I suspect that adjustment provision was there to allow compensaton for the individual component tolerance stackup present upon assembly, facilitating end-of-production line adjustment to make the product functional prior to shipping to the customer. Nevertheless, handy to have it there for subsequent field (or kitchen) adjustment when necessary. Amazing how long some of these simple appliances can last with a little TLC
My uncle fixed the toaster with a rubberband to hold the bread down so it would toast, thereby disabling the turn off mechanism. I awoke to the smell of smoke and ran into the kitchen which was full of smoke from about counter height to the ceiling. I bent down to look in and he was bent down looking at me with a big smile on his face. Burned it again. I had to laugh.
I was under the impression that the 45 deg is only required for the acceptance of the bread, the toasting should continue once the bread was detected and accepted so the 45 deg angle position only needed to be maintained for a few seconds.
You can still multi-task, but the adjustment screw is certainly easier - they don't make them any more like they used to!
Yes, there certainly is a difference between cool and functional, Beth. I'm just saying, I can imagine myself holding that toaster at a 45 degree angle, hoping it will last just a little while longer. I've done the equivalent with cars that I've loved, keeping them past their useful life because, well, it's the car I love,
I understand your thoughts, Beth, except those old toasters are so cool. I grew up with one, and every toaster I've had since has worked, but they haven't been the same. No other toaster is so substantial.
Your first couple of sentences give me an image of standing in my kitchen holding the toaster at a precise 45-degree angle, waiting for bread to toast while unable to do anything else. Normally I do a lot of multitasking during cooking and food prep, and this would drive me nuts. Like Beth, I would have tossed the darn thing and bought a new one.
Got to applaud your tenacity, Robert. I would have ditched that recycled Sunbeam for a new toaster in a heart beat. I suppose it's the thrill of the finding the fix no one else could or would have the patience to uncover. Is your Sunbeam still fixing your toast these mornings?
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.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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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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