Sources for engineering data on parts and materials.
The Digital Mechanism and Gear Library has a terrific collection of mechanism models, animations and books as well as links to other collections around the world. Select this link DMB-LIB.org.
The Mechanism Description page has a long list of items, every one of which opens to a large number of interesting mechanism systems:
DMG-LIB mechanisms
MechGen Suspension is an iPad application that calculates the upper control arm of an independent suspension to provide a desired set of camber angles and wheel travel values for a specified lower control arm. The algorithm is an application of five-position synthesis of a four-bar linkage.
Please see the video below to see how MechGen SP is used to design a suspension.
This animation shows the W16 Bugatti Veyron engine with four cam-shafts actuating 64 valves, four on each of sixteen cylinders.
This animation shows the operation of the cam shaft, lifters and valves in a V8 engine.
This animation shows the part by part assembly of a four cylinder diesel engine.
The web-site AnimatedEngines.com provides animations of a variety of engines that provide insight to their operation
Otto cycle animation
This version of Mechanism Generator uses five orientations of a moving body to design a spherical four-bar linkage. As with other versions of Mech Gen the system searches in tolerance zones around the task positions to find a number of useful designs. This is more good work by the team of Alex Arredondo and Kaustubh Sonawale.
Interesting examples of web-sites designed to share information about project engineering methods and practice can be found at the two following sites:
Design Exchange
1. The Design Exchange site managed by Celeste Roschuni of the Berkeley Expert Systems Technologies Laboratory under the direction of Prof. Alice Agogino.
IDEO’s HCDconnect
2. The company IDEO, whose principal Dave Kelly is associated with Stanford’s d.School, has established a non-profit effort funded by Bill and Melinda Gates called IDEO.org which has built HCDConnect.
Our Mechanism Generator 3.0 software reads a SolidWorks sketch of a planar 3R chain that reaches five task positions and computes a set of Watt 1 six-bar linkages that approximate movement through the task positions within specified tolerances. An animation previewer shows how each linkage moves. Select one and MechGen 3 generates a solid model of the linkage.
This is more excellent work from the team of Alex Arredondo and Kastubh Sonawale.
**Update: This video has been revised to provide a preview at the beginning that shows the six-bar linkage that is designed using MechGen 3.
We have a trial version of our Mechanism Generator 2.0 software available. MechGen 2 reads five task positions of a moving part in SolidWorks and generates a set of linkages that approximate the positions within specified tolerances. An animation previewer shows how each linkage moves. Select one and MechGen 2 generates the solid model of the linkage.
This is the result of excellent work by Alex Arredondo and Kaustubh Sonawale.
This video demonstrates the operation of MechGen 2: