Actually, Cabe, I hate to bring politics to an engineering discussion but we may be detecting the onset of Hyperinflation...needing a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. The Wikipedia article on hyperinflation contains no less than 40 examples of hyperinflation all over the world. "Causes: Hyperinflation occurs when there is a continuing (and often accelerating) rapid increase in the amount of money that is not supported by a corresponding growth in the output of goods and services." The assumption that it cannot happen in the United States is an exercise in hubris.
CES announces the arrival of new goods before increased demand and economies of scale in production costs can kick in. $80 for a wireless stylus, $350 for the new LEGO Mindstorms. Early adopters feel it first. Hang onto your hat when hyperinflation hits fuel and food... =\
To be honest, everything at this year's CES that is available to buy is way too over-priced. $80 for a connected stylus, $30,000 for a 4k TV, $350 for the latest LEGO Mindstorm, it's just too much. It is as bad as buying a Pepsi on the CES showroom floor, $5 to $7 for a 20oz bottle.
Is this a result of the prior recession or a sign that people are will to shell out the cash for novelty?
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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