Engineering Resources
Here you will find a list of books, software, tools, and more that have been vetted by the team. We may earn affiliate earnings from the below links, at no additional cost to you.
Topics
Books (Textbook)
Machinery's Handbook
Been in print since 1914 and now in it’s 30th edition. This is the ultimate reference book for mechanical engineering.
Every engineer should at least have access to this book.
Engineering Design: A Project Based Introduction
This book is great for the process of designing for engineering.
From design concepts to presenting to the client, this is a handy reference for whatever stage you are currently at in the design process.
Books (Non-Textbook)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values – Robert M. Pirsig
This book is philosophical in nature and talks about the relationship between technology and society.
It is about a road trip across the USA that the narrator and his son take on an old motorbike.
3D Design and Modelling
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is software for creating precise 2D and 3D engineering drawings.
It has a number of different toolsets available e.g. Mechanical, Plant 3D etc
Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is an integrated CAD, CAM and CAE software.
It is great for beginners or companies wanting a simple CAD package to get the job done.
CATIA
CATIA (Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application)
It is widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries.
Inventor
Inventor is professional 3D CAD software provided by Autodesk.
It is great for product design and high-level engineering drawings.
Siemens NX
NX (formerly Unigraphics) is 3D CAD software provided by Siemens.
It is used by many different types of industries, such as aerospace, agriculture, and automotive.
Solid Edge
Solid Edge is another CAD software provided by Siemens.
It is generally a simpler version of NX.
SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a well known CAD software for engineers.
It has a reasonable price for the tools it can provide.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Ansys Mechanical
Ansys Mechanical is FEA software with structural, thermal, acoustic and other capabilities.
It can help you analyse if your 3D models are suitable for their real-world applications (such as whether your design will fail under load).
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Ansys Fluent
Ansys Fluent is a great piece of software for analysing fluid flow.
Whether you are modelling the air resistance of a car or checking the heat flow in a heat exchanger, this is the software to use.
Point Cloud Data
ReCap
ReCap is great for visualising, measuring, and cleaning up point cloud data.
One of the best software for using point cloud data, it also has the ability for photogrammetry (creating a 3D model from taking pictures of an object).
Navisworks
Navisworks is perfect for dealing with large plant assemblies, with the ability of detecting clashes between objects.
It also has the ability of combining point cloud data (scanned data) with CAD 3D models such as STEP files.