Group II

The Mechanical
Engineer in Society

What is mechanical
engineering?
Mechanical

engineering is all about taking

science and using it to produce things. Its about
translating theoretical research into practical
solutions and applications which are used by
society. Mechanical engineers discoveries,
creations and developments of technology laid
the foundations for modern life as we know it.
Today, they design, maintain, repair and operate
everything we need in our daily lives now, and in
the future they will deliver the solutions to
sustain and protect human societys existence.

Healthier, wealthier and wiser: engineering makes

modern life possible

Humans

have always sought to improve the way

they live. Today, mechanical engineering is all about
making people healthier, more comfortable, safer
and richer in their daily lives and experiences. We
live in a world shaped by engineering. Engineers
contribute significantly to global wealth creation.
Thanks to mechanical engineers many of us enjoy
better healthcare, greater life expectancy and a
good quality of life. We can get to school or work
every day, and travel around the world for business
or holidays. We are better fed, better clothed and
better housed, and we live in a safer environment.

In the developing world, mechanical engineers

are making a real difference in improving lives:
bringing safe, reliable water sources to
communities or designing devices to end
preventable infant mortality. Satellites designed
by British engineers can offer pre-warnings of
potential natural disasters and, as in the case of
the devastating tsunami in Japan or the
earthquake in Haiti, can be programmed rapidly
to provide critical data about the worst affected
areas genuinely helping rescuers to save lives.

Every giant technological leap

forward is thanks to mechanical
engineering
From

smart phones to goal-line technology,

from artificial hearts to re-usable spacecraft,
and from air capture devices addressing
carbon emissions to mapping the human
genome, mechanical engineers are at the
forefront of ground-breaking innovations
which offer unprecedented opportunities to
further human understanding and enable
global society to become ever more advanced
and sophisticated in its capabilities, and
adventurous in its possibilities.

 Visionary

British engineers are leading a new industrial

revolution: designing and manufacturing products as if
grown by nature, and re-writing engineering principles in
the process.
Dan Johns of Bloodhound SSC is one of these visionaries:
a world expert in additive manufacturing which allows
single products to be grown from a fine powder of
metal, nylon or carbon-reinforced plastics, perfected
using computer-aided design and then constructed by a
powerful laser-sintering process to add successive, thin
layers of the material until the product emerges.

 It

can grow anything from an elegant pair of shoes to

bone-like replacement hip joints; wedding rings to
designer furniture or car steering wheels; even whole
aircraft wings. The level of customisation possible is
mind-blowing: personalised shoes could enhance a
sprinters performance or enable a toddler to take her
first wobbly steps.

Research

into printing proteins, means that we will

be able to grow bio components. Most exciting of all,
we may be able to grow our own at home: from
furniture to dishwasher replacement parts.

 In

additive manufacturing, engineers start with nothing and

put the material only where they want it, simulating precisely
how nature creates something through gradual growth. The
result is that for each product, just a tenth of the usual
amount of raw material is needed, as well as considerably less
energy, helping to cut costs, conserve resources and reduce
carbon emissions.
Most revolutionary of all, additive manufacturing gives
engineers the true freedom of design to alter the mechanical
behaviour of things and design them from the inside out.
Design and manufacture will truly emulate nature where
nothing is straight or square, material is only placed where it
is needed and systems are smart and fully integrated. In this
renaissance, as Dan Johns says: Engineers will be artists and
visionaries to match the genius of Leonardo da Vinci.

To resource global society

effectively we would need five
Earths
We

live in an increasingly populated world. The

population explosion of the last 200 years, the
parallel consumption of natural resources, and
climate change have all combined to pose a
substantial threat to the long-term survival of
global society.Mechanical engineers can offer the
technological solutions which will reduce our
impact on planet Earths environment, husband
our natural resources in a sustainable manner,
and ensure that we have enough energy to cope
with the demand and population growth, to keep
the lights on around the world.

Engineers will be vital to shaping society to

sustain us for the future: updating and
enhancing our infrastructure in a planned way
encompassing energy, transport, housing,
town planning and land use. These big issues
affect the whole world, and engineers will be
at the heart of the matter, providing the
expertise, knowledge and advice to help
governments in advanced, developing and
underdeveloped regions to come to a
consensus to implement world solutions.

ROLES OF MECHANICAL ENGRINEERS IN

SOCIETY

1. Eliminate excessive usage of resources by

optimizing and improving efficiency.
(i.e.)

we are currently using fossil fuels and will

continue using it for another five or six decades
until it gets exhausted, in mean time we might not
even think of renewable sources because they are
hard to rely on and are expensive. This where role
of mechanical engineering or in short engineering
comes in to cut costs and optimize the efficiency
Mechanical engineering is more intricate than it
was before you have to be informed of all the
fields and their role, so as to infuse them together
with this field and develop new opportunities. This
is where Innovation comes in.

2. Innovation and seeping through new realms.

Infuse new technologies, infusion

is constantly done through research
and development which is wide
scope in engineering field. In this
context mechanical engineer has a
responsibility to contribute to society
by new technology.

3. Management and maintenance.

From

CEO to supply chain system,

Mechanical engineers are distributed in
every firm because of their aptitude in
production system and operations
capabilities, which probably not any
other field gives. Just because of this
aptitude a Mechanical engineer can fit
into a data analyst to business tycoon
who particularly requires ability to
question profitability and investments.

4. Teaching and research oriented

fields
This

should have been the first one

in the importance. This is where the
difference is made to whole society
and to whole country. One country
excels and others follow majorly due
to their learning capabilities, which
majorly dug out in their primary
stages of schooling.

 Being

an Engineer we need to associate with other

domains like Civil, Structure, Project Management
and can implement what we know in terms of
Product Knowledge, Domain Knowledge, New
Product Development and so on but if we leverage
the power then we have to associate to multiple
domains .So what could be the social outcome??
Every industry uses Structure, steel structures,
Project Managers, Mechanical Engineers and when
as a team we solve each and every problem then
the solution will be environment friendly, High ROI
and society can benefit.

 As

a Mechanical Engineer we can

solve problems and create SPM
(SPECIAL PURPOSE MACHINE) with
min cost and can change peoples
life. That could be automated
sugarcane juice extractor or
groundnut out extractor or anything.

 Primary

objective of a Mechanical engineer

is to create another Mechanical Engineer
as Leader creates Leader not followers.
Hence, if we have let us say 5 or 10 years
of experience then we can transfer our key
experience and understanding to a person
who cannot afford education and I strongly
believe without degree he can hold
Engineering positions if companies are
open and I am open as an Entrepreneur.