If you want to get an idea of some of the things that a mechanical design engineer is likely to get involved with then read on.

Although the job of mechanical design engineer is nowadays essentially an office one and can be purely managerial in some cases, the job can involve you in getting your hands occasionally dirty, especially if like me you served an old style 5-year apprenticeship. Who knows there may be some marine Diesel engines still thumping and banging away held together with my fitted bolts.

It should be appreciated that mechanical engineering usually involves lots of teamwork and communication with others such as: specialist engineers, draughtsmen, shop floor technicians, metallurgists, project managers, system administrators, sales staff and of course the client.

As well as technical competence it helps if you also have good organisational, communication and IT skills. As you gain more experience it is normal to pass on your experience to younger less experienced engineers.

Here is a short list of my career details, most recent first:

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

Check my availability.

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT

• Senior Mechanical Engineer responsible for technical calculations, drawings, stress analysis and other engineering aspects of dredging equipment and floating drydocks.
• Calculation of dredge pump sizing using company In-house programs for a cutter suction dredge.
• Calculation of water gate scantlings, gate hinge and actuator loads.
• Calculations for Ro-Ro ferry terminals.
• Developed technical calculations using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and Visual basic for Applications.
• Production of engineering drawings to BS 308 using AutoCAD LT 97 and release 14. Detail drawings of draghead parts and gantry for a trailing suction hopper dredge. Arrangement drawings for a sectional box type floating drydock.
• Prepared user guides and verification manuals for Excel Spreadsheets using Microsoft Word.
• Assisted with successful ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
• Assisted with carrying out ISO 9001 Internal Audits.
• Prepared Work Instructions for ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
• Assisted Naval Architects in calculation of lightship weights and centres of gravity.
• Preparation of enquiries and technical specifications for tender purposes.
• Development of company prototype web site in HTML.
• Team working in preparation of PowerPoint sales presentation.

• Vessel Engineer responsible for technical calculations, drawings, stress analysis and other engineering aspects of pressure vessels, piping and pipe supports.
• Carried out engineering design, analysis and assessment of petro-chemical pipe supports and pressure vessels using BS5500 and ASME Section VIII pressure vessel codes, ANSI B31.3 piping and BS449 structural steelwork.
• Assessment of saddle supports, trunnions and reinforcing rings.
• Assessment of pipe branches and vessel nozzles and bolted flanges subject to internal pressure and external moments.
• Local load analysis and assessment using Finglow program and BS5500 and WRC107 analysis.
• Life estimate of a vessel operating in the creep range.
• Assessment and re-rating of vessels subjected to full vacuum conditions. Assessment using Finglow and BS5500 external pressure rules.
• Computer program development using Lotus 123 and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets including user guides and verification.
• Preparation of engineering drawings to BS 308 using AutoCAD Release 13.

• Senior Design Engineer responsible for technical calculations, stress analysis and other engineering aspects of pressure vessels, boilers, pipework and structural engineering.
• Many design calculations and design sketches were produced for the design of vertical and horizontal petro-chemical vessels using "Design by Rule" to BS5500 or ASME Section VIII division 1 rules.
• Supports and other structural steelwork designed to BS449 and BS5950 including saddles for horizontal vessels, skirts for vertical vessels, lifting lugs and manway davits.
• Detailed stress analysis, thermal transient analysis, fatigue evaluation and life assessment using "Design by Analysis" to various pressure vessel, boiler and structural codes including BS5500 Appendix A and C and enquiry case 79, ASME section VIII division 2, ASME Section III Nuclear Components and Nuclear code case N-47.
• Calculation of heat transfer coefficients for input to finite element analysis.
• Calculation of pipe friction losses, heat balance and insulation investigations.
• Calculation of wind loads using CP3 rules.
• Evaluation and assessment of various water tube boiler parts to BS1113.
• Pipework flexibility analysis and assessment to BS806 for sustained loads, stress range, hot stress and cold pull.
• Fracture analysis and fatigue crack growth assessment of structures containing defects using PD6493, CEGB R6 two criteria method and ASME Section XI.
• Various design studies for sodium cooled fast reactors including: core support structures and buckling of reactor vessels using BOSOR5.
• Prepared many internal reports including: user guides and verification manuals for engineering computer programs, guidance on engineering activities and man hour estimates, BS5500 design training seminar for young engineers, essential checking requirements for finite element analysis.
• Carried out many design reviews as part of the company quality assurance procedures.
• Guidance and supervision given to younger less experienced design engineers.

