5 comments about Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design (Mcgraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering).

1. As a senior ME student, I think Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design may be a good reference book, but find it is a poor text. Most topics are covered quickly and equations presented with little or no emphasis on any engineering derivation. This will frustrate engineers who enjoy knowing why the equations work. Also many of the answers found in the back of the book are simply incorrect. This inhibits the value of the problems found at the end of each chapter. The book covers a myriad of engineering topics which makes it fine to pull off the shelf to find the correct equation to use. However as a text, it lacks the engineering and mathematical depth to help one understand why the equations presented are true and why they work.



2. As is quite apparent from the one review of the hardcover edition (and from my machine design professor repeatedly referring to this as a reference book), this isn't the best textbook from which to learn the material in the first place, but it has every formula you'll ever need (well, maybe not...). However, there is one very important fact to note if you are considering buying this book for a class. It is NOT identical to the hardcover 8th edition; all problems and examples are in SI units (often with significantly different numbers), and the problem numbers are not necessarily the same (one cannot help but suspect that this is intentional on the part of the publisher, since it means that the cheaper paperback edition cannot be easily substituted for the hardcover edition). If you will need this book for homework, be aware of this.



3. I think this is a really good textbook, though it is very pricey. Many of the tables that are in the book are very useful and the examples are extremely helpful. I only bought this book because I needed it for 2 classes and it will be one of the few books I will keep even after graduation.



4. This text book has been around for awhile and for good reason. I used it for my Machine Design class, and still use it occasionally for reference after graduation. It is a bit pricey, but it is one of the few textbooks I've held onto for reference in my job. It does contain quite a lot of information and presents it rather well. Not perfect, but a good text book overall.



5. The book is a most have for mechanical engineering students, it covers everything from mechanics of materials, to metallurgy, to basic design knowledge of dynamic stresses, statistics and much more. Been a student myself it's a great reference for many future curses.

5 comments about Technical Drawing (13th Edition).

1. .: edit, June 30 2007 :.
   
   New rating: 3 stars
   
   I wrote the original review in 2005, after several hours of trying to decipher this book and find misplaced information within it so as to complete a class assignment. Discovering that one of its specific textual errors made my specific task impossible, I wrote the following.
   
   If Amazon let me increase my rating, at this point I would, but I maintain that it is unpolished and desperately under-edited.
   
   .: end edit :.
   
   As a freshman engineering major, I have been compelled to use Technical Drawing for a graphics course. This has been a profoundly frustrating experience. It seems that the authors, in their zeal to attain unto the dry, lifeless style characteristic of most professional engineering publications, also unintentionally created a text which is superlatively unclear.
   
   I am recurrently astonished at the utter incomprehensibility of entire paragraphs. I will read a section, cynically assert that it communicates nothing, read it over a dozen more times, show it to others who in turn read it a dozen times, only to have my first conclusion affirmed.
   
   There are extremely blatant contradictions.
   
   Terms are used at the beginning of a chapter and not defined until the end.
   
   It speaks voluminously about how critical it is to follow the prescribed techniques, only to devote less-than-the-bare-minimum amount of space to the actual descriptions of those techniques.
   
   The review questions are frequently unrelated to the content they are supposed to be reinforcing, or are simply placed in the wrong chapter.
   
   This (expensive!) book is a conspicuous example of "writing by committee." Technical Drawing may well be a decent-enough reference book - useful if you need a reminder about material you already know - but expect to get angry at it, especially if you're learning the information for the first time.



2. I can only speculate that this book is, as was one of the previous editions I've read, used and loved, is bound to provide an exceptional foundational education in the skill of technical (engineering design) drawing/drafting for those with the natural aptitude for freehand drawing. Readers will indeed learn about and develop precision drawing skills--whether drawing with instruments or computer.
   
   The true value of this book is in its ability to guide and therefore transform the natural artist's raw talent into that of a professional grade design artist--capable of rendering technical depictions, representations, or designs, at any time, with little effort, and without error. As with learning to walk, this of course takes time, patience, and practice.
   
   I have personally witnessed the struggles of many whom, having necessity to complete a course of study based upon this book, were ill-suited by their own admission for the discipline required of the eye, hand, and attention (or mind) as demanded by the capable sketch artist--to say nothing of the trained detail design drafter.
   
   If realizing the instructional value of Technical Drawing, 12th edition, seems to come at great pain and effort, the obvious question clearly becomes one of aptitude for drawing. However, while the aptitude for drawing is extremely beneficial, proficiency in technical drawing can still be achieved by sheer tenacity.
   
