Engineering Design: A Day in the Life of Four Engineers (Prentice Hall Modular Series for Engineering)

This unique book presents the story of four fictional engineers hired as part of a team designing a prototype for a mass-produced auto. It describes the problems they encounter and the tools they use to solve them. It provides an overview of basic design principles, from defining objectives to selecting a design strategy and creating simulations of testing and evaluation while introducing both technical and nontechnical factors to be considered in the business of engineering.

This is an excellent overview of what an engineer does day-to-day that demystifies the design process and shows how engineers work as teams as well as the roles of ethics and marketing. Each chapter describes a day or an event in the lives of the engineers while presenting a wide range of important, relevant topics, including brainstorming; the importance of accurate documentation; computer use and mechanical testing; the role of failure in the design process; proper data organization, oral presentation skills, and technical writing. The book also presents current design tools and programming languages, such as AutoCAD, SPICE, C++, and MATLAB.