Here you can find an assortment of mechanical design tools intended to help reduce the monotony of mechanical engineering. The hope is that these guides and help you located frequently need information and will help streamline your design process.
There are tables, formulas, shortcuts and advice. All these should be taken as aids, but never accepted without your own validation of the mechanical design tools within the context of your own application and your own analysis.
If there are any areas where you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us to recommend a new design tool.
A handbook value of μ is a starting estimate, not gospel. Learn the difference between static and kinetic friction, why lubrication and finish move the number, and how the capstan effect amplifies it.
Thermal expansion is easy to compute and easy to forget. Learn to calculate free growth (ΔL = αL·ΔT) and restrained stress (σ = E·α·ΔT) with worked examples and a table of common α values.
6061, 7075, 2024, and 5052 aluminum behave very differently. Compare strength, weldability, corrosion, and formability with a side-by-side table and a fast selection shortcut.
Thread engagement length decides whether a bolt fails predictably in tension or the threads strip out. Here is how to size it for steel, aluminum, and other soft materials, with a worked example.
How Rockwell, Brinell, and Vickers hardness scales relate, why conversions are approximate, and the handy rule that ties hardness to tensile strength in steel.
How slender columns fail by buckling, not crushing. Euler’s critical load formula, effective length factor K for real end conditions, and a worked example.
Why dissimilar metals corrode when they touch, how to read the galvanic series, and five proven ways to prevent galvanic attack in real assemblies.
Identify hydraulic fittings and threads fast: tell JIC, ORFS, NPT, and BSPP apart by pitch, seat angle, and sealing method, with a quick-reference table.
Specify safety colors with ANSI Z535, convert between RAL, Pantone, and hex, and verify legibility with WCAG contrast ratios. A repeatable label workflow.
Resolve forces into x and y components, sum them into a resultant, and solve equilibrium. Sign conventions, two worked examples, and 3D direction cosines.