This article takes you through a method that you can use to pass the PE exam. This method is described step by step and has proven many times to work. This method will save you time and money from other methods like taking an exam preparatory course. This method is for the self-motivated test taker. Some people may be more suited to going through a planned course with motivation from a teacher.

Step 1: Gather your Resources

The first step is to collect the minimum amount of resources that you will need to pass the exam. I have created a separate page that goes through each resource. Some of these resources will require you pay and others are free. The total cost for these resources is around $300 to $400. You should try and get the resources used, because the older versions will still allow you to pass the PE exam.
Machine Thrifty Resources: https://www.engproguides.com/machine-thrifty-engineer-resources.html

Step 2: Create Your 3-Ring Binder

The next step is to get a 3″ three ring binder. This binder will hold all your notes, practice problems and cheat sheets. You should put the NCEES outline in the front of the binder. Creating your binder helps to customize the subject matter, which makes it easier to remember where everything is located, since you put everything in the binder. This will help to speed up the time it takes to do the easier to medium difficulty level problems, which will give you more time to do the more difficult problems that may require you to look-up terms in your references.

Step 3: Create a section for each NCEES topic below.

Then create sections and separators for each of the Machine Design & Materials NCEES topics. These topics include the following:

1. Basic Engineering Practice
2. Engineering Science & Mechanics
3. Material Properties
4. Strength of Materials
5. Vibration
6. Mechanical Components
7. Joints & Fasteners
8. Supportive Knowledge

Step 4: Fill up the binder with practice problems and relevant information to each topic.

As you go through the next steps which involve reading through the references and completing sample exams, you should write down or print out the necessary material and place it into the appropriate section of your 3-ring binder. Each section should have all the sample problems within that topic and any tables, equations, page excerpts that were necessary to solve the problem or any information that you think may be necessary to solve future problems.

Step 5: Complete Engineering Pro Guides Technical Study Guide

Next, step is to read through the Engineering Pro Guides Machine Design & Materials Technical Study Guide and complete the practice problems. The practice problems are not the same level of difficulty as the actual PE exam, but it will help you to determine what material you need in your 3-ring binder. For example, when you are completing a pipe friction loss calculation, you know that you need the Moody Diagram and the inner diameters and areas. Copy this information and put it into the binder under the correct section.
Machine Design & Materials Technical Study Guide Link: https://www.engproguides.com/pe-mechanical-machine-design-and-materials-practice-exam-guide.html

Step 6: Print out cheat sheets from Engineering Pro Guides and place into your binder.

Each section of the engineering pro guides machine design and materials technical study guide has a list of key equations and terms. This is a good place to start in beginning to fill in your 3-ring binder. You can also place the practice problems from each section into your binder. Engineering Pro Guides also offers a word document version of the key equations and terms that you can edit. The cheat sheet for the Machine Design & Materials PE Exam can be found on the link below. You can use this document to edit your cheat sheets as you go through the next steps.
Link: https://engproguides.com/free-pe-exam-cheat-sheets-unit-conversions.html

Step 7: Look up terms you don’t know and add to your binder.

Next, complete the Engineering Pro Guides full exam. When you take the exam for the first time, you should time yourself and break up the exam into two, four-hour sessions. This will help to simulate the actual exam. When you grade yourself, you should be very forgiving and understanding of yourself, since this is the first time taking the exam. You should expect a maximum score of about 50%, depending on how well you did in engineering college.
Machine Design & Materials Full Exam Link: https://www.engproguides.com/machinmechanical-electrical-pe-exam-tools.html

A typical score of 50% on the first time through an exam is acceptable, even if you already completed a similar sample PE exam.

The next step is to go through the exam, one problem at a time and make sure that you understand how to do each problem even if you got the problem correct. You should also take the exam problem and place it into your binder, along with your work and any other references you needed to solve that problem. When you place the items in your binder, you want to envision encountering a similar problem on the actual PE exam.

Step 8: Identify Weaknesses

Now, that you have completed one exam, you should be able to look at the various NCEES topics and determine your weaknesses. Are you struggling with Mechanical Components? Statics? Vibration? or Materials?

Once you have identified your weaknesses, you should go through the resources and read more about the topics. If you can find sample problems on the topic online, that will help as well. Search through youtube videos to find instructions on how to complete typical problems within your weak topics. Add any information you find to your binder. The Engineering Pro Guides Machine Design & Materials Technical Study Guide is a good place to start to find more information on your weak topics. The following webpage also identifies appropriate resources for each NCEES Machine Design & Materials topic.

Step 9: Take NCEES Machine Design & Materials Sample Exam

Now, that you have completed one exam and built up your binder and knowledge, the next step is to try the actual NCEES sample exam. This exam is the closest representation to the actual PE exam. When you complete this exam, follow the same method as the previous exam. Complete the exam in two, four-hour sessions and after the exam, you should identify your weaknesses and continue to research your weak topics.

The NCEES sample exam is made from old Machine Design & Materials PE exam problems, so it is the more representative of the actual exam. The next exam that is closest is the Engineering Pro Guides exam.

Step 10: Read through Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design and Machinery’s Handbook

The Machine Design & Materials exam currently references a lot of topics in Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design. You should go through these topics and do all the sample problems within each of the chapters that are on the NCEES Machine Design & Materials exam. Complete the sample problems in Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design that pertain to the topics in the NCEES Machine Design & Materials outline. Add these problems to your binder.

The Machine Design & Materials exam also references a lot of topics within the Machinery’s Handbook as shown on the resources page. Complete the sample problems in these books that pertain to the topics in the NCEES Machine Design & Materials outline. Add these problems to your binder.

Complete the sample problems in these two books that pertain to the topics in the NCEES Machine Design & Materials outline. Add these problems to your binder. The Machine Design & Materials References Exam is also another good way to go through all of these chapters with sample problems.
Machine Design & Materials Reference Exam Link: https://www.engproguides.com/pe-mechanical-machine-design-and-materials-supplemental-reference-exam.html

Step 11: Increase Speed

Lastly, I think that you can complete all the NCEES Machine Design & Materials PE Exam problems with unlimited time and the correct resources. The Machinery Handbook, Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design and the Engineering Pro Guides Technical Study Guide pretty much have all the answers to the PE exam problems, it is just a matter of finding all that information within the allotted time. Thus the last part of your studying should be to increase your speed in completing the problems within the NCEES sample exam, the Engineering Pro Guides exam and the ASHRAE problems. Tab your binder and reference books so you can access equations and tables very quickly.

You can score HIGH on the actual PE exam given enough time. The problem is that you only have six minutes per problem. Better preparation and practice can help you to decrease the time you spend on easy-medium problems. This will save you time for the difficult problems.

Time yourself and try to improve your speed for the problems that you know will be on the exam. Each NCEES topic has problems that are very common. For example, statics always seems to have a beam bending problem. Joints and Fasteners, most likely will have a fastener group problem. Try to think like the exam creator and think of common problems within each topic. Then do variations of the problem, for example if the problem gives you “X”, “Y” and wants you to solve for “Z”, then do the problem with given “Z” and “Y”, then solve for “X”.

Step 12: Do More Practice Problems

If you have time, then you should go through more practice problems. I recommend 6MS and any older NCEES Mechanical PE Exam that you can get your hands on.