Is the US a nation of inventors? Does anyone catalog how many new inventions are produced by each country, each year? I know there are websites that track new Patent filings, but many Patents are filed which never turn into products. So that is not a good measure for what I’m talking about. Is the […]
Time, Control and Cost Efficiency
In motion control, more so than any other discipline in the field of control, time is the most critical value to understand. There is an incredible amount of information hidden in what is probably the most obvious and yet, least questioned aspect of motion and motor control. How much time do we have to make […]
Time, Control and Cost Efficiency
In motion control, more so than any other discipline in the field of control, time is the most critical value to understand. There is an incredible amount of information hidden in what is probably the most obvious and yet, least questioned aspect of motion and motor control. How much time do we have to make […]
Future Perfect
The future is what we make it. This phrase has been variously attributed to the Terminator movie. Notwithstanding the source, there is some truth. The future is what we make it to be through our actions. One of our unique gifts is inventing, although it is often referred to as tool making. It is in […]
Production and Productivity means Jobs
The future is still with us. One day at a time. Each of us has a hand in it. We should be encouraged that every one in engineering positions can can take part in the rebirth of cool in American manufacturing. One small machinery project, new product development project and one new manufacturing process innovation […]
Production and Productivity means Jobs
The future is still with us. One day at a time. Each of us has a hand in it. We should be encouraged that every one in engineering positions can can take part in the rebirth of cool in American manufacturing. One small machinery project, new product development project and one new manufacturing process innovation […]
The Homestead & Mechatronics
In 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. This act offered to anyone 21 years or older who was a citizen, or declared their intention to become a citizen, 160 acres of Federal land if that person could build a home on the tract and farm the land for five years. Horace Greeley, editor of […]
The Homestead & Mechatronics
In 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. This act offered to anyone 21 years or older who was a citizen, or declared their intention to become a citizen, 160 acres of Federal land if that person could build a home on the tract and farm the land for five years. Horace Greeley, editor of […]
Reliability, Testing and Wind Power
The end point of design is testing. Prototypes must be built and their ability to meet functional requirements is evaluated through testing. We have to know how the product will survive in the real world. How will customers perceive the product? Are there issues that need to be addressed in order for the product to […]
Reliability, Testing and Wind Power
The end point of design is testing. Prototypes must be built and their ability to meet functional requirements is evaluated through testing. We have to know how the product will survive in the real world. How will customers perceive the product? Are there issues that need to be addressed in order for the product to […]
Inventing the Future
Do we decide to invent the future? Is the future of technology decided by a government program? Is necessity the mother of invention? Or is it just about tickling people’s fancies and making a buck? In an increasingly affluent and technologically driven society, is there a mechanism that helps us decide where we focus engineering […]
Inventing the Future
Do we decide to invent the future? Is the future of technology decided by a government program? Is necessity the mother of invention? Or is it just about tickling people’s fancies and making a buck? In an increasingly affluent and technologically driven society, is there a mechanism that helps us decide where we focus engineering […]
Solutions
Tesla and Edison were both right. The “war of the currents” was really not about whether alternating current was superior to direct current. It wasn’t really about Edison’s creation of the power utility as an enterprise to generate and sell electric power versus Tesla’s idea to make electricity free and transmit it through the air. It […]
Solutions
Tesla and Edison were both right. The “war of the currents” was really not about whether alternating current was superior to direct current. It wasn’t really about Edison’s creation of the power utility as an enterprise to generate and sell electric power versus Tesla’s idea to make electricity free and transmit it through the air. It […]
Energy and Policy
Energy is in the news every day. Gasoline prices are only part of the picture, although they are the most prominent indicator because we see them every day. Energy production is not subject to the forces of the free market. Prices are high because the Federal government doesn’t allow American companies to drill and refine […]
Energy and Policy
Energy is in the news every day. Gasoline prices are only part of the picture, although they are the most prominent indicator because we see them every day. Energy production is not subject to the forces of the free market. Prices are high because the Federal government doesn’t allow American companies to drill and refine […]
Minarik Drives and American Control Electronics Gain ISO Certification
Hegel Holdings, parent company for both the Minarik Drives & American Control Electronics brands, announced that they have earned ISO9001:2008 Certification for the design and manufacture of electronics control solutions for industrial and commercial applications. ISO 9001:2008 certification is granted to organizations that adhere to international standards for quality management that ensure the organization fulfills […]
The New Generation of Motor Design
Motors keep changing. Faraday’s laws haven’t been broken. Rather, we keep inventing new solutions to the fundamental question; how do I achieve lowest cost performance. The primary attribute driving a new motor design can be any of a long list of things. Usually there is a minimum speed and torque. Then there are starting and […]
Cheap Labor, Who’s Next?
I read an interesting statistic. In 2000 the average wage in China was 52 cents/hour. According to a different source, the more recent labor rates have risen to somewhere in the range of $1.20 to maybe $1.70 an hour. Still pretty low compared to the US where the minimum wage is $7.75 an hour. In […]
New Product Development is New Again
New product development is what stimulates commerce. And nothing succeeds like new products that really impress customers. This is the lesson of Apple Inc., and its legendary products the iPod, iPhone and iPad. The lesson here? Selling stuff is not difficult when you’ve done your product design homework. So why doesn’t every company make great […]
Aging Equipment, New Opportunity
Machinery manufacturing is unique in the fact that the product makes another product. Making machines that make semiconductors, for example, is a very complex endeavor. It is all about pushing the limits of technology at every level. There are some interesting features of the machinery market to consider. The semiconductor machinery industry has […]
Cars and Computers
60 years ago the phrase “What’s good for General Motors is good for America” was coined by the head of GM and later carried on by president Eisenhower and the media of the day. General Motors was one of, if not, the largest employers in the US economy. Trickle through analysis shows that the […]
The Future of Motion Control
I read comments from other authors in motion control with considerable interest. There are some upcoming webcasts on the”the future of motion control”. Predicting the future is always a problem. There are so many things to consider. Short term economic trends for manufacturers are pretty easy. Costs are going up. Outsourcing continues. What else […]
Operating in a Vacuum
Semiconductor machinery poses some of the biggest challenges in the entire field of motion control. Typical requirements in semiconductor machinery applications start with nanometer accuracy which is daunting for most forms of motion controls and actuators. Add to that, operation at 10 to the -9 torr hard vacuum, and you have some of the […]