Distinguishing characteristics of mechanical engineering

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The engineer typifies the twentieth century. He is making- the vast contribution in design, engineering and Promotion. In the organization and direction of large-scale enterprises we need his analytical frame of mind.

We need his imagination.

He may be designing the product itself; inventing new products; testing the product, its components, and the materials in it; analyzing its performance and making a mathematical analysis.

He may be engaged in the development of the new product, making drawings and specifications.

He may be concerning himself with the development of a new production process, or the adaptation of a current process to a new product.

He may be utilizing his engineering know-how in de­termining the best processes and equipment for the mass production of high-quality products.

He may be the project engineer in charge of the design and installation of a highly automatic conveyer system for handling different kinds of parts between various assembly stations.

- He may be working on designing and developing tools, dies, jigs, assembly fixtures, welding fixtures for the production of an automotive body.

In the 20th century the engineer has at his command many new sources of power. He works much to develop better materials especially new alloys for special pur­poses. He wants to make machinery automatic.

Mining Industry

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. Materials recovered by mining include bauxite, coal, gold, silver, diamonds, iron, precious metals, lead, limestone, nickel, phosphate, oil shale, rock salt, tin, uranium, and molybdenum. Any material that cannot be grown from agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory, is usually mined. Mining in a wider sense can also include extraction of petroleum, natural gas, and even water.

The oldest known mine in the archeological record is the “Lion Cave” in Swaziland. At this site, which by radiocarbon dating is 43,000 yeas old, Paleolithic human mined for the iron – containing mineral hematite, which they ground to produce the red pigment ochre. Sites of similar age where Neanderthal may have mined flint for weapons and tools have been found in Hungary.

Ancient Egyptians operated malachite mines at Wady Maghareh on the Sinai Peninsula and at Timna in the Negev. At first, the bright green stones were used for ornamentation and for pottery glaze, but approximately 1,200 BCE, Egyptians discovered that malachite could be converted into copper by the application of intense heat and air.