October 23, 2008

How to Hinge Fastening & Joining Reference Guide, A different kind of engineering nightmare, Keeping hackers out of wireless industrial networks, Is it reliable? Weibull plots give the answer, Secrets of thermal drilling

October 23, 2008

Digital

Features

Packaging Goes Back to Nature

Consumers want development of recycled, recyclable, biodegradeable, and biocompostable packaging. Remember when consumer pressure forced McDonalds to stop using CFCs in its take-out containers? Scrutiny of packaging and expectations of environmental responsibility hardly eased up since then.

Electrohydraulic Controls Boost Thermal Drilling

The degree of work hardening depends on the material, but it’s rarely a problem in most steel alloys. As a result, the formed bushing is remarkably strong and can be used for bearing sleeves or, when threaded in a separate process, provides high torque capacity and pull-out strength.

The Candidates and Technology

With the presidential elections nearing, Machine Design wants to give its audience a look at Senators’ McCain (R-AZ) and Obama (D-IL) views on issues that affect engineers. Topics include energy policy, climate change, and the space program.

Leland Teschler's Editorial: Mathematics of Financial Chaos

Benoit Mandelbrot’s work has recently made headlines, at least indirectly, he devoted much of his early career to studying how financial markets behave.

Don’t Come Unhinged Over Enclosure Design

Here are several basic points engineers should consider to help zero in on the hinge best suited for a particular enclosure

Bearing Swap: If You Can’t Take the Chill, Get Out of the Cooler

The 5997 MatTop chain from Rexnord Industries LLC tried Rexnord Duralon bearings in the cooler and in hot water spray. Inspections after an eight-month trial revealed no visible wear, so the company planned to replace the remaining bearings.

Configurable Components Streamline Packaging

Micron PharmaWorks Inc. builds machines other firms use to package pharmaceuticals. To streamline design and cut costs, Micron PharmaWorks turned to Misumi USA Inc. when designing their thermoformer. Engineers used Misumi’s online CAD configurator to create shafts, bearings, and supports.

Sustainable Engineering: Brouhaha Brewing Over Energy Star Ratings

Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program was a source of controversy

News

Bulletproof

Modern networks can employ measures that easily thwart such primitive attempts to breach security. But new links with top-notch security protocols may be add-ons to older segments vulnerable to various kinds of attacks.

Berke on Safety: Safe But Slow: How Long ‘Til Operators Remove the Guard?

Machine guarding protects people from injury during a machine’s normal operation. There are four basic approaches to machine guarding: barrier guards, guarding devices, guarding by location, and warnings.

Scanning for Ideas: Taking the Shock Out of Factory-Floor Vacuums

To cut down on such static shock, Nortech Vacuum Products has devised a line of static-conductive pneumatic vacuums that suppress static charges. All components are conductive, including the carbonfiber paint on the drum.

Scanning for Ideas: Heavy-Duty Alternator Manages Battery, Too

Brushless alternators have fewer moving parts to wear out, so they last longer. The 36SI is also efficient, needing less engine power to generate electricity, which leaves more to turn the wheels and pull the load.

Weibull Plots Predict System Reliability

The Weibull plot differs from a normal distribution in that the normal distribution fits data to a bell curve. The Weibull method fits a curve to the data. Even with just a dozen or so prototypes it makes good predictions.

How to Take Vibration out of Stepmotors

Stepmotors are one of the most robust yet intricate motion-control products available. Although these motors are an engineering marvel, there are times when their performance just can’t cut it.

How to Engineer a Nightmare

David Hackl has been involved with the somewhat gory, somewhat scary Saw movies II through V. He gave us some insights into the mechanics of scaring moviegoers out of their wits.

NASA Tests Rocketengine Components

The J-2X engine will power the second stage of the Ares 1 rocket which will ferry astronauts to the Space Station as well as the Moon. The gas generator was built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and will drive the Ares I’s turbopumps.

Software Review: Digital-Reconstruction Software Simplifies Scanning to CAD

New extension-editing capabilities in Geomagic Studio 10 let users make global adjustments such as resizing, repositioning, and smoothing extension lines. Multisensor metrology support lets designers use touch probes in combination with 3D laser scanners.

Microfluidic Chip Screens Small, Living Organisms

Genetic pioneers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a “lab-on-a-chip,“ the first automated device that combines high-resolution imaging with sorting. In the future, it will let us perform genetic screening a lot faster than traditional methods and speed discovery of new genes.

Career Profile: Ken McKinney

Ken McKinney, SkunkWorks member and volunteer talks about mentoring high schoolers and working on impossible projects. Lockheed Martin and Project Lead the Way have teamed up for a K-to-12 education outreach initiative designed to develop the next generation of engineers

How to Cheat in NASCAR

To win at NASCAR, you have to have a great driver, a stellar pit crew, and a garage that gives you the best equipment. But the easiest way to win at NASCAR? Cheat. In the 1960s, Richard Petty admitted he cheated but tried to keep the tweaks modest so they wouldn’t attract attention.

October 23, 2008

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