Master Design Engineer

A Resource Guide to Designing Smarter

The Master Engineer

By Dustin Sloane
A Resource Guide to Designing Smarter
By Dustin Sloane

The Master Engineer

By Dustin Sloane

By Dustin Sloane
1

A Resource Guide to Designing Smarter

 Design
An engineering student who is aspiring to take on
design may find it difficult to find skills that set them
apart. Every engineer is being taught the same
software and processes, and many of these skills are

Engineering simply not sufficient to meet the standards for top-tier

employers; big names such as Tesla, NASA, or even
Disney.

De-Classified This guide will give you the resources you need
to excel in the industry, and learn beyond what
you learn the classroom.

Mechanical
Boost your efficiency
As an engineering student, one may find it
difficult to find skills and qualities that set them
01 Who is this guide for?
Engineering
and long-term apart as an individual. Every engineer is being
productivity taught the same software and processes. Many
This guide is intended for anyone who is looking
of these skills are simply not sufficient to meet
Impress your boss to expand their knowledge
the standards of top-tieron availablebigtools
employers; namesfor
02De-Classified
As well as your
coworkers
engineers,
such as and the NASA,
Tesla, resources that
or even accompany
Disney.
these tools. This guide will be most useful for
This guide will give you the resources you need
Do less work those toinexcel
mechanical,
in the industry,industrial, and what
and learn beyond civil
03 engineering
you thefields, who are interested in the
Mechanical classroom.
save more time to
put towards design design side of engineering.
01As an engineering student, one may find it

Engineering
Reader Assumptions
difficult to find skills and qualities that set them
This guide
apartonly assumes
as an that
individual. the engineer
Every reader has basic
is being
knowledge in the processes and disciplines
taught the same software and processes. Many that are
De-Classified
Organization of this Guide typical ofofengineering.
more challenging
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Some
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for readers
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or even immediately
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This guide is organized into two main
useful, it is still helpful to be exposed to the contained
sections, each consisting of two sub-
Mechanical
resourcesThis guide
early on.will give you the resources you need
sections. Specifically, there are main to excel in the industry, and learn beyond what
categories of engineering tools, and you the classroom.
Tips for Using this Guide:
Engineering
engineering resources.
The “toolbox” contains references for
• Refer
As anto
the
the Tablestudent,
engineering
nexttopage
difficult
of Contents
in order
find skills
one may
to quickly
and qualities
found
find on
it
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set them
both downloadable software tools,
De-Classified
and online “gadgets”. •
apart as an individual. Every engineer is being
information
taughtthe
Check the “Resource
same software and processes.
Uses” list for each Many
of these skills are simply not sufficient
entry to quickly determine the relevance to meet
The following resources cover both the standards of top-tier employers; big names
of each resource
relevant databases for engineers as such as Tesla, NASA, or even Disney.
• Be patient in learning how to use these
well as materials for further design resources;
This guide willthe give
mostyou
important resource
the resources as
you need
research. atobeginner
excel in theis industry, and learn
the support forums.beyond
If what
you the classroom.
available, denoted with:

2
Table of Contents
Engineering Toolbox ..........................................................
Trade Secret Software ..............................................................................................................
Rhino 3D & Grasshopper .................................................................................................... 5
Blender 3D .......................................................................................................................... 6
Online Gadgets ........................................................................................................................
Repl.it ................................................................................................................................. 7
Mathematica Cloud ............................................................................................................. 7

Engineering Resources .....................................................

Databases ................................................................................................................................
Thomasnet .......................................................................................................................... 8
Matweb ............................................................................................................................... 8
Statistical Abstract .............................................................................................................. 8
Research and Design Inspiration ..............................................................................................
Journal of Mech Design ...................................................................................................... 9
Catalogue of Govt Resources ............................................................................................. 9

3
Engineering Toolbox
Trade Secret Software

4
 Rhino 3D & Grasshopper
URL
https://www.rhino3d.com/tutorials
Tips
• tutorials to help the user quickly
As a beginner, start with the
“Interface Basics” Tutorial
• Download the “User’s Guide” for
written samples
• Check the “Grasshopper”
category for important tutorials on
how to use the built-in software
Uses:
Description • Node-Based Modeling
A comprehensive guide to the • Ergonomic design
rhino 3d software package. It
contains both written and video • Complex surfacing
• Physics simulation
learn the fundamentals of the
software. These tutorials range • Easy python scripting
from basic beginner tutorials to
complex design. It has an entire
category devoted to the
grasshopper plug-in.

This software is the swiss

army knife of CAD for
Engineers. Parametric
design workflows allow
the user to quickly
generate thousands of
precise model variations,
without the need for
scripting knowledge.
5
 Blender 3D
URL
https://www.blender.org/support/
Tips
• As a beginner, start with
the ”fundamentals” video tutorial
• Look to the communities such as
blender artists for design inspiration
• Pro-Tip: Use software such as Maya
3D to convert your subdivision
geometry for CAD use.
Uses:
Description • Fast Paced mesh modeling
The official support page for the • Subdivision Surfacing
software “Blender 3d”. This
resource contains sections for • Concept prototyping
FAQ, links to user forums, and
video tutorials. Engineers will be • Cycles Ray-Traced Rendering
able to find tutorials on how to use
• Prototype 3D Printing
the built-in rendering to generate
photorealistic renders of their
designs.

