Requirements of a Mechanical Engineering Major

By Ryan Ellis

This just a snippet of the requirements 

for a mechanical engineer at MSU.

The academic workload related to Mechanical Engineering can seem daunting upon first glance. Classes such as Calculus and Thermodynamic can make the average student shy away from the major. I'll admit that when I decided to major in Mechanical engineering my first though was "How am I going to make it through this?" It seemed as though universities that offered mechanical engineering would just throw high level math classes at students until most of them would drop the major and only the highly gifted made it through.

After looking at the classes required of a mechanical engineer it becomes more clear that it's not all about math and physics. Being an engineer is more about applying the knowledge learned from those classes in fun and hands on ways. Senior electives such as 'Automotive Engines' and 'Turbo Machinery' helps one look past the scary calculus and dynamics to see the exciting future.

From statics to dynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, the road to being a mechanical engineer can seem long and challenging. In the end, the hard work will pay off. The satisfaction of completing the course work will be one of the best feeling you'll ever experience.

"Mechanical Engineering Requirements." (n.d.): n. pag. Michigan State University, 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

Prompt #5 Observing Community

By Ryan Loveland

Michigan State University Baja Racing

During my time at Michigan State University I joined the Baja Racing Team. They build a new mini Baja car every year. From designing the vehicle, it to welding the chassis together they build the entire thing. After the car is completed and has passed inspection they compete in tournaments and events hosted by SAE international. The events all include three major components: statics, dynamics, and endurance all of which subject the car to extreme stress.

The team represents themselves more

formally towards the general public than the team. You can see in this video “The Making of Cerberus 2014” that all of the members talking are dressed in MSU green collard shirts. However, when going to the shop it is much less formal in the ways they talk and dress. For the first week there was even a “jorts only rule” at the shop. The meetings are also informal

and just cover what’s going on and what’s next, and incase any of the members can’t make it, they always send out an email about the meeting.

Fixing My First Car

By Dalano Bass

My first car was a 1987 Monte Carlo SS. Being from a mechanical family, I knew I was going to have a sweet ride, but I had no idea what type of car. I received my car the Fourth of July during my sophomore year in high school. I wouldn’t actually receive my license until March of my senior year however. During that time, I had little to no interaction with my car. Stored at my uncle’s house for those two years, work did not commence until Christmas break of my senior year. I drove my car for the first time, one week after graduation.

Once my car came home I started with prep-work for paint.The version of my car is an Aerocoupe T-top Monte Carlo SS, one of the rarest models to find. Only 6,052 aerocoupe 87’s were made and even less models were T-top. Be that as it may, I had to repair my car for the road. Fortunately for me, my car came with the original 5.0 Liter V-8 engine, with amazingly only 52,000 miles on it. The body on my car had little to no rust, so my only challenge would be preparation for painting. In total, I’ve spent at least 2 days just sanding the car and applying body filler.

When I first brought the car home

Body filler added to dents and deep scratches, that will eventually be sanded smooth.

 Since this was my car, my father helped me but I was left to the majority of the task on my own. This resulted a lot of trial and error. The trial and error method however, is the best way I believe when it comes down to mechanic work. You learn what to do and what not to do. After all that sanding, finally painting arrived. Painting the car was my father’s job and we did it in our garage. After the first coat was sprayed, I wanted to go for the matte black look.

First coat of black, no clear

After many arguments, debates, and logical explanation on why I couldn’t keep the matte black, my father sprayed the clear coats. A total of 3 coats were sprayed and I was told it was for the best. As a result, polishing the clear coat could be finished by me. The more coats the less of a chance I had of burning through

Clear coat applied

the paint while polishing.

The final result, was worth it.

Jargon and Engineering: Talk Topic 2

By Ryan Ellis

The world of engineering has an imeasurable amount of terms and words that can have absolutely no meaning to virgin ears. Being lost in the conversations between professionals in the field of engineering is something I have first hand experience in, and only recently have I been able to decipher the terms and jargon they use.

 My father and his father before him are both engineering professionals. To be specific, my father leads a team of auto body welders for the Toyota Motor Company. Over fifteen years of experience working for automotive companies and component suppliers has given my dad a whole new vocabulary. Listening to conversations between my dad and work friends or other people that know the field was like listening to another language.

