(Part 2) Top products from r/engineering

Bruhn, Niu, Roark and Niu (again) are the bibles for aerospace structures. Bruhn is always ridiculously expensive but it's hard to beat. Not sure why they won't put another edition out, everyone uses it.

Best way to learn FEA is by doing. Taking a class to understand the theory is very helpful (in my opinion). Gives the user a deeper insight into how the model is working - especially how the nodal DOFs of each type element work. Making models in "one button push" FE packages like Solidworks or ProMechanica is only so helpful. Building the models by hand or creating your own programs is the best way to develop an understanding.

If you are motivated, here is a good class with all the chapters and notes online.

I think that you should look into Richard Feynman. This man was a truly influential member of the scientific community. There are several books about his life and findings. I think that all engineers should envy his lust for balance.

I think that the most interesting thing about him is his passion for his children. They were truly the center of what he focused on and that intellectual curiosity is reflected in his offspring.

I don't know what else I need to write to convince you to read books about his life; however, I will claim that learning about this man has made me into a better engineer, son, and SO. Just thinking about this book gives me goosebumps because I appreciated it so much.

I am an ME major EE minor and would agree it is a better route to aerospace. But that need not stop you from studying aerospace topics!

I think an awesome space engineering (if you are interested in astronautics) book you can jump into without a lot of heavy pre-requisites is SMAD (http://www.amazon.com/Space-Mission-Engineering-Technology-Library/dp/1881883159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462136211&sr=8-1&keywords=smad). If you are having fun it is easier to learn, rather than trying to plow through a calculus or thermodynamics book. Edit: But get the 3rd edition, not the most recent one.

Other really good options would be to get hands on experience building stuff, programming & wiring arduinos and building stuff at a hackerspace. Building a 3D printer from a kit would be a good starting point.

This really depends on what type of engineering you're going into. I'll put in my two cents for Civil or Structural Engineering:

Two books I've loved recently are The Big Roads by Earl Swift, and The Great Bridge by David McCullough.

The Big Roads shows the big picture perspective of how the US federal highway system came into being over the last hundred years or so, and is a great overview of how transportation planning and engineering fits in with politics and business. The Great Bridge is exactly the opposite; an incredibly in-depth narrative of the planning and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which is a fascinating story.

I really would recommend Randall Munroe's Thing Explainer. When I started doing propulsion work, I actually used it as a reference because it's easy to reference and, it has a pretty strong foundation on a number of things at a very accessible level. As u/zaures mentioned, The Way Things Work (any edition) is excellent and in much the same vein.

It may not fit exactly what you're looking for, but my first thought was Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

It's essentially a bunch of anecdotes throughout his life. It's easy reading, highly entertaining, and covers a wide enough variety of topics that it shouldn't be too hard to annotate. Even if it doesn't fit the requirements for your project, I'd recommend you read it anyway.

The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall through the Floor
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Materials-through-Princeton-Library/dp/0691125481

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

http://www.amazon.com/Structures-Things-Dont-Fall-Down/dp/0306812835/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

Great real world overview of lots of mechanical engineering concepts like stress/strain, how I beams work, how cracks form etc.
Not too theory/equation heavy, very well written. 1960s Era but still pretty relevant.

Stuff Matters is a easy read without all of the calculations, so it's a really go way to learn theory without getting bogged down with math - it's also on Bill Gates book list. Also, this is the only textbook I've ever read cover to cover - my professor was a nut, but we learned a shitload. Good luck, OP!

Amazon links for books mentioned in this thread:

\/u/thetrueonion (OP)

• Digital Apollo, David A. Mindell    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Eagles of Mitsubishi, Jiro Horikoshi
  
  
• Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants, John D. Clark
  
  \/u/llothar:
  
  
• Amazon.com's list of books authored by Richard Feynman
  
  
• The Martian, Andy Weir
  
  \/u/DallasGreen:
  
  
• Closest I could find was Engineering and the Mind's Eye, Eugene S. Ferguson
  
  \/u/gearnut:
  
  
• Slide Rule, Nevil Shute    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/frothysasquatch:
  
  
• Waterpower in Lowell: Engineering and Industry in Nineteenth-Century America, Patrick M. Malone
  
  \/u/Beefstyles:
  
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed, Ben R. Rich
  
  \/u/CalledCaptainHook:
  
  
• One Second After, William R. Forstchen    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/75footubi:
  
  
• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, David McCullough
  
  \/u/Bradm77:
  
  
• The Soul of A New Machine, Tracy Kidder

If you like this video their is an entire chapter in the book,The Evolution of useful things. There are other chapters dedicated to how the paper clip was made and other such other detritus of modern life.

You most certainly do not need PM software for your to-do list.

I struggled with this for a long time. I highly recommend Getting Things Done by David Allen - Amazon Link.

I ended up settling on MS OneNote to keep track of everything in my life. The desktop version is very powerful, and the mobile app is good for review and short notes on the go.

WARNING: It is very easy to go overboard with organizing with the GTD method. It took me a long time to get it running smoothly (David Allen suggests a full 2 years before you reap the full benefits), but now I have all of my Tasks, Projects, Someday/Maybe's, and various levels of Goals for work and home neatly organized and out of my head.