   Technical Drawing, 12th edition, as with previous editions, is therefore highly recommended for the tenacious engineer, designer and drafter. It has stood the test of time as a solid component of engineering design instruction in this nation's premiere academic institutions.



3. The thing this book does best is demonstrate the inferiority of 2D drafting when compared with 3D modeling. In several parts, the 2D documentation of the parts glosses over some of the more complex implications, and simply leaves it to someone else downstream to figure out. If you try to build some of the example parts in 3D, you see that the dimensions in probably 40% of the parts I worked through simply don't add up.
   
   Shouldn't the book at least describe the concept of draft on example parts that are for the most part cast and forged parts? Some of the example parts become extremely difficult if you consider draft.
   
   Also there is the combination of some very dated material with some semi-modern entries, especially when covering computer hardware. This kind of thing is almost impossible to cover in a published hardcopy because the computer hardware has gone through two generations between writing and distribution of the book.
   
   On the plus side, it does have some nice examples, but this is far from complete if it is being used to prepare college students for jobs in the 2000's.



4. This book is an excellent reference for anyone needing an introduction to or a reference for technical drawing. Most of the content concerning machine component drawings are geared (no pun intended) more toward traditional methods for technical drawings (i.e. compass, ruler and pencil), but the methods given are well suited to modern computer-oriented methods of solid modeling. Engineers in the manufacturing industry will find it especially useful, as it can be a helpful reference for weldment drawings.



5. This book is a good book to learn basic drafting pratices. It is also a good referance book to keep in your bookcase beside your desk.

5 comments about Introduction to Statistical Quality Control.

1. the book is very good ..no doubt but the service is aweful.

   1. on the website they show it is a hardcover book and so i ordered for it but got a soft cover book ...now i have to worry about return or refunds etc...

   2. had to wait for 3 weeks to get the book.

   3. print quality aweful ...the original book has good color print...the one i received for the same price has a black and white print with very thin see-through pages...

   my advice would be to avoid abebooks.com through amazon if possible because the same book is listed for $ 33 on their own website and here they sell it for $ 41 ...so waste ur money if u want.




2. Used this book in a graduate level course on SPC. The book and the excercises were interesting and highly informative, as are all of Dr. Montgomery's numerous texts. Most concepts are backed up with liberal examples to help understand the theory and cement the concept and their practical applications, and run the whole gamut from management to electrical engineering problems. Many of the tables in the back of the book, such as the random number table, are outdated due to computers, however these may have been dropped in the new version of the text.



3. If you are looking to be well versed on the principle of Statistical Quality Control, then you need this book.



4. Doug Montgomery is an excellent instructor and author. I have taken short courses from him. He teaches statistics in the Engineering School at Arizona State. He is known for his books on engineering statistics and has written some excellent texts on design of experiments, response surface methodology, linear regression and quality control. He is well acquainted with the Deming philosophy for quality , Taguchi designs and the six sigma concept. This book on statistical quality control introduces control chart methods and all the other tools of statistical quality control with the expertise that few have.
   
   The book is very accessible to statisticians engineers and others with good mathematical backgrounds but not necessarily strong trtaining in statistics. A virtue of Montgomery in all the books he has authored or coauthored is the clarity of presentation and the ability to reach a wide audience of non-statisticians.



5. I started browsing the book, as is my habit whenever I buy a new book, with the idea of doing an in-depth reading later. But, the subject matter is so vividly covered, I could not. Here is a book I could not keep back until I completed the first 4 chapters in my first reading itself.
   It all started with the modern definition of quality as stated in the book "Quality is inversely proportional to variability". This definition, later led me to explore more into six sigma concepts to reduce variation before getting to ISO registration by any company. Nothing can be truer than the fact or statement in the book on ISO registration that "many quality engineering authorities feel that ISO registration is largely a waste of effort". I am one among them.
   This kind of striking information, style of presentation, and the font type are so good that they tempt you to explore more into the book.
   
   I enjoyed the 2-page info on legal aspects of quality, notes on Average Run Length (ARL) and was amazed by the fact that even an in-control process will go out-of-control automatically after 370 samples /observations due to the fact that 3sigma control limits
   comprise only 99.73% good items.
   Another area I liked most is the Hypothesis testing of assumptions or conditions in quality improvement situation.
   Not many books explain so well the Confidence Intervals (CI) and Hypothesis testing.
   When I read further into this Montgomery's work on "Introduction to Statistical Quality Control", I was doubly happy to have at last a solid book on SQC.
   It so happened that when I started underlining some important points (that is the respect I give to good books), I had to underline almost all of the pages in his book (Not overdoing).I am sure, so will you do.
   
