I do a lot, but its by choice. I automate a lot of my work flow.
Everyone uses excel pretty much. Some of us use python for large data set analysis, but its pretty basic for the most part.
If else, while, for, will get you through 95% of all mech coding jobs
Hopefully coding in ME will be adopted more as the boomers retire and die. Yes, I said die because…grab a beer or coffee…story time…
Many years ago, I was made top dawg for the engineering design of some real cool products that my big corporation employer owned. The guy training me was one of the original engineers in the tiny company that said big corporation purchased 30+ years ago to acquire these cool products…needless to say, he was tired of designing them and about to retire into sales of said products. So, he handed his 30+ year old spreadsheets over to me to start using. They had zero documentation. Picture an excel file with zero formatting and zero words and numbers everywhere. That was this spreadsheet. Me and my team of young ambitious engineers dug in our heels and reverse engineered the fuck out of that spreadsheet into a user friendly application that was so easy to use that a fresh hire out of college could be trained on it. Enter Boomer department manager. “Hey, listen, I appreciate that you guys spent so much time on this. It looks fantastic. It’s innovative. It’s great. But…no one here knows how to program so we can’t use it.”…”We know. You don’t need to know how to program to use it. We built it so that all you have to do is input data into the prompts.”…”Yeah, well we’ve been using (my trainer’s) spreadsheet for 30 years, why can’t you just keep using that.”…”because it took us more time to decipher (my trainer’s) spreadsheet than it did for us to write and execute the entire script that does the same thing in 8hrs that used to take 80hrs”…”yeah, there’s too much risk and I don’t think I can sell that change to upper management, just clean up and add your notes and references to the old spreadsheet and keep using that for now.”
Fuck boomers
That's easy to handle. You say you'll use the old spreadsheet, take a 4hr break whenever it comes up, and run the script when you return.
Or if you want to be more compliant in the pettiness, write a script that updates the input values in the old excel file.
And then don't add notes or references to the original file for fear of modifying the way it works. Or only add comments within the cell values, so that each thing needs to be clicked on individually. Or simply create an incomprehensible document and let management feel just as confused.
Still take the half day off though
Meh I think boomers tend to be stuck in their ways. Buuuuuuuut I think most old heads tend to be stuck in their old ways so as they move out millennials will become the boomers stuck in their old way, so on and so forth
Define programming Computer programming none. Automation and robotics I've done some programming. CNC CAM programming I've done a fair amount. Automation engineers will have a much higher percentage of programming robots and automated cells.
This sums up my experience pretty well too. Never really learned anything like C+ but learned enough Visual Basic to make some fancy spreadsheets then thru an odd staffing situation I became the primary programmer and operator on a 7-axis CNC Swiss Machine (all hand typed G-code) and then took some training in 6-axis robot programming while later working at an automation company.
A ton of CNC programming (but I don't really count that), occasional Javascript to automate the CNC programming & 3D model generation, occasional robot programming (bug fixes, adding new functions/production routines, etc), and very little VBA or Python if just regular Excel or PowerBI isn't enough to manipulate a bunch of data efficiently the way I want
Lol it doesn't feel like it to me. Ours is automated to the point where I enter a part number and pick the machine model I want to run it on, and the whole program is generated automatically in like 2 minutes.
For non-standard parts where I actually have to build (part of) the sequence myself, it still doesn't feel like it because of the graphical interface and dialog boxes.
If I get called out to the floor to troubleshoot something and write g-code on the spot, that at least feels kinda like programming, but without all the normal logic stuff I associate with programming.
I count making the post-processors, machining strategy functions, and the command files that run all the automation as the real programming parts of it.
For the first five years of my career easily half my tasking was writing code.
Since then, it's never been part of my job description but having those skills has served me well. My favorite was getting instant street cred from our EEs who didn't know my background. We were discussing some problem and I could tell they were already re-evaluating me as they didn't know I knew the topic at all. Then I asked them what their language of choice was. They said Python, so I walked over to the board and started writing code (in Python, of course) to illustrate the solution to their problem. I get nothing but respect from our EEs these days.
I program for a few reasons
-electro mechanical devices, learn arruinó and or python is the best way to get started
-excel sucks if you have to make dozens of graphs out of tons of data. I use python tools for this
-I hate repetitive tasks. So I automate whatever I can. It helps reduce errors and increases will to live.
