4 ms·

I was a mechanical engineer before this. Keep in mind that mech engineering that requires a 4-year degree is different from being on the fabrication side that d

I was a mechanical engineer before this. Keep in mind that mech engineering that requires a 4-year degree is different from being on the fabrication side that does machining/building. The latter is the hands-on, blue collar work where you're on your feet all day. The engineering is a desk job 90% of the time. Sell your back vs. sell your brain.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
Yep. Machining is fun, but it doesn’t pay.
- carabiner 5y ago
  It's fun until you have to rework the same part for the 20th time that day and your back is aching after driving into work at 6 am.
  - tekno45 5y ago
    CNC machining would save your back a lot of pain right? I just watch youtube videos about it so idk how bad it gets. Manual machining seems cool as a hobby but CNC is what im interested in.
    - carabiner 5y ago
      It would. Our CNC guys (mostly wire EDM) were technicians though who loaded programs and monitored the machines. They didn't write the code or translate the CAD into instructions or design anything; that's what the desk engineers did. I don't think you'll find the end-to-end tinkering experience of code + handson in any established manufacturing environment. It's too risky, each side requires specialized skills. You might find it at a startup though.
    - mywittyname 5y ago
      CNCs are a huge pain the the ass. Babysitting them is basically a full-time job.
    - auxym 5y ago
      Someone needs to haul big hunks of steel into the machine, clamo them down tight (and straight), and haul the part out when it's done. Also install tooling, swear when a tap or drill inevitably breaks and gets stuck in a very expensive part, etc.
- ska 5y ago
  Tool & die does ok still doesn't it?
torginus 5y ago
I'm suprised that ME-s don't do hands on work, especially nowadays that CNC routers, 3D printers, laser cutters are widely available. When I did some EE work, designing embedded boards, and writing code for them (more latter than the former), I usually worked with real HW, and often when I had to physically debug PCBs with a scope, and fix the issues with an exacto knife and botch wires, and the odd through-hole component dangling in the air.
- carabiner 5y ago
  CNC has been around for half a century. It's not remotely new, and its application has always been on the final productionalization of parts intended for assembly. I think what it boils down to is that ME is quantified and constrained. If you have drawings for everything else, then you make a new drawing based on those old drawings. We use CAD to determine if something will fit or work; a plastic piece of junk shaped like the part won't tell us anything we didn't know. Likewise, to test the part we need to build it out of the final material, whereas 3d printing for the most part doesn't produce anything strong enough. It's still mostly a Makerspace toy used for plastic widgets. ME is much less artistic/creative than people think. What I find that most people have in mind with "hands-on building" is more akin to craftsman, carpenter, welder, or mechanic, rather than any engineer. Mechanics is a branch of physics. You apply that to parts to build a machine that works. Everything is calculated, from bolt spacing to sheet metal thickness, balancing tradeoffs like weight/cost/strength and so on. Then you write a 50 page report with tables, graphs, all of your analysis. It should be airtight, or people could die.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

Yep. Machining is fun, but it doesn’t pay.

carabiner 5y ago
It's fun until you have to rework the same part for the 20th time that day and your back is aching after driving into work at 6 am.
- tekno45 5y ago
  CNC machining would save your back a lot of pain right? I just watch youtube videos about it so idk how bad it gets. Manual machining seems cool as a hobby but CNC is what im interested in.
  - carabiner 5y ago
    It would. Our CNC guys (mostly wire EDM) were technicians though who loaded programs and monitored the machines. They didn't write the code or translate the CAD into instructions or design anything; that's what the desk engineers did. I don't think you'll find the end-to-end tinkering experience of code + handson in any established manufacturing environment. It's too risky, each side requires specialized skills. You might find it at a startup though.
  - mywittyname 5y ago
    CNCs are a huge pain the the ass. Babysitting them is basically a full-time job.
  - auxym 5y ago
    Someone needs to haul big hunks of steel into the machine, clamo them down tight (and straight), and haul the part out when it's done. Also install tooling, swear when a tap or drill inevitably breaks and gets stuck in a very expensive part, etc.
ska 5y ago
Tool & die does ok still doesn't it?

torginus 5y ago

I'm suprised that ME-s don't do hands on work, especially nowadays that CNC routers, 3D printers, laser cutters are widely available. When I did some EE work, designing embedded boards, and writing code for them (more latter than the former), I usually worked with real HW, and often when I had to physically debug PCBs with a scope, and fix the issues with an exacto knife and botch wires, and the odd through-hole component dangling in the air.

carabiner 5y ago
CNC has been around for half a century. It's not remotely new, and its application has always been on the final productionalization of parts intended for assembly. I think what it boils down to is that ME is quantified and constrained. If you have drawings for everything else, then you make a new drawing based on those old drawings. We use CAD to determine if something will fit or work; a plastic piece of junk shaped like the part won't tell us anything we didn't know. Likewise, to test the part we need to build it out of the final material, whereas 3d printing for the most part doesn't produce anything strong enough. It's still mostly a Makerspace toy used for plastic widgets. ME is much less artistic/creative than people think. What I find that most people have in mind with "hands-on building" is more akin to craftsman, carpenter, welder, or mechanic, rather than any engineer. Mechanics is a branch of physics. You apply that to parts to build a machine that works. Everything is calculated, from bolt spacing to sheet metal thickness, balancing tradeoffs like weight/cost/strength and so on. Then you write a 50 page report with tables, graphs, all of your analysis. It should be airtight, or people could die.