ConnectOS

ReadOS / Engineering

Product Design and CAD

Technical design, drawings, assemblies, specifications, tolerances and practical design review.

20 chapters · About 226 minutes · Free to read

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KEVOS / READOSENGINEERINGProduct Design andCADREADOS COLLECTION

Contents

  1. 01Belt or chain drive: selecting, installing and maintaining flexible power transmissionBelt and chain drives are simple until they slip, stretch or wreck bearings. How to choose between them, size a drive properly, set tension and alignment, and maintain it for long life.
  2. 02Bolted joints that stay tight: preload, torque, fatigue and lockingA bolt holds a joint by clamping it. How preload works, why torque is an unreliable proxy, how to resist fatigue and loosening, and how to specify bolted joints that last in service.
  3. 03Choosing a joining method: bolting, welding, riveting, adhesives and brazing comparedHow parts are joined decides strength, cost, weight, serviceability and corrosion life. How to compare bolting, welding, riveting, bonding and brazing, and choose the right one.
  4. 04Choosing a manufacturing process for metal parts: casting, forging, machining, fabrication and moreThe process you choose fixes a metal part's cost, lead time and properties. How to compare casting, forging, machining, fabrication, press work, powder metallurgy and 3D printing.
  5. 05Choosing fasteners and threads: thread systems, grades, screws for sheet and plastics, inserts and pinsFasteners are cheap, numerous and easy to get wrong. How to identify thread systems, read grades, choose screws, inserts and pins, and cut fastener variety without cutting reliability.
  6. 06Choosing metals for engineered parts: steels, stainless, aluminium, copper alloys and specialty metalsMaterial choice fixes a part's strength, stiffness, weight, corrosion life and cost. How to read the main metal families and grades, and how to choose and specify them with confidence.
  7. 07Drawings and documentation packages that suppliers can quote and make fromVague drawings bring padded quotes, endless questions and wrong parts. What a complete package contains and how to dimension, annotate, control revisions and check drawings before release.
  8. 08Engineering registration, competence and duty of care in Australia: what businesses need to knowWho may do engineering work, who must check it and who is liable when it fails. A practical guide to registration, competence, design duties and independent verification in Australia.
  9. 09Gears and gearboxes: choosing reducers and geared motors that lastA gearbox chosen on ratio and price alone can overheat, waste energy or let a load run back. How gear types differ and how to select, install and maintain reducers and geared motors.
  10. 10Governing a CAD environment: an owner, a standards register, shared libraries and coordinated upgradesCAD environments decay through small, unrecorded changes. How to name an owner, keep a standards register, control libraries and settings, roll out changes safely and upgrade together.
  11. 11Heat treatment and surface hardening explained for designers and buyersA drawing that just says "harden" invites cracked, distorted or soft parts. How heat treatment works, which process suits which part, and how to specify and verify the result.
  12. 12HVAC for commercial and industrial buildings: loads, system choices, efficiency, controls and maintenanceHeating, ventilation and air conditioning is often a building's largest energy cost and biggest source of comfort complaints. How loads, systems, controls and maintenance decide both.
  13. 13Power screws and linear motion: leadscrews, ball screws, linear guides and camsTurning rotation into accurate straight-line motion is central to machines and automation. How to size leadscrews and ball screws, choose guides and actuators, and design cam motion.
  14. 14Protecting metal parts from corrosion and wear: coatings, design details and surface rebuildingMost metal parts fail at the surface. How corrosion and wear happen, how to choose coatings and platings for the environment, design out corrosion traps, and rebuild worn surfaces.
  15. 15Selecting bearings and lubrication for reliable machines: types, life, fits, sealing and failure causesMost bearings fail from contamination, poor lubrication or bad fitting, not fatigue. How to choose bearing types, size them for life, fit, seal and lubricate them, and diagnose failures.
  16. 16Selecting electric motors and drives: sizing, efficiency, starting, enclosures and variable speedA motor's running cost usually dwarfs its price. How to size motors for the load, choose enclosures and starting methods, use variable speed drives well and keep motors reliable.
  17. 17Shafts, keys, couplings and alignment: connecting rotating machinery reliablyShafts crack at keyways and shoulders, couplings wear and misalignment quietly destroys bearings and seals. How to size shafts, join hubs, choose couplings and align machines properly.
  18. 18Specifying springs that work, last and are easy to make and assembleSprings look simple, yet poorly specified ones sag, break, jam in bores and slow assembly. How to calculate rate and stress, choose materials and ends, and specify springs makers can build.
  19. 19Specifying tolerances, fits and surface finish: tight where function needs it, economical everywhere elseEvery tolerance is a cost commitment. How to set general tolerances, choose fits, analyse stack-ups, use datums and geometric tolerances, and specify surface finish only where it matters.
  20. 20What engineering failures teach any business: lessons from major investigationsMajor engineering disasters rarely came from unknown physics. They came from how organisations handled what they already knew. Lessons from the investigations that apply to any business.

All chapters preserve the original KEVOS Insights content. These topic-based reading collections are organised alphabetically; chapters may be read in any order.

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