Engineering for Industrial Designers and Inventors: Fundamentals for Designers of Wonderful Things

A lot of helpful information and theory.

This book provides a good general overview of what many industrial design programs cover along with a more in depth look at how materials in general behave, along with design factors not discussed in the program I am in, such as fatigue points and how forms can create or avoid them, as well as anthropometry and types of machine systems. It's a must read for aspiring industrial designers.

Great book full of quality information at a great price point. I wish this author could be my professor.

This is a book that should appeal to students and professionals in Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering fields, as well as passionate hobbyists.Dr. Ask's engineering textbook is unlike many others that fall into the same category. It is so different because of the quality of writing and information, both of which are never compromised. This is a book that reads well and draws attention in a way that no other textbook that I have personally (as a collector of textbooks) never experienced elsewhere; Dr. Ask put a great amount of consideration into relating the topics discussed back to real-life industry examples. Still, the book never cheats the reader out of any information and does not sugar coat any of the topics or industry-specific vocabulary.On top of the literary element of the book, perhaps the most important and powerful feature of the book is the uncompromising ability to use the book for quick and dirty reference. This book is laid out and presented in a way that the desired information can be accessed very quickly and effectively. Through the use of meaningful pictures, diagrams, graphs, and tables; in combination with the previously mentioned real-life examples and stories, all information is readily available to suit specific references.It feels appropriate now to insert a quote from the preface of this book as it sums up the intentions of the book as well as its means of execution."The theory is rigorous, the math is not. I prefer qualitative descriptions and analogies over math. The goal of this book is to make mechanical engineering a real tool in your inventive, creative tool belt." - Dr. AskAll things considered, this book is an absolute pleasure to have read and learned from and will be a long time tool for myself, and hopefully many others.

Reading this book, it is obvious that the author, Dr. Ask, is experienced in the engineering and design field. The book is very organized, which makes it easy to find specific topics. The book includes thorough descriptions, examples, and formulas. A must buy for someone interested in learning about engineering and design. Highly recommended.

Tom Ask provides a unique look into the minds of both Engineers and Designers combining their thought process into one. As someone that works alongside both Engineers and Designers who NEVER think on the same level this text is a breath of fresh air.This book is paramount for any budding designer that wants to be taken seriously with their designs.

The world is crying out for a good book that teaches the principles of mechanical engineering to designers, inventors or other persons interested in creating their own products and who need to understand the engineering principles involved. Unfortunately this book turned out to be a big disappointment. The only person it might be suitable for is someone who wants a brief overview of what areas they might need to talk to a mechanical engineer about when hiring them to do the actual work.This book is very basic and very superficial. It contains no references for further reading and no actual walk throughs or case studies of the design process. I cannot recommend this book to anyone who wants to actually understand the principles of mechanical engineering.Over the years I've read a number of books on mechanical engineering and I've never found a book that actually teaches mechanical design well. (It may exist but I've never found it). Until then, you might have to build your foundation knowledge using standard textbooks in statics, mechanics of materials, engineering design etc.