This is a good story, Car-Nut. How about submitting it to Sherlock Ohms. It would need to be at least 350 words, and we would need a short bio (about two or three sentences).
Yes, it was a good job, Warren. The trick is to think of the hidden metal in a wooden table. I remember in the late 1970s, Sandia Labs was testing aerospace equipment and needed a mammoth wooden structure -- about 100 yards long, 50 yards wide. It was built entirely with wood. No nails because metal would interfere with the testing.
Reminds me of an occurance years ago when I was an automated sewing eqipment technician. This was back in the day old fashion "electric eye" sensors were still crude. An operator reported a problem that the machine seemed to have a mind of its own and would activate for no apparent good reason. After severl attemps at adjusting the sensitivity of the "eye" and various other adjustments the problem would appear to be resolved only to re-occur the next day. This went on for several days and I finally recruited the assistance from one of our engineers. We both went through every conceivable theory and process as to what could be causing the problem when out of the blue he asked me to walk away from the machine. "Miraculously" the problem stopped only to start again as I got closer. The engineer then asked me to change my shirt, without giving any reasonable explanation. Being in a sewing plant this was not hard to do. I simply walked to the end of the line and chose a nice black sweatshirt that had just been completed. Problem fixed. it seemed there was just enough sunlight from a nearby window that would reflect from my previous white shirt just enough to cause the sensor to activate. No problem on a cloudy day but if clouds were moving across the area the reflection problem seemed to just be random. This was another example of a much simpler overlooked but not so obvious baffling situation. Final solution---put a piece of cardboard over the window. There, that fixed it.
Some years ago we were involved in certification of an ISM band product at an FCC approved lab. One of the resident engineers gave me a tour of the facility and showed me a large test room on the roof of the building built mainly of wood. He proudly explained how the structure had been assembled with no metal fasteners anywhere. I would expect the test lab to have a sense of professionalism.
I always enjoy these articles. I particularly like trying to solve the problem along the way. I got lucky this time and 'nailed' it as well. Excellent job.
Every time a parameter is changed, you have to reanalyze the test. Something as simple as a table might seem innocent, but I will be checking out my tables and other fixtures when I don't get desired results with no explanation. Good job!
Another great example of a Sherlock Ohms story where the engineer had to figure out something very obvious that is easy to overlook -- that is, that most wooden furniture has metal nails. Good sleuthing.
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
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
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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