We are on an ocean literality just a few hundred yards away and we are also if that is not hostel enough we deal with rocket launches that exhaust spent solid rocket fuel that is highly corrosive. We have hundreds of connectors at theses launch pads for photo systems that are essential for engineering data. What is a technician to do to keep these system going? Well we have constant quality control meetings on improving our systems that very much have to do with electrical and data signal connections. We have worked with connection manufactures and suppliers for recommendation and field trails of many types and technologies of connections. Chemicals to protect connection pins. Cleaners and sealers for maintenance of connections. We even are trying transportation sealed connectors used under vehicle hoods that are out in the elements and deal with extreme heat, cold and of course liquid and chemical infusion. So we are always visibly looking at our connections as a practice and we take it very seriously that every system element works all the time. We understand that physical inspections can not be substituted.
Nice comment on our "low pressure" work environment. Yes, I could have said "Vacuum Lab" as that is how the sign outside the door reads. But, this being a high brow engineering publication, the invetable discussion would start about there being no such thing as a vacuum.
We do have a whole series of jokes around the office poking fun at our work. Most are along the lines of:
"This job sucks" and "If at the end of the day I have absolutely nothing to show for my work, I have done a good job."
I had a similar problem with the ice dispenser in my high-end fridge. It would run intermittently, at best. After removing the assembly and examining how the drive motor was soldered to the control board it appeared that they only bothered to solder two of the four tabs to the board, probably just to provide mechanical support. The other two leads were unsoldered and were a poor press-fit. Adding another few grams of solder corrected the problem.
I also bought a wind-up LED flashlight that had three LEDs. After a few weeks only one LED remained operational. In this case all three LEDs were simply press-fit into the board - square pins in round holes. Six drops of solder and it's still working years later.
How much of this stuff ends up in landfills due to poor engineering decisions and/or manufacturing processes?
"Ken Lillemo has worked... in a low-pressure lab." I wish more employers would provide their employees with a "low-pressure" work environment!
We had the same problem with the front loading door latch many years ago when we wanted to add softener to the final rinse. We could stop the washer with the timer b y pulling out on the knob, but the door remained locked. The simple fix was to unplug the unit. The door then opened easily. I rewired the power outlet by replacing the two-outlet box with a four-outlet box, in which I installed two outlets and a switch for the washer outlet. (The gas dryer plugged into the other outlet.) When it was time for the softener addition, we pulled the timer switch, threw the wall switch, opened the door, added the cap of softener and retuirned the washer to normal operation with the door shut and power on.
The new (last year) washer has a softener dispenser. I finally lost the battle to my wife, who complains, "When you are married to a man who fixes things, you never get anything new".
Beth, the relay with the bad solder joints I repaired controlled the front door latch. I think the symptoms you describe are very close to the symptoms we experienced.
I don't need to ask about breaking the front door latch, I was nearly driven to that circumstance myself.
One good thing about this washer design is the system controller is easy to get at. Since the controls are on the front panel the top has no electrical components attached. Just a few screws are required to remove the top and the system controller is right there.
Ken, I could totally use your attention to detail right now. I have a front loader that is experiencing difficulty powering up after having to break the latch to get the clothing out (don't ask). Parts have been replaced and the repair man has been out multiple times with half-baked suggestions and solutions. No one is looking closely at connections or doing any kind of hard-core engineering troubleshooting or soldering work. I wish repair men were trained more along the lines of your approach. If they were, perhaps we could move beyond our "throw-away" society that has people like me already contemplating the pain of having to replace what is a relatively new washer.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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