Mechanical Engineering 460

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• Mechanical Engineering 460
• Design Project
• Research and Information Resources in Mechanical
  Engineering
• 22 September 2008Randy Reichardt Science and
  Technology Libraryrandy.reichardt_at_ualberta.ca
  492-7911http//www.ualberta.ca/science3/mece460-
  08.pdf

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Outline of Presentation

• Science and Technology Library
• Mechanical Engineering Literature
• databases of importance
• other mechanical eng resources
• handbooks, manuals, patents standards
• How to manage your project using Google Groups
• Why do engineers need research skills?
• Ways to contact me

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Science and Technology Library (Cameron - floors
1-4)

• Houses journals and books on chemical and
  materials engineering.
• First floor of Cameron is scheduled to reopen in
  late October 2008
• U of A Libraries are part of the NEOS Libraries
  Consortium
• 52 libraries in 18 library systems in and near
  Edmonton

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Mechanical Engineering Literature

• Many different sources and formats
• Journals, conference publications, databases,
  monographs, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals,
  product directories, web sites, patents,
  standards...
• Attached handout highlights resources for your
  design project
• handout online at

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(No Transcript)
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Links to Quick Start Guides, resources
on patents and standards, and important online
handbooks
List of suggested databases
OMG! - Facebook! NO! YES!
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Selected Databases of Interest to Mechanical
Engineers
Compendex (1884- ) (7 on list) The primary
database for searching engineering literature.
International coverage of all fields of
engineering and technology, including mechanical
engineering.
Web of Science (1900 - ) (47 on list) Indexes
gt8,000 peer-reviewed journals.
Provides bibliographic data and cited references.
Also allows for Citation Searching
CSA Technology Research Database (1962
present) A mega db of dbs, including Mechanical
Transportation Engineering Abs, METADEX,
Corrosion Abstracts, Aerospace High Technology
Database, and more.
SAE Digital Library (1906-) (38 on list) Index
to thousands of SAE technical papers and
standards. Full-text of SAE Technical Papers
available from 1998-present.
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Full-text Handbook Databases

• ENGnetBASE (16 on list)
• gt1,050 titles coverage includes vibration, mech
  engineering (includes engineering design),
  technology management, thermodynamics,
  nanotechnology, fluid dynamics, heat transfer,
  and more.
• Knovel (25 on list)
• gt1,700 handbooks and databases coverage includes
  mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, gas and
  fluid transport, rheology, HVAC, vibration,
  strength of materials, machine design
• MATERIALSnetBASE (26 on list)
• gt200 titles coverage includes corrosion,
  composites, dynamic mechanical analysis, fire
  protection, inverse engineering, thermal
  modelling, strength and fracture
• Referex Engineering (37 on list)
• gt400 titles coverage includes aeronautical,
  automotive, design, fluid mechanics and dynamics,
  mechanical, robotics, tribology
• Digital Engineering Library (13 on list)
• gt220 titles full text of McGraw-Hill engineering
  books

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Why search patent literature?

• 80 of patent data are not published elsewhere!
• most private enterprises, especially large
  companies, publish in the patent literature
  before, or to the exclusion of, the scientific
  literature
• New technology and inventions are most often
  first disclosed in patents
• Discovering research ideas and solving problems
• Predicting hot-areas of research that can impact
  on current products and those that are in the
  development stage
• Avoiding re-inventing the wheel and spending a
  lot of money doing it
• Avoid infringement
• Monitor patents in a given area of technology, or
  by a company, university or an individual
• Searches for potential cooperation partners and
  licensors
• About Patents and Patent Searching
  http//www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/patents/about_pat
  ents.html

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Patent Sources

• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  Web Patent Database
• http//www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
• full-text coverage from 1 January 1976
• http//pat2pdf.org
• full text of all US patents from 1 (13 July
  1836)
• The Canadian Patent Database
• http//patents1.ic.gc.ca/
• Full text images of Canadian patents from 15
  August 1978.

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Standards Sources

• Standard establishes parameters for design,
  capacity, or property characteristics which
  permit interchangeability of parts and materials
• Standards available online via U of A Libraries
  include
• API, ASHRAE, ASME (includes BPVC), ASTM, AWS,
  CSA, EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance), GPA
  (Gas Processors Assn), IEEE, ISA, NACE, NFPA (Nat
  Fire Protection Assn)
• full print collections include, SAE-J, ACI and
  other standards, and selected holdings of ANSI
• Standards db Specs and Standards aka IHS
  Standards Expert
• If you need a standard and we dont have it,
  contact me asap!

