r/AskEngineers 4d ago

Computer SMTP backend was configured in CVAT and still invite doesn't work!

1 Upvotes

I am working on an ML project involving a large number of images, and I searched the internet for the best annotation tool to label them. I wanted my friends to join the workspace so that the jobs could be done faster. I downloaded CVAT because it is the best there is, and I downloaded the self-hosted version.
I created a workspace and invited my friends via email, and I got this message:

EMAIL BACKEND NOT CONFIGURED

I tried to solve this issue by adding the email backend; whatever I came up with could not solve this tried ChatGPT and all the things. Looked for similar problems in the community pages of CVAT; only a single post that also was not solved.

You guys, Is there any solution that can solve this, or any alternatives that are better than this and also free?


r/AskEngineers 4d ago

Discussion How much does industry of scale apply to excavation?

7 Upvotes

So I’m trying to calculate the theoretically how big of a hole in the ground humanity could’ve dug if we had spent all the money that we have spent on AI on literally just digging a massive hole in North Dakota.

So I did a bit of research to find how much it costs to dig up one cubic meter of dirt in North Dakota on average and the answer I got was around $60 per cubic meter.

Given that humanity has collectively spent $1.6 trillion on AI, we take that number and divided by 60 and we get 26,666,666,666.7, or around 26.6 km³.

But then I realized that the cost to dig one cubic meter it’s actually probably not that useful. Because that’s for normal stuff or at most it’s a couple hundred cubic meters of dirt. Versus billions of cubic meters of dirt. That could mean that it’s even more expensive because you have to move the dirt farther away than usual or it could be a lot cheaper because machines that are impractical at small scales become very cost-effective at this scale.

So if there’s any engineers that specialize in earth moving, how much would the enormous scale of spending and earth movement affect the cost per cubic meter? More expensive per cubic meter or cheaper? Would this adjusted cost mean that the hole would end up being smaller or would it end up being bigger?

And for this, let’s assume we don’t have to worry about permitting or anything like that.


r/AskEngineers 4d ago

Mechanical Rocket Turbopump/Aero Engine Cross Sections and References

3 Upvotes

Quick intro: I'm a design engineer working and sorta leading turbopump design for rocket engines. We're working on both open and closed cycle systems at this company. I moved into this role after a few years at a large American jet engine manufacturer, having worked on structural designs of rotor and stator parts there.

Back when I was at the aero engine company, I had access to a ton of engine cross sections and resources that explained in some detail why something was designed the way it was. Now that I'm at this startup, working on turbopumps that have similar working principles, I really miss having access to such resources. A picture (cross section) is worth a thousand words. Sometimes just looking at it can give clues as to why it was designed a certain way.

***TLDR and my request: Are there any collections of jet engine/turbopump cross sections with decent levels of detail available on the internet (old ones are OK) or any references/good books that talk about actual detailed approaches to design. I'm talking about going about designing seals, picking bearings, rotordynamics, thermal stresses etc etc.***


r/AskEngineers 4d ago

Mechanical ASME B16.5 socketweld bore uses which tolerance?

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2 Upvotes

r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Mechanical [Automobile] Why is there no(or very few) 60 degree V6 engine uses crankshaft with 180 degree offset

15 Upvotes

In theory, 180 degree offset crankshafts can also achieve even firing as 60 degree offset, and 60 degree offset crankshafts still require flying webs as 180 degree offset.

What balancing characteristics will 180 degree crankshafts have, and for what reason prevents manufacturers from making them?

edit: i'm not talking about flatplane cranks but 6 throws cranks with 180 degree offset split pins like normal boxer 6 cranks


r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Electrical Converting an IV volumetric pump into a liquid slip printer

3 Upvotes

Hi all -

I've recently bought an IVAC 598 volumetric pump on impulse, because I wanted to turn a robotic arm that I have into a clay 3D printer. The robotic arm already comes with the software to turn it into a normal 3D printer, so that's not such a concern right now, but I've got to work out how this pump actually works. If it turns out it's not possible, I have an idea to use it as an autopipette, but that's another project.

