Say 'oil-free' today, and folks will listen. Compressors and motor drives operating without lubrication should get attention. They rely on advances in a 50-year-old concept: air foil bearings. Pluses worth checking: zero oil in environmental releases; phenomenal shaft speeds (say 600 m per second); greater shock absorption; quiet operation.

Sometimes it requires many 'takes' for an OEM to build in the attributes it wants for its premium products. This seventh rendition drive series roller chain lasts longer and transmits more power, mainly from swapping a curled bushing in chain sizes 80-140 for a better shaped, heat-treated bushing with solid lube grooves.

Stop scrounging for the right file or sand paper for deburring and finishing by hand. This set contains tools for finishing the holes or slots of your metal part or when making tool, mold, and die repairs. Plenty of round and square sticks and grain sizes, so there's one that won't have you changing the part's geometry.

Over- and under-tightening threaded fasteners is a common concern, but this review of manual and pulse and impact power tools shows the market is closing in on solutions that can give you ergonomic comfort, accuracy, and the control you want in your reach for faster fastening or tighter torque tolerances.

After a half century, plastics still replace other materials at a fast pace. Once, the substitution was mainly about money. Now, plastics are picked for performance and for economy. This article on molded parts says the right resin might have what you need: glow in the dark, tensile strength, heat deflection, finish, chemical resistance…

Automotive OEMs are in hot pursuit of anything that can improve fuel efficiency. Even slight improvements count, right down to where the rubber meets the road. Current case: a vulcanized alloy in tire liners significantly improves retention of tire air pressure, reduces rolling resistance — and uses less material to do it.

Correct tension on fasteners is important, but truly when human safety comes into play. These upgraded bolts with tension indicators give maintenance crews color clues when the tension is light, just right, or over tight — and confidence that the helicopter mast is secure without other test equipment.

Manufacturing engineers sometimes get so accustomed to one drill system that they don't take advantage of advances driven by aircraft, medical, and petroleum industries that can speed hole-making tasks and lower costs. This article provides many tips on new alloys, inserts, and drill systems for better hole making.

Perhaps self-praise remains poor taste. But does the chain of command at your company really know what you've contributed? Have you been passed over on a key promotion or a job offer because the hiring execs don't know you or your accomplishments? You don't have to be a PT Barnum or boxing's Don King to put these five modern marketing steps to use to 'toot your own horn' and get your expertise known farther and wider.

It will have the wingspan of a commercial airliner, a myriad of solar cells, the weight of a midsize auto, and very few creature comforts. Bertrand Piccard's circumnavigation is a few years away, but solar-powered flight has soared since 1981, when the sun pushed an aircraft across the English Channel. Last month, a solar plane logged the longest ever unmanned flight. Piccard's manned plane, featuring 198 ft of wing photovoltaics, must store daylight energy and use it for flying at night.

Can We Improve on Continuous Improvement?

Do process management initiatives like TQM, ISO 9000, and Six Sigma dampen engineering or manufacturing innovation? Are they effective enough, or is it time to improve how we administer continuous improvement?