Engineering Glossary: F
61 definitions in plain language.
61 terms beginning with F. Use the filter to narrow the list, or the letters to jump to another part of the glossary.
61 terms
- Factory acceptance test #
- A test of a system at the builder's site before it is shipped to the customer. Also called FAT. Automation, controls and robotics
- Failure rate #
- The number of failures per unit of time, often shown as failures per million hours. Math, units, quality and workshop
- Farad #
- The SI unit of capacitance: one coulomb per volt. Electrical power and machines
- Fatigue #
- Failure of a part under repeated loading at stresses well below its static strength. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Fatigue strength #
- The stress amplitude a material can withstand for a stated number of cycles, such as one million. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Fault level #
- The maximum short-circuit current or power available at a point in an electrical system. Electrical power and machines
- FDM #
- Fused deposition modeling: 3D printing by extruding melted plastic filament through a nozzle. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Feature #
- A measurable property of the data used as an input to a model. Programming, data and computing
- Feature control frame #
- The rectangle on a drawing that states a geometric tolerance, its value and its datum references. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Feedforward #
- Control that uses a measured disturbance to correct the output before the error appears. Automation, controls and robotics
- Feed rate #
- How fast the cutter or workpiece advances, in mm/min or inches per minute. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Ferrite #
- A soft, magnetic form of iron (body-centered cubic) with very little dissolved carbon. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Ferrite bead #
- A small ferrite component that absorbs high-frequency noise on a wire. Electronics
- Ferrous metal #
- A metal based on iron, such as steel and cast iron. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Fiberglass #
- A composite of glass fibers in a plastic resin. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Fieldbus #
- A digital network that connects field devices to a controller over a single cable. Automation, controls and robotics
- Fillet radius #
- The rounded transition at an inside corner, which reduces stress concentration. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Fillet weld #
- A triangular weld joining two surfaces at right angles. Mechanical design and mechanics Read more: Fillet Weld Size and Strength Calculator
- Filter #
- A circuit that passes some frequencies and blocks others. Electronics Read more: RC Time Constant and Filter Calculator
- Filter (fluid) #
- A device that removes particles from a fluid. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics
- Fin #
- An extended surface that adds area to increase heat transfer, as on a heat sink or engine cylinder. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics Read more: Heat Transfer
- Finite element analysis #
- A numerical method that divides a part into small elements to calculate stress, heat flow and other effects. Also called FEA. Programming, data and computing
- Fire triangle #
- The three things a fire needs: fuel, oxygen and heat. Math, units, quality and workshop
- Firewall #
- A device or software that allows or blocks network traffic by rules. Automation, controls and robotics
- Firmware #
- Software stored in a device's non-volatile memory that controls how it works. Programming, data and computing
- First law of thermodynamics #
- Energy is conserved: the change in a system's energy equals the heat added minus the work done. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics Read more: Thermodynamics and Steam
- Fit #
- The relationship between a shaft and a hole that go together: clearance, transition or interference. Materials, manufacturing and measurement Read more: Fit Calculator (ISO 286)
- Fixed beam #
- A beam whose ends are clamped so they cannot rotate. Also called built-in or encastré. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Fixture #
- A device that holds and locates a workpiece in a known position during machining or inspection. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Flash #
- A thin extra layer of material that escapes at the parting line of a mold. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Flash memory #
- Non-volatile memory that keeps its contents without power and is erased in blocks; holds the program in most microcontrollers. Programming, data and computing
- Flatness #
- A geometric tolerance that limits how far a surface may deviate from a perfect plane. Materials, manufacturing and measurement Read more: Form Tolerances
- Flip-flop #
- A circuit that stores one bit and changes only on a clock edge. Electronics
- Floating point #
- A way of storing real numbers as a mantissa and an exponent, with limited precision. Programming, data and computing Read more: Numbers and Floating Point
- Flow meter #
- An instrument that measures the flow rate of a fluid. Automation, controls and robotics Read more: Pressure, Level and Flow Sensors
- Flow rate #
- The volume or mass of fluid passing a point per unit time. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics Read more: Flow Rate Converter
- Fluid #
- A substance, liquid or gas, that flows and takes the shape of its container. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics
- Fluid power #
- The general term for hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics
- Flux #
- A chemical that cleans metal surfaces and helps solder flow during soldering. Electronics
- Flyback diode #
- A diode across a relay or motor coil that carries the current when the coil is switched off, protecting the switch. Also called a freewheeling diode. Electronics
- Flywheel #
- A heavy wheel that stores rotational energy and smooths out changes in speed. Mechanical design and mechanics Read more: Flywheels, Balancing and Rotors
- FMEA #
- Failure mode and effects analysis: a method of listing how a product can fail, how bad it would be and how to prevent it. Math, units, quality and workshop
- Footprint #
- The pattern of pads on a PCB for one component. Electronics
- Forging #
- Shaping metal by hammering or pressing it, usually hot, which improves its grain structure and strength. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Forward kinematics #
- Finding the position of a robot tool from the joint angles. Automation, controls and robotics
- Forward voltage #
- The voltage drop across a conducting diode or LED: about 0.7 V for silicon. Electronics
- Four-bar linkage #
- A mechanism with four links joined in a loop by four pin joints. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Fourier series #
- A way of writing a repeating signal as a sum of sine and cosine waves. Math, units, quality and workshop
- Fourier transform #
- A tool that breaks a signal into its frequency components. The fast version is called the FFT. Math, units, quality and workshop
- Fracture toughness #
- A material's resistance to the growth of a crack, measured as KIC. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Free air #
- Air at atmospheric conditions, the basis for stating compressor output in scfm or L/min. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics
- Free-body diagram #
- A sketch of a body isolated from its surroundings, showing all the forces and moments acting on it. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Frequency #
- The number of cycles per second of an alternating quantity, in hertz: 50 or 60 Hz for mains power. Electrical power and machines
- Friction #
- The force that resists sliding between two surfaces in contact. Mechanical design and mechanics
- Friction factor #
- The dimensionless coefficient in the Darcy-Weisbach equation, found from the Reynolds number and relative roughness. Fluids, heat and thermodynamics
- Full-load current #
- The current a motor draws when delivering its rated power. Electrical power and machines Read more: Motor Full-Load Current (Three-Phase)
- Function #
- A named block of code that does a task and may return a value. Programming, data and computing
- Function block diagram #
- A PLC language in which blocks for functions are connected by lines. Automation, controls and robotics
- Function generator #
- An instrument that produces test waveforms such as sine, square and triangle. Electronics
- Fundamental deviation #
- In the ISO system, the deviation that fixes the position of the tolerance zone relative to the basic size, shown by a letter. Materials, manufacturing and measurement
- Fuse #
- A protective device with a wire that melts and opens the circuit when current is too high. Electrical power and machines