Machine Design & Materials Oct 2018
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I took DTC for Thermo/fluids. Waiting on results but felt pretty good during the exam. DTC was a good course.
I'm starting to get used to it and into somewhat of a flow. When I first started, the printing out and binding of things was throwing me off. Felt like I spent more time organizing, buying binders & tabs, etc than brushing up and practicing. I'll say one thing, MDM covers a LOT of material.
Jeez...you guys still don't have the results? The wait is going to suck something fierce!
I won't sugarcoat or try to estimate the exam. I learned from everywhere.
Graduated from undergrad in Mechanical Engineering in 2007. Masters in Petroleum Engineering in 2011. Worked in mechanical engineering related roles (measurements, vibrations, applications etc.) and currently in a product engineering and development role and a part time PhD candidate with family. It was the most difficult exam to study for but I had a plan and tried to stick with it. If you can find a study buddy on here FINE. If not it up to you to stay determined. I was sleeping I will study from midnight to 4am for straight 4 months. But your study time depends on where you are in your knowledge level.
This board was very helpful with all the practice questions and solutions people shared. It helped improve on my mistakes. I praise God it was over.
I will be here to help if anyone has questions or need tips or directions. Start preparing as soon as you can.
Graduated from undergrad in Mechanical Engineering in 2007. Masters in Petroleum Engineering in 2011. Worked in mechanical engineering related roles (measurements, vibrations, applications etc.) and currently in a product engineering and development role and a part time PhD candidate with family. It was the most difficult exam to study for but I had a plan and tried to stick with it. If you can find a study buddy on here FINE. If not it up to you to stay determined. I was sleeping I will study from midnight to 4am for straight 4 months. But your study time depends on where you are in your knowledge level.
This board was very helpful with all the practice questions and solutions people shared. It helped improve on my mistakes. I praise God it was over.
I will be here to help if anyone has questions or need tips or directions. Start preparing as soon as you can.
I just passed the PE exam this April. I would highly recommend the MERM and practice problems. I also studied with shingleys and practiced about 1/4 of the problems in ea chapter. I found both of these problems to be more difficult then the exam. I'd highly recommend bookmarking all of your reference material so you can quickly find the required information. Btw, I am selling a lot of very useful study material if you are interested, let me know. I have a post in the yard sale with everything I have for sale.
I've been doing DTC's ME-MDM course for about a month now. Getting into the rhythm of studying regularly has been an adjustment. With a BS in Welding Engineering, this exam seems like my most realistic shot at a PE, so I'm glad there are review courses for it. I'm hoping most of this stuff is tax deductible, because Staples is making a mint off of me lately.
I'm in the middle of the solid mechanics review at the moment. I'd really like to have a cut sheet with area moment properties, polar moments, etc. on a single sheet or even 2 sheets. I've printed off the beam tables from AISC at least (although they are pretty small). So i'll probably put those up front in the "Solid Mechanics" binder and flag it.
Yep, need to hit office depot again.
Yep, need to hit office depot again.
Centroids and moment properties for basic shapes are on page A-147 of the MERM, just before simple beam load configurations.
Thanks! I don't have the MERM tabbed out yet, but it is on my list. There is soooo much information in the appendices, that it really is a requirement.
I took MDM this past April and passed. My most useful references during studying were....
1. MERM
2. EngProGuides study book
3. Shigleys
4. Tim Kennedy review book
5. DTC youtube videos
6. Lindberg unit conversion book
7. NCEES practice exam
8. EngProGuides practice exam
9. Scott Hart and Kevin Klein practice exam
10. Machinery handbook
My most useful references during the exam were....
1. MERM
2. Machinery Handbook
3. Lindbergh unit conversion book
4. EngProGuides study book
I didn't use all of my resources during the exam. The most useful was the MERM. I had it tabbed and highlighted well. Definitely get the unit conversion book. There may be some problems that are pretty much just unit conversions. Come up with a study plan. Work according to the plan and re-evaluate every month or so to make sure you are on track. Try not to get burnt out. Keep a steady pace. Get all the practice exams that you can find. Something that i wish i did was to take a practice exam in a public place... library, school whatever. I did all my studying in my quiet distraction free office. I am generally an anxious person and the exam room setting and crowds of people was distracting for me. I was studying in my quiet little hole for too long lol.
1. MERM
2. EngProGuides study book
3. Shigleys
4. Tim Kennedy review book
5. DTC youtube videos
6. Lindberg unit conversion book
7. NCEES practice exam
8. EngProGuides practice exam
9. Scott Hart and Kevin Klein practice exam
10. Machinery handbook
My most useful references during the exam were....
1. MERM
2. Machinery Handbook
3. Lindbergh unit conversion book
4. EngProGuides study book
I didn't use all of my resources during the exam. The most useful was the MERM. I had it tabbed and highlighted well. Definitely get the unit conversion book. There may be some problems that are pretty much just unit conversions. Come up with a study plan. Work according to the plan and re-evaluate every month or so to make sure you are on track. Try not to get burnt out. Keep a steady pace. Get all the practice exams that you can find. Something that i wish i did was to take a practice exam in a public place... library, school whatever. I did all my studying in my quiet distraction free office. I am generally an anxious person and the exam room setting and crowds of people was distracting for me. I was studying in my quiet little hole for too long lol.
As far as references to bring to the exam, I'm planning on the DTC binders & MERM, maybe the NCEES sample exam and SMP. I've got an older machine design book from college (Fundamentals of Machine Elements), but it is riddled with errors, so doubt I'll bring that. Anything else, and i'm not going to be familiar with it enough to be efficient.
I have always thought that the Unit Conversion book would be good for Thermal/Fluids. Do you remember what unit conversions in Lindberg's came in the most handy for MDM?
I am planning to give the exam. Havent started yet. Buying the books required and gearing up.
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i don't have specifics but there was one problem in the April 18' exam that was pretty much just a series of unit conversions. I also used it on many other problems. For 20 bucks or whatever it costs, i think it's well worth it.
Now that I think about it, I believe i saw a problem similar to that on the NCEES practice exam. I haven't worked that specific problem yet, but it's good to know that that problem type is something to prepare for. Thanks for the heads up on this!
Also, I have found that the AISC beam tables come in handy, but beware of an unreported error on case #2 in some editions. The distance for zero shear/max moment should be .5774L. In my 14th edition, the figure is correct, but the table next to it has .557L instead of .5774L. It won't throw your calculation off a whole lot, but may be confusing when you see it.
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