Glossary of mechanical engineering

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This glossary of mechanical engineering terms pertains specifically to mechanical engineering and its sub-disciplines. For a broad overview of engineering, see glossary of engineering.

A

• Accelerated life testing –
• Acceleration –
• Accelerometer –
• Accuracy and precision –
• Ackermann steering geometry –
• Acoustic droplet ejection–
• Active cooling –
• Actual mechanical advantage –
• Adjoint equation –
• Aerodynamics –
• Agitator (device) –
• Air handler –
• Air conditioner –
• Air preheater –
• Airflow –
• Allowance –
• American Machinists' Handbook –
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers –
• Ampere –
• Applied mechanics –
• Archimedes' screw –
• Artificial intelligence –
• Assembly drawing –
• Automaton clock –
• Automobile –
• Automotive engineering –
• Axle –
• Air Compressor –

B

• Babbitt –
• Backdrive –
• Backlash –
• Balancing machine –
• Ball detent –
• Ball screw –
• Ball spline –
• Beale Number –
• Bearing –
• Bearing pressure –
• Bearing surface –
• Belt –
• Belt friction –
• Bending –
• Biomechatronics –
• Bogie –
• Bonded seal –
• Brittle –
• Buckling –
• Bus--
• Bushing –
• Boilers & boiler systems
• BIW'--

C

• CAD –
• CAM –
• CAID –
• Calculator –
• Calculus –
• Car handling –
• Carbon fiber –
• Classical mechanics –
• Clean room design –
• Clock –
• Clutch –
• CNC –
• Coefficient of thermal expansion –
• Coil spring –
• Combustion –
• Composite material –
• Compression ratio –
• Compressive strength –
• Computational fluid dynamics –
• Computer –
• Computer-aided design –
• Computer-aided industrial design –
• Computer-numerically controlled –
• Conservation of mass –
• Constant-velocity joint –
• Constraint –
• Continuum mechanics –
• Control theory –
• Corrosion –
• Cotter pin –
• Crankshaft –
• Cybernetics –

D

• Damping –
• Deformation (engineering) –
• Delamination –
• Design –
• Design for manufacturability –
• Diesel Engine –
• Differential –
• Dimensionless number –
• Diode –
• Diode laser –
• Docking sleeve –
• Drafting –
• Drifting –
• Driveshaft –
• Dynamics –
• Dynamometer –

E

• Elasticity –
• Electric motor –
• Electrical engineering –
• Electrical circuit –
• Electrical network –
• Electromagnetism –
• Electronic circuit –
• Electronics –
• Energy –
• Engine –
• Engineering –
• Engineering cybernetics –
• Engineering drawing –
• Engineering economics –
• Engineering ethics –
• Engineering management –
• Engineering society –
• Exploratory engineering –

F

• Fits and tolerances -
• Factor of safety –
• False precision –
• Fast fracture –
• Fatigue –
• Fillet –
• Finite element analysis –
• Fluid mechanics –
• Flywheel –
• Force –
• Force density –
• Forging –
• Four-bar linkage –
• Four-stroke cycle –
• Four wheel drive –
• Friction –
• Front wheel drive –
• Fundamentals of Engineering exam –
• Fusible plug –
• Fusion Deposition Modelling –

G

• Gas compressor –
• Gauge –
• Gear –
• Gear coupling –
• Gear ratio –
• Granular material –

H

• Heat engine –
• Heat transfer –
• Heating and cooling systems –
• Hinge –
• Hoberman mechanism –
• Hobson's joint –
• Hooke's law –
• Hotchkiss drive –
• HVAC –
• Hydraulics –
• Hydrostatics –

I

• Ideal machine –
• Ideal mechanical advantage –
• Imperial College London –
• Inclined plane' –
• Independent suspension' –
• Inductor' –
• Industrial engineering' –
• Inertia –
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers –
• Instrumentation –
• Integrated circuit –
• Intelligent pump –
• Invention –

