# Mechanical Systems & Materials



## audacious (Jan 1, 2011)

Hi,

I am studying for PE ME with Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials. I was wondering which books I should used other MERM or is it necessary to go through other books?

Thanks


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## navyasw02 (Jan 1, 2011)

audacious said:


> Hi,I am studying for PE ME with Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials. I was wondering which books I should used other MERM or is it necessary to go through other books?
> 
> Thanks


Shigley's is a must. I also did a little studying from Callister's materials science book.


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## audacious (Jan 1, 2011)

What topics from shigley needs to be covered?

I didn't use that book duing my engineering ( non us school)

Thanks a lot for your reply


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## navyasw02 (Jan 1, 2011)

audacious said:


> What topics from shigley needs to be covered?I didn't use that book duing my engineering ( non us school)
> 
> Thanks a lot for your reply


Pretty much everything in shigleys, particularly bolts, springs, welds, and fatigue. I recommend having that book as one you bring to the exam because the MERM is weak in those areas.


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## audacious (Jan 1, 2011)

navyasw02 said:


> audacious said:
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> 
> > What topics from shigley needs to be covered?I didn't use that book duing my engineering ( non us school)
> ...



I see so seems like PE preparation is much more than I anticipated. How many hours of studying it takes for PE preparation I guess it varies from engineer to engineer but what is your recommendation.

My plan is to go through MERM and then solving problems and study accordingly. What about practice problems which book you recommend for afternoon Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials section?


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## navyasw02 (Jan 1, 2011)

audacious said:


> navyasw02 said:
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> > audacious said:
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I studied probably in the 200-300 hour range. I haven't gotten my results yet so I cant say whether or not it paid off, but I feel pretty confident about it. As far as books and practice problems go, check out the Reference Roundup thread for full reviews of all the references and study materials out there that we put together after the October exam. I'd recommend the 2001 and 2008 NCEES practice exams at a minimum, the 6 min solutions machine design was excessively tough, and the Lindeburg practice problems were challenging, but good.


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## DynaMechEng (Jan 2, 2011)

audacious said:


> Hi,I am studying for PE ME with Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials. I was wondering which books I should used other MERM or is it necessary to go through other books?
> 
> Thanks


Hi. I took this exam in October and passed on the first try (took FE in April 2010).

Here's what I studied with and used for reference material...MERM, Shigley, Mark's Standard Handbook for Mech Eng

Here's what problem books I worked..NCEES Practice Exam, Six Minute Solutions (SMS) Mechanical Systems (All), SMS HVAC and Refrigeration (Breadth part), SMS Thermal &amp; Fluids (Breadth).

I agree with another poster who said that the SMS Mechanical System problems were excessively tough, but if you can work those, you can work any problem that you'll likely find on the exam. There's an excellent range of problems in the book. I found the difficulty level of the exam to be very much on par with the sample exam that you can buy from NCEES.

I cannot stress the following tips enough...Learn the test and how to take it. Work tons of problems and work them over and over again until you know them in your sleep. Learn what they (NCEES) do to try and trick you (answers that would find if you didn't fully work a problem, assumed something incorrectly, etc.). Learn the pace of the exam and get a feel for how long six minutes is without looking at a clock. Practice test taking strategies as much as studying the material. Know your reference material inside and out. Know which book (and where in the book) to go for certain types of problems (for example, I used Shigley whenever I saw a bearing, bolt, or sprocket force problems).

Study 200-300 hours and REALLY study. There's no shortcuts to this thing. Put in your time, work your problems, take the exam, and you'll do fine. OR...Study for 40-50 hours, wing it, fail it, and take it again.


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## audacious (Jan 2, 2011)

DynaMechEng said:


> audacious said:
> 
> 
> > Hi,I am studying for PE ME with Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials. I was wondering which books I should used other MERM or is it necessary to go through other books?
> ...


Thanks a lot for sharing. BTW Why do you need Mark's Standard Handbook for Mech Eng? I didnt do my BS in US so not familiar with that.

Thanks everyone.


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## DynaMechEng (Jan 2, 2011)

audacious said:


> DynaMechEng said:
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> > audacious said:
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I found Mark's to be particularly useful for material property info.


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## hoosier2009 (Jan 2, 2011)

DynaMechEng said:


> audacious said:
> 
> 
> > Hi,I am studying for PE ME with Mechanical Systems &amp; Materials. I was wondering which books I should used other MERM or is it necessary to go through other books?
> ...



First of all , congratulations on passing he exam. What is the exact name of Shigley's book and who is the author. Also ,Is the system of units SI or US in that book?


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## DynaMechEng (Jan 3, 2011)

hoosier2009 said:


> DynaMechEng said:
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> > audacious said:
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Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design. Auther is Shigley. You can easily find this with a google search and there are many different editions of this book (and I don't really think it matters which one you use). Save yourself some money and buy an old version off of Half.com (or some other site) for $15. The material in the PE exam is stuff that hasn't changed in 30+ years.


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