Recommend some good texts for a new mechanical engineer.

March 14, 2011 12:16 AM

Can anyone recommend good texts for a new engineer to study while searching for work?

Now that I'm looking for work, I'm finding that there is a lot more to engineering than statics and dynamics. Can anyone recommend any texts relating to mechanical engineering, specifically with product design, mechatronics, and manufacturing?

So far I've looked at this site. I'm also hunting down copies of "Thinking in Systems: A Primer" by Meadows and "The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business" by Kaufman as recommended through less wrong.

All recommendations are welcome, from survey-style reviews to technical nuts and bolts.

posted by just.good.enough to education (4 answers total)

The Machinery's Handbook (if you don't already have it)
The Art of Electronics (if you are mechanical, it is super nice to be able to hold your weight on the other side too, and this is a good text for building that intuition)

Without knowing your specific goals and interests and field, it is hard to suggest much more (though, I can say that I think less of any mechanical engineer that does not have these two on hand).
posted by milqman at 12:47 AM on March 14, 2011

Precision Machine Design by Alex Slocum, an MIT mechanical engineering professor, is one of the best mechanical design texts out there.
posted by leslietron at 7:40 AM on March 14, 2011

I'm a mechanical engineer, but the majority of my time is spent doing project management work and presentations. Two books that I'd throw into the list to round out your list are:

Mythical Man Month - Primarily about software design, but the core advice is spot-on.
slide:ology - Teaches you how to make sure your audience receives the message you're intending.

Both highly recommended.
posted by jmevius at 8:59 AM on March 14, 2011

These suggestions so far are exactly what I'm looking for. To clarify, what kinds of texts should I be looking for that would be useful references and make me a more effective engineer?

I wish I could be more specific about subject matter, but I've been looking at a variety of job positions, mostly in mechanical design and product design in R&D departments for consumer product, energy, and biomedical companies.
posted by just.good.enough at 1:01 PM on March 14, 2011