Friday 2 March 2012

Using Simultaneous Equation Solver

This will sound similar to the third section of the ESC Key Tutorial, well thats because the equation solver is ESC Key is identical to this program.
We have designed the Simultaneous Equation Solver to be simple to use.
The three input boxes are where you input the equations. These are located on the left hand side of the screen. If you are using two equations then leave the bottom box empty.
Input your equations using the following formats:
For two equations:
2X+4Y=50
Or
X+Y=5
For three equations:
2X+3Y-4Z=20
Or
X+Y+2Z=50
Or
0X+Y+3Z=80
Remember these four simple rules:
No Spaces
Always ensur all of the X's, Y's and Z's are there for three equations, X's and Y's for two equations.
The numbers, +'s and -'s can be changed
You must use X, Y and Z nothing else
Once you have entered all your equations either hit enter or click "Calculate"
For both two and three simultaneous equations this program uses Gaussian Elimination

Using Simple Beam Graphs

Once the program has opened you are greated with the standard home screen.
In the top left corner of this window are some buttons and input boxes. This is where the program asks for the information about your beam.

The firest piece of information the program reuires is the total number of all the loads acting on the beam. This includes all point loads, uniformally distributed loads and supports.
For the purpose of this tutorial we shall use this beam:
As can be seen there are four loads. After inputtng this calue into the box, located next to the question, click the "Next" button.
We are now prompted for the overall length of the beam, for this tutorial we will use 10 metres. Remember all units must be the base metric unit, by this we mean use metres and newtons not feet and pounds or even use millimetres.
Now we are prompted for information about the first load. It is best to start with the left most load and work your way to the right.
The first thing Simple Beam Graphs wants to know about the load is the location of the load from the left hand edge of the beam, again in metres.
The next piece of information the program requires is the size of the load. Here we have to remember that if the force is acting down on the beam then the size of the load must be a negative. If the load is a supporting force, acting upwards on the beam, then enter it as a positive load. Use newtons as the unit for the loads.
The final part of this load is the length of the load. This is used for uniformally distributed loads (UDLs) a UDL has a unit of Newtons per Metre (N/m) and so Simple Beam Graphs needs to know how long the load is. If you are currently filling in the information for point load enter a value of 0 for this.
Press the "Next" button.
Repeat this process for all of the loads.
The final thing to do is decide on what increments you want the results tables to go up in, again this is in metres.
After pressing the "Next" button a diagram of the beam will be produced, check the diagram and ensure that it is correct.
Now simply prss either the "Shear Force" or "Bending Moment" buttons to produce the required graphs.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Using ESC Key

This blog post will act as a simple tutorial on how to use the ESC Key program.

Please see the bottom of this post to see what units to use in calculations.

Using the Library Formulae
The library system has been designed to be a simple to use interface.
The first step is to use the left hand drop down list to select the variable you want to calculate. For example if you need to calculate "Radius" you would select "Radius" from this list.
The second step is to use the second drop down list and look for the list that has all of the variables you have, for example if you wanted to calculate the "Radius" by using the "Area" you would selected "Radius" in the first drop down list and then select "Calculate using Area" in the second list.
From here you then need to fill in the values for the variables you have into the nput boxes that appear below the drop down boxes.
Once you have put in all your values either hit enter or press the "Calculate" button and ESC Key will calculate the answer for you!
All answers are put into the "History" tab with their formulas for later reference.

Using Your Own Formulae
To use your own formulae you firstly need to switch the tab from "Library" to "Non-Library". Once you have done this you will see six input boxes. The first being long placed at the top. This is the box you need to put the formula into. The formula needs to be enter in a specific way. This is that all the variables need to be renamed to be one of the following; "a1", "b1", "c1", "d1" or "e1", all different variables need to be renamed to a different new name.
Once you have done this you will notice that the five other input boxes have one of these new names in. Simply replace this with the value of that name. After this hit enter or click on the "Calculate" button and let ESC Key do the maths for you!
Once ESC Key has calculated an answer this will be displayed to you, as well as put into the "History Tab"

Using the Simultaneous Equation Solver
We have designed the Simultaneous Equation Solver to be simple to use.
The three input boxes are where you input the equations. These are located on the left hand side of the screen. If you are using two equations then leave the bottom box empty.
Input your equations using the following formats:
For two equations:
2X+4Y=50
Or
X+Y=5
For three equations:
2X+3Y-4Z=20
Or
X+Y+2Z=50
Or
0X+Y+3Z=80
Remember these four simple rules:
No Spaces
Always ensur all of the X's, Y's and Z's are there for three equations, X's and Y's for two equations.
The numbers, +'s and -'s can be changed
You must use X, Y and Z nothing else
Once you have entered all your equations either hit enter or click "Calculate"
For both two and three simultaneous equations this program uses Gaussian Elimination.
Units To Use

ESC Key uses standard metric formulas so uses standard metric units, below is a list of variables with the units to use;

Pressures:                          N/m^2 (Newtons per metre squared) or Pascals
Angles:                              ESC Key uses radians for all angle calculations
Accelerations:                   M/S (metres per second) for linear or Rad/S (radians per second) for angular
Energies:                           Joules
Lengths or measurments: Metres
Mass:                                 Kilograms
Weight:                              Newtons
Area:                                  Metres Squared
Volume:                            Metres Cubed
Resistance:                        Ohms
Current:                             Amps
Force:                                Newtons
Inductance:                        Henrys
Frequency:                         Herts
Stress:                                N/m^2 (Newtons per metre squared) or Pascals
Electrical Power:             Watts

This is just a list of common units for more specific questions please visit our Forum

Thursday 19 January 2012

Simple Beam Graph Creator

More software has now been added to Systems For Engineers!

I have now added an older program I made around a year ago. This handy program can create shear force and bending momnet graphs, all you need to do is give the program the information about the beam, in metric units. The program even gives you a table of results in incriments of your choice!

For more information on this useful program visit the Simple Beam Graphs page.

Like all my programs this is free!

ESC Key, Engineers System for Calculation

Welcome back,

On Systems For Engineers I have recently uploaded a copy of ESC Key, my calculation program. This is currently in the beta testing phase and I welcome all to be beta testers and give me all feedback, good or bad, on my program. Its the only way to improve it!
This program has a built in library system of commonly used formulae by engineers ready to use, all you need to do is put in your values for the knows!
Formula not in my library? Then use the non-library section to user other formulae! Look at the ESC Key web page to find out more!

Welcome to my first blog post

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog.
I started Systems For Engineers as part of my Higher National Certificate in Engineering, which is part of my apprenticeship.
This started off as just part of the project to house the main project, ESC Key, my engineers calculator, but this website soon developed to house more useful programs for engineers, all of which are free.


Here is a link to Systems For Engineers