Future of the Mechanical Engineer

By Ryan Loveland

Mechanical engineers play major roles in the global challenges we face today from global warming to personal transportation. A study from ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) asked current engineers their perspective on the future of their field. They questioned these engineers’ optimism on the future of their field. They reveled that early career engineers and students will play major roles in meeting global challenges over the next two decades. The study concluded that the prestige of working as an engineer will increase, as well as the financial rewards. The number of engineers working in under-developed countries will increase. And probably most importantly they found that the need for engineers to increase their ability to communicate more effectively as a team and ability to manage and work with global teams will increase. With the need for engineers growing into the future, new engineers will have to adapt to be able to work as global teams to overcome the challenges of the future.

"ASME Releases Study on the Future of the Mechanical Engineering Profession." ASME Releases Study on the Future of the Mechanical Engineering Profession. ASME, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

Tesla's Autopilot

By Ryan Loveland

(Tesla Motors logo)

Tesla Motors, the company that designs premium electric vehicles, like the high-powered and completely electric Model S which already breaks barriers in the realm of electric vehicles, has just released its newest technology they call Autopilot. Available as an update to the cars computer system the Autopilot software can actually drive the car for you. The car will not only control your steering and acceleration, it will also make all the necessary lane changes and turns required to get you to your destination. It works by utilizing sensors all over the vehicle to detect other cars, the road ahead, and the lines of the lane ect. to know where it is at all times. And the software is loaded with algorithms that lets the car learn as it drives, improving its performance. It might seem scary at first to be in a moving vehicle controlled by nothing but the vehicle itself, but the Autopilot system has performed flawlessly. Tesla's CEO Elon Musk is still considering the Autopilot software as a beta and encourages people to still pay attention to the road and keep both hands on the wheel as it drives. But it is still available to the public now. Check out a video of it driving here.

Prompt #8 Fixing my Bike

By Ryan Ellis

A picture of the last bike

I have had the pleasure of fixing.

Ive had a number of bikes through out the years, mostly because for some reason they always find a way to break. If I remember correctly, I left my first bike without training wheels behind my parents car. That one was completely my fault, but the majority of the time my bicycles just break on their own.

When I think about it, every single bicycle I have ever owned has had some problem with it. To be quite honest, bicycles probably just aren't meant for me. In the my first month of college I have completely wiped out on my bike on my way to class. Another time I was biking to class and out of nowhere my chain snapped. The point being that I've had to take many bikes apart, see whats wrong with them, fix them and then put them back together.

I relate these types of experiences to my field every time I do them. Nothing quite compares to taking something apart to learn how it works, then getting the satisfaction of fixing it and putting it back together is like nothing you've ever felt. The truth about Mechanical Engineering is that experience is more about getting your hands dirty than giving them paper cuts from reading a text book. People hear that you are becoming a mechanical engineer and automatically think "Oh, you must be good at math and stuff." However, working with my hands on objects related to my field has taught me that being an engineer isn't all about mathematics and science. 

Engineering is about understanding what you're working with, thinking about the challenges in front of you and visualizing them. Then applying your understanding of science and mathematics to fix those problems. Thats why I chose my field, to fix problems and become further my understanding of the things around me.

"Schwinn Men's Schwinn Protocol 1.0 Mountain Bike - Walmart.com." Walmart.com. Walmart.com,   n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

Swans and Cameras?

Stanford engineers have used high speed video footage to discover the stabilization of whoopers swans in achieved by using their head like a car suspension. This is remarkable considering that Swans are able to twist and flap their wings while keeping their heads still. The neck is used to provide a smooth ride over a bumpy road. The neck and vertebrae and muscles respond with just the right stiffness and flexibility to stead the head. All birds have innate stabilization to counteract the wave motion caused by flapping in flight. David Lentink was an assistant professor at of mechanical engineering at Stanford credits much of the work to a former brilliant student, Ashley Pete. She developed the idea and methodology* for the study in Lentink’s class.

The paper written by Ashley is described as so good that it was expanded and submitted to Interface where it was published. Lentink’s group covered, engineering and biology, in hopes of improving drone design and performance. This incredible design will allow us to develop and understand designs with flying characteristics based from birds. Future concepts may be based around suits that allow for human flight. However as of now, the article states "The current work has provided guidelines for a prototype swan-inspired passive camera suspension system, developed by Marina Dimitrov, one of Lentink's undergraduate students, that could allow drones with flapping wings to record better video." Better video means a better understanding, and that can lead to endless possibilities.

