I think I want to start using Grasshopper, but I guess there is a fairly steep learning curve… which i am happy to undertake if the end game is worth it to me.
but when I look into it on youtube, I tend to see it being used for complex shapes, patterns and architectural designs.. .
I know it is more than this, and I would like to look deeper into using it in Rhino.
Can anyone point me in the direction of some simpl-ish tutorials on youtube that show it off for it ability with engineering design and tasks.
it would be good to see anything like mechanisms, movement, simulations, weights, materials, gravity based stuff etc..
A lot of things can be simulated by using math and / or Kangaroo but I’d say in a mechanical design CAD you can do most of the things much quicker and less complicated. So unless you have a complex task that cannot be solved with regular constraints, Kangaroo is probably not the first approach.
I do not have a mechanical engineering / technical background but if you do not find a lot of formal info in other sites (like YouTube) I think your best bet might be perusing the forums a bit, you’ll find a lot of people doing cool stuff with GH within that discipline.
Here’s an example of a sprocket and chain simulation done by @maje90 :
Do bear in mind that GH does not offer out of the box solutions to any specific professional discipline / market, is a visual programming environment first and foremost with a general focus on mathematical and geometrical operations, you will most likely have to come up with your own algorithms for your specific use cases.
This might come up as a steep learning curve at first but it has a massive pay-off once you get a hang of it in my opinion. Good luck!