HNC/D Mech. Eng. Maths Question...

danza

danza

danza

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Hi all,

I'm sure I posted about this course a while back, and have since left it on a back burner until now. I really think it's time I bettered myself and tried my best to pull myself from my current rut of a job, and it seems that the best way at the moment is to stay where I am and do an appropriate HNC.

I would change jobs first, but there aren't many around for somebody of my skill/qualification level at the moment, and my current job is a known quantity for time and travel, and easy to work evening classes around.

My main concern with the aforementioned HNC is the standard of mathematics required to complete the course successfully. I've only done GCSE mathematics and any (stupidly easy) maths that was required for my C&G 2280/NVQ 3 in mechanical production.

Are we talking A-level standard or higher for HNC/D? I have support at that level at least from my wife who pwned at maths at college, and obviously any support they can give me at the college I plan to attend. The rest of it I can probably deal with myself, just maths is a slight concern.

Although that said, I worked with a guy who passed a HND in mech. eng. and he was just about the biggest plank I've ever met, so if he can do it, I hopefully can!

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
 
It shouldnt be much problem, in Mech. Eng. its just getting your head around things, pretty much everything is logical and you can think of it visually in your head. If there are any problems obviously your Mrs can help. It also depends on how you learn, some equations can be pretty tricky, but going through solutions step by step figuring it out helps loads. I'm horrendous at maths and got a BEng in Mech. Eng.
 
Ok, thanks for that. It sounds like there's hope yet!

I've never found any maths I've encountered at work very difficult (some of it has been fairly difficult, though not much), mainly due to being able to visualise things.

Cheers. :)
 
danza said:
Ok, thanks for that. It sounds like there's hope yet!

I've never found any maths I've encountered at work very difficult (some of it has been fairly difficult, though not much), mainly due to being able to visualise things.

Cheers. :)
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are you looking into doing day release or distance learning?

been interested in doing an mech eng HNC also and like you also concerned about the maths part

im ok at maths but its been years since i have done anything harder than trigonometry

maybe i would need to do a short course at college to make things easier
 
Day release? No chance!

The last time I spoke to my boss about considering doing a HNC, he spent the entire conversation telling me it wasn't worthwhile. I took that to mean he didn't want me too big for my boots in my current job, or simply to go and find another.

I'm not going to do a distance course, that'd be educational suicide for me. I need to go to the college on a weekly basis and see some real people doing the same things as me. Also with distance learning, there's no time limit to speak of, and I'd just keep putting it off. You're probably different though.

I'll be doing evening classes at Central Sussex College in Crawley with any luck. I'm really hoping it's just one night a week though.
 
i really struggled with "engineering mathematics" in my uni mech eng first year. (may even have to resit it :() mainly because id only done upto GCSE but everyone around me had got As and Bs at A level. admittedly i do think i could have worked allot harder at it though and done better.

just be prepared to work hard at it and you should be fine. also been a night course there will probably be other people in your class who are in the same situation.
 
Well I've contacted Dr Masoud Ahary, the head of the technology faculty at Central Sussex college, and I'm going for an interview on Thursday.

Hopefully all will go well, and I'll get myself enrolled on a HNC in a couple of weeks to start in September. Woooo!
 
"andy" said:
i really struggled with "engineering mathematics" in my uni mech eng first year. (may even have to resit it :() mainly because id only done upto GCSE but everyone around me had got As and Bs at A level. admittedly i do think i could have worked allot harder at it though and done better.

just be prepared to work hard at it and you should be fine. also been a night course there will probably be other people in your class who are in the same situation.
Click to expand...

What university is this? how did you get on the course without an a level in maths?

I have a BEng in it and i know that the first year was equivalent of HNC, we did have a maths module which was difficult but the maths involved in the other modules such as thermo dynamics etc is never really difficult
 
I completed a HNC in Civil Engineering several years back, and mathematics was a huge part of the course. I don't know how far mechanical engineering delves into this area but I would imagine it relies on mathematics in a large way, as is the case for most types of engineering.

For me the maths wasn't overly complicated so long as you keep on top of things. If you get complacent and start to fall behind then it snowballs and you'll have a job to keep on top of things.

The thing I used to loathe was the sheer number of formulae you have to commit to memory. So long as you can remember these then it's really just a case of plugging in the numbers.

We used to do lots of subjects which were imaginatively titled but were mostly maths based like fluid mechanics / soil mechanics / structural mechanics / structural analysis / structural design etc.

Anyway, I'm starting to wander down memory lane now so I'll pack it in. I would say as long as your maths / engineering tutor is approachable and you put the time in (and are reasonably intelligent) then you'll be fine!
 
I did an MEng and 50% of the first year was maths and it was integral to a LOT of the course. You'll be okay without A-level maths but be prepared to have to work harder than those people who already have it.

Good luck! :)
 
danza are you still on the boards?

I'm potentially starting a HNC in mechanical engineering at college in september and I have the same concerns that you mentioned in this thread!

Do you mind me asking how did you found the course in terms of maths? Is there anything you wished you knew before you started that you do now, that you'd like to share :p

Is there anything you would recommend spending time on for the maths between now and sept? (on my holidays at the moment so it would be wise to do something productive with my time)

Cheers!
 
I'm still here!

Unfortunately, I haven't started the maths units yet. They commence in september (my third year).

