10/97 mechanical engineering features

October 1997

feature articles

turbines on a dime
By harnessing silicon microfabrication techniques, engineers hope to build gas-turbine engines weighing just 1 gram by the turn of the century.

cobots for the assembly line
Unlike robots that perform specialized tasks only in restricted areas, cobots—a new class of intelligent devices—have been designed to work with human operators in a shared workspace.

calculating entropy with CFD
A new technique allows a more exact calculation of the losses from viscous and thermal effects in the flow path of a turbomachine.

how nature takes shape
The principles used to design heat exchangers can now be applied to predict the structure of trees and other natural networks.

a future for biomass
A variety of methods could turn an age-old natural resource into a new and efficient means of generating electricity.

bubbles aboard the shuttle
Research into why bubbles form in capillary pumped loops in low gravity could mean a new, more effective way to transport thermal energy in space.

reinventing a core product line
At Xerox, big changes in processes and philosophy empowered engineers to develop a new family of products in record time.