Engineer Survey

[Twinspool]

QFT! haha...

Chemical Engineer here....sitting for the PE in October

That's because Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.

[MiniVanMan]

That's because Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.

Then us military guys find out who did their job better.

[Arrowhead]

The FFR tech line is gonna be busy:

"Is there a specification for a frame squareness? I put a lazer to the frame and it's off by .02". I didn't find anything in the manual."

"what is correct pull force when expanding the rivets that hold the sheetmetal on?"

"why is the frame made up of square tube? Round tube is much stronger than square tube (relative to wall thickness and diameter) and the chassis could be made lighter and stronger with round tube. I'm cutting the frame apart and replacing with round tube."

[RedJoker]

The FFR tech line is gonna be busy:

"Is there a specification for a frame squareness? I put a lazer to the frame and it's off by .02". I didn't find anything in the manual."

"what is correct pull force when expanding the rivets that hold the sheetmetal on?"

"why is the frame made up of square tube? Round tube is much stronger than square tube (relative to wall thickness and diameter) and the chassis could be made lighter and stronger with round tube. I'm cutting the frame apart and replacing with round tube."

This is great! I agree that there are a lot of smart people that can build things and don't have degrees. There are also a lot of engineers that can't build anything. Based on my experience, the difference is in the tools. I've seen a lot of smart, handy, non-degreed folks that get stumped when something needs calculated, mathematically designed, etc. (Not that they couldn't do it, they just haven't been trained.) That's when I want an engineer. Also, I've seen many engineers that get stumped when they're right there physically working on something. Just remember, there is no 'hands on' portion required to get an engineering degree and no differential equations required to pick up a wrench. They're just different tools for different tasks.

My brother always joked that if you want a weld, get a welder. If you want to design a weld, get a welding engineer.

I find that most engineers that build cars and things like that are folks that don't get to do that kind of stuff in their day job. As far as a company goes, it's far cheaper to hire an engineer to handle all the calcs and a technician to put it in practice than it is to higher two 'hands on' engineers. Therefore, they don't get to do much hands on. If a good technician can do both jobs, then you didn't really need an engineer anyway.

Just my $0.02

[BipDBo]

The FFR tech line is gonna be busy:

"Is there a specification for a frame squareness? I put a lazer to the frame and it's off by .02". I didn't find anything in the manual."

"what is correct pull force when expanding the rivets that hold the sheetmetal on?"

"why is the frame made up of square tube? Round tube is much stronger than square tube (relative to wall thickness and diameter) and the chassis could be made lighter and stronger with round tube. I'm cutting the frame apart and replacing with round tube."

LOL. That's great.
We've already seen a lot of that on this forum.

[Oppenheimer]

I find that most engineers that build cars and things like that are ...

...are the kinds of engineers I want to work with. Agree 100% with the 'tools for the job' you mentioned. Wrench is a tool, differential equation is a tool. I'd rather have a guy that can handle both. That is the guy that is going to build something that can be fixed. He is also the guy that is going to know how to be practical. Not every problem needs a 'perfect' solution. You have to know where to put your effort. Make the stuff that doesn't matter as much 'good enough', so you can take the time to make sure the stuff that really matters is as perfect as you can make it.

[RedJoker]

..Not every problem needs a 'perfect' solution...

If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features.

[ford33]

Mechanical engineer working as a IT consultant. In college I belonged to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and we built small off-road racing vehicles in competiton with other schools. It was fun and I've been a automotive fan ever since.

[HelluvaEngineer]

Some of our quotes.
"You have to know when to shoot the engineers and ship the product"
"Software is like a gas, it will always grow to fill ALL available memory"

[bbjones121]

Electrical and mechanical engineer

[pondo]

I find that most engineers that build cars and things like that are folks that don't get to do that kind of stuff in their day job. As far as a company goes, it's far cheaper to hire an engineer to handle all the calcs and a technician to put it in practice than it is to higher two 'hands on' engineers. Therefore, they don't get to do much hands on. If a good technician can do both jobs, then you didn't really need an engineer anyway.

Just my $0.02

Absolutely true. I love design work but I enjoy the hands on stuff too. Sadly, union environments severely limit what engineers can actually do. I think wrenching a track beast might satisfy my thirst and provide another challenge.

