Most mechanical, electrical and structural engineers spend at least a portion of each project in the field, and when you’re on site and need to cross reference a set of material specifications or mechanical properties, your laptop can usually offer the necessary support. But as convenient and invaluable as they are, laptops still require time to open and boot up, and programs can take a while to open and operate. Alternatively, you can take out your smartphone, open an engineering app, run the numbers or materials through the program and get your answer in seconds.
Advanced mobile app technology for engineering may not transform the design or manufacturing process in question, but it certainly can speed up data transfers and provide ready solutions to challenging on-site problems. Software providers are beginning to recognize this targeted area of demand and apps for electrical and civil engineers are beginning to flow onto the marketplace. But what about mechanical engineering?
Arriving Apps for Mechanical Engineers
While manufacturers and designers have been slow to produce useful mechanical engineering products in a volume equal to that of other fields, apps like the ones below are slowly arriving to fill a market niche.
Mechanical Engineer: This is part of MultiEducator’s “Formula” Line for the IPhone and can offer over 300 vital formulas for mechanical engineers and more than 300 conversion formulas at the touch of a screen. These formulas cover areas like gears, heat transfer, kinetic energy, spring shafts, plumb, vehicle drive, plates and metalworking.
AutoCAD WS: View, create, edit and share drawings on the go using AutoDesk’s app for web and mobile use.
Mechanics Basics: This app offers volumes of reference material including equations, tables, and specific mechanics laws.
Cross Sections Calc: This app offered by IPROBLUE Tech can provide geometric and mechanical properties for commonly used sections in beam and column design.
New mobile engineering apps appearing on the market every day can provide formulas, calculations and reference information and are available for both IOs and Android platforms. For more information about engineering news visit the Techneeds blog each week. If you are looking for a rewarding engineering career, or looking to find top engineering talent, contact the staffing experts at Techneeds today!