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.
Practical field guide to identifying hydraulic fitting threads. JIC 37-degree, ORFS, BSPP, BSPT, NPT, NPTF, and metric DIN — visual cues, gauge measurements, and matchup rules.
Design a steel-reinforced elastomeric bridge bearing pad per AASHTO LRFD Method A. Shape factor, compressive stress, shear strain, and stability with a complete worked example.
How to calculate L10 bearing life using ISO 281 — basic rating, dynamic equivalent load, life modification factor a-iso, and a worked example for a 6206 deep groove ball bearing.
Step-by-step pressure drop calculation for hydraulic hose using the Darcy-Weisbach equation. Reynolds number, friction factor, fittings, and a worked example for a Dash-12 R2 line.
An O-ring is the simplest sealing element in engineering — a rubber ring squeezed into a groove. And yet O-ring failures account for some of the most expensive problems in hydraulic systems, pressure vessels, and fluid handling equipment. The root cause is almost always the same: the groove was wrong. This guide covers the fundamentals … Read more
Sizing a hydraulic cylinder is one of those tasks that looks simple on paper — force equals pressure times area — but gets engineers into trouble when they skip the details. Rod-side annular area, pressure losses in the circuit, and safety factors all conspire to make an undersized cylinder the most expensive mistake on a … Read more
GD&T Reference Guide (ASME Y14.5) Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing symbols and definitions. 1. FORM (No Datums) Symbol Name & Definition Straightness: 2D straightness of a line element. Flatness: Surface must lie between two parallel planes. Circularity: Roundness of a 2D cross-section. Cylindricity: Roundness + Straightness of a 3D cylinder. 2. ORIENTATION (Datums Required) Symbol Name … Read more
Imperial Bolt Strength Chart (SAE & ASTM) Standard strength ratings for carbon and alloy steel bolts up to 1″ diameter. These are the grades you’ll encounter on 99% of US engineering drawings. Grade Head Marking Material Proof (psi) Yield (psi) Tensile (psi) SAE Grade 2 No markings Low carbon steel 55,000 57,000 74,000 SAE Grade … Read more
What is ISO 286? ISO 286 defines the system of limits and fits for holes and shafts. If you’ve ever seen a callout like H7/g6 on a drawing and wondered what it actually means, this is your guide. The metric system uses a code-based approach instead of explicit ± tolerances. Once you understand the logic, … Read more
What’s the Difference? Cutting taps and form taps both create internal threads, but they do it in completely different ways — and they require different drill sizes. Confusing the two is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes on a shop floor. Cutting Taps (Chip-Producing) Cutting taps work exactly like you’d expect: they have … Read more