For the complete article visit: http://engineering.stanford.edu/news/stanford-engineers-find-secret-steady-drone-cameras-swan-necks

*Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study.

G-Body Monte Carlos

By Dalano Bass

 With the oil crisis at hand, Chevrolet began reducing car sizes to counteract. The G-body models began production designated as A-body cars in 1978, but were redesignated as G when the new front wheel drive A-body was introduced in 1982. The body was restyled with the other GM mid-size formal coupes (Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal). It featured a smoother profile than the previous models and new vertical taillights similar to the 1973–1977 models.

These designs eventually lead to what is a Monte Carlo. GM introduced a personal luxury with 3 different specializations SS(Super Sport), LS(Luxury Sport), and standard. Equipped with a quad jet carburetor and a 5.0L V-8 the Monte Carlo was road ready. Special aerocoupe models 1986 were produced and in the following year however produced 6,000. These cars are easy to care for since parts are everywhere and cheap. Interchangeable parts meant you could possibly have a El Camino with a Monte Carlo nose.

Prompt #7 Renewable energy

By Ryan Loveland

(Picture from The Energy Collective)

Today there are many different types of renewable energies, like solar, wind, biofuel, hydropower ect. And its tough to decide which is the best for our power needs, and which is the best for the environment. "The concept of renewable energy generally denotes clean energy systems that do not contribute to greenhouse gas emission (GHE) and climate change. As renewables get into top gear, growing evidence of non-inclusion of social conscience in the name of renewable energy development as well as sever environmental damage is unmasking the dark side of renewables" (Pillai). She is hinting towards the damage that can be caused from these resources. For example mega hydropower dams have been successful in countries like the united states but in countries with tropical rainforest's it can be disastrous. Tearing down rainforest areas to create any kind of renewable energy source, not just hydropower could provide power to thousands of people, although great caution needs to be taken when doing so. A quote from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says, "tropical rainforests which serve as our planet's carbon sink, holds more that 210 gigatonnes of carbon. Deforestation is responsible for more than 15% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) - more than any other human activity put together, has a potent impact on accelerating global warming" (Pillai). This means that just tearing down the rainforests we had raised the level of green house gasses than all of the vehicles burning fossil fuels on the road combined. The search for renewable energies is urgent but we need to think of the effects it can have on the world before we rush away from dependance on fossil fuels.

However if steps are taken to produce renewable energies, without significant harm to the earth, the benefits could be countless.  "Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available resources reduces the costs of operation" (The Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy). The renewable energies would produce no or little waste products in their operation. minimizing any effect on the environment. And could actually help reverse effects of the green house gasses on global warming. Additionally they can bring jobs and economic growth to all areas they are used.

Pillai, Kamala Vainy. "Is Renewable Energy Really Green?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 
Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.

"The Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy." Renewable Energy:. 
Solarschools.net. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Flat Plane Vs Cross Plane Crankshaft

By Ryan Loveland

(Ford Mustang GT350 Flat-Plane crank)

V8 engines (8 cylinder engines aligned in a V-formation) are some of the biggest engines on the road today. Producing deep exhaust notes and tons of horsepower they are great ingredient for a sports car. But what is the difference between a flat plane vs a cross plane crankshaft? “Early V8 engines were all flat-plane cranks, because that's a simpler, more straightforward design. A flat-plane crank V8 is really like a pair of mated I-4s, and there's some issues with them, the biggest issue being balance and vibration issues, specifically secondary balance and vibration issues.” (Torchinsky). To correct the problems with the flat plane, a cross plane crankshaft was made. A cross plane crankshaft keeps the cylinders firing in both banks which keeps things balanced and gives off that v8 sound everyone loves. Although these cross plane cranks are much larger and heavier than a standard flat plane, which doesn’t allow the engine to rev as high as a flat plane crank engine. Flat plane works better for racing allowing some engines to rev up to 8000 RPM, which is why some new sports cars like the Ford Mustang GT350 uses one of these flat plane crankshaft engines. If you want to learn more about it and watch a video, click here.

Torchinsky, Jason. "What Is A Flat-Plane Crank And Why Is It So Loud? An Explainer." Jalopnik.
CarTech, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.