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Mechanical engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It requires a solid understanding of key concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy. Practitioners of mechanical engineering, known as mechanical engineers, use these principles and others in the design and analysis of automobiles, aircraft, heating & cooling systems, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, medical devices and more.

Development

Mechanical engineering could be found in many ancient and medieval societies, found throughout the globe. In ancient Greece, there were brilliant mechanical engineers such as Archimedes (287 BC-212 BC), as well as Heron of Alexandria (10-70 AD). The mechanical works of the latter two deeply influenced mechanics in the Western tradition, although there were many others who contributed to early mechanical science. In ancient China, there were also many notable figures, such as Zhang Heng (78-139 AD) and Ma Jun (200-265 AD). The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (1020-1101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before any escapement could be found in clocks of medieval Europe, as well as the world's first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.

Before the Industrial Revolution, most engineering was restricted to military and civil uses. Engineers in the military, though not always referred to as such, designed fortification systems and various war machines. Civil engineers were responsible primarily for building and ground structures. During the early 19th century in Britain mechanical engineering developed as a separate field to provide manufacturing machines and the engines to power them. The first British professional society of civil engineers was formed in 1818; that for mechanical engineers followed in 1847. In the United States, the first mechanical engineering professional society was formed in 1880, making it the third oldest type of engineering behind civil (1852) and mining & metallurgical (1871). "The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. An engineering education is based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science; this is followed by courses emphasizing the application of this knowledge to a specific field and studies in the social sciences and humanities to give the engineer a broader education.

Education

A Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Mechanical Engineering is offered at many universities in the United States, and similar programs are offered at universities in most industrialized nations. In the U.S., Japan, Germany, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, South Africa and many others, Mechanical Engineering programs typically take 4 to 5 years and result in a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSc) or in a Bachelor of Technology (BTech), but some countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Nigeria offer a 4 year Bachelor of Science (BSc) / Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree with Honors (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering. In Australia and New Zealand, requirements are typically a 4 years Bachelor of Engineering (BE or BEng) degree, equivalent to the British MEng level. A BEng degree differ from a BSc degree in that the students obtain a broader education consisting of information relevant to various engineering disciplines.

Mechanical engineering coursework

Mechanical engineering programs generally cover the same fundamental subjects. Universities in the United States offering accredited programs in mechanical engineering are required to offer several major subjects of study, as determined by ABET. This is to ensure a minimum level of competence among graduating engineers and to inspire confidence in the engineering profession as a whole. The specific courses required to graduate, however, may differ from program to program. Universities will often combine multiple subjects into a single class or split a subject into multiple classes, depending on the faculty available and the University's major area(s) of research. Fundamental subjects of mechanical engineering include:

Mechanical engineers are also expected to understand and be able to apply basic concepts from chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and physics. Most mechanical engineering programs include several semesters of calculus, as well as advanced mathematical concepts which may include differential equations and partial differential equations, linear and modern algebra, and differential geometry, among others.

In addition to the core mechanical engineering curriculum, many mechanical engineering programs offer more specialized programs and classes, such as mechatronics/robotics, transport and logistics, cryogenics, fuel technology, automotive engineering, biomechanics, vibration, optics and others, if a separate department does not exist for these subjects.

Most mechanical engineering programs also require varying amounts of research or community projects to gain practical problem-solving experience. Mechanical engineering students usually hold one or more internships while studying, though this is not typically mandated by the university.

License

After being awarded a degree, Engineers may seek license by a state or national government. The purpose of this process is to ensure that engineers possess the necessary technical knowledge and real-world experience to engineer safely. Once certified, the engineer is given the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in the UK, Ireland, India and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European Engineer (much of the European Union). Not all mechanical engineers choose to become licensed; those that do can be distinguished as Chartered/Professional Engineers by the post-nominal title PE or CEng, as in: Ryan Jones, PE.

In the U.S., to become a licensed Professional Engineer, an Engineer must

In the United States, the requirements and steps of this process are set forth by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), website, a national non-profit representing all states. In the UK, current graduates require a MSc, MEng or BEng (Hons) in order to become chartered through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Process of mechanical engineering

The process of mechanical engineering is optimization: engineers strive to optimize cost, increase productivity, durability, safety, and overall usefulness of objects. This process can be as simple as the design of a chair for comfort or as complex as the optimization of a turbocharged engine for many criteria, such as fuel consumption and power output. It can be as small as the cutting of a nano-sized gear or as large as the assembly of a supertanker used to carry oil around the world.

Mechanical engineers must have the ability to work methodically and logically to solve problems. It is also important that they view their work objectively.

Drafting

Drafting or technical drawing is the means by which mechanical engineers create instructions for manufacturing parts. A technical drawing can be a computer model or hand-drawn schematic showing all the dimensions necessary to manufacture a part, as well as assembly notes, a list of required materials, and other pertinent information. A U.S. mechanical engineer or skilled worker who creates technical drawings may be referred to as a drafter or draftsman (or, more politically correctly, draftsperson). Drafting has historically been a two-dimensional process, but recent Computer-Aided Designing (CAD) programs have begun to allow the designer to create in three dimensions.

Instructions for manufacturing a part must be fed to the necessary machinery, either manually, through programmed instructions, or through the use of a Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) or combined CAD/CAM program. Optionally, an engineer may also manually manufacture a part using the technical drawings, but this is becoming an increasing rarity, except in the areas of applied spray coatings, finishes, and other processes that cannot economically be done by a machine.

Drafting is used in nearly every sub-discipline of mechanical engineering, and by many other branches of engineering and architecture. Three-dimensional models created using CAD software are also commonly used in Finite element analysis (FEA) and Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).