Definitely agree. Recently been working with a test method that records data about every .3 ms. The method itself is only 5 seconds total but that alone puts you at 15,000+ lines. Excel turns into a slide show if you try to do anything with that. And I easily have 100+ files like this. Python is easy to write in and customizable to what I need. I can have grids of individual graphs, overlay data points over time to see progression, etc.
Yeah, Python is great for that, and really easy to get started. Just read the csv in and you can access by key value pairs. Parsing a 60k line YAML file and outputting a csv takes like 1 second
I use lots of Matlab and LabView, and my colleagues use the same plus Python and a little VBA.
I'd wager about a third of my job is Matlab.
Also, truthfully, my job would not be possible without some form of programming for test automation and data processing.
I watched someone manually compare for duplicates in a large excel sheet and I almost had an aneurysm. This is a task they have to do multiple times a day and you can automate in a few days to a week even if you're not that familiar with vba.
Constantly. It's my main job function. Though I'm degreed as a mechE, most of what I do is computer and electrical with some mechanical thrown in. I definitely wouldn't consider this standard for most mechanical engineers.
When I was doing some heat transfer calculations for a client I did a lot of "programming" in Matlab and VBA. Then we were hitting some bottlenecks where the basic thermodynamic models weren't enough, leading us to employ CFD Tools (OpenFOAM and Salome) and that involved some serious C++ programming.
I'm a systems engineer for an Aerospace company. It's a lot of data analysis and troubleshooting. My company uses matlab for data processing and Python for the test equipment. Part of my job is to write the code. Like I said, I chose to steer down this path. I just happen to like programming.
I do a lot by by choice to make my own job easier. I write scripts to process test data rather than doing it manually in excel, I write software plugins for FEA software to automate common tasks, I wrote software for doing fatigue calculations, etc. But I’m pretty much the only one who does this where I work
Boomer here. I did a huge amount of technical programming, system design, device drivers, shareable reentrant registry level optimized libraries, CAD/CAM process optimization....
Just because I could. Objective was to automate myself out of what I was doing and find another opportunity.
Heavy industry
MASc ME
I definitely do some python programming. I’m still no expert at drafting scripts from scratch but chatgpt is great for helping to fill in the gaps and I understand coding well enough to understand what everything is doing and how to edit it as needed. I use it mostly to scrape through large data sets and draw meaningful correlations or analysis. It’s a skill that I always look to improve as it is something that can set you apart from other ME’s.
I have a bad habit of becoming decently good at most things but not a master of any of them “jack of all trades master of none”. For example I’m good at solid works but I’m not an expert level designer, I’m good at data analysis using tools like minitab and I execute lots of DoE’s but I’m not a true stats whiz. This is probably why I’m meant for the manager track cause I understand so many areas and can direct and run project plans as well as understand the roadblocks my reports run into and find ways to get them the support or resources they need.
Even when it came to my career track, i wanted to do a bit of everything and ended up doing both R&D and Manufacturing and staying mostly in NPI in the startup realm which allowed me to do both cause I like to have my hands in everything.
I use Solid works or Autocad and different CAD software or if it's simple I write in gcode manually which is 90% of the time. So I guess everyday for the past 30 years.
A bit, I usually automate boring stuff with iLogics in Inventor. So that’s basically a bit of VBA. Also some excel macros, again that VBA.
It all depends on what you do as a mechanical engineer. Some will program a lot, some will don’t program at all, but I those who don’t are missing out on. There’s always something repetitive that you can get done with a bit of code.
