* INSTANT ACCESS:  As soon as your initial payment has been made, you can log in to our study platform using the account credentials that you chose on Sign Up. Click the ‘Student Login‘ button at the top of the page, or the link in the navigation menu.
** CANCEL ANYTIME: Â You can cancel your subscription at any time, but you will no longer have access to the course materials. If you choose to reinstate your subscription at a later date, your progress data will still be stored.
Who is the ‘Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering’ Course Designed For?
This course is suitable for anyone studying, or considering study in mechanical engineering at Level 3 or above.
If you are already studying mechanical engineering, then it is likely that you would benefit from compounding your understanding of the topics covered in this course.
If you are considering studying mechanical engineering at any level, then it is essential that you gain a sound knowledge of the application of key themes and principles, by mastering the skills contained in this course.
When studying a level 4 mechanical engineering qualification with any institution, it will be assumed that you can apply all of the principles covered in this course. If you study a higher level programme with the Engineers Academy®, then you will be given complementary access to this course, alongside your main programme, for revision purposes.
Disclaimer:Â Please note that you will not receive a level 3 qualification upon completion of this course, as it has been designed specifically to support students who are currently studying related disciplines, or who are preparing for further study of the subject. It is not a qualification in its own right.
If you are unsure, please Contact Us for more information before purchasing this online course.
What is included in the ‘Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering’ Course?
The list below provides an overview of the topics covered in this course:
1. Â Static Engineering Systems
- Finding the Resultant of Two Forces
- Finding the Resultant of Systems of Forces
- Non-Concurrent Co-Planar Force Systems
- Simply Supported Beams (Point Loads)
- Simply Supported Beams (UDLs)
- Cantilever and Over-Hanging Beams
- Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams (Graphical)
- Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams (Analytical)
- Direct Stress, Strain and Elastic Modulus
- Shear Stress, Strain and Modulus of Rigidity
- Series and Parallel Compound Bars
2. Â Dynamic Engineering Systems
- Equations of Motion
- Newton’s Second Law
- Simple Rotating Systems
3. Â Energy and Work
- Work, Energy and Power
- Conservation of Energy
- Conservation of Momentum
- Impact Loading
- Simple Lifting Machines
4. Â Fluid Systems
- Pressure Head, Thrust Force and Overturning Moments
- Fluid Flow in Tubes, Pipes and Ducts
- Archimedes’ Principle for Immersed Objects
5. Thermodynamic Systems
- Heat Transfer and Changes of State
- Thermal Expansion, Stress and Strain
- Gas Laws
Paul –
Highly recommend. Very well structured course with bitesized video tutorials delivered by Tutors who are at the top of their game. A great first step for anyone starting out in distance learning.
James Shephard –
This is a very good course that I would recommend to anyone wanting to further there knowledge as it explains things well most of the time and challenges you to think about what you are doing.
mohdalali –
I took this course before my HNC and it was well explained and whenever I got stuck with anything Andy was always available for help. Thanks to Andy and engineers academy team.
Andrew Tomala (verified owner) –
As an Electrical/Electronic Engineer I wanted to expand my Engineering knowledge to include the principles of Mechanical Engineering. So choosing the Level 3 – Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering was a good starting point to obtain the fundamentals of the subject. The concepts are well explained, with worked examples in the tutorials and supported by a good selection of practise questions to reinforce your learning. When I required assistance with any of the subject areas, the response from Andy Smith was swift and he indicated where I was going wrong. So therefore this is an excellent course for understanding the basic principles of Mechanical Engineering and I highly recomend it.
David Sheppard –
The content is very well explained. I highly recommend the Level 3 Bridging Units to anybody that wants to learn at Level 4 and beyond!
Chloe F –
Highly recommended! Fantastic course.
This is my third L3 course with Engineers Academy. The broken-down, simple structure of these courses make learning the topics a breeze.
This course in particular covers a wide variety of subjects in easily digestible, bitesize chunks.
Any support I needed was given in a timely manner which meant I could keep studying at an uninterrupted pace.
Overall, there is nothing I would change about this learning experience and I will 100% be studying with Engineers Academy again for my HNC!
Luke –
I took this course to broaden my knowledge prior to starting my HND as it’s been a few years since I completed my HNC. The lessons make it easy to understand and actually quite enjoyable. Would highly recommend to anyone starting a HNC/D in Mechanical Engineering!
