Do you lie awake at night sweating over mechanical designs, running calculations through your head, unable to turn off the invasive thoughts of Newtonian physics? Chances are you’re a neurotic mechanical engineer. Neurosis is a state of being unbalanced, overly anxious, possibly deranged. But, surely this can’t apply to your average mechanical engineer can it? …
As engineers, we have all used thread sealing tapes at some point to fix leaks. But how do we fix leaks in applications that involve extreme temperatures and pressure? In such scenarios, the thread sealing tapes would probably just melt or become rigid, rendering them useless. This challenge led to the discovery of the O-ring, sometime …
Have you been wanting to understand more about the Galvanic Series – what it is exactly, and how it can help you make decisions about joining metals? A lot of industrial and commercial applications involve the combination of two or more metals. In such cases, how does one choose which metals to join? When ‘non-compatible’ …
DWG (drawing) files are most commonly used when working on furniture drawings, house and building architecture, and of course mechanical and industrial components. As more dimensional data, components and design features are added to a drawing, the saved DWG file format becomes too large and heavy for emailing. Therefore, it’s useful to convert it into …
Let’s talk about gold engineering alloys. Gold has been one of the most revered precious metals from the birth of civilisation. As a symbol of wealth and power, it has been an obsession for mankind for centuries. From Egyptians to Persians to Romans – gold has been an integral part of every culture. Why, then, …
Material scientists and engineers rely on good quality and reliable information provided via the internet. Gone are the days of huge compendiums of material data sheets, library shelves straining under the weight of materials handbooks, and encyclopedias. Matweb has become established as one of the main go-to places for scientists and engineers when they want to …
In this article, we’re going to look at 304 stainless steel properties and what makes it such a popular choice across a range of applications. Before we get into the properties, have you ever wondered why steel is called ‘stainless’? As you might expect ‘stainless steel’ is not really stain-free – the reason it is …
What you’re about to witness is a roundup of some absolutely mental manufacturing techniques that are insanely interesting, and just a little bit wacky. Some will make you awe-struck at their ingenuity, some will make you question everything you know, and at least one will make you ask ‘what’s the point?’ Well, the point is …
Have you noticed how some materials rust over time, due to prolonged exposure to the environment? Those materials invariably contain iron and are called ferrous metals. Ferrous metals are those that contain considerable amounts of iron. (The Latin name of iron is Ferrum, and hence, metals containing iron are ‘ferrous’). Did you know? Iron is …
How often have you wondered if a material you need for your project is hard enough for its intended purpose? Hardness is a critical property for many applications. Fortunately, there is a relatively easy method to measure the hardness of materials, called the Vickers Hardness test. According to the Metals Handbook, hardness is defined as …
Vickers Hardness Test: What it is and how it’s measured Read More »
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