Page 1

Engineering thought is increasingly looking for new, progressive methods metal processing. At some Leningrad enterprises in 1976, preparations began for the introduction of the hydroextrusion process for the production of bars and profiles from steel, alloys, as well as drills, taps, and cutters. Kalinina - has been known for twenty years.

Engineering thought is working on the creation of new sensors for metalworking machines and other production processes. One of the new methods is based on obtaining information about the milling process using acoustic signals. The method is based on the measurement of weak high-frequency mechanical stresses arising from the rapid release of energy in homogeneous environment. This method is sensitive to material, cutting tool geometry, tool wear, and milling process parameters such as material feed and cutter speed. Piezoelectric crystals are usually used as sensors, sensitive to frequencies in the range from 100 kHz to 1 MHz. They are relatively low cost and can be installed on most milling machines.

Engineering thought is concerned not only with the problem of increasing the productivity of machining - the task of achieving required accuracy the most economical way. Its significance especially increases under conditions of automated processing, when the degree direct influence worker on the course of processing is minimized. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure the stability of the cutting process.

Engineering thought offers some recipes, while scientific thought offers others. Over the years of industrial and technological development, the notion has been deeply ingrained that everything environmental problems should be decided technical methods and only by them - by digging.

Scientific and engineering thought is now also hard at work on the creation of yet another new source of energy for the distant future. It's about on the implementation of thermonuclear controlled fusion, which can become a powerful source of electricity and heat for future generations. At thermonuclear fusion an isotope of hydrogen is used - deuterium contained in sea water.

Nevertheless, engineering thought did not stand still.

Such a creation of engineering thought as water Mill, was already known before our reckoning.

The list of engineering achievements could be extended many times from primitive hand tools to fully automated machine lines of modern production, from the first lighthouses to today TV towers, from ancient roads and bridges to today's spaceships.

The path of development of design and engineering thought, which led to such brilliant results, was long and winding. Highly importance had an exchange of ideas and solutions of scientists from all interested countries. Of particular note is the contribution made by British scientists.

First of all, engineering thought turned to the issue of sources of electricity - generators, since without a rational source electric current, capable of generating currents of the required power and frequency, it was impossible to introduce electricity into industrial production.

All these achievements of domestic engineering allow us to hope that in Western Siberia, in Tyumen region, where swamps occupy up to 80% of the territory, will soon say goodbye to the seasonality of construction.

And it ends again with an engineering thought: it is impossible to move on without improved technology, the departments of thoracic surgery in hospitals must be equipped with modern equipment.

It is natural, therefore, that engineering thought has long begun to work on rolling gears.

It is clear that this miracle of chemical and engineering thought solves all the problems associated with artificial synthesis gene. From shreds of 20 nucleotides, a gene of any length can be sewn with the help of a ligase. This also solves the problem of getting large quantities short pieces of DNA for their crystallization. However, such machines appeared at the very beginning of the 80s, but at the end of the 70s, in some laboratories engaged in gene synthesis, they already knew how to quickly synthesize shreds of DNA, however, manually.

Professional engineering thinking of a teacher-engineer; the influence of professional engineering thinking of a teacher-engineer on the formation of a student's engineering thinking is substantiated; developed diagnostic card formation of engineering thinking for the genesis of this quality.

Engineering heuristics

Dmitry Gavrilov Other educational literature Missing

The book presents classic and latest - from heuristic to logical - methods of activating engineering and technical thinking. The authors demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach to solving inventive problems and training of the intellect on the basis of universal languages.

Consistency in solving scientific and technical problems is achieved by the method of identifying and resolving contradictions. At the same time, the formulation of the problem in the form of a paradox turns out to be the strongest stimulus for the development of creative thought. The book contains over 170 questions and problems for the interested reader to check quality level own thinking, and in case of difficulty, refer to the solutions and answers provided.

Many of these tasks were announced by the authors in 2011–2012. in the course of seminars and trainings within the framework of the Young Innovator's Academy project of OOO LUKOIL-Engineering, at intellectual competitions for young specialists of the company. It is recommended for engineers, teachers and students of engineering and natural science specialties of universities, innovatively oriented young specialists in production and research complexes, as well as all readers interested in developing an effective, productive, actionable thinking, achieving a new intellectual level development.

