Technical Tidbits Archive: 2015 - 2016

Resources

1. Properties are Functions - Issue 96 - December 2016

   A brief discussion on how material properties almost always depend on some other parameter.

2. Other Statistical Ranges - Issue 95 - November 2016

   A brief discussion of confidence limits, tolerance limits and the MMPDS Basis System.

3. Process Capability - Issue 94 - October 2016

   A brief discussion of what it means for a process to be capable and what you can expect for material properties from such capable processes.

4. Tuning and Customizing Properties - Issue 93 - September 2016

   A brief discussion of the tradeoffs involved when trying to tweak properties of standard materials.

5. Material Property Ranges and Statistics - Issue 92 - August 2016

   A brief discussion of how typical material properties may vary and lead the design engineer into trouble.

6. Metal Properties and System Properties - Issue 91 - July 2016

   A brief discussion of the different classifications of material properties.

7. Hardness v. Strength - Issue 90 - June 2016

   A brief discussion of the correlation between hardness and strength.

8. Stress Relaxation Data - Issue 89 - May 2016

   Learn how to use stress relaxation data.

9. Testing Stress Relaxation Resistance - Issue 88 - April 2016

   Learn about stress relaxation testing.

10. Stress Relaxation-Issue 87-March 2016

    Learn about the causes, effects, and prevention of stress relaxation.

11. Hertz Stress - Issue 86 - February 2016

    Read how the concepts of Hertzian contact theory have made their controversial way into connector design, and how some of the principles can help improve reliability.

12. Advice for New Engineers-Issue 85-January 2016

    Delve into this collection of random advice and wisdom(?) accumulated throughout an engineering carreer. All opinions expressed in this publication are expressly that of the author.

13. What Makes a Good Spring Material-Issue 84-December 2015

    Learn which material properties make a material a good candidate for your spring or connector design, depending on what spring behavior you want to optimize.

14. Spring Types Part 8-Miscellaneous Springs-Issue 83-November 2015

    Discover a variety of miscellaneous spring types, not covered in previous editions, that may be of use to your application.

15. Spring Types Part 7-Bellows and Diaphragms-Issue 82-October 2015

    Introduce yourself to pressure sensor bellows and diaphragms, and learn how their unique shapes improve stability even at very large deflections.

16. Spring Types Part 6-Coil Springs-Issue 81-September 2015

    Review the properties of the coil spring, and learn how to adjust the geometry to fine-tune the spring rate.

17. Spring Types Part 5-The Unique Stiffness Behavior of Belleville Washers-Issue 80-August 2015

    Investigate Belleville washers, with unique spring rate behavior that can be deliberately varied from positive to negative in the same single spring.

18. Spring TypesPart 4-Spring Washers-Issue 79-July 2015

    Find out how spring washers may be used in parallel or series to customize overall spring characteristics.

19. One-piece vs. Two-piece Terminal Socket Contacts-Issue 78-June 2015

    Compare and contrast one piece and two piece connector sockets, and determine which style is right for your design.

20. Spring Types Part 3-Torsion Bars-Issue 77-May 2015

    Familiarize yourself with connector designs based on the torsion bar model for improved wiping action and electrical contact.

21. Spring Types Part 2-Simply Supported Arch Beams-Issue 76-April 2015

    Learn how arch beam contacts can improve upon the performance of cantilever beam springs.

22. Spring Types Part 1-Cantilever Beams-Issue 75-March 2015

    Explore different types of springs that operate under the principles of cantilever beams.

23. Friction Calculations-Issue 74-February 2015

    Find out how to determine the appropriate coefficient of friction for use in your calculations and model simulations.

24. Introduction to Friction-Issue 73-January 2015

    Investigate why the coefficient of friction is not actually a material property, but rather a system property dependent on many variables.