Engineering Library

This page contains a list of mostly mechanical engineering resources.

Some resources contain a lot of technical detail. If you find yourself scratching your head, contact a relevant supplier for support. They typically have applications engineers with deep technical expertise to help answer questions.

Data and formulae

• RoyMech website, a mechanical engineering catalogue put together by the late Roy Beardmore.
• Schaeffler Technical Pocket Guide, a reference manual for mechanical engineers with a beautiful layout.
• COMSOL Multiphysics Cyclopedia, an encyclopedia covering the theory behind engineering physics.

Machines and Mechanisms

• MISUMI application library, a database of ready-made machines and mechanisms.
• Tim Hunkin's The Secret Life of Components, a YouTube playlist explaining basic mechanical components through practical demonstrations.

Reverse Engineering

• Big Clive's YouTube channel, a channel with teardowns of cheap and cheerful consumer products. The focus is on electronics, but includes some mechanical design too.
• Fictiv Teardowns, a catalogue of teardowns of high-end consumer products.
• Munro Live Teardowns, a YouTube playlist covering teardowns of car components, with a focus on benchmarking and costing.
• WeberAuto, a YouTube channel with teardowns of car components, with a focus on technical detail for training automotive engineers.

Dimensions and tolerancing

• GD&T chart, a clear and well-illustrated GD&T chart.

Materials database

• UL Prospector, a database for finding a material and its supplier.
• MatWeb, a database for finding material properties.
• Total Materia, a database for finding more detailed and proprietary material property data, which might be useful for any detailed analytical calculations/FEA.

Seals

• James Walker O-ring Guide, a guide to O-rings sealing. Follow these steps:

1. Review page 29 to determine the housing arrangement
2. Use the charts to find an O-ring that fits your geometry
3. Flick between pages 29 and 30 to finalise the housing dimensions and tolerances

There are a lot of nuances when it comes to sealing properly and robustly, so follow the guide as closely as possible.

Die Casting

• Metal Die Casting Design Guides, by Chicago White Metal Casting

Other

• UK DIY Wiki, a Wiki covering all things DIY.
• BC Open Collection, a library of free and open-source educational textbooks.
• National Technical Reports Library, a free open-access database of US-funded research.
• NASA Technical Standards.
• NASA Electronics Workmanship standards, graphical illustrations of acceptable and unacceptable electronics workmanship.