Physics. Graphic Methods problem solving 2nd ed., corrected. and additional Free Software Tutorial

Valery Ivanovich Koshkin Educational literature Professional education

The tutorial covers the most important types tasks in kinematics mechanical movement. The publication forms students scientific method thinking, educates engineering intuition, illuminates the worldview and methodological problems of physics, reflects the main features of the modern natural-science picture of the world, shows important role modern physics in decision global problems humanity (energy, environmental, etc.)

), prepares students for the study of special courses of theoretical and experimental physics. One of the objectives of the textbook is to foster a culture of systemic thinking, skills logical thinking habits of thinking about results, building correct working hypotheses and clearly formulating the problem.

Fundamentals of physics. Volume 1

M. A. Smondyrev Educational literature Textbook for higher education (Binom)

The textbook corresponds to the program of discipline "Physics" for technical universities general profile. Two volumes are included in training kit, which also includes tutorial“Fundamentals of Physics. Exercises and Tasks” by the same authors. In many respects, this textbook is unparalleled.

A number of original methodological techniques and ways of presenting the material, the inclusion of new, often unexpected topics and clear examples missing in traditional physics courses, allow students to acquire the skills of confident independent thinking, to deeply understand physical foundations various real natural phenomena, give them practical, qualitative assessments, operating with dimensions and orders of magnitude.

The principles of systems engineering are described, including management life cycle systems. Special attention given to sharing systems approach and systems engineering to form the ability to think and act in the language of systems. The presentation is illustrated by numerous examples.

The book will be useful both for specialists involved in the creation of complex engineering, sociotechnical and organizational systems, as well as for students and graduate students of engineering and managerial areas of training, as well as for those interested in the problems of creating complex systems.

Modern society is increasingly dependent on technology and that is why more and more attention is paid to such an area of ​​our intelligence as engineering thinking. It is this type of mental activity that is the main form of the human attempt to transform the world chasing own interests. Since such a thought is based on the embodiment of an innovative idea, people with an engineering mindset are always needed on large enterprises and design offices.

Companion of civilization

Questions about the essence of phenomena begin to arise at the dawn human civilization, since the technical component has been present in the life of mankind since ancient times.

Engineering thinking is the most powerful civilizational factor, and it becomes such in the period of global technogenization. Serial production, the separation of the profession of an engineer only accelerate this process.

But the problem was subjected to global study only in the middle of the 20th century. It was during this period that the level of saturation with technology reaches its limit, followed by the need for methodological and organizational streamlining of technical issues.

As technology and technologies are increasingly penetrating our lives, understanding the problems of the technical industry is simply necessary.

Problems of engineering thinking

This problem is multifaceted, and requires the solution of many tasks:

• required detailed study technical philosophy;
• comprehension of technology and its aspects as one of the aspects of human culture;
• the study of this as a socio-cultural phenomenon;
• formation of a connection between the personality of an engineer, as a person, and engineering thinking, as an aspect intellectual activity.

Presentation: "Innovative engineering education: content and technologies"

But the main problem is the attempt to humanize given thinking, that is, to synthesize new type intellectual activity, which, when solving problems, would take into account both technical aspects and the humanitarian component of the problem.

Levels of formation of engineering thought

The profession of an engineer is very difficult and requires a large number intellectual resources. That is why only a small number of people have a tendency to this type mental activity. This is the most acute problem when recruiting students.

Finding a person's ability to think like this is not easy, but possible.

This process should take place at the earliest stages of learning. Since not everyone and not always manages to cope with such difficult course if a person does not show the ability for engineering thinking, perhaps he should turn his attention to another type of activity and give way to someone who can handle it.

Based on testing, three typical characteristics are distinguished.

• The type of thinking is poorly formed. A person has a minimum of knowledge, but does not perceive information technology knowledge as his support for professional growth. Almost always is in the position of "leader by captivity" that is, by appointment. He cannot organize not only the activities of people subordinate to him, but also his own. Rarely keeps the situation under control, does not put forward any original ideas, confused, not collected, constant monitoring is required.
• Average level. Owns a minimum of information, is oriented in technical knowledge, develops, as he realizes their importance for career growth.