Ashley Lake –
After now working in the engineering industry for 10 months and wanting to progress through the ranks, I decided I needed to expand my knowledge and began to look into doing a HNC. With no qualifications in this field and having been out of education for 20 years, I decided to do the bridging courses to get a feel for what I am letting myself in for and the way Engineers Academy runs their courses. I have to say it has been a great experience. It certainly got the ‘cogs turning’ but the videos and clear explanation’s really help you break it down into bitesize chunks. Topics I have never done before starting to feel like I had been doing them for years. Highly recommended and kudos to Andy for putting together such a great course 🙂
david260784 –
I have taken this course together with Level 3 Essential Mathematics for Engineers and also Level 3 Fundamentals of Electrical and Electronic Engineering before I complete the HNC in General Engineering. An excellent course that covers a wide range of topics. Andy has been great in giving me help and guidance through any areas that I was struggling with. Much appreciated Andy.
Nathan M –
Really interesting and easy to follow.
Soph –
Really enjoyed the course and it gave me a lot more confidence to pursue engineering. I struggled at times with a couple of things but it was great to be able to go back to the videos. The equation sheets are a massive bonus to the studying and really helped during the questions. Looking forward to moving up to level 4.
eflavius –
Very good course, the lessons are in-depth however very digestible and easy to understand. The practice questions are also a great way to put what you have learnt into practice and allows you to solidify your knowledge. Highly recommend.
Alex –
Really good course. Challenging and rewarding.
Rick –
I have felt apprehensive about beginning a HNC in General Engineering as I didn’t think I’d have a clue. I dusted the cobwebs off my maths in the Level 3 Mathematics Bridging Course (which I also high recommend) but the Level 3 Mechanical Engineering introduced a lot of things I haven’t come across before, even during my apprenticeship. Shear Forces, Gas Laws and UDL’s (just to name a few of the subjects) were both interesting and surprisingly easy to understand. This ease in obtaining the knowledge in order to pass the quizzes were thanks to the clear and well broken down bite sized lessons that were provided. I know I’m babbling, but I must say thank you Andy for your brilliant lessons and I now feel far more confident in my abilities to begin the HNC. Now onto the Level 3 Electrical course!
daniel.cetnik (verified owner) –
Great course. Plenty of topics with handy equation sheets and informative training videos. Easy to jump in and out of around my daily life.
Ayden Puckey –
Helped so much in preperation for the HNC, and so easy to do alongside work.
Eva –
Fantastic bridging course. I have taken this in preparation for an HNC. The video content is very easy to understand and covers a wide range of topics. Each topic is broken down into individual videos and practice questions. Making it easy to pick up where you left off. Highly recommend.
lee griffin –
i tried a few bridging courses with various companies and found this one to be the best.
Rafal Zieba –
Very good bridging course. It definitely helps with getting back on track after a long break from school. Easy to understand bite size lessons followed by good tests – you won’t ever feel exhausted like I did after attending my college in person. Great support from Andy and very quick responses.
CSRailEngineerAQP –
This was the first of the bridging courses I did where there was a lot of new material I hadn’t seen. I’ve never done problems on shear forces or bending moment diagrams, Archimedes principle and plenty of other stuff but I was able to understand it well after watching the videos entirely. They are honestly really well explained for someone doing it for the first time.
I couldn’t truly comment on teaching after doing the Essential Maths bridging since I remembered a good chunk of that from the past but doing the mechanical engineering bridging has given me a lot of confidence in the Academy’s teaching of the HNC and the HND if they are anything similar to what I have experienced this week.
Thanks very much.
Dave –
On the whole a very good comprehensive course on this multi-faceted subject. The videos break it all down into bitesize manageable chunks and the practice questions although tricky in places give you the understanding you need. Thanks!!
Stephen –
I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Andy has a great teaching style which makes each topic easy to understand. I initially under-estimated the level of material that would be covered; I would have struggled entering Mechanical Engineering at Level 4 but after completing this Bridging Course, I am now prepared. Thanks Andy !
Thomas Martin –
Completed in preparation for an HNC. Gives a very good grounding in mechanical principles and problem solving with applied maths. The course builds up to some fairly complex subjects which are all comprehensively explained through the video tutorials then reinforced with the practice questions.
It took me longer than I anticipated but a lot of the material was new to me, I did find taking notes helped a lot to aid understanding and assist with the practice questions. Andy was very helpful in explaining one or two of the questions I struggled with. Highly recommend.
Matthew Green –
I have recently completed the Mechanical Engineering L3 bridging course as part of a bundle package.
There is a variety of subjects to complete and within them there are bite size topics to work through.
After completing the L3 Maths, I then concentrated my efforts on the L3 Mechanical Engineering. This took me a little bit of time to digest as some of the topics were new to me, but with the videos and worked examples I managed to finish and feel confidently ready and motivated for the next step, a HNC in Mechanical Engineering distance learning course.
