Machinist's Minute(s): The Best Engineer to Work With

There are engineers that have no idea (see: Dodges), and then there are engineers that are good to work with.

[markproulx]

40+ years as a mechanical engineer here. My favorite jobs were any that involved getting stuff fabricated and machined, because I always got along great with the people who brought the stuff to life. Why did I get along so well? I took drawings and sketches to the machine/fabrication shop before I released them and asked the people there to look them over and suggest improvements. The result was that I became a better designer and always got great results because I had buy-in from the shop. An additional benefit was that my stuff had a remarkable tendency to drift to the top of their queue.

Now that I’ve retired, I’m learning welding and machining not only because I have no choice but to make my own stuff, but because I really respect these skills.

[bloodsurf]

I like an engineer who knows what a tape measure is.

[mrklean]

Don't ever trust anything you can't hit with a hammer.

[savage_x]

My college engineering professor told me the best thing i can do as an engineer is spend time in the shop and learning how they do their jobs. That way I can better do my job so they can actually make what I come up with.

[moto]

We were always coming up with a better way to fabricate something and the engineer would say "OK we'll just change the drawing to match what you made".

[burtlade]

I like your hands on approach to problems.

[chiphill]

As a 35 year practicing mechanical engineer, I agree wholeheartedly! True understanding is a rare thing. Love the Channel!

[kw]

Best engineer to work with is one that was a machinist first lol

[redbird]

Thats why the game Croquet was invented for chlldren.So that when you became a productive adult you knew how to use a big hammer w/o hitting your foot.

[knutz]

Isn't it funny how you can always remember your favorite engineers names. I worked with one named Chris Brown and he was a former machinist. The tolerancing was perfection, small mistakes were made, but you'd call him and he'd admit he missed it and tell you to go ahead.

[spevakdesigns]

Mechanical engineer, turned I really enjoy the hands on work more than the computer/desk work off an engineer. I do like having the fundamental engineering knowledge to be able to better understand design intent and communicate ideas for improvement back to our engineering team.

[GryphonIndustrial]

Small world! Myself and my dad were both "Pig runners". Generally the "smart" pigs with electronics are used to map the inside of the pipe for corrosion. Smart pigging a line means you can have a larger gap between tests compared to hydro testing the line. Tell you what when one gets torn in half they look like a terminator got hit with a rocket.

[Falney]

I'm neither a machinist nor an engineer. Well, not a mechanical engineer. But I've known a few and and I must say, the best are the open minded ones. The ones that have co-workers and not "people beneath them".

I work in software engineering but dabble in mechanical engineering as a hobby though a very good friend of mine who has been a machinist for longer than I have been alive said the best engineer he ever worked with always did the first few parts with the machine shop and took feedback away with him to improve parts where possible, to make them easier to produce.

[benjaminzedrine]

And yet again coming from the perspective of a blacksmith I love that the solution was "get it hot and hit it with the 20 pounder". That is one section in Machinery's handbook I wouldn't mind having a read of though. Do you know which year was one of the last to include it? Or which edition? The "blacksmithing" section?

[MisterAnderson-rrec]

"It can't be drilled, bored, turned, or ground,

In fact, the design is exceedingly sound,

The engineer finally said "at last!, succes is mine, it can't even be cast!"😂

[tilliesinabottle]

I guess he wanted to know you weren't going to slice it in half? I wonder what he would have objected to.

[cheeriomartinez]

It would be amazing to have you as a mentor.

[MWL]

The engineers that i work with seem to want to re-invent the wheel. When all they are doing is adding more hours on to building this equipment and re-working or scrapping it when it comes back. Frustrating.

[kegwf]

I think he was checking your BS level, to see if you were spooked by the expensive parts, and you passed lol

[JiH]

Just goes to prove that not All of them should be left to driving trains!