Presentation: "Achieving a new quality of engineering education"

• Able to navigate difficult situations competition. Capable of nominating own ideas and defend them, can become a leader depending on the situation. In non-standard and difficult situations, he orients himself only with the help of others. The ability to solve non-standard problems in practice is reduced to a minimum.
• High level. The knowledge of such a person goes far beyond the limits required by the specialty. It is characterized by the ability to insist on one's own. Able to demonstrate in practice their skills and knowledge to create the best. Handles easily non-standard tasks, has the ability to direct an unforeseen result to right direction and extract the maximum benefit from it for the project. Able to quickly switch from one activity to another. Doesn't require outside input.

Based on these characteristics, graduates of engineering faculties are distributed.

Modern stage

And yet, with all the importance of engineering and the corresponding type of thinking for modern society, this issue is still unexplored. Most often, this aspect is considered in terms of engineering science or the philosophy of technology. But no point of view fully reveals the essence of the problem.

Engineering thinking should be the subject of philosophical disputes, on the basis of which the own foundations of this theory will be derived. Since such thinking, in its essence, stands on the border between scientific theories and technical philosophy as the basis for its practical use.

An engineer is a person who is able to put theoretical assumptions into practice, calculate the calculations of scientists and turn abstract ideas into a working model.

From point of view scientific and technological progress, this mental activity is considered as a kind of complex formed by the relationship higher education with scientific and industrial factors. Simply put, engineering is a synthesis of all areas human activity able to combine theory and practice.

Exploring mental activity person from the point of view of scientific technical advances and psychological aspects engineering thinking, scientists say that this process is mostly creative. This statement is based on the ability to use invention, design and design in one's activity.

In the case when these three components begin to interact, the concept of "technical reality" arises as an area of ​​subject application of the engineering type of thought. This education is the boundary between our reality and the world of numbers and drawings. And it is precisely the ability of a person to manage " technical reality» allows with full confidence talk about the engineering mindset of his mind.

We admire the achievements of science, but we easily forget about those who directly change our lives - inventors and engineers. The art of being an engineer is to be invisible: we usually only remember him when something has broken or gone wrong.

It is people with engineering thinking who design our everyday life today. All technological environment - from transport systems to medical equipment and Internet services - created through the application of engineering thinking methods.

An engineer differs from a scientist in that his activity is aimed at solving specific tasks because he has to deal with huge amount restrictions and compromises.

If for Galileo or Newton ballistics was a “mathematical gym” in which it was possible to hone ways of describing reality, then for engineers mathematics matters only as a way to answer completely practical matters: how to get rid of traffic congestion? How to track the movement of trains? How to speed up the delivery of mail without increasing the cost of its maintenance?

We publish an excerpt from the book “Think like an engineer. How to Turn Problems into Opportunities” by Guru Madhavan, designed “for anyone who wants to think systematically and find solutions to the most difficult and complex problems.”

At the heart of the applied mindset is what I call modular systems thinking. This is not some super talent, but a combination of methods and principles. Thinking at the systems level is not just a systematic approach; here greater value has an understanding that in the vicissitudes of life there is nothing permanent and everything is interconnected. The relationships between the modules of any system give rise to a whole that cannot be understood by analyzing its constituent parts.

For example, one of specific methods in modular systems thinking includes functional combination deconstructivism(separation major system for modules) and reconstructionism(bringing these modules together). Wherein the main task- identify strengths and weak links(how these modules work, don't work, or could work) and apply this knowledge to achieve useful results.

A related design concept, used in particular by software engineers, is incremental approximation. Each subsequent change they make to a product or service inevitably contributes to an improvement in the result or the development of alternative solutions.

Here, a top-down design strategy (also called divide and conquer) is applied, in which each subtask is performed separately in the course of moving towards ultimate goal. The opposite approach is bottom-up design, where the pieces come together again.

Ruth David, expert on national security and former Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the CIA, puts the question this way:

Engineering is synonymous not only with systems thinking, but also with building systems. This is the ability to comprehensively analyze the problem. It is necessary not only to understand the elements and their interdependence, but also to fully understand their totality and its meaning.