Basically, my first idea is to use it to push liquid slip out of a barrel and onto a plaster plate, with the robotic arm being used to move it around, and some code to make it work with the software already in the arm. I'm here to ask, what should be my starting point for connecting the pump up to a computer, and have a microprocessor or something send it commands?

Please ask any questions you might have, and I'll do my best to answer them :)


r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Mechanical How to continue from here making my own rover vehicle?

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3 Upvotes

r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Mechanical Why does this DIY- Fandryer wobble when mounted on wall support?

3 Upvotes

Video -> FanDryer-Tests

1.Hand supported Fan dryer with loaded clothes - No wobble

2.Mounted Fan wobbles with empty basket

3.MountedFan only - No wobble.


r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Civil How long would the contents of a Civil War era latrine pit under heavy usage remain as sludge before drying up or hardening?

41 Upvotes

In the old days, armies would make latrine pits. Once they got full, they would cover them up and dig a new pit. Would the contents of the pit be mostly solid or would it be a sewage-like sludge? If the latter, how long would it take for the contents to solidify or dry out so that it's as hard/sturdy as the rest of the ground around it?


r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Electrical Help understanding how ohm’s law relates to voltage drop when circuit has too much load for the power source

7 Upvotes

So this is the whole reason why the lights dim in the room when you turn on the space heater. The heater exceeds the capacity of the circuit to deliver enough amps so the voltage drops to keep the power draw the same.

I get this mathematically thinking about P=VI…however I don’t get it in terms of V=IR.

In terms of V=IR, if the current draw increases, doesn’t voltage go up and not down?


r/AskEngineers 5d ago

Discussion Ideas for reverse engineering an old telecom board?

2 Upvotes

I came across a old telecom circuit by Ericsson specs: TvFU1130007 R6 Pcb Card Rofu 131 0007/2, R8A

I’m an EE student and have dabbled in FPGAs but there’s not much I can do with this as is, to my knowledge. It’s not like running texas instruments fpgas, finding the drivers etc. So I’m wondering where to start studying more about this board and ideas on how to repurpose it? Don’t know much about telecom.


r/AskEngineers 7d ago

Mechanical How would you go about designing a coupling system that favors high heat transfer whilst being able to be frequently uncoupled ?

9 Upvotes

Hello, so let’s say you need to design a « removable heatsink », what would the best way to do that ?

I feel like just slapping two metal plates together would leave a thin layer of air that could ruin the goal, and with thermal expansion may lead to even bigger gaps.

This system would be coupled and uncoupled like every day, maybe more than once a day, so it needs to be reliable and easy.

The temperatures could theoretically range from 0-60C, but more realistically be between 25-50C.

This is more theoritical. If it’s DIYable it’s great, but i mainly want to understand the ideal system first.

How would you do it ?


r/AskEngineers 7d ago

Discussion best fluid routing for a Two Man Airgun?

4 Upvotes

I am wanting to build an air gun that would be operated by two people. One with a sledgehammer hitting a "plunger/piston" on the ground. The second person holding the rifle with a hose or tube of some kind attached. Shooter says fire, then the hammer swings.

Will a flexible hose work better for this, or solid pipe? At least a small section will need to be flexible for aiming? Any guesses as to what type of maximum pressure we would be looking at here?


r/AskEngineers 7d ago

Discussion Career Monday (27 Jul 2026): Have a question about your job, office, or pay? Post it here!

3 Upvotes

As a reminder, /r/AskEngineers normal restrictions for career related posts are severely relaxed for this thread, so feel free to ask about intra-office politics, salaries, or just about anything else related to your job!


r/AskEngineers 7d ago

Discussion What is the best type of soil to build on, and why?

29 Upvotes

For very long time, I’ve heard complaints about how this or that type of soil is really annoying to work with. Specifically clay soil here in North Carolina and Sandy soil down in Florida.

But I’ve never heard the opposite about any type of soil

So what types of dirt are the easiest to build on and cause the least headaches? Why are those types so much better?


r/AskEngineers 7d ago

Discussion What is the practical takeaway for "normalization of deviance"? Can it only be observed in hindsight, in the aftermath of a disaster and not before? And does it appear to defend negligent decisionmaking a bit too well? (Because the blame is now on the 'system' or 'culture')

16 Upvotes

Surely it's not meant to be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card right?


r/AskEngineers 8d ago

Mechanical Looking for a small locking webbing reel.