   I plan to add more interesting areas, in stages, from this book that I liked best as I re-read and as an honor to such a great Author.

5 comments about Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems (5th Edition).

1. It is a good textbook about feedback control design. A lot of examples from the engineering world are useful for undergraduate students. It well written and easy to read.



2. Beware of the International Version it is not the exact same as the Hardcover version just with a softcover. There are less problems, and problems are numbered differently. Those are the only differences found so far, as of two weeks into the semester of an advanced controls course.



3. Vague, poor/loose structure, plenty of discussion but fails to teach. The material is at a high level (senior or above), but that's not my quibble with this book. There are excellent alternatives though on control systems, most notably Norman Nise (currently in 5th ed.) and Ogata. (My bacground is in ME and EE, master's level.)



4. The Good:
   This text does hit on most of the topics in controls. It's manageable if you have a good instructor.
   
   Wide breadth.
   
   The Bad:
   The writing seems to go out of its way to be unnecessarily cryptic. It performs variable changes every chance it gets, skips steps in the examples (which are light in and of themselves). The figures in the last sections link back to the first. If you find yourself saddled with a hard-to-understand instructor (foreign-language Ph.D students come to mind), get the exercises from someone else and pick up Ogata's Modern Control Engineering (I literally understood Root-Locus more from twenty minutes of reading Ogata than two hours of wrestling with this text).
   
   Poor depth. Avoid.
   
   A note: You WILL require MATLAB. Don't try this material without it.



5. This text provides good coverage of the material.
   
   One neat feature of this book (fourth edition) is intros at the beginning of each chapter that explain the motivation for learning the concepts presented in that chapter.
   
   Note that the subject matter is not easy, so the first time controls student should be prepared to read each section of this (and any controls text for that matter) carefully - and not just skim it.

1 comments about Bike, Scooter, and Chopper Projects for the Evil Genius.

1. I purchased this book and also the Bicycle Builder's Bonanza by the same author because I wanted ideas on how to build my own recumbent bike or trike. The plans and details are awesome, and Brad often explains why certain design decisions were made. I think the best thing about the book is that it inspires me to go out and build something. My mind is already cranking on how to modify the designs presented in the book. Now, my only problem is deciding between the Delta Wolf and the Street Fox!

5 comments about How to Cast Small Metal and Rubber Parts (2nd Edition).

1. An amateur can quickly learn casting techniques to make small and simple metal and rubber parts by following examples and illustrations in this book. The Make it yourself foundry equipments chapter is helpful for beginner to start with this hobby without spending too much money. However, the main technique presented is sand casting, there is not enough examples or info on other casting techniques.



2. This is the only source I have ever found for non-commercial molding of rubberlike compounds. While this 1986 edition does not address possible new developments in this area (Loctite now sells material which appears to be the same as the Devcon product highlighted in the book), it is the only information I have ever seen on creating rubber parts for the home hobbyist and restorer. The chapter on weights and volumes is valuable, as these materials are rather expensive. The metal casting section is similar to others on the market, and is primarily focused on sand casting of aluminum. This limited focus, skimming over most other methods and materials, limits it to a four star rating. If you want to mold rubber parts though, this is IT.



3. I felt the information was rather old. I'm still looking for a reference I can actually use.



4. a good book well put together with a lot of good information witch i enjoyed reading



5. Excellent book for casting small rubber parts useful in auto restoration
   worth the money!!!

5 comments about Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design.

1. Amazing new perspective on matials and design! A must for any inspired designer/Product Manager.



2. It's quite heavy to read... but it covers so much information that it's worth of it. You won't find fancy products shown on the inside for any kind of material, but you will understand everything about them.
   
   If you are truly interested in Materials and Design, this is your book. I suggest also to take a look of those books written by Chris Lefteri, they are easier to read for a student, and have examples of the materials with great pictures. It's up to you "what" and "how" you want to learn.



3. ... to anyone w. even the slightest interest in materials & product design.



4. It's a really complete book, where you can find all technical data of a material and some design aplications, also you can find substitute materials for each one of them.
   
   Really Helpful



5. This book is perfect for Industrial Design students looking for some better understanding of materials, how to pick them, and what forming processes can be done to them. I am really glad I bought it.

