How to become an excellent engineering designer
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How to become an excellent engineering designer – Words from a designer who reposted this: Recently, I saw on forums that some users were confused about engineering design, and I would like to share my views based on my own experiences and understanding of this field. Process design actually covers many aspects and serves as the cornerstone of the entire engineering design. If you are a project manager, once you take on a project, you must be clear about material balance, heat balance, time balance, and so on. Especially heat balance calculations (which also include the calculation of reaction heat); it’s terrible if the reaction heat cannot be calculated ； Secondly, it is necessary to understand the control scheme – whether it is ratio control, cascade control, or feedforward control, etc ； Furthermore, one needs to understand equipment, including equipment selection, materials, processing characteristics, as well as moving and stationary equipment ； You also need to understand civil engineering; a project manager who doesn’t know civil engineering is incompetent ； You also need to have some knowledge in high-voltage electricity. Heat calculation: It is now difficult to find information on the heat released in many reactions. So, most of it relies on estimation. Then how is estimation done? This requires a solid foundation of knowledge, as well as expertise in chemical thermodynamics and physical chemistry. You should at least know the Beson estimation method. Heat calculation is extremely important, as it relates to the design of reboilers, condensers, and reactors. There are also calculations related to phase equilibrium; some data is required for distillation calculations, especially for calculating relative volatility. Process calculation: Process calculation is essential in process design. This is when one’s true skills are put to the test; those who think that the development work done in the laboratory constitutes technology, and that engineering is nothing more than drawing diagrams, deserve my contempt. Engineering is technology, and it is very crucial technology. Current process calculations tend to use software such as Aspen and ProⅡ. I don’t know how to use these software programs; I mainly use Excel and calculators that can perform integrations. I’m currently learning Matlab. In process calculations, it is necessary to make reasonable use of certain estimates and experiences; these empirical values come from engineering practice and cannot be learned from books. For chemical processing equipment, you need to be familiar with dynamic equipment, static equipment, and so on. Because the process is carried out through equipment. Choosing the right equipment is very important for the process. It is very important to choose the mechanical seal for rotating equipment, and it is crucial to decide on the type of mechanical seal to use; I believe equipment experts would agree with this statement. Civil engineering knowledge: Civil engineering is the foundation of all projects; as a project manager, it is necessary to complete the conceptual design for the civil aspects of the project. Because civil engineering is directly related to the layout of your equipment. Civil engineering is also important for the piping field, especially for pipes of fixed lengths; sometimes, due to the failure to take a certain beam into account, it becomes necessary to revise the procurement plan for those pipes. The project manager should be aware of the upper and lower reinforcement in civil engineering, as well as the attempts related to C30 concrete. In chemical engineering civil construction, embedded iron is extremely important as it is useful for installation. In one project, I used nearly 1,000 pieces of embedded iron, but later I felt that it wasn’t enough. For high-voltage systems: The project manager needs to plan the basic layout of the high-voltage components (buses and small cables). It is necessary to know how large the distribution cabinet is and how much space is required for the distribution room. As an outstanding talent in the field of engineering, one must possess strong computational skills, a good sense of three-dimensional space and dimensions, as well as an overall perspective on layout design. If you are a beginner, you first need to have a solid foundation of knowledge; if not, hurry up and acquire it ； Go to the site more often ； Visit other manufacturers more often ； Communicate more with peers ； The last point is to be diligent and learn more. There are no shortcuts to success; actually, I’m a beginner too.
As a designer, I feel that what’s needed for this work is time; it’s normal not to know how to do things at first and to get criticized. Once you have been working in design for a sufficient length of time, everything becomes simpler. But there is one condition: you must be willing to learn!
I’d like to share some personal opinions for discussion. As a designer, one must adopt an attitude of either not doing anything at all or doing it excellently from the moment they enter this industry; otherwise, it is impossible to become an outstanding designer. First, determine your career direction: whether to become a management professional in engineering design or an excellent designer. As a manager, one must also start with grassroots design projects in order to understand and master the design process, the conventional design methods used by each specialty, and the interrelationships between different specialties (including conditional relationships, sequence of conditions, basic conditional requirements, etc.), before having the opportunity to join the management team. To be an excellent designer, the first thing is to be proficient in the business processes of one’s field ； Second, one must be proficient in the process flow of the project being undertaken, and third, one must be skilled in the software required to complete the project, among other things. It needs to be dealt with sometimes; we’ll continue communicating later.
What the original poster said makes a lot of sense – the ultimate goal in working in the field of craftsmanship is to become a project manager!
I’ve experienced it now:) :) :)
When it comes to handling professional design work, the day when one becomes a project manager will eventually arrive. Before that day comes, we need to work overtime and put in extra effort. Based on my 5 years of work experience, I would like to share a few points for reference: 1. Dedicate oneself to professional development – before becoming a project manager, one needs to thoroughly study their field of expertise and raise their skills to the top level within their organization； The contents of these studies include a wide range of areas, such as process calculation, process analysis, equipment selection, plant layout, process design, software research, and technological advancements. 2. Pursue studies across different disciplines; before becoming a project manager, one should study fields such as electrical control, information technology, architecture, fire protection, plumbing, and hydraulic engineering. In particular, it is important to learn about economics and project costs, as these are aspects that owners are very concerned about. 3. Professional coordination is a very important aspect at this stage. Everyone has their own opinions, and conflicts are inevitable between people. Knowing how to resolve these conflicts is crucial. For the sake of the overall project, it’s necessary to put one’s own interests aside and consider things from the project’s perspective, in order to prevent emotional reactions from delaying the project – as that would ultimately harm oneself. It’s difficult to get along with people, but one must learn to handle crises in order to ensure that a team moves forward successfully. 4. External coordination: The owner has many ideas, and you need to learn how to persuade them. It’s not about ordinary arguments; what’s at stake are basic knowledge, standards, procedures, and so on. 5. Personal cultivation: It includes aspects such as humanities, history, and leadership skills; these are things that are invisible and not easily noticeable. The above is for reference only.
Learning * as a beginner! Thank you so much for sharing!
With on-site experience combined with one’s own knowledge, improvements will gradually be achieved over time!
No way, is the project manager all there is to it? This is just the beginning; as a project manager, one can take full control over all aspects such as design, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning. But there are higher goals to achieve, right?
What is the Beson estimation method? I just can’t find it no matter what I try The original poster made it clear!
The Beson estimation method is a way to estimate the constant-pressure heat capacity of an ideal substance at 1.013 bar and 298.15 K. It is the result of weighting various groups in organic compounds. Used in engineering to estimate heat capacity. Perform calculations regarding calories. For details, refer to pages 1-54 of Volume 1 of the second edition of the Chemical Engineering Handbook, where relevant information is provided. I wonder if it’s this? I would appreciate some guidance from experts. Thank you!