3D mechanical industrial design technique resources for EEs? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: evb149
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2018, 04:02:35 am
content: As I've done various EE and product / system design work over the years I often end up working with mechanical engineers and being involved in projects that ultimately get turned into injection molded assemblies, 3D printed prototypes, maybe sheet metal designs, etc.From what I've seen done and what I've picked up casually I get the generalities of 2D/3D MCAD design and molding and 3D printing and so on. And I have taken apart the various 3rd party gadget over the decades to get an idea of how they've done things like enclosures, batteries, buttons / keypads, etc.But I'd like to learn more about historical and modern "idioms" and techniques and technologies for industrial design / mechanical engineering / molded gadgets etc.I feel like there must be entire books about hinges, latches, clamps, clips, bosses, aluminium / plastic extrusion profiles, inserts, DFM, mold design, etc. etc. that would just be scratching the surface of what's out there.I don't expect to become an expert ID / ME but I'd like to evolve my knowledge to suit a good foundation of things that are likely I could be able to take advantage of "DIY" by 3D printing / rapid prototyping services where you provide the MCAD of a workable design and they provide cheap prototypes without doing any of the design work for you.Also I'd like to know about what sorts of things to consider as practical or idiomatic / canonical as design options and practices and rules of thumb when considering conceptual designs that could ultimately be manufactured by professional type injection molding equipment but where the generic design attributes and concepts for an enclosure or user interface are probably determined in rough sketch long before a professional ID / ME is involved to "optimize" it for DFM.It would be awesome to have something like a "visual encyclopedia" of "design patterns" for ID / ME just as there are "design patterns" for software. Here are the various kinds of clips / clasps that can be injection molded to close an assembly. Here are various kinds of button designs and how they're molded, designed, retained, "sprung", etc. Here are various kinds of materials and thicknesses that are used in practice to make certain kinds of common gadgets, cell phones, MP3 players, mice, keyboards, whatever.I have some old (1700s-1900s) "mechanical engineering" books that touch on general things like pulleys, gears, screws, simple machine design, etc. etc. but not really anything touching on 1990s-2018 realm plastic and other sorts of "technology gadgets" or rapid prototyping capabilities / limitations / design patterns..Teardown photos are interesting but I'd like to see a lot more like keyboards, mice, MP3 players, monitors, car / industrial electronics, consumer electronics, whatever, and see what they've done to get a feel for the approaches and results. Maybe some good commentary about what's bad / ok / good, etc.100 different calculators and watches and telephones and PDAs from 1980 to the present. Whatever.What resources do you use for learning about this stuff and expanding your horizons of ID / ME / DFM etc.?I don't mind literal textbooks and encyclopedias and academic literature and stuff but due to time / cost / availability and "a picture is worth 1000 words" factor I'd like to see some free web based or PDF type resources maybe online open course material and class / thesis projects with good lab / presentation / thesis summaries or whatever.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2022, 06:33:43 am
content: Bump for an old question that never got an answer.

author: Kasper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2022, 06:51:19 am
content: Hubs.com and freecad are good resources.Design in freecad and load into hubs for auto DFM (design for manufacturing) review.Hubs has descriptions for materials and some visual guides about DFM.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2022, 08:11:10 am
content: Oh, good idea. Bump indeed!I know there are books of these things. Probably some very old ones going back to steam engine days, but here's a newer looking one for instance: (this link looks suspiciously like it won't be up for very long,but you get the gist from the title)http://160592857366.free.fr/joe/ebooks/Mechanical%20Engineering%20Books%20Collection/THEORY%20OF%20MACHINES/Mechanisms_and_Mechanical%20devices%20sourcebook%205e%20NEIL%20SCLATER.pdfThat looks like it's mostly dynamics (parts in motion); for statics I'm not sure but there should also be similar references for what's doable in sheet metal, machining, casting etc. (Not that you'd be casting many metal parts for stuff like this..? But some lessons can be transferred to 3D printing probably. And if you have the tools, or don't mind phoning up a foundry, you can do 'lost' 3D parts as well. Or resin casting, that's pretty obviously casting too, and probably more accessible. Materials are just pricey.. silicone for molds, resin for the parts.) Also RTFM for what capabilities CAD can generate, and what fabs can actually produce (e.g. laser cut + press or other brake, CNC punch, emboss, etc.).Tim

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2022, 11:09:05 am
content: In case that link breaks, the book is Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook.https://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-5th/dp/0071704426As a non mechanical engineer, I've had a bunch of "I didn't know that existed" type moments looking through the illustrations in that book. I've got quite a few post-its marking things I think might be useful at some point. It's not detailed enough to use as a cookbook, but it's been great for inspiration.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2022, 11:12:18 am
content: Protolabs has a lot of design tips here:https://www.protolabs.com/resources/design-tips/