Any interest in an engineering youtube channel similar to oxtools or abom79's videos?

I hope this topic title gets the point across. I am an engineer, and often find myself hunting around for answers or referring back to text books to remember how to do things, this is not uncommon for an engineer.

I have given some thought to creating a you tube channel similar to some of the manufacturing channels discussing engineering challenges and projects.

I want to focus on using resources parts, tools etc. that are available already to everyone, and how to design for specific goals. The goals will focus on design for manufacture, cost, reliability, following standards.

All of the below are things that I have had to build/design before and are systems, and cover a wide variety of engineering disciplines.

List of topic ideas:
Pressure vessel build
Hydraulic press build
Oven build
Cascade style refrigeration system build


If this sounds like a crap idea, I am going to forget about it.

Sounds good to me. It would be really helpful to have someone show the use of testing/analysis tools in software like Fusion360 or others. Many of us can design good "looking" structures, but how do we know they are safe and stable? As Tom at Ox Tools says, "Nothing built too strong ever broke". Slightly overbuilding or at least building to some specification and testing with the fancy new software is a goal of mine.

Sounds good to me too! anyone who posts up a video of any practical work is educating and inspiring others to follow suite, and giving them the confidence and skills necessary to do it themselves. I have learned a huge amount from you tube. There is no nobler calling. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he will borrow your boat and tackle. (perhaps the last bit isn't relevant) Go for it!!

Yeah, I think I'd enjoy something like that as well. Any time you can pass knowledge on to other people it's a good thing...

I'd watch if it was like Abom's. Ox just likes listening to himself talk.

I'd be very interested. CAD heavy I hope, as currently that's the skill I am working most towards building.

I would eagerly watch.

John Welden said:

I'd watch if it was like Abom's. Ox just likes listening to himself talk.

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Yeah, i like aspects of both channels, i appreciate aboms recognition of the folks sending him things but occasionally i feel like that part overwhelms the show.

I am going to give this a try.

vettedude said:

Yeah, i like aspects of both channels, i appreciate aboms recognition of the folks sending him things but occasionally i feel like that part overwhelms the show.

I am going to give this a try.

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I skip all that Crap. I just like seeing him make stuff.


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Sounds like a channel I'd subscribe to and watch pretty often. If you do the pressure vessel, it would be nice to see the process of meeting boiler code.

Vettedude, if you do start a channel, could I make a suggestion? Start with a multi-part series on hydraulic system layouts, and component options. A TON of guys need/want to build presses, etc, and are looking for good/simple advice. It will instantly put the channel off to a strong start with lots of views.

E.F. Thumann said:

Vettedude, if you do start a channel, could I make a suggestion? Start with a multi-part series on hydraulic system layouts, and component options. A TON of guys need/want to build presses, etc, and are looking for good/simple advice. It will instantly put the channel off to a strong start with lots of views.

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What sort of press?

We have built presses from 500 tons platen style to smaller 12 ton presses.

As an API 510 I would love to see videos concerning pressure vessels. Do you use Compress?

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Any sort of press, really. I just put together a 40 ton bulldozer press, and am about to add microswitches and a foot pedal to it. Doing it all "blind" was a major PITA. I think a lot of guys will appreciate just straightforward talk in regards to simple hydraulic layout and switching/valving/solenoids.

I think an engineering channel like that would be very practical. I would definitely watch it. I have an interest in all of those subjects that you listed.

btm

428Bird said:

As an API 510 I would love to see videos concerning pressure vessels. Do you use Compress?

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I do not own a code shop, the vessels we have built are not stamped, but i would be interested in going through a section VIII build. Unfortunately due to the pressures some of our vessels operate they are outside of the section VIII scope and fall under an annex that is not extremely detailed. When pressures approach yield traditional equations don't fully capture what happens.

