June 2010

a quick thought on attention

I was going through my old bookmarks today and came across this short manifesto from Design Observer. I’ve written before on the true attention cost of things, but rereading the manifesto got me thinking a little further: Currently, we decide to bring things (be they artifacts or bits of information) by a simple ratio… utility/cost. [...]

Tagged as: attention

continue…

recycled resins: sometimes they’re just better

The biggest hurdle to overcome with regards to using resin containing recycled content is something I like to call the performance bias. Our performance bias tells us that in most cases, second hand materials aren’t going to perform as well as their brand new counterparts. It’s a bias that generally serves us well, but during [...]

Tagged as: Injection Molding, recycle, resin, Valox iQ

continue…
Thumbnail image for how side actions work: two brief videos

how side actions work: two brief videos

When I first heard the term “side action”, I got what it was… but couldn’t quite envision how the tool worked. I was told that: A side action is something that allows you to create a feature with a pull direction that is at an angle to the primary pull direction. In hindsight that seems [...]

Tagged as: cam, Injection Molding, plastics, product design, side action

continue…
Thumbnail image for pre-consumer vs post-consumer recycled content

pre-consumer vs post-consumer recycled content

This past weekend I was flipping through the March 2010 edition of Metropolis and came across an advertisement for a new line of San Fransisco bus shelter. As eye candy, it was in line with the rest of the magazine, but read some of the copy and you see they are trying to sell it [...]

Tagged as: Koda XT, LEED, materials, polycarbonate, recycle

continue…
Thumbnail image for are smartphones good?

are smartphones good?

I should disclose something: Ever since I dropped $300+ on a Motorola V600, I have been a smartphone addict. V600, RAZR, Blackberry Pearl, currently the Tmobile G1, and I can’t help but eye The Droid Incredible. Then, a few days ago I came across the Nokia C1-00.  As I pored through it’s specs (6 week [...]

Tagged as: android, attention, benefits, iphone, nokia c1-00

continue…
Thumbnail image for statistical tolerance analysis basics: Root Sum Square (RSS)

statistical tolerance analysis basics: Root Sum Square (RSS)

In my last post on worst-case tolerance analysis I concluded with the fact that the worst-case method, although extremely safe, is also extremely expensive. Allow me to elaborate, then offer a resolution in the form of statistical tolerance analysis. cost A worst-case tolerance analysis is great to make sure that your parts will always fit, but [...]

Tagged as: example, manufacturing, root sum square, RSS, rss tolerance stackup, rss tolerancing, spc, stack up tolerance analysis, statistical tolerance analysis, tolerance analysis, tolerance analysis fundamentals

continue…