Latest articles

I've recently been trying to build up a folder containing images of thermal management solutions - very handy to dip into when trying to come up with ideas for a project!

Today a Playstation 2 fell into my hands and naturally I couldn't help reaching for the screwdriver. I thought I'd share the pics of the internal assembly with you...


1. Main chassis with a MONSTER fan on the top! Do these things judder around the room like a washing machine on full spin when you switch them on?
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Process description
A coherent beam of monochromatic light is focused on the workpiece causing material removal by vaporisation. Machines are generally CAD/CAM compatible, with 3-axis and 5-axis machines being generally available.
Profile creation of sheet metal parts is the most common applications, but it is also possible to drill holes and create blind features in many different types of material.
Gas-assisted laser beam machining is common. The gas type can be oxygen, inert gas, or air, depending on material type and quality requirements.
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Process Description:
Electrical Discharge Wire Cutting (EDWC) involves a continuously spooling conductive wire (the most widely used is brass). A power supply generates rapid electric pulses that create a discharge between the workpiece and electrode (the wire). The discharge causes the melting, and probably the vaporisation, of a minute piece of material, slowly eating into the work piece. Any electrical conductive material can be machined irrespective of hardness. The position of the wire with respect to the workpiece is controlled in the x and y planes usually by CNC. On some machines the wire can be tilted to create tapered parts. An advantage of this process is that no mechanical stresses are created in the workpiece because the wire does not make contact with it.
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Process Description:
This is a metal cutting process that uses a high temperature stream of ionised gas through a water-cooled nozzle at very high velocity. An arc is formed between the electrode and the workpiece, which is constricted by a fine bore copper nozzle. Oxygen oxidises the workpiece material, and it is melted by the exothermic reaction. The melted metal is then blown away from the line of cut. Temperatures can reach up to 20,000˚C. Manual (portable) or automated systems are common.
The plasma gases include argon, hydrogen, nitrogen and mixtures, plus air and oxygen.
PAC has a higher cutting speed and produces a smaller HAZ than oxy-fuel cutting
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Process Description:
The tool, which is a negative of the workpiece, is vibrated at around 20KHz with and amplitude of between 0.013mm and 0.1mm in abrasive slurry at the workpiece surface.

Material removal is by 3 mechanisms:

1. Hammering of grit against the surface by the tool.
2. Impact of free abrasive grit particles (erosion).
3. Micro-cavitation.

• Parts are burr-free with no residual stresses, distortion or thermal effects. There are no changes to the metallurgical, chemical or physical properties of the workpiece.
• The tool is gradually moved down and a consta

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Welcome to the new version of the Mechanical Design Forum!

As you can see there's been massive changes around here. We've switched from our old software (phpBB) to the industry leading sofware, vBulletin.

Many more small changes will still be happening over the next few days/weeks while we add content to the homepage and iron out all the bugs. Please be patient if you experience any difficulty during this period of transition.
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The electric guitar industry can be described as a closed industry. It is difficult to get new ideas accepted in a field that is already overburdened with products (instruments and accessories). The electric guitar is difficult to define as a product. It can be said that it is an instrument of craftsmanship so shrouded with historical and cultural connotations to be labeled as such. Nevertheless, there have been many cases in its development where its treatment (especially by manufacturers) can be described as being “as a product”. Segovia proclaimed the very thought of an electric guitar was an "Abomination... …to take such a noble creation and plug it in like a kitchen appliance".

Early development of the electric guitar grew out of necessity and musical trend, rather than being a direct response to the advent of new technology. The technology behind the electromagnetic pickup and amplifier had been around for a while, and it was adapted to the guitar in order to make it audible amid large bands. There is no definitive date for the invention of the electric guitar, although the first to be manufactured commercially was in 1932 by Adolph Rickenbacker, a Swiss die and tool maker (see Fig.1).
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