Electronics from Mechanical Engineering!

[mroseno1]

Hi there!

So I'm new here! I'm a recent engineering grad who wants to learn more about electronics design. Sad news, not the most helpful background to do that! I just finished Mechanical engineering undergrad and have been out in the working world a year. Yes yes, I came from the dark side :-) Anyways, I learned in my last year at school from programming TI MSP-4030 microcontrollers, some power converter design, and arduino work I really love electronics, programming, and basically anything in between! Wish I coulda been a double major, but I never knew it at the time! I have a few questions for all the people out here, it's kind of a bit of a list so people can answer whichever ones they want. Thanks :-)

1). What's the best way for someone with just a mechanical background to get into electronics design career wise? Any companies to look at? For those curious, I'm in the midwestern United States.

2). What's the best sort of beginner projects to work on? I really am a rapid prototype learner, In my mind I would love to be able to just start throwing circuits together to see what works and...well to honest for the beginning, mostly what doesn't work! Dave's mentioned in several videos I've watched to build my own power supply, which would be nice. I'd really love any list of just, things to play with and I can explore from there. Kind of a sub question, what's a good way to get components just for practicing? Do I really need to buy components for just learning? Would a meter and desoldering old scrap components be fine?

3). What would be the best places to look for more of the theory I'd actually use at this level? I love playing with stuff but the numbers are where the deepest lessons always were for me. As ME's we took linear circuit theory, so DC, OP Amps... everything up to basic AC power. i also did some bare bones buck-boost type work but a lot of that was plug and play math...boring stuff. What sort of analysis did you find most helpful to start making your own circuits that actually do something rather than just solving one's you are looking at?


--a young player (as Dave likes to call people like me :-) )

[tpowell1830]

1. Depends on what interests you have: medical,: St. Jude and others in Minnesota. aerospace: Boeing in St Louis, automotive: GM, Corvette in Kentucky? (Just naming places in or near midwest.)
2. 555 timer circuits are interesting for beginners, but according to your last line, you're not. A switching DC power supply fed from AC mains is a number crunching practice. Not so easy to do. Digital circuits are interesting, make a digital clock from discreets. For analog: build an audio power amplifier (3 stage of course) from only transistors and passive devices (resistors/capacitors).
3. A lot of theory books out there, Dave recommends Art of Electronics. Do a Google or Amazon search on books:electronic theory.

I have worked with a lot of ME's in my career and they have been responsible for electrical, electronic and software design, instead of just mechanical design.  So I don't see a problem if you have the instruction and the interest.

PEACE===>T

[tggzzz]

Be aware there are five major sub-disciplines which overlap at their edges (analogue, digitial, RF, software, high voltage/current electrical). It is rare to find someone that is competent in all those, but everybody should have an appreciation of all of them, so that they can know what they don't know.

Based on your background and the theory you already understand and like, you sound like an engineer rather than a hobbyist.

It sounds like you would benefit from a three-pronged approach:

• a "30000ft" introduction into the landscape, so that you can have a good idea of where to start on a specific project
• once you know what you are going to do, a rapid dive down into some solid theory and practice for the relevant topics
• practical projects to cement the above and keep you entertained

For (1), there are a number of "beginning electronics" books that people on this forum recommend. I'd have a look on Amazon and see which might suit you.

For (2), read manufacturers' data sheets and application notes. The best book at this level is without doubt  "The Art Of Electronics". While its objective is to allow physicists to do electronics, it is far more widely useful than that. Highly recommended; I got the 1st edition when it came out, and have added the recent third edition.

For (3), that's up to you

You will need some equipment, but (with imagination and understanding) less than many people would have you believe. The essentials are:

• some means of supplying power; a fixed voltage mains power supply is sufficient for each project, a bench power supply more flexible
• a soldering iron etc for wires and through hole components; don't be afraid of SMD components, but they require more skill (see blog in my .sig for my experiences). Avoid solderless breadboards
• some means of measuring voltage and current. For digital circuit outputs and inputs LEDs are ideal, but a handheld DMM is invaluable. Be aware of safety limitations
• some means of applying signals. In many cases a switch and potentiometer can be sufficient; beyond that it will depend on whatever your project requires
• if budget and your time allow, an oscilloscope and signal generator. If you can get the academic discount, the Digilent Analog Discovery is very good value
• a microcomputer and compiler. That used to be impractical, but now is trivial; think Arduino and Eclipse-based IDEs. Use C (C++ has too many traps for the beginner), and learn to use an RTOS with multiple threads and solid real-time synchronisation design patterns

To touch on some of your other points...

