Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:39:14 -0600

Authored by:
Adam Mellenkamp
Product Manager
Stober Drives Inc.
Maysville, Ky.
Edited by Stephen J. Mraz
stephen.mraz@penton.com
Resources:
Stober Drives Inc.

Rugged hollow-shaft encoder can be user programmed

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:57:21 -0600

The HS35 incremental hollow-shaft encoder from Baumer Ltd., Southington, Conn., combines heavy-duty design with a precise optical scanner to provide reliable, closed-loop control with accuracies of 60 arc-sec.

Fingerprint-activated switch provides biometric protection

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:55:24 -0600

The Harmony XB5 Biometric Switch from Schneider Electric USA, Palatine, Ill., could be the ultimate in security for industrial applications, using fingerprints to identify authorized technicians and workers.

Letters 2/09/2012

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:51:50 -0600

De or reregulate?

One reader is concerned about safety devices that cause injuries, while others wonder what industries to regulate and which to deregulate. Some suggest engineering should be deregulated. Another letter writer brings up the familiar question: Is there really a shortage of engineers and scientists?

World’s smallest car, or is it even a car?

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:39:33 -0600

Resources
Baja Auto

Pressure sensors that stretch like skin

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:37:52 -0600

Resources:
Stanford University

A chemical engineer at Stanford University has developed a pressure sensor based on a pair of transparent films of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes act as springs, letting the sensor accurately measure forces on it as it is being pulled like taffy or squeezed like a sponge.

Your next table lamp could be a laser

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:33:57 -0600

Resources
Sandia National Laboratory

Combine blue, red, green, and yellow laser light and you will get white light, but perhaps a white light you wouldn’t want illuminating your living room. It’s long been thought that the extremely narrow band of wavelengths generated by the four lasers would create a harsh white light consumers would find unpleasant and uncomfortable.

Coating could protect helicopter blades

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:31:38 -0600

Resources:
Army Research Laboratory

Giving underwater robots a firm grip

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:30:06 -0600

Resources:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

If an underwater robot has a task to perform, such as opening a stuck valve or repairing a leaking pipe, it must anchor itself so it can apply force without the reaction pushing it away. A team of engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a solution: Give the robot a way to “grab hold” of ferrous surfaces.

Electronic cables keep military robots on the battlefield

Jared Rader — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:28:43 -0600

Resources:
Cicoil Corp.

More articles by Stephen J. Mraz