J

• Jack chain –
• Jacking gear –
• JIC fitting –
• Joule –

K

• Kelvin –
• Kinematic determinacy –
• Kinematics –

L

• Laser –
• Leaf spring –
• Lever –
• Liability –
• Life cycle cost analysis –
• Limit state design –
• Linkage –
• Live axle –
• Load transfer –
• Locomotive –
• Lubrication –

M

• Machine –
• Machine learning –
• Magnetic circuit –
• Margin of safety –
• Mass transfer –
• Materials –
• Materials engineering –
• Material selection –
• Mechanical advantage –
• Mechanical Biological Treatment –
• Mechanical efficiency –
• Mechanical engineering –
• Mechanical equilibrium –
• Mechanical work –
• Mechanics –
• Mechanochemistry –
• Mechanosynthesis –
• Mechatronics –
• Microelectromechanical systems –
• Micromachinery –
• Microprocessor –
• Microtechnology –
• Modulus of rigidity--
• Molecular assembler –
• Molecular nanotechnology –
• Moment –
• Moment of inertia –
• Motorcycle –
• Multi-link suspension –

N

• Nanotechnology –
• Normal stress –
• Nozzle –

O

• Orientation
• Overdrive –
• Oversteer –

P

• Pascal (unit) –
• Physics –
• Pinion –
• Piston –
• Pitch drop experiment –
• Plain bearing –
• Plasma processing –
• Plasticity –
• Pneumatics –
• Poisson's ratio –
• Position vector –
• Potential difference –
• Power –
• Power stroke –
• Pressure –
• Prime mover –
• Process control –
• Product Lifecycle Management –
• Professional Engineer –
• Project management –
• Pulley –
• Pump –

Q

• Quality –
• Quality control –
• Quality assurance –

R

• Rack and pinion –
• Rack railway –
• Railcar –
• Rail gauge –
• Railroad car –
• Railroad switch –
• Rail tracks –
• Random vibration –
• Reaction kinetics –
• Rear wheel drive –
• Refrigeration –
• Reliability engineering –
• Relief valve –
• RepRap Project –
• Resistive force –
• Resistor –
• Reverse engineering –
• Rheology –
• Rigid body –
• Robotics –
• Roller chain –
• Rolling –
• Rotordynamics –

S

• Safety engineering –
• Screw theory –
• Seal –
• Semiconductor –
• Series and parallel circuits –
• Shear force diagrams –
• Shear pin –
• Shear strength –
• Shear stress –
• Simple machine –
• Simulation –
• Slide rule –
• Society of Automotive Engineers –
• Solid mechanics –
• Solid modeling –
• Split nut –
• Sprung mass –
• Statics –
• Steering –
• Steam Systems –
• Stress-strain curve –
• Structural failure –
• Student Design Competition –
• Surveying –
• Suspension –
• Switch –

T

• Technical drawing –
• Technology –
• Tensile strength –
• Tensile stress –
• Testing Adjusting Balancing –
• Theory of elasticity –
• Thermodynamics –
• Toe –
• Torque –
• Torsion beam suspension –
• Torsion spring –
• Toughness –
• Track gauge –
• Transmission –
• Truck –
• Truck (railway) –
• Turbine –
• Tribology –
• Touch screen –
• tear –
• Tire manufacturing –

U

• Understeer –
• Unibody –
• Unsprung weight –

V

• Verification and Validation –
• Valve –
• Vector –
• Vertical strength –
• Viscosity –
• Volt –
• Vibration –
• Velocity diagrams –

W

• Wear –
• Wedge –
• Weight transfer –
• Wheel –
• Wheel and axle –
• Wheelset –

X

• X bar charts

Y

• Yield strength –
• Young's modulus –

Z

• Zero Defects –
• Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics –

See also

• Mechanical engineering
• Engineering
• Glossary of engineering
• National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
• Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
• Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination
• Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
• Glossary of aerospace engineering
• Glossary of civil engineering
• Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering
• Glossary of structural engineering
• Glossary of areas of mathematics
• Glossary of artificial intelligence
• Glossary of astronomy
• Glossary of automotive design
• Glossary of biology
• Glossary of calculus
• Glossary of chemistry
• Glossary of economics
• Glossary of physics
• Glossary of probability and statistics