I'm not sure how the course is run where you will be studying, but at Central Sussex college a maths support class is run for the Analytical Methods For Engineers (AME) and the Engineering Science units. I've done these support classes in readiness for the next year. They basically entail learning the basics from logarithms (which I've all but forgotten again), transposition, simultaneous equations, quadratics, differentiation, integration, trigonometry and various mechanical and electrical principles etc. These are what you apparently need to get off on a good start when you take the mathematical units. Some of it is really, really easy (well, actually most of it is). However, this is just the support, and the AME unit in particular is meant to be a bit of a beast to get to grips with (rated 11/10 in difficulty by the HE Manager at the college, with Engineering Science 7/10!).

I've spoken to people who've done the course at other colleges with no formal basic maths support, and they've really struggled. However, some people can just pick things up as they go along and are okay.

Where are you going to be studying?
 
Nice one, that was quick! :D

The course is at a college in Cumbria, I'd imagine the units are the same as yours? - Analytical Methods, Mechanical Principles, Engineering Science, Manufacturing Processes, Engineering Design, Design for Manufacture, Business Management Techniques, Materials Engineering, Project, Materials Handling.

Do you find there is a lot of work to be taken home? I'm like yourself in that work won't allow day release so the only option is evening classes. And my day work includes lots of work to be taken home so I may also look into the three year route and follow that up with the HND.

There is an access to engineering course (level3) which is run at the college but it's split between one full day and one evening class so I'd only be able to part attend (if they would let me on the course that is..)

I've got some summer classes to attend over the summer holidays at the college starting tomorrow so I'm brushing up on my basic maths (so I don't look a total fool!) and figuring out how my scientific calculator works again! :p

Cheers for the info :cool:
 
Indeed, same core units as offered at my college. Do you have any other units to chose from, or are they 'fixed'? Slightly different for the HND I'm doing, which is Manufacturing, for which Mech. Principles is not required. However, I'll be doing Mech. Principles in my last year (hopefully), so whilst I'd have officially have completed the Manufacturing HND, I'll have completed the same core units for Mechanical.

My units completed so far are:

Business Management Techniques
Engineering Design
Materials Engineering
Programmable Logic Controllers (bit of a waste of time for me, but was a timetable 'filler')
Advanced CAD
Project Management
Managing The Work of Individuals and Teams
Planning and Scheduling Principles

Next year I'll be taking:

Analytical Methods for Engineers
Engineering Science
Project
Robot Technology (another timetable filler for me)

You seem to be in the same boat as me in terms of time allowance - am I right in thinking that you aren't being given any time during work hours to do assignments/study? My situation is the same, and I'm paying for the HND myself (not company sponsored as said in the OP).

As a result of the above, I decided that 4 units/year over 4 years was the way forward for me. The staff at my college expect an awful lot from students, so any more than 4 units per year and I'd be dead already! The most any sane person does is 6 per year (usually only 4 in the first year and 6 in the subsequent year(s)), and they're the lucky people on day release with study allowance.

I found my second year far easier than my first, simply because I was used to the work load, and had completed BMT which in my college has a reputation of being the hardest unit to complete. Despite this, I actually produced a lot more work this year yet still had more free time (!!?!).

In terms of actual workload, I went to college 2 evenings per week (3 next year :eek:) and probably had 1.5 weeks per month where I wasn't working at all aside note taking in lectures. During the period I was working, I'd do 3 to 5 hours 2 weekdays with Fridays always off, and 8 hours Saturdays and often the same on Sundays. I personally need a bit of respite, hence the week and a bit each month or so I'd not be working.

My course is structured with each unit consisting of 4 or 5 'learning' assignments and a final graded assignment per unit which draws on all the knowledge you've gained in the last 6 or so months, and adds a bit on top too. The final graded assignments are BIG, with my first year being 6K to 10K words per assignment, and this year one at 8.5K, 2 @ 10K and one at 15.5K words over 300+ pages for the lot. It's reckoned that each graded assignment requires 40 hours plus to complete (and they do), and if you have 4 of these or more and 3 months or so to do them in, time can be very, very precious/scarce! The HNC/D workload is higher than many degrees at my college (well it is if you want to do well). Just so far it's a little less technical. The main reason the workload is high is because there's no word cap on any of the assignments, not sure if this is true for all places running the HNC/D engineering courses.

Sorry it's a bit tl:dr!
 
Completly missed your reply Danza! As far as I know the units are fixed, the college are basically there to educate the apprentice guys for the nuclear power station so when they say we want you to run this course in this fashion, that's what happens..

Those timescales on workload are a great help. It looks possible but it's going to hurt! Depending on the outcome of this passport course I may end up doing a bridging course for a year and start the hnc next year however it appears there is no certainty of an evening class at all for the HNC so I may have to scrap the whole idea and go through the O-Uni route!

Thanks again for the info :D
 
I've got an ND in Ops. & Maint. Engineering, a HNC in Manufacture (Mechanical), and an HNC in Electrical & Electronic. All the maths were ok, if you have a decent lecturer who goes through them well enough, when it comes to doing the assignments you should be ok.

My advice (which I didn't stick to, lol) is when you get an assignment, get it done straight away and hand it in before th date, then it gives you more time for feedback, and time to do the merit and distinction criteria.
 
I have been doing a research about which university to go to and which course to do. I've came across the Structural Engineering course at Nottingham University. I've heard only good reviews about their supportive lecturers and their facilities seem to be excellent. I wanted to know what you guys think about this course? What can I do next?
 
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