Stupid questions from engineers

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I know this is not the serious stuff that belongs on the WeldingWeb but.....Last week I delivered several weldments to a customer and the companies mechanical engineer came out to inspect them. He started off by saying 'These might be stupid questions but ... ', I told him there was no such thing as a stupid question if you don't know the answer. The conversation went something like this:Engineer: After you weld the joints can you move them around a bit?Me: No, when you weld the joined pieces are melted and filler metal joins the pieces, when it cools the metal is solid.Engineer: So the weld dries right away?Me: No the weld doesn't have to dry.Engineer: Does it have to cure?Me: No, when it cools from molten it's pretty much as hard as it will get.He then went on to explain that he had missed the one day module on welding because he had a hangover. Who said there's no such thing as a stupid question and how in Hell did he pass his course?
Reply:lmao  and he     grad ju ated shoulda told him they needed to cure for 48 hoursidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:That's why I wear one of these on my hard hat Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:There is no such thing as a stupid question.  However, there's no shortage of stupid engineers.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:Originally Posted by AndyAThere is no such thing as a stupid question.  However, there's no shortage of stupid engineers.
Reply:Makes you wonder how many other modules he missed! I guess you have to give him a little credit for admitting to a hangover instead of a hundred other excuses.  I've said for years engineering students need to work in the field of their major every summer until graduation. They'd probably wind up w/ a lot more common sense!!                                               MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:This thread could go on and on forever.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:mla2ofus, I agree! Many countries in Europe require the engineers to work in shops during their courses and by the time they get their diploma they have a year or more of real shop time and at least have some idea of the issues encountered on the shop floor. Apart from what many europeans will say, those engineers are not necessarily any smarter, they just understand the shop better which gives them a running start at a career.Most companies here also won't train their employees and try to get something for nothing. This same company with the engineer has a Solidworks Cad operator (on a free government training program) with NO mechanical abilities and has no idea what is required in the shop to make the part. Hell he doesn't even call out threads, just makes a hole. Apparently the owner was told by a friend and company owner to hire people right out of school/university because they are cheap and can still get the work done. My son worked at that company for a while and said their welding robots were down for at least half a shift every week because of lack of maintenance and just generally incompetent people.The problem now is that because the company I do work for has no experienced people I have to show them how to draw so I can get a useable drawing.Last edited by laverne3ca; 09-17-2011 at 04:34 PM.Reason: reference
Reply:Originally Posted by mla2ofusI've said for years engineering students need to work in the field of their major every summer until graduation. They'd probably wind up w/ a lot more common sense!!                                               Mike
Reply:wow, that's awesome.
Reply:Engineers should be hired from the intern pool.Two turn tables and a microphone.
Reply:All engineers should be required to be in the field building stuff before they can get signed off.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:I graduated in 2010 in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from a top University and I saw this same kind of stuff everyday. Senior design was a cluster having ppl that know nothing about composites trying to explain how it will work because the equation says it will be lighter than anything else. A simple understanding of the same composites would have also told that dipsh*t that composites don't scale down for weight/strength the way they think it would. Of course I didn't get to see near the idiots my little brother did...he was 2 years behind me at the same school for Mechanical Engineering and worked in the machine shop. Walked up on 2 numbnuts using a $500 micrometer as a clamp.
Reply:Originally Posted by BCTimberwolf.....Walked up on 2 numbnuts using a $500 micrometer as a clamp.
Reply:Hah. Nothing better than the "aeronautical engineer" that argued with me endlessly about the "plane on a treadmill" riddle.Only thing better than engineers are welding inspectors. I had one tell me smaw and gtaw were the same process (in lay mans terms of course). The best one I heard from my father; an inspector ready to shut down a whole job because of "bad welds" on some fence clip setup, which "didn't look like the ones in the book". I quick slap of the chipping hammer fixed that right up.
Reply:Some people just have no common sense/mechanical ability. This is actually the reason I just got an mechanical engineering internship at us peroxide, I was the only one that could weld, wire, & plump to help build pumping stations in the shop when they get behind ontop of working alongside with the engineer putting theories to reality.It's always made understanding theories in class easier, but I never thought having a good mechanical aptitude would help towards a career in engineering. I know better now.Millermatic 211 Lincoln Idealarc 250-250, ~500lb water cooled tig
Reply:I could sit here and type all day about all the "geniuses" i've ran into in the past 30+ years as an Ironworker...I'll just tell my favorite for now...Working in a Nuclear power plant,the guy who is the "welding engineer" who creates and writes up welding processes in the work packages that you have to go by word for word...He came into our Fab Shop one day while things were at idle and we were helping a few apprentices sharpen up thier welding and cutting skills...He asked me if he could "spend a lil time behind the sheild" and brush up on his welding since he sits behind a desk day in,day out...i said "sure buddy,have at it"...i handed him my NexGen hood and he had to ask how to turn it on....ok..maybe he never used an auto lens yet since he's an engineer behind a desk....so..i left and went into the craft building(lunch room) and was getting a lil paper work done for the previous outage that was unfinished....1 of the guys came out n said"hey boss..who the f--- is this guy in the Southern Nuclear shirt in the shop?...i said...[i] he is just practicin welding a lil..why?He said.."you need to come out n see this".............I went in the shop..looked..the dummy had my hood on..with an Oxy/Acet torch in his hand.....TRYING to strike an arc with it..............Last edited by FabCrazyGuy; 09-18-2011 at 03:44 PM.Lincoln Ranger 8 225Lincoln 180 ProMigMiller Maxstar 200DXInternational Ironworkers Local 70930+ years and counting
Reply:People come out of all sorts of schools without a lick of common sense regarding their job. Its not just engineers. My short time spent as an Automotive Engineer was all meetings, So maybe having zero real world skill is not a major handicap for most Engineering Positions. I don't think I accomplished a single worth-while job my whole time in Engineering. I was getting close, but that project got canned before I could do more than throw a few prototype skid plates on fleet vehicles. I don't mind not doing that work. I am pissed I wasted the prime years of my life getting that now completely useless degree.
Reply:Originally Posted by mengineerSome people just have no common sense/mechanical ability. This is actually the reason I just got an mechanical engineering internship at us peroxide, I was the only one that could weld, wire, & plump to help build pumping stations in the shop when they get behind ontop of working alongside with the engineer putting theories to reality.It's always made understanding theories in class easier, but I never thought having a good mechanical aptitude would help towards a career in engineering. I know better now.
Reply:I learned to plump at the very best institutions... McDonald's, Wendy's, and burger king.... Fantastic institutions.
Reply:Originally Posted by PangeaEngineers should be hired from the intern pool.
Reply:WTF is "automotive engineering"? There's actually a degree for it?
Reply:Originally Posted by KelvinWTF is "automotive engineering"? There's actually a degree for it?
Reply:Originally Posted by KelvinWTF is "automotive engineering"? There's actually a degree for it?
Reply:Originally Posted by 4sfedYes, beyond the standard engineering courses in structures, chemistry, mathmetics, materials, and thermodynamics, are studies in powertrain design, vehicle dynamics, occupant safety, etc.  Those broad categories are broken down into specialties  like emissions, tribology, NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), areodynamics . . . and a lot more that have been added since I got my degree.When I was in tech college learning to be an auto mechanic in Sweden, we had to learn basic oxy and stick welding. Basically rotating through the workstations. Three of the guys were newly arrived greeks and one of them could speak almost zilch swedish.When it became his turn to do stick welding, he looked at the business end of the rod and asked "where does the gas come out?"Last edited by Llundberg; 09-19-2011 at 11:26 PM.