Review
Henry Ford claimed to have invented nothing new but simply to have combined the discoveries of others. Similarly, modern designers of complex devices, even those as innovative as the Segway, rely on earlier designers for many of the basic elements in the new device. The trick is to be aware of these earlier designs. Sourcebooks such as Parmley's are a primary source of such information. It is the latest in a line extending at least from Ramelli in the 16th century through Henry T. Brown's 1868
Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements... (many reprint eds.);
Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, comp. by Nicholas P. Chironis (CH, Mar'92); Preben W. Jensen's
Classical and Modern Mechanisms for Engineers and Inventors (1991); and Parmley's own more quantitative and analytical
Illustrated Sourcebook of Mechanical Components (2000). Here Parmley, a registered professional engineer, reproduces more than 1,500 clearly diagrammed, ingenious and practical mechanisms selected from specialist engineering journals. He divides them into three categories: assemblies (to minimize vibration, limit torque and/or overloading); power transmission (gear systems, clutches, chains, belts, shafts); and individual components. An engineering library should have at least one of these modern sourcebooks; Parmley's is an excellent example.
Summing Up: High recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; professionals; two-year technical program students. --
G.E. Herrick, emeritus, Maine Maritime Academy (
Choice )
From the Back Cover
THE ULTIMATE COMPENDIUM OF MECHANICAL PARTS AND INGENIOUS DEVICES This user-friendly, visual guide to parts and assemblies is an ideal working tool for anyone who designs, repairs, or operates machinery. Robert O. Parmley's Machine Devices and Components: Illustrated Sourcebook gives quick access to detailed images of hundreds of machine parts. Illustrated mechanisms include cams, gears, clutches, fasteners, housing mechanisms, and rotary and reciprocating elements.
The book features hundreds upon hundreds of components commonly used in home appliances, office machines, vehicles, aircraft, ships, construction, factory equipment, machine tools. The book also includes accompanying standards tables, design formulas, and classical analytical methods that provide additional help with selection and problem-solving challenges. No working engineer or technician will want to be without this amazing book.
HUNDREDS OF DEVICES, PLUS KEY DATA AND EQUATIONS
Mechanisms * Machine Elements * Gearing * Assemblies * Bearings with Rolling Contact * Pipes, Fittings, and Valves * Key Equations and Charts for Designing Mechanisms
