Expanding our network Last month, we announced that we’re joining forces with some very well-respected engineering publications produced by CFE Media. Our new titles include some you’ve likely heard of: Control Engineering, Plant Engineering, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, and Industrial Cybersecurity Pulse. Produced by an award-winning editorial team, these brands help round out our engineering coverage and…

Power Transmission In A Digital World Each spring, the editors at Design World prepare a special issue devoted to power transmission, which we call our Power Transmission Guide. It covers the basics of power transmission by spotlighting key components such as gears, actuators, motors and other mechanical components. In a world that is growing more…

Growing pains I remember feeling chronic discomfort in my shins as my teenage tibias attempted to get me up to average height. It was a nice try, but five-foot-two was all they could muster. Fortunately, most engineering and writing careers don’t have a minimum height requirement. Today’s fast-paced world pressures us to grow quickly and…

Looking at digital transformation If you follow the publication online, you’ve surely seen some of the insightful stories from our new Executive Editor, Stephanie Neil, who’s a well-known and respected journalist in the world of packaging technology. Her recent article on how packaging machinery incorporates safety in different areas is a necessary read for anyone…

Digital dominates this year’s discussion The response to our 2024 Design World Trends call was the biggest yet. This print issue contains five features summarizing just a small portion of this year’s observations and insights from experts in motion and automation; tune into designworldonline.com/trends over the next two months to read all the Trends features…

When 99% is simply not good enough I’m going to veer off the normal engineering focus of this column for a month to dabble in a scientific field that’s close to my heart: astronomy. We’re a month out from this year’s big heavenly spectacle in the U.S., the total solar eclipse on April 8th. This…

I love learning about engineering colleagues who are innovating in new ways. Take the current issues with renewable energy. While strides have been made in solar and wind, the variability of these technologies often doesn’t match up with when power is most needed. That’s created much research over the years into ways to store power…

Keeping a focus on engineering leadership Within each January issue of the magazine, we focus on the topic of leadership in engineering. And while that’s usually focused on the leadership qualities of manufacturers as well as individual engineers, I’m proud to announce here that our parent company, WTWH Media, continues to take a leadership role…

Reshoring manufacturing — and the Texas-Mexico connection JCB recently announced that it will build a new factory in North America, creating 1,500 new jobs over the next five years. The British company is a global manufacturer of construction equipment and also builds machinery for the agricultural and waste-handling industries. JCB said this new facility will…

In this issue… What Are Low-Profile Screws? Low-profile screws are made with a lower head height than typical screws. These fasteners are designed with a minimal or flush head that sits close to the surface of the material being fastened — providing low visibility but a secure attachment. These components are also referred to as…

In this special edition: Welding cobot delivers 10X production boost for marine exhaust manufacturer DeAngelo Marine Exhaust has increased weld speed, lowered lead times, and improved quality using its new cobot colleague. Inside the development of Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid The company’s R&D work on exoskeletons and bipedal locomotion for the U.S. government and Department of…

UP WITH DEMOCRATIZATION IN ENGINEERING Recently our office received an article by electrical engineer Bernard Ang of Keysight Technologies (previously Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies) about new ways software tools are helping to advance engineering education for design engineers. If you want to get specifics on Keysight’s tools, visit 3dcadworld.com and search Bernard Ang. It’s one…

Engineering … illustrated I write a lot in this space about the need to get more young people from all backgrounds to consider engineering as a career. We rarely end up as a sexy occupation on television. That’s relegated to doctors, lawyers, and heck, even crime scene investigators and morticians. (I don’t think we can…

  Let’s address the culture-war issue Welcome to Design World’s Engineering Diversity and Inclusion issue, a staff -driven evolution of our popular Women in Engineering issues started in 2018. The editors of Design World are honored to bring you statistics and distilled information on this topic as well as inspiring stories about engineers of various…

A soft-ish landing for manufacturers? The National Fluid Power Association’s annual International Economic Outlook Conference, held recently in Chicago, provided an overview of the current economic landscape, exploring both U.S. and global macro trends and the ramifications for fluid power and motion control manufacturers. Here’s a breakdown of some of the main ideas: U.S. dominance:…

According to the IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2023, electric car sales saw another record year in 2022, despite supply chain disruptions, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, and high commodity and energy prices. The growth took place in the context of globally contracting car markets: total car sales in 2022 dipped by 3% relative to 2021. Electric…

Sift through a few headlines, and you’ll likely come across news about labor shortages in several sectors. The trades are not immune. “Construction Workforce Shortage Tops Half a Million in 2023,” states the Associated Builders and Contractors. “Labor Shortages Forecast to Persist for Years,” predicts The Society for Human Resource Management. Blame what you will:…

THE BORING TRUTH ABOUT AI You can’t turn anywhere today without hearing about artificial intelligence or AI. Most AI coverage seems to exist on a kind of truncated spectrum with two dominant endpoints. On the one end is absolute AI triumphalism and cheerleading — as in “AI will solve X” with X being any and…

Science centers and STEM careers As the father of two sons, I’ve been to more than my share of science museums over the years, from Cleveland to Portland, Ore. and San Francisco to Rochester, N.Y. These institutions have been playing an increased role in recent years in encouraging students to pursue STEM careers — as…

Working toward more inclusive engineering Over the past five years, our editorial staff has produced an extra issue each Fall to examine the challenges facing women in the engineering space, as well as celebrating the achievements being made by female engineers in the industry. We’re proud of the light we’ve shown on these readers, including…

Taking the electric leap According to AAPEX, adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the U.S. has increased substantially in recent years — they accounted for 6% of new vehicle registrations in 2022 and are forecast to reach 56% of vehicles sold in 2035 and 81% in 2045. This would translate to 19% of the…

The value of learning…then learning some more Welcome to the 2023 edition of Design World’s special Power Transmission Guide. Each year, the motion editors at Design World prepare four special issues devoted to motion control; one surveying the newest trends in the industry, one spotlighting unique motion applications, and two special issues covering the basics…

Mobile equipment continues path toward electrification At the recent IFPE and CONEXPO shows in Las Vegas, there was plenty to see for fans of mobile hydraulic technology. Hydraulics has long been the technology of choice for many off -highway vehicles thanks to its excellent power density. In the past decade, it’s been increasingly married to…

The in-person meeting returns from the brink The COVID-19 pandemic changed so much around our jobs, from how we work to where we work. It brought Zoom into the daily vernacular of the office, and for many of us, that office now bears a striking resemblance to our living room or den, or study. One…

Transforming thoughts on going digital Digital phobia is a real phenomenon characterized by a discomfort or avoidance of technology and the digital era in general. More seriously known as technophobia or technofear, these digital-laden anxieties are more common than one might think. Although the exact numbers are unknown, research suggests up to one-third of the…