Features Table of Contents

September 1998

feature articles

making gas turbines safer
Recommendations resulting from a study of enclosures at the Teeside power plant may help other plant operators assess and reduce the risk of explosions.

sensing the torque in a robot's joints
A new sensor can accurately measure the torsion moment in a direct-drive robot, even in the presence of a strong overhang, thrust forces, and bending moments.

a tale of two CAD systems
Does having dual computer-aided- design programs give a company twice the usual benefits of automation— or does it mean twice as much work for engineering managers?

bringing dashboards up-to-date
Tests in a digital laboratory helped engineers ensure that a critical bracket would support the plastic-molded models increasingly favored by consumers.

gearing up with plastic
Injection-molded gears make drives lighter, quieter, and less costly.

chasing a cosmic phantom
A new telescope may help solve one of astronomy's greatest riddles—the source of gamma-ray bursts.

taking earth's temperature
Starting in 2001, engineers will be able to use the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System to obtain data on the effects of global warming at the north and south poles.