This is one of the reasons why engineering thinking is useful in many areas of society and is effective both for individual people as well as for groups. Modular systems thinking varies by circumstance as there is no one universally accepted "engineering method".

The manifestations of engineering are very diverse - from testing balls to wind tunnel for the World Cup before the creation of a missile capable of shooting down another missile in flight. Methods can vary even within the same industry. The design of a product such as a turbofan engine is different from the assembly of a mega-system such as an aircraft, and, continuing this thought, from the formation of a system of systems, such as a network of air routes. The reality around us is changing, and with it the nature of engineering.

If we compare our culture to a computer, then engineering is its “hardware”.

But engineering is also a reliable engine. economic growth. For example, in the US, recent estimates suggest that engineers make up less than 4% of total strength population, but at the same time help create jobs for others. It must be admitted that some technical innovations have generally taken away from people the work in which they used to earn their living; however, engineering innovations are constantly opening up new opportunities and development paths.

Engineering thinking has three main properties. The first is the ability to "see" structure where there is none. Our world - from haiku to high-rise buildings- based on structures. And just as a talented composer “hears” sounds before writing them down as music, a competent engineer is able to visualize and embody structures using a combination of rules, models, and intuition. Engineering thinking gravitates towards that part of the iceberg that is under water, and not above its surface. It's not just what's noticeable that counts; the invisible also matters.

In the course of a structured thinking process at the level of systems, one must consider how the elements of the system are related in logic, in time, sequence, functions, and also in what conditions they work and do not work. History can be applied like structural logic decades after the event, and the engineer needs to do it proactively, whether it's about the smallest details or high-level abstractions.

This is one of the main reasons why engineers create models: so that they can have structured discussions based on reality. And, imagining any structure, it is fundamentally important to have sufficient reasonableness to understand when it has value and when it does not.

Consider, for example, the following questionnaire, authored by George Heilmeier, former director of the US Department of Defense Advanced Research and Development Office and one of the creators of the liquid crystal display that has become part of today's imaging technologies. His approach to innovation is to use a list control questions, which is acceptable for a project with a clear certain goals and clients.

What are you trying to do? Clearly state your goals, completely eliminating jargon.

How is this implemented today and what is the range of possible restrictions?

What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?

For whom does it matter? If you succeed, what will it affect?

What are your risks and rewards?

How much will it cost? How long will it take?

What intermediate and final checks need to spend to find out if you have succeeded?

In fact, such a structure helps to set right questions in a logical order.

The second property of engineering thinking is the ability to design effectively under constraints. AT real world they are always present and determine the potential success or failure of our activities. Given the inherent practical nature of engineering, the difficulties and tensions in it are much greater than in other professions. Limitations of whatever origin - imposed by nature or by humans - prevent engineers from waiting until all phenomena are fully explained and understood.

It is expected that engineers should achieve the best possible results in the given conditions. But even if there are no constraints, good engineers know how to apply constraints to achieve their goals. Time constraints stimulate the creativity and resourcefulness of engineers. Financial difficulties and apparent physical limitations due to the laws of nature are also widespread, along with such unpredictable limitation as human behavior.

Engineers need to constantly relate their designs to the existing context and even changes that may occur in the future.

“Imagine a situation in which each successive version of the Macintosh Operating System or Windows was a completely new operating system developed from scratch. This would paralyze the scope personal computers”, point out Olivier de Weck and his fellow researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Engineers often improve their software products, progressively taking into account the preferences of customers and the needs of the business - and these are nothing more than limitations. “Changes that seem small at first often lead to the need for other changes, and those, in turn, cause further changes ... You need to manage to make the old continue to work, and at the same time create something new.” There is no end to these difficulties.

The third property of engineering thinking is associated with compromises - the ability to give thoughtful assessments of solutions and alternatives. Engineers prioritize design and allocate resources by looking for less important goals among the more important ones. For example, in aircraft design, a typical trade-off might be to balance cost, weight, wingspan, and toilet space within the constraints imposed by specific performance requirements. The difficulties of such a choice even apply to the question of whether passengers like the aircraft in which they fly.

