video

video: quantum levitation

Came across this today. They even tease you with just enough of a physics explanation to get you curious. How it works According to the website, the ceramic, once brought down to a low enough temperature, becomes a superconductor (more like a super-duper conductor as they claim zero energy loss). Now that it is a superconductor, [...]

Tagged as: magnets, materials, physics

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crayon physics

Quite possibly the best thing ever. I saw this technology a few years ago (I think it was MIT… can’t find the link). It appears it’s been commercialized, and commercialized well.  

Tagged as: physics

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video:curvature continuity between splines in sketcher

This was birthed out of a  conversation that started over at mcadcentral. The inital problem was trying to make two splines curvature continuous to each other (which this video shows how to do in a particular context), but I also end up showing the differences in C0, C1, and C2 continuity.   note: it occurs to [...]

Tagged as: CAD, curavture continuity, Pro Engineer

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video: do lock washers actually do anything?

I regularly cruise around eng-tips to see if anything piques my interest. Today I came across this thread from ’08 regarding the efficacy of lock washers. The thread is worth reading in it’s entirety, but there here are a few highlights: From NASA fastener design manual, page 9 (bold mine): The [helical] lock washer (like the one [...]

Tagged as: fasteners

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video: inverted peaucellier mechanism

I was recently screwing around with mechanisms for straight-line motion and came across the Peaucellier mechanism. I modeled it up and inverted it to see if I could get the straight line in a smaller footprint. There are a lot of pseudo straight-line mechanisms out there, but this one is pure.

Tagged as: linkgage, mechanism design, straight line motion

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video: flexible shaft couplings

Some components (like machined flexible shaft couplings) just don’t look too awesome in photos. They need videos. Check out the video below featuring Heli-Cal.  

Tagged as: couplings, mechanism design

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video: makerbot print quality keeps getting better

Now thanks to a stepper motor upgrade to the extruder. From Makerbot Using a stepper motor to drive your extruder brings a host of advantages. Fussy DC gear motors are history: stepper motors live substantially longer as they do not have internal brushes to wear out. Stepper motors are also much more precise as the [...]

Tagged as: makerbot

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video: mechanisms, courtesy of Ralph Steiner

I’ve mentioned some great mechanism resources before, as well as supplying the 507 mechanical movements pdf. But while they really are great resources (and they are… I use them all the time!), there is something to be said for video. I submit for your consideration, the work of Ralph Steiner

Tagged as: 507 mechanisms, mechanism design, mechanisms and devices, product design

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video: curvature continuity 101

Courtesy of Adam O’Hern, the CAD Junkie. Be sure to check out the rest of his amazing tutorials here

Tagged as: CAD, curavture continuity, surface modeling, surfacing

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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

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CNC Motorcycle Helmet

This ridiculous video made the rounds on some forums a while back, I was just reminded of it today. It’s a motorcycle helmet CNC ripped out of an aluminum billet.

Tagged as: CNC, machining

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Thumbnail image for what the news can teach you about user interviews

what the news can teach you about user interviews

When doing user research, don’t ask leading questions.  By definition they encourage the questionee (not a word) to give you the answer you want. It can be nice getting what you want sometimes. But in this case you aren’t looking for the “answer” itself, you want know how the user feels. What are you relying on [...]

Tagged as: user research

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