Subject Guides: Product Design: Other Resources

Industrial Design Societies

Industrial Designers Society of America The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is the voice of the industrial design profession in the Americas, advancing the quality and positive impact of design.
The Design Society
International Council of Societies of Industrial Design The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) is a global not-for-profit organisation that promotes better design around the world. Today, Icsid counts over 150 members in more than 50 countries, representing an estimated 150 000 designers. Icsid members are professional associations, promotional societies, educational institutions, government bodies, corporations and institutions, which aim to contribute to the development of the profession of industrial desi

Educational Resources

Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Certification

NCEES Exam Reference Handbook [Site description] Download a free copy of the reference handbook for your exam here. Reviewing the supplied-reference handbook before exam day helps you become familiar with the charts formulas, tables, and other reference information provided.
FE Exam Prep eBook
FE Exam question of the day
FE Mechanical Exam Specifications
Knowledge areas covered and numbers of questions in each area
FE Exam-day experience videos

Mechanical Engineering: FE Review Manual by D. R. Arterburn; Gary R. Crossman; Fidelis O. Eke
Call Number: SCI REF (Prep Books)
ISBN: 1427745285
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
PPI FE Mechanical Practice Problems - Comprehensive Practice for the FE Mechanical Exam by Michael R. Lindeburg
Call Number: SCI REF (Prep Books)
ISBN: 1591264421
Publication Date: 2014-05-01
PPI Industrial Engineering: FE Review Manual - a Comprehensive Manual for the FE Industrial CBT Exam, Features over 100 Problems with Step-By-Step Solutions by Brightwood Engineering Brightwood Engineering Education
Call Number: SCI REF (Prep Books)
ISBN: 9781683380153
Publication Date: 2018-10-01

General Resources

Khan Academy Khan Academy is a set of 1000+ videos covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, statistics, chemistry, biology and finance. Includes SAT and GMAT prep.
MathWorld The world's most extensive math resource
Mathway solver [from vendor] Mathway, a Chegg service, is a tool designed to make on-demand math assistance accessible to all students at any given time. With over 5 billion problems solved, Mathway is the top problem-solving resource available for students, parents, and teachers. The tool can perform the following functions: • Evaluate math problems such as basic math, pre-algebra, algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, trigonometry, and statistics • Simplify expressions and provide step-by-step explanations • You can either upload a picture of your problem or type it out in our solver • You can also create a worksheet on any topic

Experimental Practice

Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) This link opens in a new window Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is a peer reviewed, PubMed indexed journal devoted to the publication of biological, medical, chemical and physical research in a video format.

Technical Reports

NASA Technical Reports Server Search NASA reports by keyword or browse by date, type of publication, and NASA Center.
NATO Scientific Publications Search reports from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including the Science and Technology Organization (STO), the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), and the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE)
National Academies Press The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes the reports of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. These nonprofit institutions provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world. Most of their over 8,000 reports are available for free download.
Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) This is the US Department of Energy's technical reports server that offers access to over 3 million research results.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Research Library The Research Library at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) assists researchers in finding the information they need to carry out nationally important research. Primary subject areas covered include chemistry, physics, materials science, biological and environmental sciences, computer science, mathematics, engineering, nuclear technology, and homeland security. New library resources are primarily electronic, but the library still houses valuable print and microform collections.
Library of Congress Tech Reports This is a collection of technical reports and standards from many different government agencies and private sector societies, including NASA, the DOE, ASME, AIAA, etc.
Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL) This resource is a searchable archive of digitized U.S. government technical reports

Datasets

Data.gov Data.gov is a government repository of publicly accessible data. The datasets can be organized by governmental organization or searched using keywords.

Data Planet (SAGE) This link opens in a new window Data Planet Statistical Datasets interface allows users to browse available datasets by subject and source and to manipulate variables to create customized views of the data, as well as to search for statistics of interest.

Kaggle Datasets Kaggle hosts a large number of publicly available datasets and prompts analysis through competitions.
Energy Prices & Trends (US DOE) US Department of Energy website
Minerals Yearbook The Minerals Yearbook is an annual publication that reviews the mineral and material industries of the United States and foreign countries. The Yearbook contains statistical data on materials and minerals and includes information on economic and technical trends and development. The Minerals Yearbook includes chapters on approximately 90 commodities and over 175 countries.
Minerals Information Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of minerals and materials essential to the U.S. economy, the national security, and protection of the environment.
Data Tools Guide This research guide provides resources for planning, finding, cleaning, analyzing, managing, and sharing datasets.

Metals Pricing

Infomine Commodities Pricing CommodityMine is a comprehensive news and information source. In addition to the latest prices, you can find in-depth commodity news, a list of upcoming mining events and even career information. The All Charts page allows you to compare price changes for gold, silver, copper and other commodities over a variety of time periods. Dynamic Charting allows you to adjust individual commodity timelines according to weight and currency.
London Metals Exchange View a selection up to date and delayed London Metals Exchange market data. To access this data, you must be a registered user of the LME.com free market data service. Registration for this service is free and on completion of the registration process you will be able to log in and view LME market data. This service only provides market data for the current calendar year.
Steel on the Net Recent steel pricing history
Metal Industry Indicators The Metal Industry Indicators (MII) is a monthly newsletter that analyzes and forecasts the economic health of five metal industries: primary metals, steel, copper, primary aluminum, and aluminum mill products.
IAEA Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates - to 2050 International Atomic Energy Agency: The 40th edition of RDS-1 contains estimates of energy, electricity and nuclear power trends up to the year 2050. The publication is organized into world and regional subsections, with global and regional nuclear power projections presented as low and high cases, encompassing the uncertainties inherent in projecting trends.