If restrictions can be compared to walking on a tightrope, then compromises are reminiscent of the fable of the swan, the pike, and the crab.

There is a struggle between what is available; what is possible; what is desirable and within acceptable limits.

Let science, philosophy, and religion pursue truth as it appears to them; engineering is at the center of providing utility under constraints. Structure, constraints, and compromises are the "three pillars" of engineering thinking. For an engineer, they have the same meaning as for a musician - beat, tempo and rhythm.

The engineering profession and activities require from it subjects, technical specialists of appropriate training, certain abilities and creative thinking. In this regard, engineering thinking and creativity need their own philosophical understanding.

Engineering Thinking is a special, professional thinking aimed at the development, creation and operation of new high-performance, reliable, safe and aesthetic equipment, the development and implementation of advanced technology, the improvement of product quality and the level of production organization.

The main thing in engineering thinking is the solution of specific technical and technological, production and organizational and managerial problems and tasks with the help of technical means, the promotion and implementation of innovations to achieve the most economical, efficient and high-quality results, as well as to humanize production and labor, technology and technology.

VG Gorokhov believes that over the centuries three main features of engineering thinking have been formed - artistic, practical (or technological) and scientific. He rightly emphasizes that modern engineering thinking is deeply scientific.

AI Rakitov, who identified the features that distinguish developed engineering thinking from pre-engineering thinking, came to the conclusion that engineering thinking is formed on a machine basis, as thinking about the design, creation of machines; it is rational, expressed in a publicly accessible form, tends to formalization and standardization, relies not only on the experimental base, but also on theory, is systematically formed by professional engineering disciplines, economic profitability. Finally, engineering thinking tends to universalize and spread to all spheres of human life.

The structure of engineering thinking includes rational, sensory-emotional and axiological elements, memory, imagination, fantasies, abilities, professional self-awareness, etc.

It is clear that its rational, theoretical and methodological basis is primarily technical, technological, natural science, engineering knowledge, but now more and more greater place social and humanitarian knowledge is also occupied in it.

I would like to pay special attention here to the technical abilities that allow an engineer to achieve significant success in his work.

Technical ability- a combination of individual psychological properties that enable an engineer, under favorable conditions, to relatively easily and quickly assimilate a system of design and technological knowledge and skills, that is, to master one or more technical professions and achieve significant success in them. The main components of technical abilities, including engineering ones, are: a propensity for technology, technology and engineering, for technical creativity, technical thinking; Availability spatial imagination; technical observation, pronounced visual and motor memory, accuracy of the eye; manual skill (dexterity), etc.

Engineering creativity has its own specifics, goes beyond purely technical thinking, which is most often characterized by narrow pragmatism, technocracy, asociality, and sometimes even dehumanization.

Engineering creativity is a free, non-algorithmic activity that improves old equipment and technology and creates new technical and technological means, which have industrial and social significance, and also offers new, more progressive forms of organization of labor and production.

It should be noted that in engineering and technical creativity, the process of creating a new technical object does not come from scientific idea to technology and from technical idea to technical solution, and from it to a new technical object.

In engineering and technical creativity, five stages are often distinguished.

The first stage is the creation of a new technical object, the formation of a problem situation with simultaneous analytical understanding of its structure by the subject of creativity (reflection of the technical need, awareness of the need for the new and the shortcomings of the old, the disclosure of specific technical contradictions and the formulation of technical problems with a certain structure).

The second stage is the birth and gestation of a new technical idea (a new principle, a new transformation, etc.).

The third stage is the development of an "ideal model", a functional and structural diagram of a future technical object ("idea - image").

The fourth stage is design. The transition from mental construction to real development is a qualitative leap. The search for real forms of embodiment of a new quality is the creation of a new one in the specifics of specific conditions. From this stage comes the resolution of contradictions between the ideal and the material, between theory and practice.

The fifth stage is the substantive and relatively completed embodiment of the invention, improvement or adaptation in a new technical object. It consists of three main stages: creation of an experimental sample - testing in experimental conditions- refinement and modification based on experimental data; creation of an industrial design - limitation of production conditions - revision based on the data obtained; serial or mass production - use in a variety of industrial conditions - refinement by eliminating the shortcomings in the functioning of new technical means in a variety of conditions.

