The machine is a set of mechanisms consisting of various machine elements such as gears, bearings and shafts to transform any type of energy into another energy, to do a job by using a certain power or to create an effect. Electronic or organic devices that do not have any mechanical parts are also within the scope of the machine.
Today, machines are used in many different sectors. The usage purposes of the machines are quite high. To give an example, let me talk about the machines used to produce the refrigerator covers we use in our homes;
- Sheet metal press that bends and bends the outer cover,
- Extrusion machine where the gasket around the cover is produced,
- Systems that allow the parts to be transported to the company if they are produced outside the company,
- Production lines are indispensable for factories,
- Screw etc. Chargers for tightening parts,
The machines that come to mind only in the first 10 seconds I have listed above, today different products are produced with the operation of many machines like this.
Mechanical engineers, on the other hand, can take part in roles such as the production, use and development of different machines that I have mentioned above. Or you want to have natural gas installed in your home, there are also mechanical engineers working in these fields. Another example is you want to build a wind turbine in a very windy place, there are also mechanical engineers who can analyze the wind here. The working areas of mechanical engineers I want to tell are quite wide.
After entering the subject, you can see below the branches that mechanical engineering is basically divided into:
- Construction
- Thermodynamics and Heat Technique
- Rigid Body Mechanics
- Automotive
- Machine Theory, System Dynamics and Control
- Machine Materials and Manufacturing Technology
- Machine Dynamics, Vibration and Acoustics
(In universities, there may be branches other than the above. These branches that appear to be different may actually be the sub-branch or the upper branch of the branches written above.)
Construction
The word construction nowadays means more design. Mechanical engineers who design a machine are commonly referred to as constructors. Constructionists’ working areas;
- Structural design departments of companies,
- Mold design departments,
- The sections where the mechanical calculations of a machine element are made
(This and similar sections)
Who should choose the Construction branch?
- Interested in courses such as mechanical elements, strength, static, technical drawing, solid modeling;
- Likes to use 3D design programs,
- Likes to do calculations of a machine element
Friends may prefer the construction branch.
Thermodynamics and Heat Technique
People who graduate from this branch are generally defined as systemists. If a machine has a function related to temperature (for example, the cooling function of the refrigerator), the calculations and analyzes required to fulfill this function are carried out by advanced friends in this field.
Working areas of advanced students in Thermodynamics and Heat Technique;
- System departments of R&D departments (Flow analysis, heat transfer analysis, measurement of heat loss)
- Test – approval departments of factories,
- Wind turbine companies (CFD analysis)
Who should choose Thermodynamics and Heat Technique?
- Interested in courses such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, differential equations, turbo machines,
- Will be able to work on machines to work more efficiently
Friends can choose.
Rigid Body Mechanics
Graduates of this branch are generally interested in the strength and analysis of machine parts. In this branch, issues such as how the structure of the material affects the design are discussed.
The study areas of advanced students in Solid Body Mechanics;
- Structural analysis departments of companies,
- Structural design departments of companies,
(In fact, it is a section that complements each other with construction)
Who should choose Solid Body Mechanics?
- Those who are interested in courses such as statics, strength, finite elements.
- Those who wonder about the reaction of a machine part under a certain force.
(Performing the strength analysis of a machine part is a process that requires experience and patience.)
Automotive
As the name suggests, this branch is ideal for students who want to work in the automotive industry. Operation principles of diesel and gasoline engines, etc. is the branch that examines the issues.
Working areas of advanced students in the automotive branch;
- R&D departments of automotive companies.
- Test-Approval departments of automotive companies,
(Since I don’t have many automotive friends, I’m not sure if there is another work area)
Who should choose Solid Body Mechanics?
- Interested in lessons related to automobiles (such as Motors lesson)
- Interested in automobile work,
Machine Theory, System Dynamics and Control
More studies on robots are carried out in this branch. It is the branch that controls the robot’s movements and makes it work properly.
Fields of study for advanced students in Machine Theory, System Dynamics and Control;
- Installation of working robots on assembly lines of factories,
- Firms producing autonomous machines,
Who should choose Machine Theory, System Dynamics and Control?
- Interested in lessons such as machine dynamics and automatic control,
Machine Materials and Manufacturing Technology
It is the section where the work is carried out on the material properties and manufacturing methods of a machine part.
Working areas of advanced students in Machine Materials and Manufacturing Technology;
- Production departments of factories,
(There is always one manufacturing engineer in every factory that manufactures something)
Who should choose Machine Materials and Manufacturing Technology?
- Interested in lessons such as manufacturing methods, machine tools, materials,
- When he picked up a machine part, he was excited about how it was produced,
Friends can choose this branch.
Machine Dynamics, Vibration and Acoustics
Friends in this branch examine a difficult subject such as the vibrations that occur during the operation of machines.
Consider a company that manufactures an automobile, there may be mechanical engineers from every branch of work in this company. Below I will be explaining which branch engineer is doing what.
The builder in this company is responsible for the design. If the surface he designs is a visual surface (for example, the bumper of the car), firstly an outer shell surface comes from the industrial design, since this surface is the surface that the customer will see, the designer obtains a solid from that surface without damaging the surface, and then, if it is a plastic part, the injection rules must be made of sheet metal. the part realizes the design by following the sheet metal molding rules. If the part he designs is not a visual part but a functional part (for example engine block), the designer will need to create the necessary design gaps, etc. for this part to fulfill its function flawlessly. is also responsible for giving.
A friend who has graduated from thermodynamics is responsible for flows. The most important flow in the automobile is the path the fuel takes in the engine. In addition, a thermodynamicist can analyze the temperatures that this fuel reaches during its combustion. In order to perform these analyzes, they make flow and heat analyzes, then after verifying with analysis, the values in the produced parts are checked whether they are correct.
Those who graduate from rigid body mechanics perform the structural analysis of the part made by the designer if it carries a critical load. For example, the reaction of the wheels when encountering a bump. If, as a result of these reactions, the machine element carrying the wheel is damaged, the analyzer contacts the designer and advises him on corrections.
Automotive manufacturers carry out studies on the engine technology of the vehicle, for example, they play an important role in determining parameters such as spraying time and spray rate in diesel vehicles. The aim of the people working in this field is to make the vehicle work more efficiently.
To give an example of what the controllers will do, if the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle (a vehicle that can travel on its own), the braking time of this vehicle when it sees a car on the road is related to the vehicle’s automatic control system. As a second example of the work that controllers can do, when manufacturing vehicles in automobile companies, parts are transported not by hand but by robots. It is the controllers who determine how these robots will work.
The task of the manufacturers is to ensure that the part is produced according to the desired specifications. If it is a part to be produced with a sheet press, they work on parameters such as how many tons of pressure it will apply to the part, or the plastic injection part, how many seconds the part can be pressed.
Vibration is the most undesirable feature in a car. The task of the students studying in this branch in the factory is to minimize the in-vehicle vibration as much as possible. In summary, I tried to explain the mechanical engineering branches.
