Is LabVIEW useful for mechanical engineers?

[penguins88]

I'm currently a student in Mechanical Engineering and was wondering if any mechanical engineers use LabVIEW when they work in industry (or research)? Or is it mostly for Computer/Electrical engineers that use LabVIEW?

Thanks for the help.

[RavensFan]

Yes.  I'm a mechanical engineer.  I work in our R&D Department.  I started using LabVIEW as a part of a large project to upgrade test stands and build new test stands with sophisticated up to date control systems.

I also use it as part of our testing to collect data from thermocouples, strain gages, load cells, inclinometers, optical encoders.  I'll write the code I need for any given test based on the various sensors and instruments we are interested in.

[soupy]

Absolutely! I work at SpaceX and we use it exclusively for all of our structural testing. However, I would recommend something besides LabVIEW for post-analysis (DIAdem, MATLAB, Winplot, etc.).

[smercurio_fc]

Well, I think the real answer is: it depends, though it can't hurt. However, if I were you, I'd concentrate on really learning programming principles rather than a specific language, since programming principles can be carried over from language to language. Think of it this way: being able to program gives you a leg up on everybody else who's also a mechanical engineer just like you. But, like I said, it depends. If the job you're looking to do doesn't involve programming, or the likelihood of doing any kind of programming, then you would not gain any benefit from it at interview time. 

FYI: My schooling was as an electrical engineer, though I do software now. In school I learned general programming and I've been able to apply those principles to VB, C, C++, C#, and LabVIEW.

[Darren]

I was a Mechanical Engineering student too (BSME '98 UT Austin), but I'm a software engineer now!  😛

[elset191]

I feel like I'm in a minority of LabVIEW users who actually has schooling as a computer science engineer.

[vijayreddy]

hello sir....my name is vijay sudheer reddy.

email: sudheer18889@gmail.com

 im a student if sv university andhra pradesh....recently we hav bought lbview software with modules  accelerometer, thermocouple, strain gauge...

i have to do my mtech project on this software only, so help me somthng...

also we have to use above modules for lathe, miller, drilling, slotter machines....

[Eric1977]

Your a Tigers fan, so it's OK Tim.

[NIquist]

Congratulations on getting LabVIEW plus assorted toys but you're going to have to be A LOT more specific about your requirements.  "Help me something" is not very specific. 

Check out the basic tutorials here to get started:  http://www.ni.com/academic/labview_training/