When I started all I could afford was a soldering iron and a meter. My first projects cannibalised other equipment and components. Doing that is slow and can be frustrating, but it has the benefit that you have to think hard about structuring your design into bits that can be easily tested on their own. That skill will always be invaluable in a professional setting, even if the components are very different.

As for boring maths and theory, if you don't understand how/why the circuits in front of you work, how are you going to be able to predict that your novel circuits do work and will continue to work? All too often you see amateur circuits that might (or might not!) have worked once in some limited circumstances, but which won't work for you in your circumstances.

[rstofer]

Why not get your BSEE after all?  You already have the prerequisites, you have taken some of the elementary courses, perhaps it wouldn't take all that many classes to get a second degree.

OTOH, why?  EE is not a growth industry.  If you want to work where jobs will be created for the foreseeable future, Computer Science is the place to be.  I will refer you to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook - you can search for yourself.  Look at Electrical Engineer - depressing...  Try Software Engineer - now we're cookiing!  Programmer is a lower level position and doesn't make much money.  Computer Scientist is a pretty high level position.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

For a hobby, there are a number of ways to get into EE and you have found a couple.  If you want something more rigorous at the EE101 level, try the Real Analog course at:

https://learn.digilentinc.com/classroom/

I can't imagine trying to recover parts to build new projects.  With most modern projects using SMD components, cost is not much of an issue.  The problem is in the PCB.

You really need to decide what interests you.  The electronics sandbox is pretty large and most of us pick out a corner to play in.

I rather enjoy analog computing and have visions of building a much larger unit.  It's a real trip to model those Differential Equations that were such a PITA to solve in college.  It is also a good exercise in using Op Amps for their intended purpose.

FPGAs are fun.  It is possible to model just about any digital system or even build your own CPU, write your own OS and do whatever with it.  I always like digital systems in college but, as a practical matter, somewhere around 100 chips was my limit of endurance.  100 TTL packages isn't very much logic.  An FPGA, OTOH, will have well over 1 million gates and be smokin' fast.  No wire-wrap required!

Robotics is where all the enthusiasm is these days.  Including drones...  Autonomous operation seems like an interesting area.

[mroseno1]

Hi all! Thanks for the advice! I I should have mentioned in the OP I'd like to be some sort of embedded systems engineer/programmer, I just vaugely said electronics in the title. That was unclear, sorry (poorly defined problem statement F, see me after class haha)

tpowell1830, a lot of those are solid suggestions, I'll look into them! And glad to hear a lot of ME's do this sort of thing. Thanks for taking the time to tell me!

tggzzz, that strategy sounds like a good one to me, I'll be looking for a copy of "The Art of Electronics" tonight! I also really appreciated the list on what I realistically could do to start out... I really only got interested in all this toward the end of last year at school...so the shiny Oscilloscopes and function generators that'd been sitting there for all 4 years seemed a heck of a wasted opportunity by that point! Those simpler circuit ideas are much more realistic for me to be able to play with to get basic signals, voltages, currents, etc. Luckily I have a few embedded systems already :-)

rstofer, my mistake, I meant a Computer engineering double major...many of my EE friends went on to do embedded programming level work and not EE work so I used them interchangeable in my head. My mistake! So CS or CE would both be the sort of thing I'd like, the only issue is Universities are so expensive these days I can't really justify the cost to go back I don't think :-( I've done some digital emulations of those Diff Eq circuits in college, it was kind of magic that they worked so I might make those analog one's to see where they got the idea from. Anyways, thanks for the ideas about what to look into!

[tggzzz]

rstofer, my mistake, I meant a Computer engineering double major...many of my EE friends went on to do embedded programming level work and not EE work so I used them interchangeable in my head. My mistake! So CS or CE would both be the sort of thing I'd like, the only issue is Universities are so expensive these days I can't really justify the cost to go back I don't think :-( I've done some digital emulations of those Diff Eq circuits in college, it was kind of magic that they worked so I might make those analog one's to see where they got the idea from. Anyways, thanks for the ideas about what to look into!

Employers would be very suspicious if you didn't finish what you had started (your degree).

If you have solid embedded software skill plus demonstrated interest/knowledge of hardware, then that will be more attractive to decent employers than a mere softie. However, you may meed to avoid companies or HR departments that insist on pigeon-holing you as either hard exclusive-or soft.

Aside: over time you will find there is not very much difference between digital hardware and embedded software. Frequently either technology can be used for parts of product, and being able to determine the most appropriate boundary is a valuable skill. Ditto understanding the failure modes of hardware/software and counterbalancing them with software/hardware. It is a good topic of conversation over a couple of pints in a pub.

Examples: you can implement a traffic light controller in hardware or software or a combination, you can make a general purpose computer out of a special purpose computer (see microprogrammed processors).