In 1958, a small group of design and industry professionals established the Industrial Design Council of Australia (IDCA), funded by the Commonwealth Government. In an era when Australian industrial design was in its infancy, the goal of the IDCA was to educate manufacturers and consumers on the value of design, encourage and promote high standards [...]
1) Idea Generation is often called the “fuzzy front end” of the NPD process Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), Market and consumer trends, company’s R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate spies, trade shows, or Ethnographic discovery methods (searching for [...]
Hard milling intricate steel geometry for critical medical devices cuts to the core of suppler relationships. Rapid changes in technology involve a never-ending learning curve to increase value and reduce costs while advancing overall performance. To meet this challenge, get your suppliers involved as soon as possible! […]
In the USA, automotive design reached a turning point in 1924 when the American national automobile market began reaching saturation. […]
Nothing else cuts EDM faster and has a more controllable finish than a stone. While diamond files start off as being faster than stones, […]
Steel laps are the tool of choice for most polishers. Steel can be ground to any thinness and still allow for heavy downward pressure. Steel laps can be used with diamond compound or silicon carbide lapping compound as the cutting medium. […]
The technique of disking ribs is probably the fastest way to remove EDM from ribs; however, the downside can easily outweigh the benefits. Disked ribs can become undercut extremely easily – in a matter of only a second – and this technique should only be used by an experienced polisher with many years of “feeling [...]
Diamond files are the next fastest cutting tools available for removing EDM from ribs after disking. Diamond files can be used in profilers, […]
Brass laps also are very popular for lapping ribs. While not quite as rigid as steel laps, brass laps are easier to work to thickness and shape and they don’t suffer nearly as much from the deep, zigzag scoring as steel laps do. […]
Take a brass lap, dress it to half the thinness of the rib, take a 220-grit, medium, hard-bond, aluminum oxide, nonoil-filled stone and slice it to half the thinness of the rib. […]