Mechanical engineering technology uses natural forces to design, test, and manage mechanical processes. Engineers manipulate forces such as hydraulic, thermodynamic, electromagnetic, frictional, gravitational, and aerodynamic to solve challenges and create new devices. They develop processes and products to improve society, and new materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics are used to increase fuel efficiency. Continuing education is important as technology develops.
Mechanical engineering technology is used to design, test, and manage the mechanical processes that make both machines and products. Mechanical engineers manipulate objects using natural forces that operate in predictable ways according to physical laws. They deal with all kinds of movement. The types of mechanical engineering technology used depend on the type of natural forces being manipulated.
Hydraulic, thermodynamic, electromagnetic, frictional, gravitational, and aerodynamic forces are a few examples of the effects of natural laws operating within our universe. An engineer can use one or more of these forces to solve a mechanical challenge. Mechanical engineers develop the processes and products that bring technological improvements to society. Both solve problems and create new devices and technologies.
For example, a hydraulic engineer might develop a machine that harnesses the power of hydraulic engineering technology to drive turbines that produce electricity. He or she may also devise ways to measure and control water flow rates to create a mechanical process. Hydraulic power could be used to cut an object using a jet of water, for example, without producing heat that would deform the object in the cutting process. Thermodynamic engineers use mechanical engineering technology that harnesses the power of thermodynamics to convert heat into energy and vice versa. An achievement of thermodynamic engineering was the development of the steam engine.
Aerospace engineers analyze aerodynamic forces in the design of objects and machines that can increase or decrease friction in machine operations. Through the design process, the engineer gains an understanding of the effect of these forces. He or she uses this understanding to predict and control how airflow over objects works when force is applied to an object. An arrow shot from a bow is an example of a mechanically engineered solution to the aerodynamic forces acting on the arrow design.
Aerodynamic engineering is also used extensively in the automotive and aerospace industries to reduce friction and thus use less energy to propel an object. Nanotechnology is a new area for mechanical engineering technology. A nano engineer uses physical laws at the molecular level, building tiny machines on the nanoscale. Nanoparticles are measured in billionths of a metre.
Many colleges and universities offer mechanical engineering study programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Continuing education is also important for mechanical engineers, as new technology continues to develop, with new materials being manufactured to solve mechanical engineering challenges such as increasing fuel efficiency in the transportation industry. Composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics have tensile strength, but are lighter than metals. The use of these materials in transportation reduces fuel consumption. Mechanical engineering technology helps engineers design greater efficiency in industrial processes used around the world.
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