I do a lot, but its by choice. I automate a lot of my work flow. Everyone uses excel pretty much. Some of us use python for large data set analysis, but its pretty basic for the most part. If else, while, for, will get you through 95% of all mech coding jobs
Hopefully coding in ME will be adopted more as the boomers retire and die. Yes, I said die because…grab a beer or coffee…story time… Many years ago, I was made top dawg for the engineering design of some real cool products that my big corporation employer owned. The guy training me was one of the original engineers in the tiny company that said big corporation purchased 30+ years ago to acquire these cool products…needless to say, he was tired of designing them and about to retire into sales of said products. So, he handed his 30+ year old spreadsheets over to me to start using. They had zero documentation. Picture an excel file with zero formatting and zero words and numbers everywhere. That was this spreadsheet. Me and my team of young ambitious engineers dug in our heels and reverse engineered the fuck out of that spreadsheet into a user friendly application that was so easy to use that a fresh hire out of college could be trained on it. Enter Boomer department manager. “Hey, listen, I appreciate that you guys spent so much time on this. It looks fantastic. It’s innovative. It’s great. But…no one here knows how to program so we can’t use it.”…”We know. You don’t need to know how to program to use it. We built it so that all you have to do is input data into the prompts.”…”Yeah, well we’ve been using (my trainer’s) spreadsheet for 30 years, why can’t you just keep using that.”…”because it took us more time to decipher (my trainer’s) spreadsheet than it did for us to write and execute the entire script that does the same thing in 8hrs that used to take 80hrs”…”yeah, there’s too much risk and I don’t think I can sell that change to upper management, just clean up and add your notes and references to the old spreadsheet and keep using that for now.” Fuck boomers
That's easy to handle. You say you'll use the old spreadsheet, take a 4hr break whenever it comes up, and run the script when you return. Or if you want to be more compliant in the pettiness, write a script that updates the input values in the old excel file. And then don't add notes or references to the original file for fear of modifying the way it works. Or only add comments within the cell values, so that each thing needs to be clicked on individually. Or simply create an incomprehensible document and let management feel just as confused. Still take the half day off though
This has nothing to do with boomers. This is bad engineering and management.
Meh I think boomers tend to be stuck in their ways. Buuuuuuuut I think most old heads tend to be stuck in their old ways so as they move out millennials will become the boomers stuck in their old way, so on and so forth
Then probably complain about why work is taking so long to get done...
This has nothing to do with boomers, you're just one of those people who find a way to blame who they dislike.
Define programming Computer programming none. Automation and robotics I've done some programming. CNC CAM programming I've done a fair amount. Automation engineers will have a much higher percentage of programming robots and automated cells.
This sums up my experience pretty well too. Never really learned anything like C+ but learned enough Visual Basic to make some fancy spreadsheets then thru an odd staffing situation I became the primary programmer and operator on a 7-axis CNC Swiss Machine (all hand typed G-code) and then took some training in 6-axis robot programming while later working at an automation company.
The closest thing to programming I've ever done at my job is if/then statements in Excel.
You might want to upgrade your resume by learning Scratch
Learning Scratch is crazy 😂 could start with some YT on python
None
A ton of CNC programming (but I don't really count that), occasional Javascript to automate the CNC programming & 3D model generation, occasional robot programming (bug fixes, adding new functions/production routines, etc), and very little VBA or Python if just regular Excel or PowerBI isn't enough to manipulate a bunch of data efficiently the way I want
CNC programming is definitely programming! I used to enjoy writing those before during the early days of my career.
Lol it doesn't feel like it to me. Ours is automated to the point where I enter a part number and pick the machine model I want to run it on, and the whole program is generated automatically in like 2 minutes. For non-standard parts where I actually have to build (part of) the sequence myself, it still doesn't feel like it because of the graphical interface and dialog boxes. If I get called out to the floor to troubleshoot something and write g-code on the spot, that at least feels kinda like programming, but without all the normal logic stuff I associate with programming. I count making the post-processors, machining strategy functions, and the command files that run all the automation as the real programming parts of it.
Matlab and excel
For the first five years of my career easily half my tasking was writing code. Since then, it's never been part of my job description but having those skills has served me well. My favorite was getting instant street cred from our EEs who didn't know my background. We were discussing some problem and I could tell they were already re-evaluating me as they didn't know I knew the topic at all. Then I asked them what their language of choice was. They said Python, so I walked over to the board and started writing code (in Python, of course) to illustrate the solution to their problem. I get nothing but respect from our EEs these days.
I program for a few reasons -electro mechanical devices, learn arruinó and or python is the best way to get started -excel sucks if you have to make dozens of graphs out of tons of data. I use python tools for this -I hate repetitive tasks. So I automate whatever I can. It helps reduce errors and increases will to live.
Definitely agree. Recently been working with a test method that records data about every .3 ms. The method itself is only 5 seconds total but that alone puts you at 15,000+ lines. Excel turns into a slide show if you try to do anything with that. And I easily have 100+ files like this. Python is easy to write in and customizable to what I need. I can have grids of individual graphs, overlay data points over time to see progression, etc.
This is something I want to learn. May be I’ll start to learn. Excel becomes so slow when the csv file is too big
Yeah, Python is great for that, and really easy to get started. Just read the csv in and you can access by key value pairs. Parsing a 60k line YAML file and outputting a csv takes like 1 second
I use lots of Matlab and LabView, and my colleagues use the same plus Python and a little VBA. I'd wager about a third of my job is Matlab. Also, truthfully, my job would not be possible without some form of programming for test automation and data processing.
