Hardware FYI

Topic	Replies	Views	Activity
You're designing a product rated to last for 5 years. How would you validate the design in terms of testing for performance, durability, and reliability? Reliability & Mechanical Test mechanical-testing , zoox , apple , google	1	2928	February 21, 2022
What are the three main properties of an ideal operational amplifier? Electrical Engineering op-amps	1	2925	May 18, 2024
You are machining two plates with identical hole patterns that will bolted together. How do you ensure that they perfectly line up? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design	2	2329	January 21, 2025
What are the three common communication protocols? How do they (I2C, SPI, UART) work? Electrical Engineering apple , google , nvidia	1	2798	July 31, 2022
Your product is within spec at one location, but out of spec in another. Why? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design	2	2276	January 21, 2025
What are common grades of stainless steel used in manufacturing? Materials Science general , waymo	1	2787	July 27, 2020
Basics of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) Consumer Hardware Guide	1	2778	December 8, 2023
Engineering Builds: EVT, DVT, PVT Consumer Hardware Guide	1	2772	October 12, 2023
Is a laminar or turbulent boundary layer better for heat transfer from the surface to the environment? Heat Transfer waymo , heat-transfer	1	2756	August 5, 2020
You have two objects that mate together, you want to decrease the total linear tolerance stack up. What can you do to decrease the total tolerance stackup? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design	2	2246	October 30, 2024
What is a unity feedback loop and the core components of the system? Electrical Engineering	1	2727	September 7, 2020
When should you counterbore vs. countersink a hole? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design	1	2711	July 31, 2021
If you had to pressurize a pressure vessel in testing, would you rather pressurize with liquid or gas and why? Mechanical Design spacex , firefly	1	2696	January 21, 2024
Name all the ways of actuating an object you can think of. What are the pros and cons of each? Mechanical Design	2	2028	February 15, 2022
Why does a computer/office chair have fives legs? Why does a chair have four? Mechanical Design	1	2467	September 15, 2023
Can you draw the block diagram for a non-inverting operational amplifier and derive the gain equation? Electrical Engineering apple	2	1981	April 4, 2022
What is the difference between a capacitor and an inductor and how are they commonly used? Electrical Engineering analog	2	1971	May 23, 2024
Name all the ways to to lighten a cantilevered I beam with a point load on the end, while minimizing weight and deflection Cantilever Beams	2	1970	October 30, 2024
5% failure at reliability test, how to solve? Reliability & Mechanical Test apple	1	2403	June 13, 2023
What is the Nyquist Theorem and how do you define a sufficient sampling rate? Electrical Engineering roam-robotics	2	1944	April 18, 2022
On the material datasheet of most polymers, the glass transition temperature, Tg, is provided. What does the glass transition temperature refer to? Materials Science tesla	1	2380	January 5, 2024
If there is a diving board, how would you half the deflection? Cantilever Beams	1	2345	July 31, 2021
Manufacturing 101: Plastics Consumer Hardware Guide	1	2282	October 12, 2023
How would you design a snap fit? Where are snap fits used most often? How much force does it usually take to insert a snap fit? Mechanical Design	1	2250	February 16, 2022
CNC vs other techniques Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design manufacturing	3	868	July 31, 2024
Identifying Metals Consumer Hardware Guide	2	1767	February 26, 2025
For the following joints (images) describe the forces and failure modes of the bolted connections. Why is pretensioning the bolts important? What would fatigue failure look like for the bolted connections? Mechanical Design	1	2163	August 12, 2021
Imagine a dashed line down a mile length of a straight road. Explain how you would calculate the volume of paint required for this mile stretch of road General ME Questions general , synapse	1	2153	September 15, 2023
You have a bench (image), where would you sit to maximize the reaction force on one end? Cantilever Beams	2	1757	August 12, 2021
What are the base and peak loads of a generation system, which methods of power generation and storage are suitable for each? Electrical Engineering	0	530	July 4, 2024
How do you interpolate the physical property of one unknown metal among metal sheets of known physical properties? Materials Science apple	1	2091	April 21, 2022
If you have a cantilevered beam with one end fixed to a wall and the other end free, and there is a moment acting on the free end, where will the beam fail? Cantilever Beams	1	2088	July 31, 2021
Draw the schematics for a simple first-order low-pass filter Electrical Engineering	1	2059	May 18, 2024
What are diodes and which purpose do they serve in electrical design? Electrical Engineering	1	2004	March 7, 2022
Is a pressure vessel more likely to fail from repeated cycles of low pressure or a one off high pressure spike? Mechanical Design	1	1999	August 12, 2021
How would you design an experiment to measure the thermal conductivity of corrugated cardboard? Heat Transfer heat-transfer , gradient	1	1994	September 12, 2024
How does power draw differ between thick and thin cabling? Electrical Engineering waymo	1	1991	September 11, 2020
What are the differences between MOSFETs and Bi-Polar Junction Transistors? Electrical Engineering amazon	1	1991	March 7, 2022
Brainstorm 15-20 ways to remove balloons from a room General ME Questions apple	0	2788	October 26, 2022
How would you design a satellite that orbits the earth and passively maintains a temperature of 300K +/- 10K? Heat Transfer heat-transfer , gradient	2	1599	September 12, 2024
There are three buckets with water, air, and gasoline. If you put a sensor in the buckets, what type of sensing technology would you use to tell them apart? Mechanical Design	1	1956	November 29, 2021
When you use the front brakes on your bicycle, why does your body want to rotate over the front wheel? Free Body Diagrams	1	1925	January 13, 2021
When parts are designed, how do you ensure the manufacturer is building what you intended to design? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design facebook	1	1906	January 5, 2024
What are the major design considerations for optimizing airflow? Mechanical Design	1	1905	September 18, 2023
Crafting an Effective Engineering Resume Consumer Hardware Guide	3	1344	November 14, 2023
Barrel Connector Concentricity Mechanical Design apple	2	876	July 14, 2025
Can you describe the injection molding manufacturing process? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design manufacturing	1	1894	January 5, 2024
Plastic Manufacturing & Identification Consumer Hardware Guide	1	1846	November 18, 2023
In the context of injection molding, can you explain the difference between a slide and a lifter? Specifically, how do they operate, and in what situations would you use each mechanism? Manufacturing & Consumer Product Design apple , manufacturing , plastics	1	1799	June 17, 2024
What is a PID Controller? Electrical Engineering	1	1790	September 7, 2020