Top iPhone Applications For The Engineer

One of the best things about the iPhone is the insanely large range of apps available for you that offer convenience, education and even fun.

There are plenty of lists of the top ten games and time-wasters, but here’s a list of iPhone apps specifically for engineers.

Engineer’s Calculator
Here’s a calculator specifically designed for engineers with all the functions that you could expect to use in your normal working day. It displays your results in the correct format and has most of the common formulas ready for your perusal. At just $1.99, it enhances your productivity on the go without costing as much as a latte.

RC Beam and RC Design
If you work in construction then you need these apps. RC Design helps you with your calculations for reinforced concrete members, while RC beam is a great tool when designing reinforced concrete beams. They retail at $4.99 each, so you’ll need to be prepared to shell out almost $10 for the whole set. Not much when you consider how much use you’ll get out of them.

element14 Everywhere
This is the mobile app for users of element-14.com, a community of electronic engineers. Now you can keep up-to-date with the website and its users on the go. It is not just a social community … it’s a depository of information, news and developments on all the latest in electronic engineering. You can even ask for advice from your peers if you’re stuck on a problem and away from your computer.

Electronic Toolbox
If you prefer references on electronics along with your conversion and calculation tools, check out Electronic toolbox. It’s great for engineers and electrical hobbyists alike.

Engineering Professional
If you’re interested in engineering outside of your own field, use Engineering Professional to provide you with formulas and computations for the whole discipline, from chemical engineering to environmental engineering to electrical engineering. This level of depth does come with a price tag – the app is available for $11.99 – but with over 650 formulas available and plans for more, it’s well-worth it for those who need to work across the various fields of engineering.

Digi-Key
This free app helps you order the electronic components that you need as soon as you know they are necessary. Great for convenience and getting ahead of the curve, the Digi-Key app even allows you to view datasheets and specifications for products so that if you need, for example, a load cell, you can read the specifications of each loadcell until you find the perfect one.

Equivalence
As an engineer you spend a surprisingly large portion of your day converting between different units of measurement – especially if you have to deal with both the imperial and metric systems. Equivalence is here to help you speed through these tiresome calculations. At $2.99 it’s not the cheapest app, but it’s well worth it to cut down on the time spent on the drudgery of converting measurements.

Whether looking for apps for work, play or simple convenience, engineers should make a beeline for the iTunes store so that they can have these apps on their iPhone as soon as possible.