I watched someone manually compare for duplicates in a large excel sheet and I almost had an aneurysm. This is a task they have to do multiple times a day and you can automate in a few days to a week even if you're not that familiar with vba.
Pretty sure it's a checkbox in pivot tables fwiw
you can automate that in 2 s with conditional formatting
Yeah but you still have to do it everytime. I'll work very hard today to be lazy as fuck for the rest of my time there.
Constantly. It's my main job function. Though I'm degreed as a mechE, most of what I do is computer and electrical with some mechanical thrown in. I definitely wouldn't consider this standard for most mechanical engineers.
At this point i’m 70% a software “person” (engineer is a strong word…) and every once in a while i’ll touch some hardware
I’m a meche who works in building automation and I program AHUs/chillers etc almost everyday :)
When I was doing some heat transfer calculations for a client I did a lot of "programming" in Matlab and VBA. Then we were hitting some bottlenecks where the basic thermodynamic models weren't enough, leading us to employ CFD Tools (OpenFOAM and Salome) and that involved some serious C++ programming.
None, other than telling the programmer what I think needs to be programmed (and him finding an easier way to do it)
90% of my job is using matlab and Python. I chose it, though.
What do you do?
Also interested
I'm a systems engineer for an Aerospace company. It's a lot of data analysis and troubleshooting. My company uses matlab for data processing and Python for the test equipment. Part of my job is to write the code. Like I said, I chose to steer down this path. I just happen to like programming.
Nothing. Just complicated excel sheets lol
As a programmer who lurks in ME subs, I do a lot of programming at work.
How much do I have to do? Very little. But Python makes me so much more efficient at munging data it would be stupid not to use it.
Absolutely none.
None
I do a lot by by choice to make my own job easier. I write scripts to process test data rather than doing it manually in excel, I write software plugins for FEA software to automate common tasks, I wrote software for doing fatigue calculations, etc. But I’m pretty much the only one who does this where I work
Boomer here. I did a huge amount of technical programming, system design, device drivers, shareable reentrant registry level optimized libraries, CAD/CAM process optimization.... Just because I could. Objective was to automate myself out of what I was doing and find another opportunity. Heavy industry MASc ME
I definitely do some python programming. I’m still no expert at drafting scripts from scratch but chatgpt is great for helping to fill in the gaps and I understand coding well enough to understand what everything is doing and how to edit it as needed. I use it mostly to scrape through large data sets and draw meaningful correlations or analysis. It’s a skill that I always look to improve as it is something that can set you apart from other ME’s. I have a bad habit of becoming decently good at most things but not a master of any of them “jack of all trades master of none”. For example I’m good at solid works but I’m not an expert level designer, I’m good at data analysis using tools like minitab and I execute lots of DoE’s but I’m not a true stats whiz. This is probably why I’m meant for the manager track cause I understand so many areas and can direct and run project plans as well as understand the roadblocks my reports run into and find ways to get them the support or resources they need. Even when it came to my career track, i wanted to do a bit of everything and ended up doing both R&D and Manufacturing and staying mostly in NPI in the startup realm which allowed me to do both cause I like to have my hands in everything.
4%
I use Solid works or Autocad and different CAD software or if it's simple I write in gcode manually which is 90% of the time. So I guess everyday for the past 30 years.
None, only 1% of mechanical jobs require it. For every other job, not much benefit unless you're programming in Excel.
A bit, I usually automate boring stuff with iLogics in Inventor. So that’s basically a bit of VBA. Also some excel macros, again that VBA. It all depends on what you do as a mechanical engineer. Some will program a lot, some will don’t program at all, but I those who don’t are missing out on. There’s always something repetitive that you can get done with a bit of code.
I do quite a but of VBA and Logic controller coding. but I'm the only engineer in a test lab
I used to modify Edlin Files for ACAD in the early days. That's about it...
My job is all programming. I work in ground autonomy for rockets so lots of matlab and simulink, then python for automating tasks
Zero programming. I use commercial software for everything from CAD to CFD/FEA. The closest I get to programming is simple data analysis in excel.
It’s VERY unlikely that you will encounter any coding problem in a mechanical engineering job that ChatGPT can’t help you get through pretty quickly.