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.