Currently showing items 1 to 25
Letters
Ethanol on the front burner
Lords of the Ring
Sometimes the size of the piece of metal being machined presents equally large challenges.
Auto Review: 2009 Vibe 1.8 liter
Those of us who were around in the 1970s during the last spike in oil prices can remember the ancestors of today’s economy cars.
Sign Builder Sticks With Adhesives
Building a sheet-metal structure? It’s likely you might first think of welding when picking an assembly technique. But for some applications, durable adhesives deliver the desired aesthetic.
Scanning for Ideas: Unmanned Trimaran Smart Enough to Trim Its own Sails
The HWT X-1, an unmanned sailingvessel
prototype designed and built
by Harbor Wing Technologies,
Seattle (harborwingtech.com),
could someday patrol ocean waters
to protect marine areas, monitor
the ocean and atmosphere, and
augment U.S. military forces.
Scanning for Ideas: Encoder Takes on Drift
Linear actuators can have 10-decimal accuracy when they leave the factory or right after calibration, but thermal and linear-guiding drift while the actuator is operating can make that accuracy figure meaningless.
Scanning for Ideas: Taking Temperatures the Easy Way
The Estik from Tempil, South Plainfield, N.J. (tempil.com), makes it simple
to take surface-temperature readings.
Scanning for Ideas: Spring Keeps Seal Working Despite Wear and Tear
The key to the line of canted-coil Bal-
Springs from Bal Seal Engineering Co.
Inc., Foothill Ranch, Calif. (balseal.com),
is the spring (or energizer) that surrounds
the lip of the seal.
Berke On Safety: Which is better: Death by falling or by fire?
Readers occasionally contact me in response to these columns. I recently corresponded with Michael Fischer of the Kellen Co. about the window-screen problem (see M D, Aug. 21, 2008).
Software Review: FEA for Electric Motors
As an engineer, I must often tailor designs for size, weight, power consumption, and other factors.
New Engineering Textbooks
Springer Handbook of Mechanical Engineering
Backtalk
FanFest helps those in need
Looking Back
10 YEARS AGO — NOVEMBER 19, 1998
2008 Tahoe 2WD Hybrid
The Tahoe is a capable, comfortable vehicle with all the bells and whistles you’d expect in a $50K vehicle.
Multiaxis Controller Teaches Water to Dance
Make contact Galil Motion Control,
galilmc.com
WET Design, an L.A.-based company that creates world-famous water fountains, was looking for a flexible controller to use in its fountain fronting a new casino in Macau.
Bearings Make for a Killer Bot
Who would have thought something as ordinary as a bearing could spark a person’s imagination?
Hexapod Fits in Your Palm
What is billed as the world’s smallest high-force hexapod six-axis micropositioner was recently developed by Physik Instrumente L.P., Auburn, Mass.
Education in Focus at Upcoming Automation Fair
The 17th annual Automation Fair,
hosted by automation supplier
Rockwell Automation, takes
place Nov. 19 and 20 in Nashville,
Tenn.
Novel Dual-Axis Linear Motor Gives XY-Base Fast Moves
A line of dual-axis linear motors from Baldor Electric
Co., Fort Smith, Ark., the HoneyComb Series, uses
linear stepper motors to drive an XY base. The motor
comprises two parts, a forcer that generates motion
and a base or platen that performs two-axis moves.
Manufacturing Week Helps Spur a Competitive Edge
As companies try to squeeze more efficiency out of existing processes, they are increasingly tasked with finding technologies that give them a competitive advantage.
Sustainable Engineering: LED Light Strips Run Cool
The Lumifa Series of LED light strips last at least 40,000 hr and only use
a third the energy of fluorescent lights, says Idec Corp. in Sunnyvale,
Calif.
Sustainable Engineering: Air Carriers Try to Make Biofuels Fly
Plane maker Boeing and a group
of air carriers are trying to accelerate
the development and
commercialization of new sustainable
aviation fuels.
Sustainable Engineering: Brouhaha Brewing Over Energy Star Ratings
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program was a source of controversy recently because of questions about measurement practices and exemptions to its rules.