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February 9, 2012 Machine Design

Designing gearboxes for efficiency
Analyzing Trade-Offs Between Servos and Stepper Motors
Taming Electrical Noise in Motion Systems
More Manufacturers Want to "Make It In America"
How to Use Thin-Walled Bushins the Right Way

News

  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Coke bottles jump on the biomaterial bandwagon

    Coca-Cola is working with biotechnology firms Virent, Gevo, and Avantium on beverage bottles made from plant-based materials. The effort builds on Coca-Cola’s first-ever recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Compliant linings deaden hydraulic noise

    A new approach to squelching noise in hydraulic systems applies compliant linings to noise-control devices for fluid-power systems...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    A backpack for electric cars

    The Dock + Go, a concept car from Rinspeed in Switzerland, would give owners of electric cars a variety of options in using their vehicles...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Electronic cables keep military robots on the battlefield

    Many military robots rely on flexible, flat cables from Cicoil Corp., Valencia, Calif. The cables’ form factor makes them lightweight and compact, which saves space and power...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Giving underwater robots a firm grip

    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...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Coating could protect helicopter blades

    The fine sand found in parts of Afghanistan and Iraq erodes and damages the blades of Apache, Chinook, and Blackhawk helicopters used by the military...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Your next table lamp could be a laser

    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...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    World’s smallest electric vehicle could be a powered unicycle

    The Solowheel, an electric unicycle, can carry a rider at up to 10 mph, for up to 20 miles on a single charge of the battery...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Pressure sensors that stretch like skin

    A chemical engineer at Stanford University has developed a pressure sensor based on a pair of transparent films of single-walled carbon nanotubes...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

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

    The RE6O from Baja Auto in India, could set a new benchmark for small, inexpensive cars...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Waterjets are mainstream for engineering students

    Talk to most any manufacturer and a common complaint is that recent engineering grads don’t have practical, hands-on experience...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Letters 2/09/2012

    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...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Rugged hollow-shaft encoder can be user programmed

    Rugged hollow-shaft encoder can be user programmed...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Death knell for lead-acid batteries

    In historical terms, the death of the flint tool, cooking by dung, and other bygone technologies occurred rapidly because several factors conspired to bring in better alternatives. So it is with lead-acid batteries...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    CFD software calculates underwater speed for a small sub

    In the past, one way to calculate how much power a submarine needs was to put a scale model of it into a test tank flowing with water and measure the model’s resistance to the flow stream...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Inventor's Corner: Technique molds large, hollow, monolithic composites

    A new manufacturing technique makes hollow composite structures that have no seam...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Backtalk 2/09/2012

    Five years ago, Schunk Inc., Morrisville, N.C., initiated the Expert Days on Service Robotics to broaden the awareness and potential for an international service robotics market...More

Looking Back

  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Looking Back 2/09/2012

    Clean commuting: The New York Power Authority is teaming up with Ford Motor Co. to give metropolitan commuters a clean transportation alternative...More

Editorial Comment

  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    More manufacturing jobs, but no renaissance

    Employment on the American factory floor is growing, up by 334,000 jobs over the past two years...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Mandating innovation

    Been following the cellulosic ethanol fiasco? In a nutshell, Congress passed a law five years ago mandating that oil companies blend cellulosic fuel into gasoline...More

Berke on Safety

  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Lessons of hospital accidents

    Here is a sobering statistic: As a safety expert, I am usually called to investigate an accident at a hospital as many as 12 times a year...More

Scanning the Field

Software Review

  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Flip book for DraftSight

    DraftSight is free CAD software for DWG files. DraftSight’s newest learning resource, the Master Series online “flip” book...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    Proprietary software lets company optimize flexible shafts

    PerflexiIon proprietary software can optimize the performance attributes of any flexible rotary shaft, exceeding those required by current customer specifications...More
  • Feb. 9, 2012
    article
    Machine Design

    SPC software keeps track of production metrics

    Synergy 2000 Version 9.0, Statistical Process Control (SPC) software, includes a new Scorecard Report Card that lets users quickly get a snapshot of their production metrics for up to six attributes...More

Features

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Posted 5 days ago
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Good night! Now they want to regulate 3D printers!!
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Posted 1 week ago
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Posted 2 weeks ago
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