Can engineering change society, or is it the other way around? You can decide if Citizen Engineer is more a prescription of where engineering should head, or more a reflection of the trends leading up to an era of socially responsible engineering. Either way, this 'must read' text sets out to educate engineers about how their work has a huge impact on the world around them — industry, business, and society overall. The book delves deeply into two of the most polarizing issues of the day: environmental responsibility and intellectual property, and how they redefine how engineers do their jobs.

The fast and easy way to protect — a secure fastening system from Rose+Krieger. The Click & Safe system fulfills all safety requirements for guarding systems and guarding elements. Final assembly of the Click & Safe guarding system can be performed without additional tools. Safety fence elements click and lock into place. Ready...Click & Safe!

E-Z KLEEN and ULTRA KLEEN bearings for the food and beverage industry offer a patented triple-lip seal with rubberized flinger called the QuadGuard™ sealing system, and an exclusive ball retainer called the Maxlife™ cage that retains lubrication and prevents washout in wet environments.

Since 1964, MS Bellows has designed and manufactured bellows and assemblies for critical applications in field ranging from aerospace to medicine. We provide:

• Bellows form and function design
• Assembly techniques design
• Package envelope layout design
• State-of-the-art manufacturing techniques
• Stringent quality control

For information — www.msbellows.com

Our 1300-plus page catalog has a full range of British and Metric adaptors, fittings, and Din flanges in steel and stainless.

Steel and stainless nipples made in-house. Want to get from BSP/BSPT, Metric, PG to NPT or JIC…call us. Full range of malleable/stainless/brass fittings stocked. Huge stock of 150PSI stainless British fittings.

All-plastic parts deliver great weight savings, but the tradeoff in lower tensile strength won't cut it for some applications. These rod end bearings create a compromise with a thin, stamped steel insert to boost tensile load up to 50% compared to all-plastic versions. They maintain low cost and corrosion characteristics.

Engineers spend significant time looking for ways to prolong equipment usefulness, and much of the focus is on reducing heat buildup in bearings. This Machine Design article presents techniques for dissipating heat in thrust bearings. It also covers ways to increase oil-flow rate and reduce friction in four common thrust bearing types.

It's tough calculating the effects of a physical force on a mechanical system. Determining the effect of multiple, simultaneous, and interactive forces can be much tougher. This article shows how packaged software toolkits change things for engineers, demonstrating utility in analyzing vibration and structural soundness of ocean-going cargo ships.

Competition offers great experience for students, but resulting products often lack real-world practicality. Not so the product from Rice University engineers. Their simple, accurate device, relying on a pegboard, should obsolete crude and subjective procedures still used in many clinics for measuring hand and finger strength.

Steinmeyer's new 5 mm diameter ball screws are the perfect solution in applications such as micromanipulators, miniature robotics, and compact actuators! Available in four nut styles, the screws have pitches ranging from 0.5 mm-3 mm and offer a maximum speed of 4500 RPM.

Interstate Miniature Plastic Components are die-cut using die-less digital equipment to produce parts with ±0.005 in. precision and narrow cross sections (1:1 ratio to part thickness), which can be supplied plain or with adhesive backings. Custom fabricated from a wide range of materials.

Welker manufactures industrial lube-free gib, round shaft and rectilinear ball slides for harsh environments. Standard load capacities to 4000 lbs. Standard features include shocks, lockouts, waycovers, shimmable stops. Switches available including Welker Smart Stops. Actuation options include pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric. Designed and manufactured in the U.S.A.

The RLFS rotary stage provides a cost-effective, motor driven stage system that fits NEMA 17, 23, 34 or 40, 60, and 90 mm servo systems. The quiet helical gears provide higher efficiency when compared to a traditional worm drive system and deliver 6 arc/minute backlash for a fraction of the price of traditional rotary stages. Learn more.

Rising demand raises the pressure to find lower-cost, more efficient alternatives to silicon solar cells. This video identifies progress on a dye-sensitized, titanium oxide cell from Japan that overcomes previous electrolyte leakage problems. Prototypes passed heat tests, and devices could reach commercial readiness next year.

High energy electrons, protons, and heavy ions penetrate spacecraft, generating electrical charges that produce errors and can damage microelectronic devices. Metal shields help, but also increase vehicle weight. NASA is exploring silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloys to create harder microchips that could withstand the constant assault from space particles.

Make or break in appliance manufacturing can rest with assembly time, so engineers are vigilant for hardware that speeds the process. Recently debuted at an expo in Birmingham, UK, these self-piercing nuts can penetrate 2 mm steel. They offer vibration-resistant, watertight fixings; large flanges create high pull through resistance.

Poor initial installation is the cause of nine of 10 bolted joint failures. Two companies have partnered to offer a solution. This tension control system combines a tool that automatically cuts off hydraulic tightening power when correct torque is reached with bolts that visually indicate when tension is lost across the bolt.

Introducing Simrit's brand-new Overview brochure: a comprehensive guide that takes customers through Simrit's main markets: aerospace, agriculture and construction, semiconductor, heavy-duty truck, renewable energy, process industries, and power transmission. In each market, specific sealing applications are identified to help customers better understand and utilize Simrit's extensive products and capabilities.

These single Shaft Assemblies (SA series) are a complete pre-engineered round rail shaft assembly, which simplifies the use of a linear bearing system in a mechanical positioning application for the medical, packaging, aerospace, and alternate energy markets.

Many engineers are comfortable using CAD software and computerized mechanical design. However, they're not so comfortable with programming languages like C or Assembler. Thus, many turn design control over to software experts, or so says this Design News editorial. A generational gap exists in trusting computers, but neither young nor old seems ready to step in as programmers. Should engineers be able to do their own programming?

Over 1,600 times a minute, NASA fires lasers pulses accurately enough — within 10 centimeters — to hit a van-sized spacecraft orbiting the moon. The Laser Ranging System is part of an effort to track spacecraft and plan for future missions that can shuttle people safely and regularly to and from the moon. Learn how NASA overcomes interference, measures time accurately, and hits its moving target.

Climate Change Retake?

North Pole ice sheets are receding, but Antarctic ice is expanding. Is it global warming or part of longer, little understood climate cycles? Let's talk science. Where are the numbers to prove/disprove either theory?