I put a video together to start about building a press. this will probably take 5-10 more videos to complete, which i will do if it is not a ZZZzzz fest

press-part1 - YouTube

Please give me feedback

Vette,

The proposed focus is good - I would welcome learning more about the design side, rather than just the typical "lookit what I built!" Because I really want your channel to succeed, I'm going to give you some unsolicited critique. (You can thank me later! ) I hope this does not come across as overly negative ... but there is significant room for improvement:

1) The obvious: Get rid of the "trial edition" overlay. This blocks some of what you are trying to show, is annoying, and above all is needless - if you don't want to pay for the commercial software, use an open-source package.

2) Related issue: zoom in more on what you are doing. Even if the overlay were gone, the hand-written diagrams and text were small enough to require some squinting. And hand-writing invites its own problems with clarity - why not use screen-capture software and bring up diagrams or key ideas on screen (using LARGE FONT SIZE)?

3) Most important of all: Cut, cut, cut, and cut some more. You have approximately 5 - 15 seconds to capture someone's attention; spending the first 2 minutes talking about why you are making and a channel, how you got feedback, etc., will lose 90% of your audience. Taking more than 5 minutes to get past the "here's what we are going to do" stage will lose 90% of those left, leaving you with only 1% of the original audience. Discovering that this 30-minute video is part one of 5 or 10 will lose 99% of that remaining 1% - you're asking us to devote a pretty significant chunk of time to watch this. If my math is correct, this means you are now down to only 0.01% of your intended audience! (Okay, to be honest, I'm making up these precise numbers, but I have heard these sorts of statistics from various experts in connection with promotional videos we have made.)

The key is clear and concise communication. This will require careful scripting and quite likely some rehearsal, re-takes, and editing. Think about putting "extra" information (such as, here's why I started this channel, here's what it is all about, etc.) in a link or in the comments area. (You can give one sentence on the topic, and refer them to the link/comments for more if they are interested.) Communicate one idea at a time using BIG print, rather than showing several ideas in small print all at once. I predict that you could squeeze the 30-minute video down to 10 minutes max, and improve it significantly in the process.

Vette, again, I hope this comes across as constructive critique; it is certainly intended that way. I look forward to your ongoing efforts!

Does the video have the feel of "look what I built" if so I have a serious delivery problem because that is NOT what I want. I want to convey concepts ideas and processes.

1. I agree, but I did not want to spend money on something if I only get 5-10 views. The open source stuff out there is garbage. If you have a suggestion on software I would take it.

2. I realized this after i published it, however I like being able to write, the problem with some of this is just the setup I have. I am using my DSLR as a web cam, which is not ideal.

3. I will try to improve this. I am going to completely dump the cad work or post it in separate videos, i don't particularly like it, and i think its a worthless part of the video. Do you like seeing me work through equations or is it better to just throw them up and have a brief explanation?


No, it does not come across as "look at what I built" - again, I appreciate the design-focused approach you are taking.

I hear you on not wanting to spend money until you know whether it is worth it. As for software suggestions ... to be honest, I spend 95% of my time in Linux, so not sure what is available for Windows or Mac. I have used several different video editors for Linux - Avidemux, OpenShot, Pitivi, Kino. None of them is particularly heavy-duty, but then again, my needs are pretty simple. I don't know whether any of them have screen-capture capabilities built-in, as Camtasia does; I've not done much screen-capture, and I think the only software I've used was Kazam. It did the job, as I recall, but nothing fancy. Then again, it doesn't look to me that you are needing / using anything fancy with regard to video editing - ?

The DSLR is arguably a great choice for making the videos. Zoom in.

To be honest, I faded out at about the 16 minute mark, before the CAD part. (As I said, a long video is not as likely to hold your audience!) I like the equations, but I do think you could move through them much faster.

My number one suggestion is to write a script, aiming for a max of 10 minutes per video - not covering less, but covering it more concisely and efficiently. But hopefully others will chime in with their observations and reactions -- I'm anxious to see if others agree with my concerns, or if I'm off-base on this!