The bridging course was money well spent and highly recommended for preparation for further education.
Joshua Roberts (verified owner) –
Having carried out an NVQ level 3 in engineering in the past , i have found this course very helpful in reminding me of various basic concepts in engineering. Coupled with the Essential Mathematics for engineers, I feel
I can approach the HNC with confidence.
andygsmith –
Thank you for your feedback Josh. I am pleased to hear that you now feel well prepared to start an HNC programme.
Sean Dawkins –
As I had not studied for over 6 years I looked into completing this course to jolt my memory and prepare me for the HNC. This course is very well presented and if I’m completely honest the tutorials made every aspect of learning easier than the first time around at college. If you are looking to continue with your education and need a refresher or just gain some fundamental knowledge in the subject this course will be great for you. Highly recommend
andygsmith –
Thank you for your feedback Sean. We look forward to working with you on your chosen HNC programme in the near future.
GaryOB –
They have constructed the website so that it is highly difficult to cancel a subscription. This is a cynical ploy at money grabbing.
andygsmith –
HI Gary. Thank you for your feedback. I can assure you that our intention isn’t to scam or deceive our students. There is a link at the top of every page or your course entitled “CLICK HERE TO MANAGE PRODUCT SUBSCRIPTIONS”. There is also a short video in the getting started tutorials with details on this topic.
We have now cancelled your subscription from our side and sincerely hope that this hasn’t caused you to question our integrity as an education provider. All the best for the future.
Jack Taylor (verified owner) –
I took this course before starting the HNC in Mechanical Engineering. I was very impressed by it; it’s easy to understand and well structured. I found it included so many subjects and gave me a really good start for the Level 4 course. The clarity of the online platform is exceptional (and idiot-proof!), which helped me to focus on the content. It took longer than I expected, though probably because I wanted to take it slow and take it all in. I really recommend taking notes of everything, as since starting the HNC I’ve already found it very helpful to flick through these.
Many thanks Andy for this brilliant and rewarding course.
andygsmith –
We appreciate your positive feedback Jack and thank you for choosing to study your Mechanical Engineering HNC with us. We look forward to working with you over the coming months.
Sam Moore –
Have taken this course prior to starting the HNC in Mechanical Engineering. The platform was straightforward and easy to use with a good range of topics covered. It’s been a worthwhile exercise working through the different topics, so I feel confident in my decision to continue on to study the HNC.
andygsmith –
Thank you for your feedback Sam. We are delighted that you have chosen to study the HNC in Mechanical Engineering with us.
GrahamMills –
I took this course between the Level 3 Essential Mathematics for Engineers and the Level 4 HNC components that follow on. There’s a wide range of topics covered and it gives an excellent grounding in some very complex subjects.
It’s hard to pick out a favourite part, but I found Archimedes Principle a particularly challenging subject, with the pay off being the satisfaction felt once I got to grips with it. Whether or not an object will float in water is such an essential calculation for an engineer to understand. I’ve probably been mulling it over since playing with toys in the bath when I was a kid. Now I understand – and there’s an enormous boost of confidence that goes with that.
The above can said for all of the topics. The key – and I made similar comments about the Maths course – is two fold: 1) the method of teaching is as simple and straightforward as possible with no pretence or superficial BS, and 2) the desired learning outcomes are all reachable goals. It’s important to a student’s confidence to be able to make the steps without either feeling they’re too easy (and therefore not worthy of any real pride), or so hard that they seem unattainable. I think that’s the key to why I’ve enjoyed this platform. The structure, pace and increases in difficulty are perfect.
Personally, I would recommend preceding this with the L3 Maths course, but that’s just my take on it. Be prepared to pay attention and put in the work, but chances are that if you’re serious about this course then you’re already willing to put in the effort to succeed at it.
Thanks to Andy for the excellent content and continued support.
andygsmith –
Thank you for the positive and very detailed feedback Graham! It has been a privilege to work with you during the HNC programme and you are continuing to make excellent progress through each of the bridging courses and HNC units.
Igorssuna –
Thank you Andy for giving this opportunity to complete this course. I enjoyed it all the way thru and made my brain to work at highest capacity :). Few weeks no sleep but it was worth it. Course is very well setup and easy to use.
With 5 attempts, by the time I get it right it can get to attempt 5 but this gives me chance to understand the questions and calculations perfectly clear.
I do think it is very good course to be part of. Thank you Andy and good luck in your future.
andygsmith –
Thank you for your feedback on the course. I have been impressed by your work ethic over the past few months and am delighted to accept you on to our HNC programme in General Engineering. Keep up the amazing work!