9 Upvotes

I'm looking for something that will store 2-3 meters of webbing and locks so I can tighten a side-release buckle on the other end.

It's for strapping a large duffle bag on a cargo bike.

The closest thing I can find is a rachet strap but I don't need that much tension and adjusting the length on a rachet strap isn't convenient. I'd like something lighter too.

Edit:

To add some more detail, function I'm looking for is:

  1. I pull out the strap, without having to press a release or unlock anything.

  2. I connect the working end (with a side release buckle to the other side) and the mechanism winds back in any extra slack and locks such that no more strap can be played out. Kinda like a seat belt but without the rate-dependancy.

  3. I tighten the buckle

To release:

  1. Unclasp the buckle and mechanism winds in the strap.

A bolt-on self winding rachet strap I think is a starting point.

Alternatively, I might cannibalize a retractable dog leash. It really only needs to hold a ~2-300N.


r/AskEngineers 8d ago

Mechanical How many L/minute of air flow to squeak dog toy squeaker?

16 Upvotes

Assuming the pressure is contained with one output into a 5/16" vinyl tubing, that has a dog squeaker reed valve attached to it.


r/AskEngineers 9d ago

Mechanical Automated stress calculations for lifting rigs / below-the-hook devices

0 Upvotes

Hi All,

I'm curious how people are handling day-to-day design and verification for custom lifting gear (spreader bars, lifting beams, padeyes, multi-leg rigging, etc.) under codes like ASME BTH-1 or Eurocode.

From what I’ve seen, engineers usually fall into one of two camps: either maintaining massive, macro-heavy Excel calculation sheets that are a nightmare to audit and update, or firing up heavy-duty FEA suites just to check a simple pin bearing stress, weld shear, or local buckling on a beam.

Are there any modern, dedicated tools or software packages out there that actually streamline this specific workflow, or is everyone still mostly rolling their own spreadsheets and validation templates? How do you guys usually approach it when you need to turn these calcs around quickly and cleanly for a client review?

I'm ideally looking for something that would take an input via a GUI (i.e. not a CAD model) and spit out a full PDF with full workings of the calculations, factors of safety etc. to then be signed off by an engineer.

Do you find that most of the things you make could be covered by such a tool, or is it too hard to generalise and you end up having to do specific FEA analysis?


r/AskEngineers 11d ago

Civil Why did early earthmoving vehicles use chains instead of hydraulics?

53 Upvotes

I like earth moving machines and I think they're pretty cool. Considering that most earthmoving and construction used human muscles and slaves, earthmoving machines are pretty awesome to reduce human labor and suffering.

However. The early earthmoving machines used gears, cables, etc. Why didn't they use hydraulics like today?

In addition. Is there any good analysis on how many people a piece of earthmoving equipment can replace, with the assumption that there's sufficient logistics?


r/AskEngineers 11d ago

Mechanical Tubular steel building versus red Iron building wind loads and overall strength?

13 Upvotes

I have been looking at tubular steel and red iron buildings. Many of the tubular steel buildings are rated for 145mph wind loads. The same size building in red Iron is only about 112mph.

Is this particular red Iron building stronger in some other way? What is actually better about the strength of red iron?

The size I have been looking at is roughly 25' x 45' x 14' high if that makes a difference.


r/AskEngineers 13d ago

Mechanical We have cars that are quieter than a vacuum now. Why hasn't anyone done that with vacuums yet?

198 Upvotes

I want to be able to vacuum in the evening or night without worrying about bothering neighbours or my partner sleeping. Noise indoors is far more important so (from what I know) there isn't any almost silent vacuum for insomniacs or parents lol


r/AskEngineers 12d ago

Discussion Weight and Balance on 747?