Reference Handbooks and Tables

ASM Handbooks This link opens in a new window Alternate title: American Society for Metals (ASM) Handbook. Features the complete content of twenty one ASM Handbook volumes plus two ASM Desk Editions.
Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables This link opens in a new window This volume provides scientific investigators with a comprehensive and self-contained summary of mathematical functions that arise in physical and engineering problems. Contains mathematical formulas, tables, graphs, a complete table of analytical integrals, differential equations, and numerical series. The volume includes tables of trigonometric and hyperbolic functions, tables for numerical integration, rules for differentiation and integration, and techniques for point interpolation and function approximation. Additionally, an entire section to mathematical and physical constants is included as well as a discussion on statistics by combinatorial analysis and probability functions.
International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology This link opens in a new window Alternate title: International Critical Tables. This classic and well-known reference was originally published for the National Research Council in 7 volumes. It contains an enormous amount of critical data on inorganic and organic compounds, and pure substances. The original 1000-page index is hyperlinked to each entry's appropriate page.
Knovel Critical Tables This link opens in a new window This important, interactive Knovel reference contains tables of physical, solvent, and thermodynamic properties. The physical property tables alone include over 21,000 inorganic and organic compounds, and pure substances. The solvent property tables have data for 385 common solvents, and the thermodynamic property tables have data for over 15,000 compounds. Additionally, several tables make use of the interactive Equation Plotter to plot thermodynamic properties as a function of temperature.
Smithsonian Physical Tables (9th Revised Edition) This link opens in a new window Originally published by Smithsonian Institution Press, this classic reference source comprises 901 tables of general interest to scientists and engineers, and of particular interest to those involved with physics in its larger sense. All entries in the index are hyperlinked to their page numbers.

Thermal Properties and Resources Over 1000 searchable materials, with corresponding thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal effusivity, specific heat and density information. Includes Thermal Simulation Software and Thermal Properties Calculator.

Market Information

Mintel This link opens in a new window Reports on consumer markets and trends. Segmentation, branding, positioning, and psychographics. Rich insight into consumer behavior and lifestyles. Coverage is deepest for the U.S.
Frost and Sullivan This link opens in a new window In-depth industry and market research covering aerospace, transportation, chemicals, materials, food, electronics, energy, environment, construction, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, and communications.
eMarketer This link opens in a new window Data about advertising, media, and consumer behavior on the internet and mobile devices.

Other Market Research Sources

Misc Resources

Lists of Manufacturers

Industrial Quick Search (IQS) This database categorizes the OEM manufacturing marketplace in the US and Canada into 180 industry categories, each having hundreds of manufacturers. The database also includes 25 major industry groups that encompass the 180 categories for further context of their inter-relationships within those categories.
Thomas Register From the small job shop to the Fortune 100 giant, Thomas Register helps to connect the right buyers with the right suppliers, and to equip everyone involved with the knowledge and information they need to thrive in their constantly evolving marketplace.
Global Spec Lists products, suppliers, services and consultants.

Standards, Building Codes, MSDS

Guide to Searching Industry Standards

ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library This link opens in a new window Includes all 13,000 ASTM standards, as well as Manuals, Monographs, Data Series, STPs (Special Technical Publications) and 8 Journals.
Compendex This link opens in a new window Use Compendex to help you find standards by using left-side document type filter, selecting "Standard"
No systematic or automated downloading.
IEEE Standards This link opens in a new window Over 1300 IEEE standards by number or subject

International Building Codes The International Code Council's complete collection of building codes.
EverySpec Single source for free access to over 30,000 Military, DoD, Federal, NASA, DOE, and Government specifications, standards, handbooks, and publications.
FedSpecs Index of Federal Specifications, Standards, and Commercial Item Descriptions (FMR 102-27).
NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology's mission is to "promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life."
IHS Markit IHS Markit sells standards from a variety of standards organizations. Its search engine can help identify standards that may be applicable to your information need.

Patent Searching

Worldwide Patents (Espacenet) This database maintained by the European Patent Office provides access to over 110 million patent documents.
US Patents and Trademarks (USPTO) This website, managed by the US Patent and Trademark Office, provides access to US Patents, published Patent Applications, and Trademarks. It also provides information relating to filing for patents and trademarks.
Lens US, European and Worldwide collections searchable in full text of the entire specifications, with links to global patent families. Single inventions may have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of related patent documents in up to 80 different jurisdictions. See and explore these relationships.
Google Patent Search (Advanced) Search U.S. and International patents by keyword, title, number, inventor, type, date, assignee, etc.
Free patents Online This is a free patent searching site with PDF downloading, world patent searching, alerts, and other account functions.

Patent Searching
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Patents: Search tools
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Materials

The Materials Project The Materials Project is a multi-institution, multi-national effort to compute the properties of all inorganic materials and provide the data and associated analysis algorithms for every materials researcher free of charge.
Core77 Since 1995 Core77.com has served a devoted global audience of industrial designers ranging from students through seasoned professionals. Core77 publishes articles, discussion forums, an extensive event calendar, hosts portfolios, job listings, a database of design firms, schools, vendors and services. Core77 provides a gathering point for designers and enthusiasts alike by producing design competitions, lecture series, parties, and exhibits.