This software is useful to quickly make

impressive visuals and animations for
engineering applications. It is a crucial
component of design; starting at the
concept phase for brainstorming and
forward to the marketing phase. Nothing
will sell a concept faster than a ray-traced
render in Blender’s Cycles engine.
6
Engineering Toolbox
Online Gadgets

Repl.it Uses:
• Online Scripting
URL Description o Python 3
https://repl.it/ An online service that allows users to o Java
interact with a vast number of coding
o C#, C++
Tips platforms, and upon registering allows the
user to write and save full length code • Algorithm prototyping
• After registering for an account the segments for use at any time in the cloud.
user may save scripts for later use The types of languages range from higher • Matrix and vector math
• Visit the “Community” page to find level complex languages such as Python
further support and learning down to lower level C. A resource useful for
assignments for different coding any engineer including those who work with
languages control algorithms, as well as those who
simply want to save time with repetitive
calculations.

Wolfram Cloud Uses:

• Online Calculation
URL Description
https://mathematica.wolframcloud.com/app/ An online service that grants users online • Symbolic algebra
access the extensive library of • Differential Equations
Tips mathematics functions offered by wolfram
• Calculus
alpha. Though not required, registration
• Log in in order to access more
allows users to save “notebooks” full of
features, such as saving and emailing • Matrix algebra
calculations and functions. These
notebooks
functions range from simple algebra, to
• As a beginner, check the reference
complex vector calculus. Such functions
material and “getting started” section
are indispensable to engineers who are
found on the main homepage upon
logging in solving complex mechanical systems.

7
 Engineering Resources
Databases
Thomasnet
URL Description
https://www.thomasnet.com/ An expansive hub of relevant information for engineers. It is a
catalogue of information built by a network of hundreds of thousands
of suppliers for mechanical components. This catalogue not only
Tips contains almost every type of mechanical component, but also cad
• Scroll down the main page to browse models and schematics of many mechanical components, information
the library of “Supplier Categories”, about the suppliers and their records, and even the latest news in the
“Product Catalogs”, and “CAD engineering industry. Engineers will be able to quickly find a supplier
Drawings” for the components they need, to the exact specifications they are
• Click on supplier discovery on the looking for. Additionally, one can verify that they are buying from a
main page in order to find suppliers reliable and certified supplier thanks to the extensive information and
nearby evaluations available.

Matweb
URL Description
http://www.matweb.com/ A searchable online database of material properties. This website
contains data for over 125,000 engineering materials, including
Tips thermoplastics and thermoset polymers. For engineers, this resource
provides the fastest way to locate material properties for use in CAD
• Click on the “search” link in the blue analysis applications, and hand calculations for material strengths.
navigation bar for more specific
search categories
• Use the “Property Search” to locate
materials with properties that fall in
specified ranges

Statistical Abstract
URL Description
LINK A comprehensive summary of statistics pertaining to social, political,
and economic trends in the USA, published by the Government Census
Tips Bureau. The website has 30 subsections on the main page, covering
topics ranging from population to manufacturing statistics. For
• Click the “Guide” link in the blue engineers specifically, this resource provides quick access to
•
navigation bar for more information
information regarding demographics, local economies, and other
on how to use this resource
factors that would influence marketing decisions for new product
• Use the dropdown next to the search
designs.
bar to specify the edition year

8
Engineering Resources
Research and Design Inspiration
Journal of Mechanical Design
URL
LINK
Tips
• In each article, check the right side
for other useful tools, such as
generating citations or downloading
PDF documents
• Use the search bar at the top of the
page to quickly find relevant articles
Catalog of Govt. Resources
URL
https://catalog.gpo.gov
Tips
• Limit a search to electronic titles
under the “Catalogs” dropdown
• Specify exact titles and authors under
the “Keyword(s)” dropdown
• Toggle extended” view under display
options in search window for more
visible information
Description
A digital collection of the official “Journal of Mechanical Design”
published by ASME (The American Society of Mechanical
Engineers). This resource, contains publications ranging from 1978
onwards to the present day, with subject matter varying widely
across the broad subject of Mechanical Design. This periodical is
a comprehensive resource on the subject, showing a timeline of
progress and discoveries throughout the history of mechanical
design, as well as the most current insight to the latest cutting-edge
research.
Description
A government resource for finding federal publications, These
publications range from recent publications to historical
publications. For example, by searching the keywords “mechanical
failure”, one finds an article titled “Impact testing of aluminum 2024
and titanium 6A1-4V for material model development” with an
internet link to the document. This resource is an official NASA
document, and it is very thorough in its description of multiple failure
tests relating to different materials. This is one example of many
resources available on this site.