Mechanical

GM kicked off the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit by, among other things, introducing a new Cadillac. Once the fanfare had died down, observers could hear a distinct creaking as the turntable display supporting the Caddy labored to move its load. This little anecdote...

Manufacturers have written owner’s manuals, put warning labels on rolling stock, and distributed additional literature that contributes to rolling-stock safety. These documents emphasize the importance of proper lockout/tagout procedures. But, workers don’t...

A pay raise is the farthest thing from the mind of most workers today. That may be doubly so for engineers. The daily hand-wringing about manufacturing layoffs in the press and on TV has made a lot of people nervous about their prospects for employment. It would...

For all the rhetoric about the wheels coming off Detroit and the credit market, critics have missed one point: Both situations can be chalked up to too much optimism. That conclusion can be drawn from a body of work that suggests managers typically underplay obvious uncertainties, thinking...

Leadscrew assemblies or drives are widely used to generate linear motion. And you can get this motion by turning either the screw or the nut. Three primary...