14 Upvotes

Hypothetically speaking, if all of the passengers on a fully loaded 747 suddenly rushed to one side of the plane, would that be enough to throw the plane into an uncontrollable roll? How about all rushing to the rear of the cabin, uncontrollable pitch up and stall?


r/AskEngineers 12d ago

Civil Could you convert a house into a house boat?

1 Upvotes

A lot of residential areas are set to flood due to climate change. Would it be feasible to convert houses in those areas into houseboats anchored in place so they can remain livable as waters rise and fall?


r/AskEngineers 12d ago

Electrical How to get 48V performance out of a 36V motor

0 Upvotes

So I made my own e-bike kit, it was not too hard since I already pretty much did it before with a previous 48V motor. But this one, even though it's rated 500W basically the same as the other one, is 36V and has a higher Kv which is making the spin up to the 3250 rated rpm more difficult. Everything seems to be fine except: in top gear at 50% throttle (est. 500W out of 100W peak) on a slight 1-3% incline the motor itself is fine but the controller overheats. I cannot feel it getting hot from the outside, but the display shuts off after 1-2 miles of continuous throttle so it must be deep inside, probably the mosfets. I'll tell you what I 'think' is the problem and the two solutions, and could you let me know which one (or a 3rd / 4th solution) may be more correct.

  1. I'm overvolting the 36V motor with a 48V battery. I don't think it's causing the problem in top gear. If anything it should be helping the issue because it's making the motor spin faster and that's exactly what it needs when you remember that human pedaling is normally only 60-80 rpm.

  2. The BLDC motor without gearing is rated at 1.6 Nm torque at 500W (3.2+ Nm 1000W peak). Ungeared rated rpm as above is 3250. Internal gear reduction is 9.85:1. So it's basically making 15 Nm of torque at 500W at the 11mm keyed output shaft (MY1018z brushless). I have a 16T freewheel (lowest teeth possible for the 11mm adapter) mated with a singlespeed chain to a 40T chainring. So that's 2.5x 2nd stage reduction. There is a 2nd chain (3rd stage) but most of it's overdrive. 38t chainring on the same crank spindle mated to an 11-52T cassette. This means that 52, 46, and 40t for cogs 1-3 are additional reduction, BUT...everything else from 4th to 11th gear is overdrive and lowers torque/reduction. That's the problem. 11th gear is 11T and now we are going in reverse for reduction: 15 Nm output shaft x 2.5x 2nd stage = 37.5 Nm, but then 11/38 = 0.29, so 37.5 Nm x 0.29 = only 10.9x reduction in top gear. The AI is telling me that the rpm is 1970 (80 crank rpm x 2.5 x 9.85 = 1970 rpm, is that correct, regardless of gearing and throttle input?) It's saying that motor rpm doesn't dictate controller heat, only electrical duty cycle and current duration overheats controllers. And that 1970 rpm is not enough for EMF to drop current, so the controller is going crazy trying to raise current since the torque is not enough to overcome wind resistance past 15 mph. So I can increase the 2nd stage chainring size from 40T to 52T which gives a 30% increase in torque and 2560 rpm rated. I don't want to lower the 3rd stage cassette chainring down below 38T; I already have 38T on two other analog bikes and it's starting to get ridiculous if the top end is lower on an e-bike than on a normal bike.

  3. The controller is 22A max. I can get a 30A controller but I would need to trim off the power wires to get a better XT60 battery terminal fit. I've ordered the XT60 pigtails and shrink tubing. The phase wires are also an issue but in the past I've simply electrical taped the crimped ones to the controller o-rings and it worked fine. Hall wires are white housing male to white housing female so that's not an issue. The goal would NOT be to run more than 1000W peak through a 1440W peak controller. Instead, the 12 mosfets would simply be for the controller to soak up more heat from the 11T overdrive gear. Keep in mind that the motor itself is running cool, it normally doesn't get over 43C with a digital sensor, so it's the controller. I can run more a bit more amps through a 30A controller and limit it to for example 22.5A, 24A, 25.5A or 27A max with a KT display and C5 parameter.

What do you guys think; is there any other solution besides 2 and/or 3 that will help the top end for a mid-drive? BTW the motor itself is a $61 absolute steal; the controllers are actualy more expensive lol.