On Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:01:54 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 22 Sep 2014 12:35:05 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

I'd learned
mechanical drawing in jr high and Statics and the properties of
metals

Statics or statistics? I had all the tech classes in early school,
too. Metal and wood shops, basic aviation, HS organic chemistry,
mech
dwg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statics

I sit corrected. (too lazy to stand)


I haven't used it enough to remember how to calculate moments of
inertia so I use the AISI Manual of Steel Construction and these for
beam and column loading.
http://books.google.com/books/about/...yvs9 AAAAYAAJ
http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Des.../dp/0471666297

They probably have nice, easy, quick-reference charts in them, taking
the sting out of the process.


I studied other fields to learn enough to recognize impending problems
and credibly convince the project engineer that he needed to consult
an expert to solve them. I learned machining so I wouldn't make dumb,
expensive design errors.

Smart.


Companies that design with moving parts, like Segway, have mechanical
engineers, but purely electronic companies may be lost when the
occasional mechanical design issue arises.

May? g

--
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.
-- Sophocles