Q41XGJXJMEE6).

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook might be nice.

Its like a museum of mechanisms. I like the 2nd Edition cover for a "coffee table book".

Engineering Plastics Handbook

Injection Molding: Process Design and Applications

Though if you didn't already know, there are tons of books and articles and training resources available that you were not aware of as a student. Ask your colleagues or your supervisor if they have particular recommendations. A big part of your career is going to be finding this information yourself.

Good Luck!

It's not a purely mechanical orientated book but I have found the Gieck Engineering Formulas book to be quite useful and it doesn't go off the rails with any differential calculus.
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0071457747)

It also is an actual handbook you can carry with you; if anyone on here has seen the Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook in the flesh you will understand.

I've heard good things about [the HVAC Design Sourcebook] (http://www.amazon.com/HVAC-Design-Sourcebook-Larsen-Angel/dp/0071753036) although I haven't got around to reading it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Wing-Sections-Aeronautical-Engineering/dp/0486605868/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=theory+of+wing+sections+abbott&qid=1572380480&sr=8-1

This book has an appendix with about 120 NACA airfoils with geometry and life/moment coefficients. Probably any other book would have them as well but that is one I have and its reasonable price.

This is a textbook that I've used in the past. Fairly decent walk through the design process. http://smile.amazon.com/Product-Design-Development-Karl-Ulrich/dp/0073404772/

No. I don't.

The (convenient, acronym preserving) name change to "Central Manufacturing Technology Institute" is understandable as manufacturing has moved beyond just machining...

But that won't help OP find a book which was published under their old name.

How cheap?

There's this sort of thing for $40USD

Or these are cheaper and could possibly be hacked to work.


Or you can 3d print something for a couple bucks

additionally check:

Stress : http://www.amazon.com/Roarks-Formulas-Stress-Strain-8th/dp/0071742476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174330&sr=8-1&keywords=roark%27s

Machinery: http://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-29th-Erik-Oberg/dp/083112900X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174665&sr=8-3&keywords=Mechanical+Engineering+Handbook

General handbook:http://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426174463&sr=8-2&keywords=Mechanical+Handbook

and this source as a list of mech. engineering formulas to calculate and plot:
http://www.fxsolver.com/browse/?cat=4&formulas=on

Statics and dynamics by beer etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Vector-Mechanics-Engineers-Statics-Dynamics/dp/0073398136/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107608&sr=1-5

mechanics of materials also by beer etc
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Materials-Ferdinand-Beer/dp/0073380288/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107608&sr=1-2

Shigleys mechanical engineering design
http://www.amazon.com/Shigleys-Mechanical-Engineering-Design-McGraw-Hill/dp/0073529281/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107693&sr=1-2&keywords=shigleys

fluid mechanics by white
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Student-McGraw-Hill-Mechanical-Engineering/dp/0077422414/ref=pd_sim_b_45?ie=UTF8&refRID=1598FBBBQ7NSWR5MKF90

Heat and mass transfer
http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Mass-Transfer-Fundamentals-Applications/dp/0077366646/ref=pd_sim_b_64?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QG596EKX9F6S2T3F32G

Thermo
http://www.amazon.com/Thermodynamics-Engineering-Approach-Student-Resources/dp/0077366743/ref=pd_sim_b_86?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NW57Y2JVW3AGSH3R3ZP

kinematics
http://www.amazon.com/Machinery-Resource-McGraw-Hill-Mechanical-Engineering/dp/007742171X/ref=pd_sim_b_31?ie=UTF8&refRID=09FEZCGH0P7QAK3KFHR1

Vibrations
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Vibrations-5th-Edition-Singiresu/dp/0132128195/ref=pd_sim_b_79?ie=UTF8&refRID=16QXABYHM8AZS8AEYQ2M

these were at least some of the books my school used. I also hated most of these books.