Component Engineer Career Guide and Counseling

Question: An engineer has specified “low carbon steel� as the material for a component on an engineering drawing. ? An engineer has specified “low carbon steel� as the material for a component on an engineering drawing. Briefly comment on this specification: is it a complete specification?; explain why you think that the specification is either complete or incomplete.

Answer: Low-carbon steels (AISI 1005-1026, 1108-1119, 1211-1215, and 1513-1527 ), by definition, contains less carbon than other steels and are inherently easier to cold-form due to their soft and ductile nature. When strength is not a major concern, low-carbon steels are good choices because they are easy to handle (draw, bend, punch, swage, etc.) and fairly inexpensive. Surface hardness can be improved by a process called carburizing which involves heating the alloys in a carbon-rich atmosphere. Low-carbon steels that are usually carburized are AISI 1015, 1018, 1020, and 1117. Ask the engineer to be more specific on what type of low carbon steel is required.

Question: Why would an engineer conduct a hardness test on a component after it was manufactured rather than the raw mat? Why would an engineer conduct a hardness test on a component after it was manufactured rather than the raw material from which it was made?

Answer: Depending on the manufacturing process The component may have received heat treatment to alter the hardness. It may have work hardened due to machining, welding, bending etc etc Its like eating flour, butter and sugar and expecting it to taste like a cake they are the raw components before baking

Question: What does an Electronics Component Engineer do?

Answer: Component Engineers get involved with piece parts. They are usually specialized in one or two areas such as resistors and capacitors, or connectors and cables. They write specifications for the parts, research what parts are available, establish testing guidelines, etc. They work in between the designers and the purchasing group. Component Engineers usually work for larger defense oriented companies like Lockheed and Boeing

Question: What is engineering of component based systems?

Answer: Asp Tutorials http://asptutorials.info/

Question: Identifying stresses and engineering a component? I am interested in constructing a motorcycle subframe out of carbon fiber(and maybe a frame too, depending on how the subframe goes). I am currently in school for my materials science and engineering degree. I am also working at a carbon fiber shop for the summer so I am familiar with the processes involved with constructing a carbon fiber component. My question is, how can I identify the stresses on the part in use? Can these stresses be approximated by calculation or should I somehow derive them empirically (If empirically, please elaborate how)? And after I find the stresses how should I go about calculating the necessary thickness of the carbon fiber to handle the stresses(in addition to some safety factor, of course)? I figure I can dig up some formulas that I can use to calculate the thickness but I am more asking whether I need to make carbon fiber samples from my methods and then derive the material constants needed from that or should I be able to find values elsewhere.

Answer: If you are trying to analyze the stresses in your subframe you need to break down the structure into simple, monolithic parts to find the max stresses. Certaintly, some areas will subject to higher stresses and those are the areas you want to reinforce. If your structure is too complex to break down or if you dont know how to do that, you will need a parametric modeling software like Inventor or Pro-E and you will have to make a 3-d computer model of the frame. Those softwares can give you a stress analysis and save you hours and hours of convoluted computing, so I would definately recommend looking at these softwares. There is a method called Finite Element Analysis that uses computers to do the stress analysis and this is the only way to get an accurate analysis for a complex structure (made out of any material, not just carbon). Now since you are using carbon fiber, you need to know how that material performs (in terms of max stress, yield stress, endurance limit for fatigue, modulus of rigidity, etc. Basically everything you are learning in your materials class) So if your shop has that info you are in luck. If not, you will have to find it and you want to be sure too that you have valid info. Good luck, sounds like fun.

Question: Sophomore in High School looking for an environmental engineer to answer 23 questions based on their career? I am working on a project for my Project Lead The Way (PLTW ) class, which is a form of technology class where you can earn college credit. For the project each student is required to pick a field of engineering they are interested in. One of the required components is to ask an environmental engineer a series of questions about their career in this field of engineering. If you are an environmental engineer interested in letting me ask you the questions please e-mail me at juan5225@yahoo.com If you know someone who is an environmental engineer who would be willing to answer my questions I would be very grateful if you gave me their e-mail. Thank You.

Answer: I will assist you. Check your inbox.

Question: i need to speak with an engineer that can make specialty electronics components.? I need a very special video recording component made and need to find an engineer who can do this? I need "Video In" to an MP3 Player. I already have this capability, but need it to be built smaller. Anyone know how to find an engineer who can do this? Thanks Jake

Answer: i would head over to the CAR AUDIO section and hit up sparky (the lead contributer) he may be able to help you out. his "about me" About me: I enjoy designing circuits and printed circuit boards, computer programming and troubleshooting, designing sound systems for car audio and teaching heres his link for more info http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show…

Question: How do you engineer structural seams, joints, and connections? I want to know the current technology on engineering building and structure seams, in between the connections and joints of the structural components. Is there formulas, equations, Load Calculations, etc; for these seams? Are they ignored? Is there an "allowance/tolerance" for the gaps between the connections? Is there a "Margin of Safety" percentage basis? Is there a Margin of Error allowed?

Answer: In the US, design of bolted and welded structural steel connections for buildings are typically done using manuals published by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Gaps between members in bolted connections are typically no more than 1/8". "Margins of Safety" are more appropriately called factors of safety, and a method of steel design called allowable stress design makes use of factors of safety against the point at which the steel begins to deform or yield. The current method of steel design is called load and resistance factor design, an approach that can reduce the costs of certain structures. Regarding margins of error, tolerances in fabrication of steel members are allowed, and are described by publications issued by the AISC. Check out AISC's Engineering FAQ at the address below for more information.

Question: How does one get into the land surveying buisness? My finace just got laid off. He is a component engineer, but wants to change careers.

Answer: He could try applying for a job.

Question: What is the best program for electrical and engineering prototyping? I am searching for a program that does simulations of electrical or engineering components put together. Let's say you start with a simple kit of parts like a set of pistons, spark and fuel supply or a preset electrical coil motor and fan blades and then press "START" and see a simulation of what happens when all the physical forces start interacting. I would really love to know which programs are out there - from the intuitive and interactive to the more advanced with a dual 2D CAD and 3D design capability, with circuitry diagrams and the whole package. If you need a simple example let's say I want to create a source of water flowing, along it I place a turbine connected to a coil motor connected to a battery and a lightbulb to go "on". All these componnects I expect to be standard tools of the software with preset resistance, power requirements, force, etc. As well as options to easily (or in detail with more effort) to create custom components and their physical attributes. Thank you guys - I like crocodile clips, looks very promising. Electronics workbench is great for circuitry. However, is there anything more advanced even, that you could take to the CAD/CAM machine to start producing the product? With same simulations capabilities? Like Pro-Engineer with Electronics workbench and Crocodile Physics & Technology combined. Many thanks in advance!!!

Answer: simulink, and matlab www.mathworks.com also Labview and spice