Archives: Blog

Planetary gear systems can be intimidating to understand. There are so many types of motions and reductions possible that it can be overwhelming. The motion of planetary gear systems is expressed...

Unlike the Lego gears and shafts shown below most motors have perfectly round shafts. This makes attaching gears, pulleys and sprockets difficult. The main methods of attaching gears to...

Never guess again what hose size to use! Automatically the proper hose size for any application. Simply input a few measurable variables and click Calculate. This calculator adjusts for oil type...

Even though my engineering career is far from over, I wanted to look back and reflect. I realized that midway through my career is probably the right point to do this because if I wait too long, I'm...

Steel design seems to be moving in the direction of self-fixturing where the weldment or assembly components will align with each other. When a tab or slot is added to a part, the stress flow is...

Connecting multiple valves together is always a challenge. You want to have individual valve functionality, but not loose sight of the overall system characteristics. Open center or through...

Beam tables give information on and assume that the deflection calculation is based on a constant cross section.  So, what do we do if our beam has a cross section that changes over the length...

Two stage pumps, often called log splitter pumps, are a great way to get better performance without increasing horsepower. A two-stage hydraulic pump is two gear pumps that combine flow...

Reading a hydraulic schematic for the first time is a daunting and confusing thing.  There are so many symbols to identify and lines to keep track of.  I hope to impart to you a systematic...

This article is going to be a bit more technical than the previous article about fasteners, “The Magic of Fasteners.”  I’m going to try to keep it as simple as I can, but this topic is so...

Have you ever wondered if there is an ideal location to put your shelf supports? Well, of course not, you're normal. But if we look at it mathematically….. https://youtu.be/U3r1jAM3Wto

There have been several times in my engineering career that I have needed to limit the force a mechanism can produce, but still allow for unpredictable amounts of deflection. This is very useful in...

Yes, another stupid party trick for you to enjoy. Numbers ending in 5 have a unique method of squaring them. Let's unpack the trick and as always, I'll show you why it is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tscpw6C_feA In our pilot episode, we cover laser welding, how I got into roller coasters and my thoughts on welding stainless steel. I also took a moment to...

PVC pipe is flexible, but not too flexible. It would take a lot of force to hold it in place if we don’t form it. (It would also take permanent footings to take the load as well.) We don’t want...

Pulley System for Easy Lifting I’ve always wanted to make a “complex system of ropes and pulleys” to do some work. Well this is not complex, but it is a system of ropes and pulleys. Anyway,...