I’m not much of a car nut, but even I know the automotive industry is making huge strides in taking new technologies and using them to make cars faster, more efficient, and most importantly, safer than ever before. Take, for example, the brake-by-wire system that was first incorporated into the 2014 F1 racing cars. While…

If you went to college on your path to becoming an engineer/designer/maker you may have learned there are a lot of occupational hazards you were not warned about in that schooling. Even if you didn’t, I bet there were a lot of nasty surprises. Like, what about being cursed? I don’t mean in a profanity…

If you’re involved in the engineering of products manufactured globally, chances are you’ve been personally affected by SNAFU’s on an epic scale. Despite your best efforts, you probably had to sacrifice some weekends, or late nights, or quality time with your kiddos, or at the very least, your blood pressure. Hey, it happens to the…

Welcome to our new ‘Ask An Engineer’ series, where Dan Slaski addresses questions that have you losing sleep or staring off into space during important meetings. Have a question for Dan? Send it in. Question: My company doesn’t create product requirements I feel they are necessary to do my job effectively. What can I do? Dear…

Those who suffer from acrophobia now have another reason to fear this vertically-inclined planet. After fourteen years in production, the world’s steepest funicular tram——the Stoosbahn—is now complete. Connecting the town of Schwyz to the mountain village of Stoos in Switzerland, the €44.6m tram (approximately $52.55m) travels 1,300 meters above sea level at a dizzying incline…

Count this one under one of the coolest engineering class projects, ever. JetX, an aerospace student team founded by University of Glasgow President Chris Triantafyllou, is currently working with Rolls Royce (yes, THAT Rolls Royce) to make the world’s first COMPLETE 3D printed scale jet engine model. Aptly named the X-Plorer 1, the engine measures…

There’s nothing like attending a global design or engineering conference. You get to see and hear all the latest and greatest stuff. But I say even better than attending a conference is the opportunity to be a presenter at one! The big event for PTC Users is the annual LiveWorxs Global Conference. So if you’ve…

With demand for analog records surging in recent years, it comes as little surprise that some of the original turntable manufacturers have been coming out of the woodwork to refine their products for a new generation. Yesterday, Panasonic unveiled a prototype of the Technics SP-10R, a direct-drive turntable with the world’s highest-level S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio…

Driving with an automatic transmission is like driving on easy mode. With the removal of the clutch pedal and the need to constantly switch gears, all the driver needs to do is basically point the car where it needs to go and step on the gas. But what makes driving an automatic transmission so easy?…

From a Porsche 911 model with build instructions based on the true life factory assembly process to a functional laser cutter mini-factory, there’s never been a better time to be a LEGO fan. And while some of the best projects are those that happen spontaneously by throwing some random bricks together, the toy bricks can…

Welcome to our new ‘Ask An Engineer’ series, where Dan Slaski addresses questions that have you losing sleep or staring off into space during important meetings. Have a question for Dan? Send it in. Question: I’m thinking about using an online machine shop. Am I betraying my local machine shop? Dear Loyal Luddite, Respect. In an…

From brewing methods to bean varieties, coffee connoisseurs have never had as many choices for their daily cup of brew as they do today. And while some may swear by the simplicity of the good old-fashioned French press, brewing technologies have been slowly seeping their way into the mainstream; be it in the form of…

With online games and other interactive programs tailored to the needs of the coding novice, the days of learning basic coding principles through a traditional coding environment are long over. But what if we want to get away from the screen altogether? Such is the premise behind Musicon, an interactive wooden musical instrument that doubles…

Every once in a while, a new business model comes along that totally disrupts the status quo and changes the way we buy and become introduced to new products. Among others, the subscription service business model is just one of them. While these days consumers can purchase everything from socks to pre-prepared dinners and shave…

Welcome to our new ‘Ask An Engineer’ series, where Dan Slaski addresses questions that have you losing sleep or staring off into space during important meetings. Have a question for Dan? Send it in. Question: Should I work for a big company or a small company? Dear Consciously Corporately Constrained, Recently my girlfriend and I…