Totally turbulence
Fluid dynamics comprise one wild frontier in physics that has not yet been fully tamed. Where Newton's laws neatly describe macroscopic behavior of discrete...
Add financial oomph to your designs
Engineers, scientists, and technical people are subject to stereotypes. Super-smart, hard worker, and problem solver stand out as positive labels, while...
Distributors play vital training role
Experts warn of an impending shortage of qualified workers. Worse yet, the world of motion stands to be one of the hardest hit areas. We face a perfect...
More on entropy
As a measurement of a system's randomness, entropy has specific scientific meaning. Last month, we saw how entropy can be scientifically defined in terms...
Solving problems when things go wrong
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. Theodore Isaac Rubin, American...
Segway segue
Check it out, Dean Kamen: Forty years before the Segway, in 1959, a young student at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology,...
A rip in time makes nine
From the erosion of a grain of sand off a cliff to the unbounded expansion of the Universe, Nature tends towards disorder. This tendency has a name entropy....
The right distributor relationship
One question that motion control users have pondered for years is this: Is it better to select one strategic partner or use my business as leverage to...
Special report: U.S. manufacturing
As this magazine marks its 50th year in print, we explore how U.S. manufacturing has changed over this last half century. The trends are dramatic and (despite current economic woes) encouraging as well....
IEEE celebrates 125 years
Tracing its roots to the founding of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), today's IEEE celebrates...
Investigating IP codes
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) Publication 60529 Classification of Degrees of Protection Provided by Enclosures provides a system for...
Moving rod ends
Similar to ball-and-socket joints, rod ends integrate a spherical bearing with a threaded shaft to make a support structure for other pivoting or moving...
Molecular motors
In some of the smallest motion systems in nature, scientists are now identifying how viruses sweep material inward. ...
Graphene holds promise for nanoelectronics
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a novel method for controlling the nature of graphene, bringing academia and industry one step closer to realizing the mass production of graphene-based nanoelectronics....
Back to school: Industrial automation
During economic downturns, machine designers, operators, and maintenance personnel can improve their marketability with updated skills by taking training courses. ...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 189
Wreck creation and Solution to Problem 188. You only need to fool a few of the people all of the time...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 177
Loan arranger and Solution to Problem 176. A penny saved is not necessarily a penny earned, as this problem by Gene Likins, of Duncan, Okla....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 188
Profit and lost and Solution to Problem 187. It is not what you say...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 187
Pipe dreams and Soulution to Problem 186. Proper ID can be required in some unlikely places...
Preview of long-awaited math reference debuts
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a five-chapter preview of the highly anticipated online Digital Library of Mathematical...
Project management shortens time to market
Project management enables people from different disciplines to work together so they can complete difficult projects on time, within budget....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 186
Focal point and Solution to Problem 185. The shadow knows only so much, as this problem by Everett H. Smith of Knob Noster, Mo., demonstrates....
Pride: the differentiating characteristic
Pride often determines how well a group does its job and the quality of its products....
Fun with Fundamentals
Intercept course and Solution to Problem 184. The shortest path between two points of interest is not always a straight line, as this problem by F.O. ...
Sometimes the old way is the best way
The many new products and tools make it easy to overshoot the mountain....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 184
Letter of intent and Solution to Problem 183. Reading between the lines is sometimes easier than reading under them...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 183
Side issue and Soultion to Problem 182. The hole can be bigger than the sum of the parts, as this problem by Tim Tebbe of Tarboro, N.C....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 182
Rotor rooter and Solution to 181. What goes up does not necessarily stay up, as this problem by John Olson of Shelton, Conn., demonstrates....
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
Our recent disaster proved the value of leadership, teamwork, and assuring that the nonperformers stay out of the way....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 180
Coin of the Ream and Solution to Problem 179. Where there is a will, there is a weigh, as this problem by Knute Hancock of Kinnelon, N.J....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 181
Second rate and Solution to 180. Time does not always fly when you're having fun, as this problem by Gregory Smith of Oak Ridge, Tenn....
Basics of motor nameplates
Should you reject the motor because it is not rated at 1,800 rpm? What does all that extra information on the nameplate mean? Do you care?...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 178
Seaming contradiction and Solution to Problem 177. The whole is not always the sum of the parts, as this problem by A...
When a plan isn’t a plan
So often called a plan, many plans are nothing more than a series of thoughts connected by hopes....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 176
New slant and solution to Problem 175. You do not always need a new slant to convey your meaning, as this problem by Ray Santillan Jr. of Euless...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 175
Screen test and Solution to Problem 174....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 174
Demographic convention and Solution to Problem 173. Million-dollar questions do not always deserve answers...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 173
Incomplete sentence and Solution to Problem 172...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 172
Big bang theory and Soulution of Problem 171...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 171
Bar nonsense and Solution to Problem 170...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 170
Snap judgement and Solution to Problem 169. Spare the rod and you can end up spoiling the whole show...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 169
Bank shot and Solution to Problem 168. Money is the root of all fine print...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 167
Problem 167 — Getting stuck in the middle can be a real headache, as this month’s problem by V. Sharma of Houston demonstrates....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 166
Current affairs and Solution to Problem 165. The path not taken makes no difference, as this month’s problem by Frank Risko of Livonia, Mich....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 164
The old bore can be right on the money, as this month's problem...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 164
Paper workout and Solution to Problem 163. Quality control is only as good as the paper it’s written on...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 163
Open-door policy and Solution to Problem 162. Political promises are good only upon delivery...
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 162
Intolerable circumstances and Solution to Problem 161. What you see is not always what you get, as this month’s problem by Kevin Kuester demonstrates....
Many precision motion control needs are simple
Complex motion controllers are scaring engineers away from productivity improvements in simple applications....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 161
Problem 161 — A mound of dirt by any other name can also smell as sweet, as this month’s problem by James White of Henderson, Ky., demonstrates....
Fun with Fundamentals: Problem 160
Leveraged Buyout and Solution to Problem 159. Getting the short end of the stick can have weighty consequences...
Fun with fundamentals: Problem 159
Carnival knowledge and Solution to Problem 158...
