Machine Devices and Components Illustrated Sourcebook

A brilliant gift for an engineer mind.

If you design devices, time spent viewing and reviewing the wealth of enabling components and component concepts shown in this large expensive volume. Yes, it's expensive. But if you find it disappointing, that probably says a lot more about you than about this EXCELLENT book. I own over 200 books about machining, CAD, CAM, and design. I'd have to rate this as being in the top 10% of most valuable in my library. Wonderful "mind candy."

I bought this for my son for Christmas at his request. He can't put it down, it is just what he expected and more. He has learned much and will use this as a reference over and over.

Typical of mechanical designers I can design a solution as required. But typical again I tend to overdesign. Its good to take a break and look thru a book like this one and catch your overdesign before it makes it into the machine.

I've found that there are a lot of interesting pictures of many mechanisms, much more than I expected. But I think authors could have added some more detailed explanations about how they work, or which are the main properties, like efficiency in terms of energy for example. At least compare different mechanisms to get an idea of which one is the best suitable for a concrete action.In several mechanisms it also would have been interesting to get two or three images of the same object but in different movement steps.

Good and intructive pictures of different mechaical movements. Pitty that Amozon is cheep whith package: my book in disapointly bad conditon when I opend the pascel, wich made my reading experinece far less enjoyable. Comeon Amazon! I pay you 75 bucks and you don't even bother to make a durable wrapping. Shame I relly looked forward to learn more about mechanics!

I find the book an excellent source of ideas if you are into designing fictures, jigs or mechanisms. The only "but" is that, just as the first reviewer mentions, the book lacks a detailed explanation of how the mechanisms function.