In other words, engineering and technical creativity acts as a unity of experimental and theoretical search for solutions to technical and technological problems and tasks.

V.P. Bulatov and E.A. Shapovalov distinguish several other major stages in engineering activity.

Let us list the main engineering operations, which together make up five stages, elements of the structure of engineering activities.

At the stage of determining the need, the engineer draws up an idea about it, formulates the ultimate goal of the activity in the most general form, and specifies this goal by goal-setting individual technical characteristics of the object being created.

At the stage of development and decision-making, its information preparation, development of options and finding the optimal one among them are carried out. The truth of the found solution is verified by theoretical analysis, and after the production of a mock-up or prototype, by analysis of the practical results of a set of experiments on it. The decision is then made by the engineer. In order for it to be accepted by society, and the technical object put into production, it is still necessary to prove the expediency of this decision. This ends the considered stage of the process of engineering activity.

At the pre-production stage, all technical documentation necessary for the manufacture of a technical object is compiled, namely, the project and its economic, social, environmental and other justifications.

At the stage of production regulation, engineering activity is associated with the function of technical management, ensuring the interaction of people and equipment in the process of manufacturing a technical object. As you know, the function of production management is related to more to economic, economic activity. The engineer does not replace the economic manager, but at the same time participates in solving the economic issues of production. This stage of engineering activity is key and very important for society. It is here that human, material, financial resources are spent, and society has the right to expect a high end result of production. In material production, as the basis of the life of society, all types of social activities, including engineering.

At the stage of meeting a technical need, engineering activities are associated with managing the process of using technology. Here, not only the quality of engineering solutions is checked, but also new technical needs are discovered. They constitute the initial data for repeating the cycle of engineering activities.

These are the functions of the elements of the structure of engineering activity. Each of these defines major divisions of labor within the engineering profession. Therefore, the structure of the engineering profession in general terms coincides with the internal structure of engineering activity.

Structure of the engineering profession complex and varied. It is determined not only by internal factors of engineering activity, but also by external factors (social division of labor, the state of the technical basis of society, the scientific and technical policy of the state, the material, technical and financial support of engineering activities, etc.).

The functions of an engineer's professional activity and the content of his work are determined by the structure of engineering activity. Let's call this structural cut of the engineering profession overall structure, since the number of its elements does not depend on a specific technical need. The general structure of the engineering profession consists of five series-connected elements, symmetrical to the five stages of the structure of engineering activity. These are the following items or large blocks engineering profession: general design, engineering research and development, design and construction, production and construction, operation.

The sectoral structure of the engineering profession is based on the social division of labor, which determines the place of the professional activity of an engineer in the national economy: industry, construction, agriculture, transport, science, healthcare, the service sector, etc. The technical basis of society determines the structure of engineering specialties through a specific type of technology to which the engineer's activity is directed - mechanical, measuring, medical, transport, household appliances, electrical installations, building structures, etc.

An extremely important result of engineering and technical creativity is an invention. An invention is a product of creative activity, in which, on the basis of scientific knowledge and technical achievements, new principles, actions or control of technical systems, their individual components are created. If a scientific discovery is an increment of new knowledge to the existing one, then an invention is an application of this knowledge for the purpose of its practical use].

It is clear that we are talking about genuine, not imaginary engineers.

Engineers to match their central location in modern production and truly professionally perform their functions, must have creative thinking and engage in innovative activities.

To increase the creative activity of engineers, their participation in scientific and technical conferences is envisaged, at which issues of the state and prospects for the development of production, science, technology, technology and engineering are discussed. present stage. It is also necessary to increase the efficiency of work on the organization of rationalization and inventive activities, to create a council of young specialists and scientists, etc.

In this regard, it is appropriate to emphasize that the scientific and technical creativity of students, purposefully organized in a technical university, is an important tool formation of creative thinking, skills and abilities for future engineers to carry out innovative activities, to solve complex technical, technological, engineering and production problems and tasks in their future professional activities. Positive experience in the organization and implementation of scientific and technical creativity of students is available in such Ufa universities as USATU and USNTU.

This is the most general characteristic of engineering thinking and creativity.