Industrial Interface co-founder, Chris Powell, presented to the local San Diego SAMPE chapter. In his presentation he discussed a variety of things that Engineers don’t normally encounter. Read the rest of this entry »
Steven Wiltshire (The Living Camera) is world renowned for his photographic memory and incredible archtectural skills. He is also autistic, and although unable to speak until the age of 5, at age 11 he drew a perfect aerial view of London after just a 30 minute helicopter ride. He’s now a successful artist and architect.
IndustrialInterface.com makes sourcing industrial products and services as simple as sending a single email. Engineers find solutions to their design applications in minutes instead of weeks.
San Diego, CA, November 11, 2009 — IndustrialInterface.com officially launches its new site that bypasses traditional sales channels and lets engineers instantly and anonymously share design applications with dozens of relevant suppliers. This allows engineers to quickly find multiple solutions for their designs and the right suppliers to provide them.
Salespeople who have experience with similar projects and sell exactly what an engineer needs pay to contact the engineer. This insures that engineers only receive productive and desired communication from suppliers. This is the first website for the manufacturing industry specifically designed to put engineers in direct contact with local sales representatives.
10. The Phone (see our post “10 Reasons Engineers Hate the Phone“)
9. Multiple Office Sites – As if things weren’t complicated enough, I have to try to communicate and solve complex issues over the phone and through NetMeeting, WebEx, and VNC? Maybe if I am especially lucky, I’ll get to travel back and forth for months at a time!
8. Executive speak – Nothing quite like a load of BS from the VP about how great everything is going. Or worse… when it’s quiet, you know it’s REALLY bad.
8. Machinists will often need to alter your part to machine some of the features. Work through this together and you’ll both be happier.
7. When you first bring your drawing to the machine shop, it’s common to scribble notes and explain what’s “not that critical.” This is a valuable exercise, but take the time to alter the drawing in your design software before giving it back to the machine shop.
In past blog posts (here and here), I discussed change in the high-tech design workplace. Today’s blog is about innovation: the driving force for profit in this market. Companies who deliver the newest, best-performing, most-reliable products to market are almost always the most successful. This requires an efficient company streamlined to foster, cultivate, and encourage designers to come up with cutting-edge ideas on a daily basis. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s amazing to see how people can make incredible improvements to everything around them often with very limited resources. One blog that consistently appeals to people (especially other engineers) because of this is Afrigadget. This blog highlights innovations in rural African communities, both by local people and outside inventors. These innovations are often surprisingly simple but always technical, and never fail to impress. Engineers of all types and from all locations can learn from the simplicity and creativity highlighted in this blog.
Some of my Favorites
A shopkeeper has recycled old sandals to hang the door to his shop. This creates a sturdy mount that is hinged and spring-loaded by the flexible footwear to ensure the front door closes behind his customers.
Streamlining Design from Concept to Production