Mechanical Engineering

OVERVIEW

Mechanical Engineers know about machines. They design engines, robots and generators. But they also design everyday items like kitchen appliances, refrigerators. Whatever the device, if it has moving parts, you can be certain that mechanical engineers were involved in creating it. Mechanical Engineering is the broadest of all the engineering disciplines. Some mechanical engineers research to create a product, others design the product itself, while still others design the machines to make the product. You’ll read more about what mechanical engineers do, how you can become a mechanical engineer and how you can explore the field of mechanical engineering.

WHAT DOES A MECHANICAL ENGINEER DO?

Every day you come in contact with many machines. There’s the bus you take to school, the phone you use to make calls, the refrigerator which you use to keep the food cold, the washing machine which you use to wash clothes etc. In this world where the dependence on machines is more than ever before, mechanical engineers keep things running. They have made our life a lot easier by designing and building these tools.
Mechanical Engineering, due to its popularity, is always in high demand. Students who do not manage to secure seats in Mechanical Engineering often opt for allied courses such as Production Engineering or Industrial Engineering. Many students start with an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and then pursue a Masters in any of these subfields for their specialization after they have understood more about each of the fields.
To get a fair idea of the things a Mechanical engineer does have a look at the table below:

TOP COMPANIES WHICH HIRE MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

KEY QUALITIES REQUIRED

• Creativity: Mechanical engineers develop new equipment and products used by customers to optimize production or improve their work processes. Creativity is an essential part of developing or improving devices so they are of good quality, meet space or weight limitations and achieve the cost objectives of customers.
• Problem solving: Mechanical engineers are, above all else, problem solvers. They use math skills and analytical abilities to spot problems and resolve them. This is important in the development process so you can ensure that the devices you create do what clients need them to do. It is also important when you are called on to repair problems with existing devices.
• Knack for machines: While some skills can be learnt and developed over time, this is an innate knack that can’t be ‘developed’ in a sense. If you have, since childhood, wanted to open up machines to see how they work, played with spare parts of automobiles, repairing a puncture isn’t a challenge for you, you would enjoy Mechanical Engineering.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MARVELS

Tesla Model S

An electric car with the fastest acceleration among any motor vehicle

Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Largest Cryogenic system in the world, The electromagnets which power LHC operate at a temperature lower than outer space

Fanuc robots

Made by Fanuc Corporation of Japan. This company is the leader in Industrial robots and has sold 200,000 robots all over the world

HOW TO BECOME AN MECHANICAL ENGINEER?

Step 1 : Choose Science with Mathematics after 10th (PCM) and prepare for Engineering Entrance Exams
As the name suggests, becoming a Mechanical engineer requires studying “Engineering”. Most of the colleges require students to compulsorily take Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics during 10+2.
All engineering colleges in India admit students on the basis of competitive entrance exams – JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, BITSAT, MHT CET, ComedK as of February 2017. Currently, score in JEE Mains is also used by many States, (e.g., Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh etc) for admission to government and private engineering colleges at the state level.

Step 2 : Take admission in Mechanical Engineering or related Engineering disciplines
In addition to Mechanical Engineering, you can also enroll in Production & Industrial Engineering, Automobile Engineering which are being offered by some IITs, NITs and other colleges. Refer to the section later on related careers to understand the relationship between Mechanical Engineering and related streams.

EXPLORE THE FIELD

For Class 11 and 12

Participate in “Intel Science and Engineering Fair”, where 70 lakhs pre-college students from across the globe compete to present their ideas and projects.

For Class 11 and 12

Design 2 models of cars, compare their energy efficiency and learn how changing material or shape of car influences how much fuel it will consume

For Class 11 and 12

Attend and participate in technical fests of Engineering colleges. E.g., Techfest IIT Bombay or Tryst IIT Delhi

For Class 10 and younger

Participate in “National Children’s Science Congress “where you have to present your project related to Science & Technology

For Class 10 and younger

Build your own robotic arm using simple items available at home and learn how a similar robot arm was designed for International Space Station

For Class 10 and younger

Explore the 5 fundamental steps in “Engineering Design Process” which all engineers use to create a product or solution

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