If that is too much here is a much more simple method for the short term. Grab a notebook and write down everything you have to do. As for prioritizing, pick 2-4 things you absolutely have to get done tomorrow and write those on a separate piece of paper. Repeat this daily.

For electronics, go with The Art of Electronics. Great reviews, very engaging read.

Here's a pretty good GD&T reference I've used at work:

https://www.amazon.com/Geo-Metrics-IIIm-Application-Dimensioning-Tolerancing/dp/0201633434

A distressingly-high ratio of pop psych nonsense suggestions in here. Sticking to engineering, one of my faves is Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down by JE Gordon (and The New Science of Strong Materials by the same author). Does a great job of qualitatively AND quantitatively explaining structures and materials.

I work in process design and reference these daily:

• Perry's
  
• Crane Technical Paper No. 410
  
• Cameron Hydraulic Data
  
  EDIT:
  And yes, the FE Supplied Reference Manual is extremely useful.
  

Anything by Henry Petroski is a good bet, especially The Evolution of Everyday Things.

My husband did his masters in space systems engineering and SMAD was pretty much the bible. Maybe you can find it at a library near you.

Callister is pretty common http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470419970?pc_redir=1408455443&robot_redir=1

Sometimes, in this day/age when searching google is too overwhelming, you just need a good book on the subject.

Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I just bought this as someone in a similar boat and would highly recommend

Get yourself a student edition of some Autodesk products - AutoCad and Inventor at the least - to practice CAD and drafting skills.

Some books about Mech Eng specifically:

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-Edition/dp/0071704426

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Machines-How-They-Work/dp/0486217094

http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Formulas-Kurt-Gieck/dp/0071457747

http://www.amazon.com/507-Mechanical-Movements-Mechanisms-Devices/dp/0486443604

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Engineering-Principles-John-Bird/dp/0415517850

Don't forget about basic electricity, electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics too.

Get some hands-on experience with machine tools such as lathes and mills. Learn how to program CNC machines using G-code. Try to land a summer job at a factory or assembly plant for the experience. Learn how to make metal castings by watching some YouTube videos and visiting a local foundry.

Find some local ASME members to network with and seek a mentor. ASME also offers a limited free membership to college freshmen.

I just finished a class about various manufacturing process and we used this book http://www.amazon.com/DeGarmos-Materials-Processes-Manufacturing-Black/dp/0470924675 It covers casting, forging, plastic processes, a bunch of others, and the advantages of each.

Maybe not the most technical: The Mythical Man-Month


It's more of a software engineering/project management book. Still something I'd recommend.

There are hundreds of sources out there that explain the basics of GD&T. Granted, the vocabulary makes it a bit tough to understand if you are teaching yourself, but you can do it for no money involved, only your time.

If you want to get a book, I recommend this one or the non-metric version (the one I use):

http://www.amazon.com/Geo-Metrics-IIIm-Application-Dimensioning-Tolerancing/dp/0201633434

Does anyone have real practical experience with "Getting things done"? I'm wondering if it's worth something for engineers or if it's just a tool hyped by managers to make their work seem fancy.

EDIT: I'm talking about that

> The New S.M.A.D. (spacecraft mission and design)(for astronautics)

It's called Space Mission Engineering now.

Bruhn

From an airframe standpoint, the biggest ones would be Bruhn's Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures. Along those same lines would be the more theoretical text by T. H. G. Megson.

I got this book for my niece for her 6th birthday.

The Art of Electronics. Otherwise, his textbooks should suffice.

Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0500513759/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oddCCb7DXE0BV

This is my bible.

Printed on paper

DeGarmo's Materials and Processes in Manufacturing

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Control-Systems-12th-Edition/dp/0136024580

This is the book written by my former controls professor.

http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-Calculator-N3CAS-2L1/dp/B004NBZAYS

Technical drawing handbook for engineers.
Technical Drawing with Engineering Graphics (14th Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0135090490/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_U2sLyb1ANG2EX

http://www.amazon.com/Perrys-Chemical-Engineers-Handbook-Edition/dp/0071422943

I got the TI Nspire CX CAS for my last couple years of my BSME and I cannot recommend it more! It does everything! Basically a step above the TI-89 but thinner and faster with a color screen and a rechargeable battery.

Whenever there's a question about stresses I have one book I turn to:

Roark's Formluas. It will at least point you in the right direction.

I got the new N-Spire CX CAS . It's dope. Color screen, indefinite integrals, rechargeable battery. Also unlimited nerd cred. I've used it to solve annoying integrals saving me tons of time on tests. (Mech E)

http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-Calculator-N3CAS-2L1/dp/B004NBZAYS

Doesn't quite sound like what you're describing, but The Mythical Man Month is the book I've most often heard described as absolutely essential for understanding problems with managing software projects.

this is just about the only book that was precribed in my mechatronics programme

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Control-Systems-12th-Edition/dp/0136024580

cant say i actually used it apart from some last minute cram and highlighter abuse just before the exam - most of what i know and do just came from real work experience