September 24, 2009

The algebra teacher I had in high school left a lot to be desired.

Letters 09/24/2009

Most readers enthusiastically agreed that the hubbub about teamwork is overwrought and overdone, just another management buzzword-of-the-month suggested by a well-paid consultant who works alone.

Test Driving the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse FWD 1LT

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Test driving the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse FWD 1LT

Watchdog Timer Enables Capacitive Touch Sensor

A simple four-component circuit allows a single I/O line from any microcontroller to sense the states of two capacitive touch sensors.

Backtalk

Shell Oil Products US wants to thank consumers for making its Shell V-Power America’s bestselling premium gasoline by inviting everyone to enter the Shell VPower “Fuel My Passion” Contest and Sweepstakes

Sponsored

Reverse Engineering Builds a Better Motorbike for the Drag Strip

Motorcycle and funny-car racing shop Fisher Motorsports used a portable scanner and point-cloud processing software to digitally capture the shape of an original Kawasaki crankcase and generate a 3D CAD model of it.

Pack Expo 2009 comes to Las Vegas

TCP/IP Controls Test-Machine Servos over Ethernet

A new machine for testing automotive ball-joint seals from Dynamic Testing & Equipment uses programmable AC servos instead of conventional hydraulic actuators to control its two motorized axes.

SLA Lets Kids See Like a Bug

Rapid prototyping (RP) helps in developing a large replica of dragonfly eyes for an Insectarium, an interactive outdoor exhibit about insects.

Linear Bearings Let Mobile Hospital Expand

Rollon Corp. Compact Rail linear bearings let mobile hospital expand.

Aluminum Tooling Speeds Delivery and Cuts Cycle Time

Aluminum tools for plastic molding can be less expensive, have less leadtime, and permit faster production cycles.

Stay Safe When Renting Equipment

Equipment-rental companies serve their purpose, but renters should be sure to get adequate training and documentation as well as well-maintained equipment.

Montie Roland

An accomplished designer gets his kicks helping entrepreneurs.

Multiphysics Software Helps Build Hi-Fi Hearing Aids

Multiphysics software helps a hearing-aid manufacturer predict acoustic behavior, which is extremely hard to analyze experimentally.

Urban Aeronautics is testing its Mule, a UAV that can hover and cruise at up to 100 mph

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Urban Aeronautics is testing its Mule, a UAV that can hover and cruise at up to 100 mph

Carpenter Technology outlines how high-tech melting creates high-performance metal alloys

Premium-melting techniques like vacuum-arc remelting, vacuum-induction melting, and electroslag remelting produce alloys with little microscopic segregation, few impurities, and high-performance attributes that can’t be attained through standard air melting.