• Design Engineer responsible for technical calculations and reports, stress analysis and other mechanical engineering aspects of centrifugal and axial flow pumps.
• Assessment of main coolant pumps and boron injection pumps to ASME Section III Class 1 and 2 components for various loadings including: Internal pressure, deadweight, seismic loads, shock load, thermal differential expansion and thermal transients.
• Detailed design of pump parts using hand calculation, classical discontinuity analysis and finite element analysis of pressure casings, bolted flanges, pipework, impellers, impeller attachments and thermal barriers.
• Evaluation of shaft mechanical seals, thrust rings, shrink fits, assembly alignment, windage reduction of many pumps including advanced class boiler feed pumps.
• Carried out material evaluation and selection for environmental and structural suitability.
• Responsible for experimental work on centrifugal pumps including supervision of testing, analysis of results and establishment of production processes.
• Assisted in the successful implementation of ASME Section III "N" stamp for Class 2 and 3 Components.

• Design Draughtsman responsible for mechanical design and technical drawing of diesel engine parts.
• Methods engineer responsible for production planning of Tarex single spindle automatic lathe and tape controlled drilling machine.
• Apprentice engineer, 5 years apprenticeship covering: Inspection, Marking-off, Diesel Erecting Shop, Production Methods Department and Drawing Office.
• Experience in the use of hand and machine tools, including lathes, drilling machines, shaping and screw cutting.
• Many hand tools were made including: a vice, clamps, surface gauge and vee blocks.
• Appreciation of manufacturing processes including: machining, fitting, forging, pattern-making and heat treatment.
• Inspection and checking to production drawings of a wide variety of engine parts using micrometers, gauges and comparators.
• Marking-off of cast and part machined components to production drawings using surface table tools.
• Fitting and assembly of engine parts including: bearings, lub oil pumps and flywheels.
• Erection of heavy engine parts and alignment of bedplates and crankshafts prior to engine testing.
• Appreciation of method study, batch production problems, costing and value analysis, compliance with union agreed incentive schemes and the use of the stop watch.
• Supernumerary on board a motor ship. Experienced sea-going conditions and maintenance of main engine.

TRAINING DETAILS

The training of a mechanical engineer is a major exercise. The way I did it by completing ONC and HNC through day release at college then on to University gave a good mix of practical and theoretical work with an academic flavour. It took me nine years to get my first degree, a further year got me a masters degree. Since then, experience was gained "on the job" with additional training on AutoCAD Draughting and a post graduate diploma in Information Technology.

Here is a short list of some of the key subjects read, most recent first:

• Course work using Microsoft Office 97 suite, Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint.
• Elements of Computer Science, including Visual Basic 5 course work.
• Fundamentals of Database Systems, including Microsoft Access and SQL course work.
• Systems Analysis and Design, including Case tools SSADM course work.
• Business Information Technology Systems, including a business project and PowerPoint presentation.
• Software Engineering, including OMT course work.
• Enterprise Information Systems, including Visual Basic 5 course work.
• Internet and Globalisation, including HTML, CSS and Javascript course work.
• Networking Principles and Strategy.

• Introduction to Computer Aided Draughting.
• Training in the use of AutoCAD Release 12.
• Use of a commercial CAD system to generate working drawings in AutoCAD.
• Selection of a CAD system for particular applications.

• Computer Aided Design.
• Creative Design.
• Engineering Dynamics.
• Stress Analysis and Materials Behaviour.
• Product Design and process planning.
• Thesis: Computer Solution of Two-Dimensional Structures using the Finite Element Method with Substructure Analysis.
  This thesis is largely an exersise in matrix algebra and I.C.L. 1900 FORTRAN to enable a Finite Element Analysis to run on a computer with a very small amount of core memory. In this case 18k core memory. That was all that was typically available on mainframe computers in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The input was by punched cards and the output was by line printer. Want a copy of this thesis? Download this thesis.

• Mathematics.
• Chemistry.
• Design.
• Mechanics.
• Thermodynamics.
• Electrical Engineering.
• Industrial Administration.
• Production Engineering.
• Dynamics and Control.
• Advanced Mechanics of Materials.
• Hydrodynamics.

• Mathematics II.
• Applied Mechanics II.
• Applied Thermodynamics I and II.
• Fluid Mechanics I.
• Mechanics of Machines.
• Mechanics of Materials.

• Mathematics I.
• Applied Mechanics I.
• Applied Heat.
• J2 year Technical Science.
• J2 year Engineering Drawing.