To assist manufacturers on their Industry 4.0 journey, global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has partnered with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), USA. This applied technology demonstration and training center validates, demonstrates and assists with the adoption of leading-edge industrial technologies into the global manufacturing supply chain. The two organizations will assist businesses in…
Increased innovation, digital presence increase igus online sales
An increase in the pace of innovation and emphasis on expanding its digital presence in the face of a worldwide pandemic helped igus increase online sales by 30% in 2020. Innovations range from telescopic robot tube packages to dry-running ball bearings with 21 times the standard service life to large-scale 3D printing. Engineers and OEMs…
Dorner’s new Virtual Showcase now open with nine product demonstrations
As industry professionals are still unable to visit Dorner in person due to trade show cancellations, Dorner is bringing the trade show to them. Dorner is hosting its own virtual showcase that includes nine demonstrations covering sanitary, automation, and industrial applications. Each demonstration contains a video narrated by Dorner experts who point out features, benefits,…
mk North America announces new sales and business development manager
mk North America, Inc. is excited to announce the appointment of Todd Buchanan as Sales and Business Development Manager, Canada. Todd began his tenure with mk on August 24, 2020. Todd comes to mk North America with over 20 years experience in the conveying and industrial automation industries. Prior to joining the mk team Todd…
Oxford and King’s developing prototype for rapidly deployable ventilator
An interdisciplinary team of engineers and medics is addressing ways to increase the UK’s capacity for ventilator manufacture. Engineers, anaesthetists and surgeons from the University of Oxford and King’s College London are building and testing prototypes that can be manufactured using techniques and tools available in well-equipped university and small and medium enterprise (SME) workshops.…
Lafert NA team appoints Sadaf Irfan to sales position
Sadaf Irfan, a versatile and target-oriented professional was appointed Inside Sales Representative to Lafert North America. Irfan brings more than six years of experience in technical sales and customer relationship management combined with a specialized focus in manufacturing, engineering consulting, and project management. Sadaf will have the ability to enhance Lafert’s customer relationships through her…
Why eLearning about VFDs (and other technical topics) just may fit the bill
With the current state of the internet and the interconnectivity of devices and equipment, it is in the best interest of any company that wants to optimize the productivity of their associates tasked with technical tasks to take a look at the eLearning available. eLearning offers a wonderful ROI due to its low cost, ease […]
Poor numerical skills after four years of college
Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler One of my college classmates during my sophomore year was a guy who majored in aerospace engineering. He consistently got poor grades in his engineering classes mainly because he had trouble with the math that was involved. I later heard that he’d…
Goal setting zaniness in corporate culture
Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler I once worked at a company where the people in the HR department seemed to be fixated on justifying their jobs. One way their fixation manifested itself was in a complicated and time-consuming goal-setting exercise foisted upon everyone in the firm. As…
The importance of the patent search
There’s value in searches led by attorneys capable of analyzing results … and guiding inventors before patent-application filings. By George Likourezos • Patent attorney and partner | Carter, DeLuca & Farrell LLP Technologists and thinkers can have eureka moments at any time: They see a problem and instead of just accepting that problem, they create…
Get ready for engineers who earn their degrees online
Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Long ago, the engineering magazine that employed me explored the idea of working with local universities on an educational program. Our concept involved instructing engineers on newly emerging technologies, but without requiring them to actually sit in a classroom. This was long…
Theranos — and the satisfaction of how engineering doesn’t lie
How does it work? That was the question few people asked about the mythical supertechnology supposedly at the core of Theranos — a Silicon-Valley unicorn overvalued by some $9 billion during a 2013-2014 hype height. Not that it would’ve mattered anyway, as the fictional heart of secretive Theranos changed continuously over its 12 short years.…
Deadline approaching for Emerson 2019 ASCO Engineering Scholarship applications
Emerson is reminding U.S. engineering students that the deadline for its 2019 ASCO Engineering Scholarship program is rapidly approaching and that the program will continue to accept applications through April 23, 2019. The program rewards students who have the potential for leadership and contributions to the engineering profession. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to two U.S.…
Say goodbye to creative lab rats
Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Examine Silicon Valley and some of the other notorious high-tech hotspots and you can’t help notice the building boom in research labs. Researchers of yesteryear often referred to themselves as lab rats partly because their surroundings were usually dark and dank. In…
For want of a screw: Why U.S. manufacturing jobs matter
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler The N.Y. Times grabbed a lot of attention recently when it published an article about Apple’s travails trying to source a tiny screw in the U.S. for its Mac computer. According to the report Apple could get vast quantities of custom screws in China on short…
Newsflash: Engineering starts to pay as well as finance
Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW—LeeTeschler The beginning of a new year is often seen as a time for fresh starts. So it may be appropriate that this new year could mark the first time in decades that engineering is considered a lucrative profession. The lament in recent years has been…
Lots of lip service about science, but little action
Leland Teschler Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler It has become trendy for scientists to try their hand at political office. The Huffington Post reports hundreds of scientists in the U.S. had their names on ballots in the recent midterm elections. The reason seems to be widespread worries about a downplaying of scientific conclusions…
Is the Professional Engineering license worth the effort?
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Engineers who do electrical work may be familiar with Mike Holt whose website (mikeholt.com) specializes in educational material mainly devoted to deciphering the National Electrical Code. Holt also hosts a forum where someone recently posted this query: Should I get my PE license? I meet all…
The best of Dilbert-style management
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Engineers tend to have a dim view of managers, often with good reason. The comical scenarios depicted in Dilbert cartoons are popular precisely because they hit so close to home for the techies who make up much of the cartoon’s readership. But despite the impression you…
Women in Engineering: One engineer’s devotion to consistency, quality, and safety
This article is part of Design World’s Women in Engineering series. Kristen (Robinson) Wegielewski is a CAPA Quality Engineer and Team Lead at Philips Healthcare at their operations in the Seattle area. For the uninitiated, CAPA stands for corrective action and preventive action — an approach for monitoring and improving organizational processes to eliminate anomalies…
Back to college … via camp
My older son, Joshua, is a high school senior, and — without any pushing from me — has decided that he wants to pursue either biomedical engineering or robotic engineering. It’s been an interesting experience looking at colleges here at home and far away, everything from Case Western Reserve University to Georgia Tech, and Lawrence…
Smalley wins GM Supplier Quality Excellence award for 6th consecutive year
Smalley was presented with the 2017 General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award, marking the sixth consecutive year Smalley has achieved this prestigious honor. 175 suppliers were presented with this award in 2017 … but Smalley was just one of five who have received it six years in a row. GM has been recognizing its notable…
Are the best engineers born or made?
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler YOU MIGHT THINK the way to make better engineers is to improve engineering education. Although there may be something to that idea, it is becoming apparent that factors outside the formal learning process may outweigh anything done on a campus. For example, it increasingly looks as…
When rational decision making is an oxymoron
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW—LeeTeschler One of the strongest tendencies in the human thinking process is what’s called confirmation bias. It is a propensity to interpret new data in ways that support the opinions you already had. Now, consider that most engineers are highly analytical people. Generally speaking, they have a…
Too busy? It may be because of fake work
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @DW_LeeTeschler Back in the dark ages when I was a young engineer, a colleague told me an interesting story. He’d just finished a lengthy project developing a complicated piece of test gear. He happened to visit another division of his company and was shocked to find they’d developed…