[bbjones121]

There are a lot of "design" engineers that can not change their oil or replace a dome light. So the lack of hands on at work definitely does not always translate into hands on at home. Sadly I see that a lot.

[MiniVanMan]

If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features.

If it ain't broke, fix it till it is.

[LS1RX7owen]

Mechanical Engineer here
drawing parts, tools and gages for making all sorts of stuff on 40+ Davenport 5-spindle automatic screw machines - cam driven, oldschool cool
and we have 4 CNC machines now too, newschool fun

I love the DIY aspect of the 818 and the FFR community.
I cant wait to get my hands on a project like this (inexpensive yet modern and even futuristic)
I would have built an Ultima GTR a decade ago if I had the money.

[LS1RX7owen]

Mechanical Engineer. I design Grape, raspberry, Blueberry & Olive Harvesters.

nice to see you here mattster03 and I certainly look forward to your work on an 818! the rx7 stuff youve done and input to that community is awesome

[tando]

Communications Electronics :-) working in ICT - but Nerds can also like great handling cars

[Stickshift84]

Another Mechanical Engineer here. I work in construction support at GDEB. Metalmaker if you are reading this, come find me at my desk some time in the Engineering offices. You can find me by spotting the Project 818 poster on the wall.

[metalmaker12]

I am guessing your in Groton? I was part of welding engineering, but back to the production side in dept. 902 in Quonset. I am in Groton every so often, so I will see where you are if I come through.

[mekeys]

I was a prototype model maker from 1963 till 1997 when I retired..

Mel

[wjfawb0]

nice buggy! link to the buggy mfg? on Ytube doesn't work... http://www.riskckraschsite.com

The link is http://www.rickskraschsite.com/

I got the moving parts working tonight. http://youtu.be/jeBUreDFdJc

[Smythe]

I'm an electrical/mechanical engineer who currently works in Quality at a major auto company.

I mostly work with policies and quality management systems now, although I used to work in an assembly plant in quality as well as in supplier development for new model launches.

[unclebigbad]

I am liking this thread.

[Stickshift84]

Metalmaker, nope I am in Quonset. I sit near the Welding Engineering folks. Off this week but I will be back next week.

[rjh2pd]

I'm a junior in college for mechanical engineering, and am really considering doing this once i get out. Seems like it will be a great car. BTW got interested in this because I love my legacy and love working on it.

[Mechie3]

Im glad im not at a union place. I have free access to the labs, offices, and machine shop. Some of my friends work at union places and tell me dumb things like they're able to go to the shop but must have a union shop worker carry a component to a bench for them to inspect. If they move it themselves its a big no no. I just laugh while im making personal parts on the cnc at my work.

[Not_Hans_Stuck]

EE working as a network engineer for the Army.

Long time lurker. I'll be building either a '33 or an 818 after I finish my LS-1 911 Project. See that here: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...ml#post6476858

Hal

[Oppenheimer]

Im glad im not at a union place. I have free access to the labs, offices, and machine shop. Some of my friends work at union places and tell me dumb things like they're able to go to the shop but must have a union shop worker carry a component to a bench for them to inspect. If they move it themselves its a big no no. I just laugh while im making personal parts on the cnc at my work.

My Dad was an ME and worked in a union shop. He told the story of a co-worker that out of frustration due to delays was hand carrying a part himself to another area. The part was in a shoebox. A union guy approached and slyly asked what was in the box, expecting to hear it was a part and being able to raise a big fuss over it. The engineer replied it was a rabbit. 'A rabbit?' the union guy asks all confused. Just when the union guy was about to open it the ME scratches the bottom of the box with his fingernail, which I guess sounded enough like a real rabbit that it convinced the union guy.

[Mechie3]

Hahaha! That's awesome.

[pondo]

Im glad im not at a union place. I have free access to the labs, offices, and machine shop. Some of my friends work at union places and tell me dumb things like they're able to go to the shop but must have a union shop worker carry a component to a bench for them to inspect. If they move it themselves its a big no no. I just laugh while im making personal parts on the cnc at my work.

My unionized chemical plant is ridiculous. No accountability what-so-ever. You can do anything and not get fired if you're an operator...I have to calibrate instruments with a lookout just so I don't get busted and some guy on call gets 12 hrs of overtime. I've had 5 grievances filed on me in 2 years lol. Luckily operations will stick up for the engineers 99% of the time!

[metalmaker12]

cool i will meet you at some point