Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design

Reviewed by Christine Toh, Assistant Professor, James Madison University on 3/22/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book covers a wide range of design tools and approaches that are practiced in a range of engineering domains. There are some tools that are rarely practiced in modern engineering workflows (except for very specific industries like automotive manufacturing) but the book covers them just the same. This can help students understand where some tools evolved from, and how different industries handle competing information flows during the design and manufacturing phases of the engineering process. However, there is little context provided when presenting these methods and tools, so educators and students would need to fill in these gaps themselves to gain a deeper appreciation for the depth and breadth of tools presented in this book (e.g., where did House of Quality/QFD come from? What problem was it trying to solve? What does this tool look like in practice today? What is most important to take away from this approach?).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The design process and tools presented in the text are largely accurate, and represent how design is conducted in industry. The author provides useful illustrations of process and tools that can be taught at the undergraduate level, and are skills that are expected by the time students enter their junior or senior year of the program. The examples of these tools used in the design process are accurate and the concrete details included in the examples provide ample opportunity for educators and students to elaborate on their specifics in a classroom setting.
Another confusing aspect of the book is in the categorization of certain chapters or concepts into the modules that are in the book. For example, it is odd that the “Design” module begins with “Modeling”. There are idea generation approaches and tools that are completely missing from the book, that would come before the modeling phase of the design process. Similarly, the engineering specifications/requirements/benchmarking chapter is placed in the “Measure” module, but it is typically associated with the “Define” phase of the design process. This is potentially a weakness of the type of organization scheme used in the book, since many of these activities and tools do not neatly fit into one bin during the design process—many of them flow into one another, overlap, go through iteration and reconfiguration, several times during the design process.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

At several points in the book, the author provides concrete learning materials, rubrics, and example projects. These are incredibly helpful to the practitioner since it’s easy to see how these projects can be adapted to another course at a different institution. The background research and motivation for each project are already completed, and in many cases, these are challenging and interesting problems for engineering students to engage in. The book also provides several real-world examples of project documentation and manufacturing details (e.g., subassembly BOMs, technical drawings) that are immensely useful for student understanding and contextualization of the work in engineering realities.

Clarity rating: 3

At several points in the book, there are interactive exercises that test understanding of the content. These are good for checking comprehension and showing the types of assessments most useful for this class. However, the assignments themselves lack clarity. It could be that contextual information is missing, but at times, it can be hard to correctly complete these quizzes even with explanations provided before the quizzes. When an answer is wrong, there is also no explanation for why it is wrong, or how to acquire more information that can help correct misunderstandings in the text. There were also cases where the correct answer was input, but the capitalization was incorrect, leading to a false negative on the test. There needs to be further refinement done on these quizzes to ensure that they’re supporting the student in their understanding and not providing needless barriers.

Consistency rating: 4

The book is generally consistent in how it presents information from module to module. However, the contents of each chapter in the module can vary greatly, from chapters almost entirely focused on embedded videos, to modules that are mostly all text. There are also several interactive elements (quizzes, drop down definitions) that are sprinkled throughout the chapters, but not in a predictable manner. There are several cases where key definitions or important concepts are presented, but are not stylistically emphasized consistently. In contrast, most modules end with an “Industry Perspective” video that is very helpful in summarizing the importance of the module, and is a consistent feature throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 4

There are 6 modules in the book, each corresponding to a phase in the design process. This helps increase the modularity of the book since a student or educator could use each module as a reference during the design process, instead of needing to read through the entire book to identify relevant guidance or information depending on which stage of the design process they are in. However, this assumes that students and educators will be using the modules in that way, instead of through other organizing approaches, such as through types of problems (open vs. closed ended, structural vs. electromechanical) or tools and techniques (idea generation tools vs decision making tools, research tools vs. analysis tools). I could see instances where that type of organization would be more helpful, it is easy enough to extract these types of tools or methods from the modules the way they are currently organized, such as it is unlikely to pose a big issue to readers.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

The organization of the book is subpar. There is very little to no overarching explanation of how and why the book is organized the way it is. The reader must explore the contents of the book and each module to draw a conclusion about how the modules are organized and how the book is intended to be used. The book could also really benefit from an introductory section explaining how the book is meant to be used, who the target audiences are, what the limitations of the book as it is currently written are, and the intentions or hopes of the author in publishing this book. This can help contextualize the content of the book and help the reader scale their expectation of the type of class standing that is appropriate for the projects and content described in the book, perhaps even the types of resources needed or expected to conduct that projects described in the book satisfactorily.

