DIGITAL ISSUES

Manufacturing vs. politicians At last month’s NFPA International Economic Outlook Conference, John Manzella, of the Manzella Report, spoke on “Labor, International Trade, and What’s Ahead,” an insightful talk to the 200-ish attendees, many of whom were manufacturing executives in the fluid power realm. Manzella had few kind words for politicians on either side of the…

Talk of EV fires still smolders The latest figures from the National Fire Protection Association show that only about 20% of all vehicle fires arise from problems in the vehicle electrical system—most fires have something to do with the fuel system. Seeing as electric vehicles will do away with problematic petrol, you might wonder whether…

2022 indications bode well for manufacturing At the National Fluid Power’s annual International Economic Outlook Conference, Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics spoke on “U.S. & Global Macro Trends and Impacts,” and the overall outlook is positive for the manufacturing world. In examining the U.S. economic leading trends, it seems clear that there will be a…

Continuing to grow The additive manufacturing industry is riding a wave of success in 2021. The ongoing pandemic has not slowed activity in this industry, just shifted it. New product development is being outpaced by mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships among additive vendors. A number of these business moves are being funded by Special Purpose Acquisition…

ON BRITNEY SPEARS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND AUTOMATION Recently, Britney Spears has been in the news concerning the court-ordered conservatorship imposed on her stemming from her infamous 2008 mental health breakdown. As details of the story emerged, the public reacted with astonishment at the setup that essentially limits her freedom to make her own choices and…

How to manage in an uncertain economy After a full 15 months of being homebound, it was exciting — and a little daunting — to take my first business trip since the COVID-19 pandemic began. But it was great to see other fully vaccinated people meeting and networking at the NAHAD Annual Convention in Scottsdale,…

SAY GOODBYE TO CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIPS OFFICIALS ESTIMATE it will cost $50 billion to field the chargers needed for the expected number of electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2030. But it’s possible that spending every penny of this amount won’t prevent the extinction of the cross-country road trip. Here’s the logic behind that statement:…

Do you have an “executive presence?” As we move through our careers, it’s often interesting to watch the trajectory of our peers and compare their paths to our own. In many companies, there’s a natural corporate ladder we all climb, sometimes in stops and starts, depending on the overall structure. But we’ve all seen coworkers…

Teach an old dog some new skills The idea that people can’t adjust and adapt to new rules is a tired one. I’ve seen plenty of people in my career, from the stereotypical older worker who can’t figure out the email system to the stereotypical younger worker who is totally focused on what everything means…

MICROWAVES AND THE HAVANA SYNDROME The National Academy of Sciences recently released its conclusions about what sickened dozens of American Embassy diplomats in Cuba, a phenomenon dubbed the Havana Syndrome. Though the panel reached no definitive conclusion, it found pulsed RF (a.k.a. directed microwave energy) was the most likely cause. Panel members could not rule…

WELCOME TO OUR FIRST 5G HANDBOOK 5G is more than another wireless technology. It’s changed the radio, the access network, the spectrum, and the network core. It might even change our lives. That’s why EE World created 5G Technology World. We cover 5G technologies on engineering terms. The site launched in January 2020, just as…

Disrupting the aerospace industry hope you’ve been enjoying our monthly Future of Design Engineering Series of webinars as much as I have. Last month, we had an engaging talk by Charlie Light, Program Manager for the Space Based Nuclear Detonation Detection Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Light’s discussion of the aerospace/defense sector was fascinating.…

THE RESILIENCY OF MECHANICAL POWER TRANSMISSION What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, as we were putting the finishing touches on the Power Transmission Reference Guide, much of the country was shut down as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic swept through the nation and the world. Uncertainty reigned, with…

The new social media is more than just noise Several members of our editorial staff have tried out Clubhouse, the newest social media site that’s been gaining traction. Clubhouse is more LinkedIn than Instagram, with more appeal to corporate types and more professional profile pictures. You have to use your real name, and people can…

Worst suspicions confirmed: The terrible security of internet routers Here’s the latest IDT security nightmare: All of the wireless routers through which most loT traffic passes are probably vul­nerable to botnets and other kinds of security breaches. That’s the conclusion of researchers at Fraunhofer FKIE in Germany who analyzed 127 different routers sold by seven…

Engineering Doesn’t Accommodate Personal Opinions One of the most refreshing things about the field of engineering is how the laws of physics underpinning the technologies we create are not up for debate. Acceleration due to gravity? Not up for debate. Speed of light? Not up for debate. Nuclear forces? Not up for debate. Conservation of…

Back to the engineering “Super Bowl” Some of the in-person events I’m most eager to get back are the local, regional and national FIRST Robotics championships. For three decades, these competitions have encouraged young kids to get excited about robotics and engineering. Founded by masterful inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST aims to reorient our kids’ focus…

The economy: Moving forward in 2021? Our parent company recently hosted a webinar with renowned economist Alan Beaulieu, of ITR Economics; it offered an interesting look at the economy over the coming months and years. And the outlook Beaulieu gave was quite positive in nature, something we all could use after the stressful 2020 we…

Battery breakthrough fatigue For some cheap thrills, try Googling the words “battery breakthrough.” You’ll be presented with page after page of articles breathlessly chronicling one research result after another in energy storage. But you might wonder why, with so many earth-shattering developments, electric vehicles can’t travel 1,000 miles before needing a recharge. The reason: It…

Leadership in Engineering When a manufacturing company listens to and truly partners with its customers, its engineers will design and build the kind of products that can accelerate innovation. Engineers want to solve problems, whether with custom or off-the-shelf solutions—but they want their products to be reliable. After all, no one would build himself or…

IEEE conferences: Another reason not to believe everything you read The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers got some notoriety from its research activities when it retracted more than 7,300 abstracts, most from authors in China. It turned out that most of the retractions stemmed from numerous technical conferences in Asia that were fake, set…

Seismic shifts in manufacturing? Sometimes, it takes a seismic-level event to change our way of thinking about workplace issues. We’ve had the capability to allow huge swaths of professionals to work remotely for years. Yet, it took the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic — and its forcing so many workforces into working at home —…

What will events look like in 2021? We’ve all heard, “necessity is the mother of invention.” The pandemic has certainly brought out some creative ideas regarding trade shows. With all the digital versions of nearly everything — meetings, education, tradeshows — one wonders if these changes will be permanent? A few months ago, I spent…

In this issue… Toyota Research Institute demonstrates household robot prototypes While most automakers have focused on robotics for manufacturing or on developing autonomous vehicles, Toyota Motor Corp. has also been investigating service robots for household use. Last month, Toyota Research Institute conducted a virtual open house of its research and development facilities in Los Altos,…

Spotlight on motion system applications It’s here – our annual Motion System Applications special issue. Each year our editorial team here at Design World puts together four special issues on motion control, with the last one of the year focusing on the many and varied applications for motion systems. This special issue highlights some top…