The term "Mechanical Engineering" is typically associated with HVAC, or "heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems", among professional people.  When we refer to mechanical engineering in this section on this website, we are referring to the designing and building of mechanical assemblies, most often for robotics purposes, although not always.

   In this section of the ICS Engineering web site, our purpose is to transfer experience and information about wood-working, bending sheet steel and aluminum, cutting and drilling parts, and so on, -- whatever it takes to fashion that robotic arm,  a drive system or, in the case of the Battlebots^©, even a weapon.  Unless you require a robot that contains a refrigerator or a self-contained air conditioner, this web will not be talking about compressors, reversing valves, thermostats, or anything else having to do with HVAC systems.  Expect to read about temperature sensors, humidity sensors, photocells, stepper motors, motor control circuits, gear, levers and other assemblies that automate your projects.  Our most unique mechanical  engineering challenge was, without a doubt, building a float for a St. Patrick's Day parade.  We could never top that one -- but we're always looking!

   One of the biggest hurdles in this type of engineering, is the fact that, most of the time, nobody has tried what you are about to try, ever before.  This means that you are mostly on your own.  I say mostly, because there are some things you can do about it.  ICS Engineering is one company that has examined and partaken in some of these design experiments, if you will.  So, even if nobody has built whatever it is that you are about to build, we may still be able to offer you valuable advice, tips and techniques in order to aid you in accomplishing your goal, and seeing your project through to the end.

   Some other, newer technologies involving mechanical engineering are; RFID systems, for product identification and automated payment and inventory systems, and retrofitting incandescent flashlights with untra-bright white LEDS in conjunction with a special kind of high-energy voltage regulator.  Get triple the brightness out of your old flashlights, and watch your batteries last 10 times linger than before. 

   Learn how to disassemble commercially available robotic toys in order to enhance their operation or to adapt them for a particular useful purpose.  ICS Engineering finds this kind of information to be invaluable and of particular interest.  We can't tear ourselves away!

   In their latest issue, we read about a project to print in dot-matrix print on PING PONG BALLS of all things...

   In addition to magazines of this type, there are a multitude of sources of information that we have been able to amass over the decades, with the help of some of the various associations we have made through this time.  Of course, even though all this information is readily available, there is still the urge to disassemble things in our worls, and to experiment with things to make them do things better, faster, or to enhance existing behaviors or to manifest new ones in our projects.  Old technologies give way to new ones, but the level of our projects has remained unchanged for decades.

   Of course, having as much information available for your use is also invaluable.  Everyone interested in robotics or mechanical engineering, in conjunction with electronics, should read these fine periodicals as we all do at ICS Engineering.

Servo Magazine.  One of the sources of information ICS Engineering religiously studies every month.  In addition to Nuts And Volts, and Circuit Cellar.  The Editor-In-Chief is a person of vast robotics and microcontroller knowledge.

Mechanical engineering

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Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It requires a solid understanding of key concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy. Mechanical engineers use these principles and others in the design and analysis of automobiles, aircraft, heating & cooling systems, watercraft, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, medical devices and more.

Coursework

Mechanical engineering programs generally cover the same fundamental subjects. Universities in the United States offering ABET-accredited programs in mechanical engineering are required to show their students can "work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas."^[4] This is to ensure a minimum level of competence among graduating engineers and to inspire confidence in the engineering profession as a whole. The specific courses required to graduate, however, may differ from program to program. Universities will often combine multiple subjects into a single class or split a subject into multiple classes, depending on the faculty available and the University's major area(s) of research. Fundamental subjects of mechanical engineering include:

• statics & dynamics

• strength of materials & solid mechanics,

• instrumentation and measurement,

• thermodynamics, heat transfer, energy conversion, and refrigeration / air conditioning,

• fluid mechanics/fluid dynamics,

• mechanism design (including kinematics and dynamics),

• manufacturing technology or processes,

• hydraulics & pneumatics,

• engineering design,

• mechatronics and/or control theory,

• drafting, CAD (usually including Solid modeling), and CAM.^[5][6]

   Mechanical engineering could be found in many ancient and medieval societies throughout the globe. In ancient Greece, the works of Archimedes (287 BC-212 BC), and Heron of Alexandria (10-70 AD) deeply influenced mechanics in the Western tradition. In ancient China, there were also many notable figures, such as Zhang Heng (78-139 AD) and Ma Jun (200-265 AD). The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (1020-1101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before any escapement could be found in clocks of medieval Europe, as well as the world's first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.

   During the early 19th century in Britain mechanical engineering developed as a separate field to provide manufacturing machines and the engines to power them. The first British professional society of civil engineers was formed in 1818; that for mechanical engineers followed in 1847. In the United States, the first mechanical engineering professional society was formed in 1880, making it the third oldest type of engineering behind civil (1852) and mining & metallurgical (1871). "The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. An engineering education is based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science; this is followed by courses emphasizing the application of this knowledge to a specific field and studies in the social sciences and humanities to give the engineer a broader education.