Interface rating: 3

The book relies on multimedia content at several points, which can help with comprehension since they provide concrete examples for concepts described in the book, but does limit the portability and accessibility of the content. It is also jarring to run into instances where all content about a specific course being referenced in the book is found in an external link. It makes flipping back and forth between the book and the companion webpage troublesome. None of the videos included are absolutely critical to understanding of the content, so it is not a major barrier to the usability of the interface. Alternatively, the web-interface of the book is much more usable, and some readers may prefer to consume the content that way to avoid the usability issues mentioned above. However, there are several broken links and expired videos embedded on the web-version of the book that need to be updated.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no grammatical errors that are detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The examples used in the book are relevant to modern engineering industry. Many of the industry perspective videos are a little dated (more than 10 years old) and relate to very traditional mechanical engineering domains. This could potentially disenfranchise students who do not view themselves as being in the dominant group in mechanical engineering. Some novel and interesting/interdisciplinary examples would go a long way to update the cultural relevance of the book.

Overall, the usefulness of the resources provided in the book outweigh the confusing organization and presentation of the purpose of the book. It will take the reader considerably more time to navigate the content and find relevant examples that can be used for classes or other engineering projects because of this organization. The motivation and intended audience of the book are also still unclear, which makes it challenging to adapt some of the content to appropriately scaled course projects and student levels.

Reviewed by Thomas Tortomasi, AutoCAD/ Mechanical Engineering Drawing Design Instructor, Tidewater Community College on 6/19/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The online text includes six modules, each with tables, short video clips, student activities, and links. I did not see an index or glossary, only a module overview that described features of the publication.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text was highly informational and did not seem to have any grammatical errors. The information was ordered in a logical sequence and contained higher level, yet standard engineering vocabulary.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text contained standard concepts that can be found in other related materials. Updates can be made easily in the online version as well as the pdf version as long as the original documents were stored.

Clarity rating: 4

Much of the information/ terminology in the text would be more understandable if the reader had some background in the engineering field. Because it's an "introduction" source, I was expecting a more basic level nature.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent terminology and format were used throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

The modules were listed in the introduction, and they were easy to find on the pdf file. Links to the different pdf sections worked and were very helpful.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The information seemed to be in a logical format.

Interface rating: 4

The internal pdf links worked perfectly. Most of the videos were from YouTube and from various sources. My concern was if the videos became unaccusable at some point it would adversely affect instruction.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I noticed no grammar errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not notice anything insensitive or offensive, but I didn't see any representation of other ethnicities/ races. I only checked six videos.

It looks like a solid text that is easily to maneuver through. It's pretty much what I am used to in the science and engineering field.

Reviewed by Hafizur Rahman, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/15/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book consists of a total of seven modules. The modules are micro-economy kit, define, measure, analyze, design, verify, and report results. Each module has individual chapters. The module and corresponding chapter titles are provided as “Contents” at the beginning of the book and are easy to follow.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book was published in 2023, and its contents are up-to-date. It provides the essential elements and key concepts for mechanical engineering design. The current structure of the book allows for updates, i.e., adding any new content easily. Several design examples from real-life scenarios related to thermal and mechanical systems have been provided.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is written simply, and it is easy to follow. The texts are concise. One good thing about the book is that it uses many practice exercise examples as hyperlinks. The hyperlinks will take you directly to that exercise problem that is easy to follow and do in browsers.

Consistency rating: 5

At the start of each module, module objectives are clearly stated. Additionally, related assignments, tasks, and grading criteria are also provided. Depending on the module objectives, some modules consist of multiple tasks. Each module is again divided into a few chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

Yes, the book is easy to follow. The book is mainly divided into modules, and each module is further divided into chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the book is good. Many images, mechanical drawings, tables, and flow charts have been added, which help readers to understand the texts and concepts.

Interface rating: 5

I did not notice any significant interfaces. The navigation through PDF is very easy. The book uses many hyperlinks continuously throughout the book. It allows the reader to quickly go through to a more detailed explanation, examples, videos, tests, etc.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any significant grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No culturally insensitive or offensive texts have been noticed.

Overall, the book is written excellently. The book provides the basic ideas and concepts that anyone needs to successfully complete a design project by providing a lot of real-life examples.