If you are planning on setting out down the road of engineering, it’s essential to know the basic checklist of indispensable items that you simply must have in order to make your life easier. Of course, the kind of engineer you are will greatly influence the types of specialist engineering equipment you use. Whatever the specific type of engineer you are (or plan to become), there are a number of items that your job would be almost impossible to perform without. Here’s a handy checklist of items you’ll need to own in order to run a successful engineering business.
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Spanner And Sockets
A good spanner and socket set is essential for everyday engineering tasks and is likely to be something you will use on a daily basis (much like the most basic tools such as screwdrivers or hammers). A combination (or multi-sized) spanner set will be of much use to you in everyday household engineering tasks – such as assembling pieces of garden furniture or items such as exercise bikes and fixing them securely in place with nuts and bolts. Larger spanners will likely be used often in workplace engineering tasks – such as in performing machine maintenance or assembly.
Wrench Set
For more heavy-duty or industrial-sized machinery and equipment, this is where a socket and wrench will come in handy – as the level of torque required will be far more than that which can be generated by a simple hand spanner. A good example of the everyday use of a socket and wrench would be on a car wheel bolt set, fixing it firmly and safely in place.
Lubricants – Grease & Oils
Lubricants are an extremely useful (and often overlooked) item in the engineer’s arsenal. Oil and grease lubricants are often used in industrial-scale machinery (such as large conveyors, or turbines) as they protect the interior of such machinery from damage caused by rust and corrosion. Oil and grease have important everyday uses as well – such as lubricating the gearboxes and pistons in car engines. Essentially, lubricants are useful in any machine where the moving parts produce friction over long periods of time.
Bearings
Bearings are another important item on the engineer’s checklist, as they enable items to roll safely and efficiently while bearing heavy loads, which is essential when heavy items need transporting from one place to another. There are numerous kinds of bearings, from ball bearings, which are designed for lower thrust loads, through roller and tapered-roller bearings, which are created with heavier loads in mind, and even specialized bearings, such as angular, cylindrical and linear bearings.
Castors
Castor wheels work in concert with ball bearings and are extremely useful to the engineer as they enable pieces of large and heavy machinery to be transported from site to site. They will be particularly useful to a traveling or maintenance engineer, who is required to move equipment frequently from one place to another in order to carry out their work.
Engineering Drills
For more specialized engineering tasks such as the installation of valves and regulators, hydraulic tools can be of a great deal of use. Highway maintenance engineers will often make use of pneumatic drills (jackhammers) to clear away hard surface materials such as concrete. For the everyday engineer, however, a standard electrical drill will probably suffice for most tasks – such as the securing of holdings and fastenings (for example, screws).
Fixtures And Fastenings
Fixtures and fastenings are essential no matter what kind of engineering you perform. Although the kinds of fixtures will vary, their basic purpose remains the same: to hold items securely in place – either while they are manufactured, or while maintenance is carried out on them. An important kind of fixture is the adjustable clamp, which affords you degrees of freedom while you carry out your work. In terms of fastenings (such as bolts, screws, rivets, and nuts and washers) these have a multitude of uses in the daily life of an engineer.
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