May 11, 2006

Planetary drives reduce the speed and increase the torque hydraulic motors deliver to sprockets, wheels, and drums.

I worked one summer during college as an electrician's assistant.

Designers at MotoTrix Inc., Deephaven, Minn., felt they had a winning idea on their hands with their Light Buster utility and backup light for SUVs.

While the Hummer H3 is smaller and more approachable than its predecessors, don't let that fool you — this baby is all truck.

Hydraulic fan drives cut fuel costs, increase power, and reduce emissions.

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Boston College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a high-temperature (3,600°F) strengthening technique that boosts the strength of single-walled carbon nanotubes by a factor of nearly 2.8.

Advanced polymers let designers replace metals in large, complex gear sets that can carry heavy loads and survive harsh environments.

Stylists and engineers are exploring new ways to personalize pickup trucks, the best-selling type of vehicle in the U.S.

In 1971, when I was starting my first job in the gear-pump business, among the helpful advice offered by the old timers was that gear pumps would one day be obsolete, and I would be smart to build a career elsewhere.

The factory floor can be a hazardous place, especially for delicate electronics. Electrical interference, dust, dirt, and vibrations can render them useless.

Traditional timeof-flight sensors use a photodiode to detect laser signals bouncing off an object to detect the distance between the sensor and the object.

Electrical devices, appliances, and other enclosures that house electronics need protection against fluctuating temperatures, moisture, and contaminants, but still must be able to equalize the pressure inside and outside the cabinets.

Brushless dc motors without wire windings rotate smoothly with practically no cogging or torque ripple.

Lufthansa Technik AG, Hamburg, worked to outfit luxury Boeing and Airbus aircraft with flame-retardant highgrade wood veneers that complied with the FAR 25.853 aviation standard.

Many conventional rotary and indexing applications are solved with standard ball or roller bearings, especially in the smaller size ranges of up to 200-mm diameter.

Spiral-wound retaining rings expand the design envelope of conventional snap rings.

Industrial networks increasingly incorporate switching gear to avoid bottlenecks that can bog down critical operations.

The whole point of simulation software is to test ideas on the fringe.

Ever been working on a design only to get stuck on a detail you just can't quite figure out?

A solid-state relay conducts load current through one or more power transistors or thyristors.