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IHS Standards Expert db

• USERNAME UOA145
• PASSWORD PENCIL55
• then create your own ID and PW to use the IHS db

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Using Google Groups for Project Mgmt

• How do you manage the flow of information between
  design project team members?
• Team members deal with multiple e-mails, text
  messages, phone calls, paper trails
• Setting up a group for your team will shift how
  you manage your design project
• less meetings to schedule
• reduce number of phone calls, e-mails
• team member can post to the group, upload
  documents, etc., and other members can respond
  directly
• eliminate distribution of multiple copies of same
  document

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Archive of groups work
Manage discussions
Upload and store files
Create pages
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Industry Expectations of the New Engineer

• Are database searching and information gathering
  skills something a new engineer may need in her
  or his first professional job, and beyond?
• Engineers need to be aware of the information
  resources offered by their company, and beyond,
  such as by the local university or information
  brokers - the question is WHY?

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With research and db searching expertise, the
new engineer (you!) can supply needed new ideas
and information for engineers (your company!)
active in

• developing your companys new products or
  upgrading existing ones
• improving processes
• root cause analysis of equipment failure problems
• integrating different kinds of technology into
  your companys products and processes
• searching for new suppliers or components
• investigating current uses and applications of
  your companys products

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Beyond locating specific types of data,new
engineers will need research skills to

• Confirm existence of an experiment or test to
  avoid duplication
• Find recognized experts in their fields based on
  citation analyses
• Locate consultants and organizations that can
  answer complex questions
• Identify trends in venture capital spending
• Find revenue opportunities such as contracts from
  govt sources
• Locate technologies which are licensable
  (potential revenue)
• Identify new and emerging research frontiers
  which your company may be interested in pursuing,
  leading to new technical and financial success

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Beyond locating specific types of data,new
engineers will need research skills to

• Identify and monitor others working on
  technologies of interest to your company (many
  companies expect their incoming engineers to be
  aware of emerging startups, which may lead to
  acquisition)
• Locate and create intellectual property for your
  engineering firm, such as patents (the numbers of
  which are increasing dramatically)
• Maintain currency in changing technology and
  product life cycles from creation to success -
  using bibliometric analyses (which reveal
  publishing trends and patterns, from patenting
  technology to scholarly research)
• Adapted from (Rodrigues, Ronald J. Industry
  expectations of the new engineer. Science and
  Technology Libraries, v19 n3/4, 2001, pp 179-188)

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Why Developing Strong Research Skills is
Important for the Engineer

• Engineering firms expect new engineers to hit
  the ground running
• Timeliness high-tech products delivered six
  months late earn 1/3 less profit over five years
  products delivered 50 over budget (but on time)
  diminish profit by only 4
• Value and cost Acquiring information has direct
  and indirect costs money saved by not doing an
  information search many be insignificant compared
  to costs based on decisions made with incomplete
  information
• Accessibility of information sources Information
  on external technical developments is essential
  to stay competitive
• Reliability and content on information sources
  the engineer must be able to create a mosaic of
  information from whats available, and if not,
  know where to begin looking awareness of
  appropriate databases and resources is critical
• Time management the business mantra is
  developing good research skills will
  help the engineer streamline the process of
  finding outside information, reducing time
  pressures to complete assignments and project

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Characteristics used to judge the quality of a
publication

• Is the publication comprehensible?
• If there is an abstract, is it well-written?
• If applicable, is there a clear research problem
  statement and are there objectives?
• Are the organization of the article and its
  rationale and style clear and appropriate?
• If applicable, is the quantity, quality and
  validity of the data acceptable?

• If applicable, are the instrumentation and
  analytical techniques clearly described and used
  appropriately?
• If applicable, do the conclusions and
  interpretations follow from the data?
• Are the references current, up-to-date and
  appropriate?
• What is the reputation of the journal and its
  publisher?
• What is/are the reputation(s) of the author(s)?
• Why was the material published? Is there an
  obvious bias?

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PLEASE join the Engineering Information
Reference Service U Alberta Facebook
group! search engineering reference
alberta in FB to find group
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Contact Info

• Randy Reichardt, Mechanical Engineering Librarian
• Office phone [phone]
• Email randy.reichardt_at_ualberta.ca
• in Mech E 5-8A Thursdays, 1200-1400
• you can also reach me via the Facebook site or my
  own FB page
• http//www.ualberta.ca/science3/mece260-08.pdf