Christmas Gift Ideas for Design Engineers 2021
Welcome to the holidays! As exciting and festive a time of year this is, this time of year also heralds end of year reports, final exams and projects, and unforgiving deadlines. Make sure to stop and take time to engage with others, give back to your community, and think about how your design skills can be used for others’ benefit.
This is our third annual gift idea review for Design Engineers (see 2019 and 2020 here). We hope this list inspires you to give the gift of creativity to a friend, associate, or family member. Or maybe this list will jog your memory of something you need for your work. Either way, have fun checking out the list and we wish you happy holidays!
We aren’t affiliated with any of these companies, but these are all products that at least one member of the BDR team has used, enjoyed, and can recommend.
Tools
1. Klein Wire Strippers $20
Samuel: These wire strippers are great for all sizes of projects, from smaller mechatronics to larger household projects. When I worked in an electrical shop, these wire strippers were the hardest ones to find and always being used.
2. Silicone Tool Tray $24
Chris Mabey: If you are like me and tend to misplace screws, or small tools, this is a great thing to have for any assembly project. It also has a magnetic compartment to keep screws from getting lost. This has saved me a ton of time searching for screws or tools over the last year that I’ve used it.
3. Klein Precision Screwdriver Set $30
Chris Mattson: This is a fantastic electronics screwdriver set. It is super well built. The case is amazing. It has 39 bits, which includes bits to open all apple products. I have given this gift to multiple people, and have always been happy to do so.
4. Precision Machinist’s Square $26
Chris Mattson: I’ve the past 10 years I noticed my dad using a small machinist's square for everything (woodworking, construction, metalworking). I finally bought this one a year ago when I needed to tune up one of my 3D printers. I love this square.
5. Safety Glasses for People with Glasses $15, 3 pack
Samuel: Everyone in my family wears glasses, and we know that finding safety glasses that work with your glasses can be a pain. These are some of our favorites. I’ve been wearing these for years (robotics competitions, work, labs at school) and consider them to be the best “over your normal glasses” fit.
6. Drill Bit Guide $25
Chris Mattson: If you don’t have a drill press, but need a 90 hole, you need this drill guide. This one by Big Gator Tools is great and it can be used to produce super accurate holes. I first used it in a field study in the Amazon region of Brazil, where we didn’t have a drill press.
7. Maglite tactical $40
Chris Mattson: I have two of these; one in my tool kit at home and one in my office. It's a fantastic light. Interestingly I use it mostly for product development style work; looking inside products, examining surfaces, etc. It has different brightness settings, which helps in various ways.
8. Digital Caliper $35
Jeremiah: These (or any other decent brand) digital calipers are a useful tool for any engineer/designer. They precisely measure inner and outer diameter, length, and depth. Calipers help to increase the accuracy of your design.
Supplies
9. TI-Nspire CX II CAS Color Graphing Calculator $130-145
Samuel: I’ve owned this calculator for 6 years and it is one of the best school purchases I’ve made. It’s battery life lasts 2-3 weeks, personally I’ve found that it lasts me 2-3 months. The TI-Nspire performs matrix and vector math, algebra, calculus, probability, statistics, is programmable, and can solve for symbolic solutions with its algebra software. Plus the color screen is great for graphing.
10. Spax Screws $10
Chris Mabey: Screws may seem like a silly gift but after using Spax screws with a torx head you will wonder why we still use Phillips head screws
11. Model making sandpaper rolls (fabric backed) ($30)
Chris Mattson: Someone gave this to me as a gift last year and I love it. I find that I often need a small piece of sandpaper to clean off a part or something similar. This fabric backed sandpaper is awesome compared to standard sandpaper. The idea of dispensing only as much as you need is pretty awesome.
12. Milwaukee INKZALL Pen $13, 4-pack
Chris Mattson: I have wasted many Sharpies over the years writing on oily metal, or saw dust covered wood. This pen is far superior to Sharpies. Sharpies clog, these do not. If you’re going to write on paper, just use a sharpie. But if you need to write on a work piece, the INKZALL is superior.
Office
13. Tao Tronics LED Desk Lamp $50
Samuel: This lamp is sleek, sturdy, and simple. With it’s four light settings and various degrees of intensity, you can get the perfect lighting for any working occasion. It also comes with a USB charger. I have since covered it with Star Wars stickers and it looks even better!
14. 3DConnexion SpaceMouse Wireless $169
Jeremiah: This is the perfect navigation mouse for 3D design. It helps to manipulate digital content and camera positions much easier than a regular mouse. It also includes a few shortcut buttons to save time looking for your favorite commands.
15. Sabrent 60 Watt USB Charging Station $30
Chris Mattson: My wife and I each have 3-5 things we’re trying to charge each night. We’ve had this charger for years and it works just as it should. Super convenient.
16. RocketBook reusable notebook $25
Kaytlin: Convenient for those who like to hand-write notes but store digitally. Takes up less space, perfect for students. Use this with erasable pens, so don’t worry about making mistakes. I have had mine for a few months for classes and I have loved that I can upload all my notes to my computer with a click of a button.
17. UltraWide Monitor $250-350
Kaytlin: Basically two monitors in one. Makes working on the computer so much more convenient, especially for engineers who tend to have a lot of tabs or programs open.
18. Feit Electric Smart Plug $13
John Salmon: This plug connects with google home and Alexa, allowing you to remotely turn on or off any appliances you have at home. If you’re looking for a way to sit on your couch and turn on something without getting up… this could be your gift!
Software/ Hardware
19. Arduino UNO Starter Kit $55
Kaytlin: The perfect kit to get started on any electronics project you have in mind. I have really enjoyed learning the basics of mechatronics and coding with my own Arduino UNO kit.
20. Adafruit Magtag E-ink Display $35
Chris Mabey: This is a great kit to learn how to use a microcontroller. It has wifi built in, and there are so many possibilities for what you can use it for. Use it to show your to-do list, or make a countdown, or show a room is busy, or hook up a battery to it and stick it on the fridge to show important messages.
Books and Fun
21. IDEO Field Guide to Human Centered Design $30
Chris Mabey: This is a great introduction to human centered design. It has clear steps, and templates for different parts of the process. You can get a free PDF of the book, but I love the quality of the printing and images. This can be hard to find on Amazon sometimes, but you can always find new copies on Ebay.
22. LEGO Prices vary
Samuel: These will never go out of style and you will always need more. Read why we like LEGO so much here.
Prices listed are the prices at the time of publishing.
