April 1, 2008
Articles
Web Contents
Go back to class In Larry Berardinis' newest blog at www.mechatronic-design.com, engineers are encouraged to go back to class with him as he talks about...
Baseball by the numbers
The start of a new Major League Baseball season is upon us, marking a tradition that goes back to May 4, 1869, when the world's first professional ball...
Wedge design solves conveyor conundrum
Material handling dilemmas and tight floor space are common concerns among food and beverage producers everywhere. Odom's Tennessee Pride, Madison, Tenn....
Europe thirsty for beverage packaging machinery
Market analysis firm IMS Research, Austin, Tex., forecasts that in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), sales of packaging machinery equipment...
In Sights
This visualization depicting a frozen moment of Internet activity is part of a special exhibit called Design and the Elastic Mind, open through May 12...
New LED wins student $30,000
Martin Schubert, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student, has developed a new type of light emitting diode (LED) that could allow LEDs to be widely...
Bowling technology champion strikes it rich
An engineer from Indiana is the winner of a United States Bowling Congress (USBC) technology contest to design a device that measures the amount of friction...
Franklin Institute to host debate on hi-tech issues
The Franklin Institute has teamed with Science Debate 2008, The Council on Competitiveness, and several Pennsylvania universities to host a presidential...
Free catalog offers resources for education
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) recently announced the availability of its new downloadable 2008 SME Publications Catalog. Manufacturing...
Biz bits
alpha & Wittenstein opens Canadian office To better serve its northern neighbors, alpha & Wittenstein, Bartlett, Ill., has opened a North American Global...
Walk this Way
The motor is one solid piece shaped with multiple legs that can elongate as well as bend sideways. Called Piezo LEGS by its developer, the unit moves...
V-belt selection it's a veritable cinch
The most common systems for transmitting power from a drive to a driven shaft are belt, gear, and chain drives. But V-belt drive systems, also called friction drives (because power is transmitted as a result of the belt's adherence to the pulley) are an economical option for industrial, automotive, commercial, agricultural, and home appliance applications. ...
Companion Spotlight: Synchronous Pulleys
Timing belt drives Self-guiding Conidrive timing belt drives feature the N10 belt-pulley system with an offset conical projection profile on the bearing...
What NOT to do when sizing rodless cylinders
Overestimating the available air pressure is one of the most common mistakes when sizing a rodless cylinder. An insufficiency in air pressure often translates to poor actuator performance and, in some cases, malfunction....
Risky business
Protecting equipment and machinery and above all, the people who run it is top of mind for many automation enterprises worldwide, because it makes sense...
New motor-and-brake system takes the risk out of explosive environments
Explosion prevention is a hot topic within systems engineering, since friction, overheating, or sparks can quickly lead to disaster in potentially explosive...
Save time with connectivity solutions
Ethernet switches hit their stride with easy operation Stride industrial-grade unmanaged Ethernet switches and media converters are built specifically...
Force/torque sensors
A force/torque sensor is a transducer that measures and outputs forces and torques. Six-axis units (also called multi-axis force/torque and F/T transducers)...
Safety (becoming) job one
Machine safety components are the fastest spreading of discrete-manufacturing automation. Why? Workplace injuries cost U.S. businesses more than $171...
Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing
Helical gearboxes series of helical right angle gearboxes and gearmotors features a compact size, high efficiency, low noise, and symmetrical shape. Features...
New Products
Microstepping driver RoHS compliant version of R208 microstepping driver features a compact design with low power dissipation and automatic current reduction....
A day in the life
How long have you worked with vibration? I started in the mid '60s during my apprenticeship with an electric motor manufacturer in southern England. Once...
