This page gathers the 250 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Mechanical engineering”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 1 of 3: from “accumulator” to “Geneva mechanism”.
- accumulator noun A system of elastic springs for relieving the strain upon a rope, as in deep-sea dredging.
- affordance noun Anything that is provided or furnished by an environment to an organism dwelling within it.
- air cell noun A prechamber in an indirect injection internal combustion engine.
- air hose noun A hose for conveying compressed air within a pneumatic system.
- anharmonic adj Exhibiting anharmonicity
- antiplane adj Being or pertaining to a special class of deformation where the displacements in the body are zero in the plane of interest but non-zero in…
- AprilTag noun A type of tag consisting of a grid of black and white squares, used in robotics and computer vision applications.
- autonomy noun The capacity of a system to make a decision about its actions without the involvement of another system or operator.
- back-counterbore verb To counterbore from the backside of a workpiece by using a boring tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or…
- back-countersink verb To countersink from the backside of a workpiece by using a tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it…
- back-spotface verb To spotface from the backside of a workpiece by using a tool that passes through a through hole, deploys a cutting edge (or receives it by…
- backbore verb To bore from the backside of a workpiece by using a boring tool that passes through one or more through holes, deploys a cutting edge (or…
- backlash noun The looseness through which one part of connected machinery, such as a wheel, gear, piston, or screw, can be moved without moving the…
- backshell noun Part of an electrical conductor or other electrical device, such as a cable clamp or adapter, that is threaded onto the rear connector…
- ball bearing noun A bearing assembly which uses spherical bearing balls as the rolling elements, usually consisting of two ballraces (rings).
- ballrace noun A ring with a groove in which rolling elements (such as balls) ride, forming part of a rolling-element bearing (for example, a ball…
- barfeeder noun A type of feed (feeder) for machine tools such as lathes, turning centers, and Swiss-turns, which holds multiple bars of bar stock and…
- barreling noun A defect in which a testpiece is deformed into a barrel-like shape.
- beam noun The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
- bearing noun A mechanical device that supports another part or reduces friction.
- belt track noun A continuous track used to propel vehicles that drive on difficult terrain.
- bevel gear noun A kind of gear in which the two wheels working together lie in different planes and have their teeth cut at right angles to the surfaces of…
- blank noun Any article of glass on which subsequent processing is required.
- blastpipe noun A pipe forming part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders up into the smokebox…
- bleed hole noun A small, purposeful opening found in objects (e.g. glass panes, metal plates, airplane windows, etc.) to equalise air pressure and prevent…
- blucket noun A type of turbine blade where the inner portion of the blade is driven by expanding exhaust gases from the engine core, while the outer…
- boat lift noun A mechanism used for raising and lowering boats on a canal vertically from one water level to another, while keeping them afloat.
- bolt noun A sliding mechanism to chamber and unchamber a cartridge in a firearm.
- boring noun Enlarging an existing hole with a single-point cutting tool or a boring head (usually with high precision and accuracy regarding the…
- boss noun A protrusion; frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.
- bottom verb To reach or strike against the bottom of something, so as to impede free action.
- bottom dead center noun A position in the cycle of a piston engine wherein the piston is at the bottommost point in its stroke. In a four-stroke cycle, BDC occurs…
- bottom out verb Of a suspension or similar device, to strike the lower mechanical stop and lose the ability to buffer further downward motion.
- brake fade noun Partial or total loss of braking force with prolonged continuous or repetitive application of a heavy vehicle's brakes, due to the effects…
- brake shoe noun An element of a drum brake into which the friction-producing brake lining is attached.
- brakepipe noun A continuous pipe or hose filled with high-pressure air and running the length of a train, used to recharge the train's brake reservoirs…
- breaking point noun The point at which the increasing strain in a material causes it to break.
- breather noun An air inlet path to the crankcase
- bucket noun A turbine blade driven by hot gas or steam.
- buffer noun Anything used to maintain slack or isolate different objects.
- bulkhead noun A partition or panel through which connectors pass, or a connector designed to pass through a partition.
- bushing noun A type of plain bearing, a cylindrical lining designed to reduce friction and wear inside a hole, often used as a casing for a shaft, pin…
- butt noun A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or chamfering.
- cataract noun A type of governor used in single-acting steam engines, where a flow of water through an opening regulates the stroke.
- chain drill noun A drilling tool that is driven by a rotating chain with attached drill bits or teeth to bore holes.
- chain-driven adj Referring to the transmission of power by means of a suitable endless chain, such as a bicycle chain.
- channel noun A structural member with a cross section shaped like a squared-off letter C.
- chattermark noun An irregularity on a workpiece, caused by vibration.
- chipless adj That cuts or forms a material without producing chips.
