Work your way to fabricating success People have been hammering metal into shields, cookware, and ceremonial headdresses for centuries, and fabrication continues to be a popular and growing industry today. Fabricating For Dummies provides you with all the information you need to begin learning about metalworking, or fill any gaps in your existing knowledge in order to advance your career. Simply put, there's little out there for light reading on manufacturing. What's available is often quite expensive, so boring it puts you to sleep, or filled with so much technical gobbledygook that one's eyes glaze over within a few pages. This book offers a much-needed alternative, cutting through the jargon and getting right to the heart of what you need to know to take your fab skills to fabulous new heights. Get a glimpse of the day in the life of a fab worker Discover the different alloys, shapes, and sizes of sheet metal Understand welding and joining processes Master the use of press brakes, stamping presses, and turret punches Whether you want to get your feet wet with waterjets, laser cutters, or hi-definition plasma cutters, there’s something for you inside this hands-on book!

Start a successful career in machining Metalworking is an exciting field that's currently experiencing a shortage of qualified machinists—and there's no time like the present to capitalize on the recent surge in manufacturing and production opportunities. Covering everything from lathe operation to actual CNC programming, Machining For Dummies provides you with everything it takes to make a career for yourself as a skilled machinist. Written by an expert offering real-world advice based on experience in the industry, this hands-on guide begins with basic topics like tools, work holding, and ancillary equipment, then goes into drilling, milling, turning, and other necessary metalworking processes. You'll also learn about robotics and new developments in machining technology that are driving the future of manufacturing and the machining market. Be profitable in today's competitive manufacturing environment Set up and operate a variety of computer-controlled and mechanically controlled machines Produce precision metal parts, instruments, and tools Become a part of an industry that's experiencing steady growth Manufacturing is the backbone of America, and this no-nonsense guide will provide you with valuable information to help you get a foot in the door as a machinist.

Get the know-how to weld like a pro Being a skilled welder is a hot commodity in today's job market, as well as a handy talent for industrious do-it-yourself repairpersons and hobbyists. Welding For Dummies gives you all the information you need to perform this commonly used, yet complex, task. This friendly, practical guide takes you from evaluating the material to be welded all the way through the step-by-step welding process, and everything in between. Plus, you'll get easy-to-follow guidance on how to apply finishing techniques and advice on how to adhere to safety procedures. Explains each type of welding, including stick, tig, mig, and fluxcore welding, as well as oxyfuel cutting, which receives sparse coverage in other books on welding Tips on the best welding technique to choose for a specific project Required training and certification information Whether you have no prior experience in welding or are looking for a thorough reference to supplement traditional welding instruction, the easy-to-understand information in Welding For Dummies is the ultimate resource for mastering this intricate skill.

Every critical welding technique and process distilled into a one-stop, accessible resource Safe and effective welding might seem like a pipe dream if you’re just getting started. But with a little help from Welding For Dummies you’ll be a “golden arm” in no time. This guide will give you techniques you need to get a handle on material evaluation, clean-up, and every step in between. You’ll find practical advice on every popular kind of welding, including stick, tig, mig, fluxcore, and even oxyfuel cutting. You’ll also get tips on the ideal welding techniques to choose for specific projects. The book shows you how to: Find the required training for welding certifications Use brand-new welding technologies, including laser techniques Practice critical welding techniques you can use in your own hobby shop while staying safe Whether you’re looking for some help to further your do-it-yourself projects at home or you’re just getting started with a traditional welding educational program and you need a useful supplementary resource, Welding For Dummies is an irreplaceable reference that helps make a challenging trade accessible to everyone.

Your ticket to excelling in mechanics of materials With roots in physics and mathematics, engineering mechanics is the basis of all the mechanical sciences: civil engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and aeronautical and aerospace engineering. Tracking a typical undergraduate course, Mechanics of Materials For Dummies gives you a thorough introduction to this foundational subject. You'll get clear, plain-English explanations of all the topics covered, including principles of equilibrium, geometric compatibility, and material behavior; stress and its relation to force and movement; strain and its relation to displacement; elasticity and plasticity; fatigue and fracture; failure modes; application to simple engineering structures, and more. Tracks to a course that is a prerequisite for most engineering majors Covers key mechanics concepts, summaries of useful equations, and helpful tips From geometric principles to solving complex equations, Mechanics of Materials For Dummies is an invaluable resource for engineering students!

Welding is a skill that any do-it-yourself enthusiast needs in his or her arsenal. How to Weld is the perfect introduction for newbies and an excellent refresher for veteran welders—a work so comprehensive that most readers won’t need any further instruction. In How to Weld, a bestselling installment in the Motorbooks Workshop series, AWS-certified welding instructor Todd Bridigum thoroughly describes process and art of fusing metals, including: Tools and equipment commonly used Types of metals and their weldability Welding techniques Shop and site safety Types of joints In addition, all popular types of welding variants are covered, including gas welding, shielded metal arc (or stick) welding, gas metal arc welding (MIG), gas tungsten arc welding (TIG), brazing, soldering, and even metal cutting. Each skills section concludes with a series of exercises, each illustrated with captioned sequential color photography, to fully explain and detail the techniques learned. Mechanics, automotive enthusiasts, farmers, metalworkers, and other DIYers who can’t bond metal can’t make repairs and they can’t create—in short, they can’t do much of anything except bolt together pre-made parts. With this thorough and completely illustrated all-color tutorial by an experienced college-level instructor, readers can get on the path fabricating and fixing metals on their own. How To Weld is the only book about welding they'll ever need. The Motorbooks Workshop series covers topics that engage and interest auto and motorcycle enthusiasts. Written by subject-matter experts and illustrated with step-by-step and how-it’s-done reference images, Motorbooks Workshop is the ultimate resource for how-to know-how.

Take some heat off the complexity of thermodynamics Does the mere thought of thermodynamics make you sweat? It doesn't have to! This hands-on guide helps you score your highest in a thermodynamics course by offering easily understood, plain-English explanations of how energy is used in things like automobiles, airplanes, air conditioners, and electric power plants. Thermodynamics 101 — take a look at some examples of both natural and man-made thermodynamic systems and get a handle on how energy can be used to perform work Turn up the heat — discover how to use the first and second laws of thermodynamics to determine (and improve upon) the efficiency of machines Oh, behave — get the 411 on how gases behave and relate to one another in different situations, from ideal-gas laws to real gases Burn with desire — find out everything you need to know about conserving mass and energy in combustion processes Open the book and find: The laws of thermodynamics Important properties and their relationships The lowdown on solids, liquids, and gases How work and heat go handin hand The cycles that power thermodynamic processes Chemical mixtures and reactions Ten pioneers in thermodynamics Real-world applications of thermodynamic laws and concepts Learn to: Master the concepts and principles of thermodynamics Develop the problem-solving skills used by professional engineers Ace your thermodynamics course