Engineering Basics
Brushing Up: the Wiegand Effect
The Wiegand effect, a phenomenon discovered in the 1970s, is the unusually useful behavior of magnetic fields in specially designed wire that outputs...
Recent Articles in Engineering Basics:
Brushing Up: the Wiegand Effect
The Wiegand effect, a phenomenon discovered in the 1970s, is the unusually useful behavior of magnetic fields in specially designed wire that outputs...
20 Minute tune-up: Forward march
This month’s Tune-Up column, which concludes a three-part series on position loops, addresses feed-forward gains...
Functional safety Part 2 of 2
Functional safety accounts for time to build on existing safety structure (category) approaches. As we explored last month in this article series, accounting...
Functional safety Part 1 of 2
Keeping up with changing safety standards is nothing new for machine builders. However, recent changes to the European Commission's new Machinery Directive,...
Standards update: Motion control
Modern life would not exist as we know it without standards. Consumer-appliance power cords would vary by manufacturer, cars would be relatively unsafe,...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 219
Sinking your teeth into a situation doesn't always get you up the hill, as this month's problem by Wesley Richardson of Lexington, Ky., demonstrates...
Keeping your career on track: Tips for introverts
Are you more comfortable in front of your computer than at lunch with your coworkers? When you present a new design to colleagues or clients, do you have...
Centrifugal and centripetal force
An object traveling in a circle, even at constant speed, is accelerating. That's because its direction is constantly changing to point to the center of...
Why so many bearing greases?
The right grease can prolong the life of rolling-element bearings in expensive equipment, cut downtime, and improve performance. Guess what the wrong grease can do...
Course Audit: Motion control made easy
One thing engineers learn very quickly about position control systems is that they are inherently unstable. Consider a typical closed-loop system, consisting of a motor, current amplifier, and position sensor...
Golden triangle: Distributors, system integrators, and you
An innovation network is a web of people, institutions, or companies outside of a firm that helps it solve problems or come up with new ideas. Recently,...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 170
Snap judgement and Solution to Problem 169. Spare the rod and you can end up spoiling the whole show, as this month's problem by E.A. Engebretson of St. Paul, Minn., demonstrates...