- chuck noun A mechanical device that holds an object firmly in place, for example holding a drill bit in a high-speed rotating drill or grinder.
- compliance noun A measure of the extension or displacement of a loaded structure; its flexibility.
- computational fluid dynamics noun The study of computational algorithms to solve mathematical problems in the field of fluid dynamics.
- continuum mechanics noun A branch of mechanics that deals with the deformation of and transmission of forces through materials modeled as a continuous medium rather…
- core lock noun Seizure of a turbine engine due to misalignment and loss of clearance between stationary and rotating components, caused by different…
- cotter noun A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together.
- crank axle noun An axle formed in the manner of a crankshaft in an internal-combustion engine, having one or two cranked sections driven from one or two…
- critical taper noun An equilibrial angle made by the far end of a body of wedge-shaped material being pushed by the near end.
- crosshead noun A metal beam that connects a piston to a connecting rod in an engine.
- cutting noun The process of bringing metals to a desired shape by chipping away the unwanted material.
- damper noun A shock absorber.
- damping noun The reduction in the magnitude of oscillations by the dissipation of energy.
- dead air noun Air that is subject to little or no ventilation, thus, little to no air exchange.
- deadband noun Backlash in a mechanical system.
- deformation noun Physically so.
- detonation noun Engine knocking, a type of improper combustion in gasoline piston engines.
- diaphragm noun A flexible membrane separating two chambers and fixed around its periphery that distends into one or other chamber as the difference in the…
- diesel engine noun An internal combustion engine of piston engine type that operates using the Diesel cycle, with diesel fuel being sprayed into the hot…
- diesel-hydraulic adj Powered by a diesel engine via a hydraulic transmission.
- differential steering noun Steering by means of driving the wheels or treads on one side of a vehicle faster than those on the other side, or driving the wheels or…
- dipstick verb To measure the level of a fluid using a dipstick.
- documentation noun Documents that explain the operation of a particular machine or software program.
- double-acting adj Applying power in two directions.
- drillable adj Having an arm or manipulator that can position the tool or attachment at the end in different orientations.
- drivetrain noun The mechanical parts of the powertrain, the gears and shafts, that connect the engine to the wheels in a vehicle.
- dropping point noun The temperature at which a grease passes from a semi-solid to a liquid state under specific test conditions.
- dry heater noun A torpedo engine powered by the burning of fuel with compressed air or oxygen, which does not inject water into the combustion chamber for…
- ejector noun A jet jump for lifting water or withdrawing air from a space.
- elastance noun The inverse of compliance.
- epsilon-machine noun A deterministic automaton consisting of a system of causal states and the transitions between them, functioning as the smallest possible…
- equalising beam noun A steel beam linking the suspension of two or more adjacent axles of a vehicle with at least two axles, especially on railway locomotive…
- escapement noun The linkage in a (watch) that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing…
- Euler-Lagrange equation noun A differential equation which describes a function mathbf q(t) which describes a stationary point of a functional, S( mathbf q)=∫L(t…
- face noun The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end.
- fitting noun A (generally small) component or part of a device or machine, especially one that is standardized and replaceable; specifically, a…
- flange verb To make a flange on; to furnish with a flange; to bend (esp. sheet metal) in the form of a flange.
- fluid flywheel noun A type of coupling for transmitting power from the engine of a vehicle to the transmission, using a torque converter.
- flyweight noun A weight that moves outward depending on centrifugal force.
- flywheel noun A rotating mass used to maintain the speed of a machine within certain limits while the machine receives or releases energy at a varying…
- force pair noun Two forces acting at the same point with equal magnitude but opposite direction, resulting from Newton's third law ("every action has an…
- forced induction noun The process of blowing compressed air into the cylinders of an internal combustion piston engine to increase the compression ratio and…
- forebeam noun The support section of a robot arm that goes from the main body of the robot to the gripper.
- form factor noun A factor describing the stress distribution of a body.
- four-way cock noun A cock connected with four pipes or ports, and having two or more passages in the plug, by which the adjacent pipes or ports may be made to…
- fox noun A wedge driven into the split end of a bolt to tighten it.
- free surface effect noun The tendency of liquids and liquid-like aggregates to move in response to changes in the attitude of a craft's cargo holds, decks, or…
- free-fall time noun The characteristic amount of time required for a body to collapse under its own gravitational attraction, if no other forces exist to…
- freewheel verb Of a gear, to continue spinning after disengagement.
- fulcrum noun The support about which a lever pivots.
- gasket noun Any mechanical seal that serves to fill the space between two objects, generally to prevent leakage between the two objects while under…
- Geneva mechanism noun A mechanism that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion, using an intermittent gear where the drive wheel has…