Re: [NSW] Cityrail Millennium Train

["Al" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>]

"Adam Dunning" <adamdunning@start.com.au> wrote in message
3a98c5e9@news.alphalink.com.au">news:3a98c5e9@news.alphalink.com.au...
> For a mechanical engineer, you sure do sound like a structural engineer.  A
> mechanical engineer would work on the motion components (possibly cab
> controls as well) while a civil or structural engineer would do the body.
> I've completed one year of general engineering, and start tomrrow studying
> mechanical engineering, and this above fact (mech does this, civil does
> that) was made quite clear to all of us (studying eng that is).  While a
> mech engineer would have some knowledge of structural behaviours of bodys
> etc., the majority of the body would have been built and tested by
> civil/structural engineers.

Not true, a mechanical would basically be involved in something like that from
inception, since the entire train can be viewed as one big mechanical object.
You should also remember what's pointed out to every first year engineer - if
it moves, it's a mechanism, if it doesn't, it's a structure.  Since the train
moves, and the structure must be designed to cope with the loads caused by
that movement, then mechanicals would be very heavily involved.  As I pointed
out, I work for a truck building company, and most of the work involved with
them is mechanically based (cab, body and chassis design).  Also, another
point to realise is that there is a fair degree of overlap between mechanical
and structural engineers (an MPa is an MPa however you look at it).  I've
completed 3 out of 4 years of my degree, with the best part of 2 years work
experience stuffed in there as well from a variety of places (including one
summer spent doing civil work, even though I've always been a mechanical).

Civils tend to design things more from a consistent distributed load scenario
(eg train line supporting 10 000 tonne train over X metres of track), whereas
mechanicals tend to look at variable load scenarios (eg using Finite Element
Analysis).

Finally, the points I raised were fairly general ones illustrating some of the
points the design engineers consider.  The first thing you'll find when you
start working is that there's less emphasis on being a mechanical or civil or
electrical engineer, and more on just being an ENGINEER.  Thus it will pay off
for you to consider what other kinds of engineers are considering when they do
things, and not specifically single out one group for one task.  Uni's good
for saying what the specific course does, but doesn't really introduce you to
what you really will be doing out in the real world.

Al