2 comments about Schaum's Outline of Heat Transfer.

1. It is what I expected. Heat Transfer all in one reference.



2. I found the Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Heat Transfer, 2nd Ed. a helpful addition to my small collection of radiation heat transfer references. It has a unique worked example of the direct conversion from an Oppenheim radiosity network (RC analogy) to a radiation exchange factor (script-F) network.
   
   I cannot comment on the conduction or convection sections because I have not yet used them.

5 comments about Robot Builder's Bonanza, Third Edition (Robot Builder's Bonanza).

1. I read the first 80 pages of this book at B&N, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of information. This book is not for beginners who are only somewhat interested in robotics. You have to make an effort with this book. But if you're looking to make science-fair quality projects or impress MIT, this book can't be beat.



2. Why spend a lot of money on this year's big thing in robots - Roboreptile - and wind up with something that can only do a few basic commands and then falls over? Instead, buy this book, and you and your child can bond while building your own robots.
   
   This is a very healthy update to the 2nd edition, and makes it well worth your while to purchase, read, and use as a reference book. The third edition has been updated to show most of the latest technologies that robot builders have been using. Gordon has done a very good job at organizing a wide variety of current information into his book, and Myke Predko is a welcome addition to the authoring team, bringing with him is vast knowledge of microcontrollers.
   
   This book covers much of the basics of building robots, such as electronics, motors and motor control. There are plenty of diagrams, schematics, and details on the basics of building robots. There is even quite a bit of source code, and instructions on where to find and buy supplies for the projects outlined in the book. There are experiments with range finding, sound, ultrasonics, infrared, and a host of other popular technologies.
   
   The first four parts of the book are on the technologies and skills needed to build robots, but part five gives you some sample robots to build where you can apply your knowledge. This includes a roverbot, a walking robot, and robots with arms that have gripping capabilities. The final sections of the book cover more advanced topics such as navigation, sensor integration, object detection, speech synthesis, and even computer vision. It's a great source for complete instructions unlike many other hastily constructed books on the subject that omit individual robot construction steps or get them wrong entirely. I highly recommend it for the budding robot building enthusiast.



3. A good way to describe this book is a cross between a textbook, a trade journal, and a catalog. Being definately a large volume, it attempts to cover a lot of information in bite sized chapters. I would think the best use for this book is as a reference. You can build some of the projects listed in it as stand alone applications, but they work best when combining them with your own ideas, or supplementing info from other book projects.
   
   All in all, this book is a good addition to a robot reference library.



4. This is a good reference book for beginning robot builders. However, if you are really interested in getting started then invest the money into a cheap kit like Parallax's Basic Stamp2. Then move up to one of their robotics kits to get a hands on feel.



5. I enjoy the 3rd edition of this book. What it does well is that it breaks up the problem of building a robot into multiple sections in which builders get ideas on what to change for their robots. This includes changes in anything from what sensors to use to recommendations and ideas about building your own chassis from wood to plastic to well, whatever. It also gives you a nice reference to places to get parts and also references to other books to get even more information on individual topics. It doesn't really get into the level that other McComb books did such as the Lasers, Ray Guns, and Light Cannons: Projects from the Wizard's Workbench by Gordon McComb - it instead just briefly surveys a great many topics across a very very wide spectrum of possibilities. It's great for ideas- but it seems to lack a bit of a universal thread such as a representative building example that goes through the whole design process. But then again, it's not an engineering textbook... it's a bonanza.

2 comments about Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics (Engineering Mechanics).

1. This book explains the concepts very carefully. However, it jumps topic to topic without a smooth trancision. Examples are very elementary, but the problems at the end of each chapter gets tedious quickly. Prefer if the hard problems are approached with more examples. Biggest down fall I see is that there are no answers at the back for any problems.



2. I have used this book and the accompanying statics book all within the last year. The author is my Dynamics professor. These books are not as thick as other Statics/Dynamics books I have seen, and the reason is that they are more problem-set oriented than lecture. You really need a good teacher to help you understand the problems and material. This is where having the author as the teacher helps. The instructional sections of the book are minimal, and I have found the problem sets better for the learning process.
   
   If I were to change this book I would add numerical solutions to every problem, not just the odd ones. And for whatever reason, the publishing oversight is uber critical of posting solutions anywhere other than the classroom, and this can be a nuisance sometime.
   
   Fun fact...a self-proclaimed car guy, Kraige loves problems with cars in them, so there are quite a few of those in there.