Do You Know What a Stop Log Is?

Do You Know What a Stop Log Is?

Do you know what a stop log is? They are used at a dam to block the water at one of the gates that control flow over the dam. This allows for maintenance of the respective gate. Stop logs are about 4 feet tall and 16-20 feet wide. They are stacked in channels until...
How to Approach an Engineer with Your Design Problem

How to Approach an Engineer with Your Design Problem

It’s always tempting when we go to a doctor, at least I find, to tell this expert the pain we are feeling and what we think it is or might be. Now, think about this interaction. You have an expert that has seen thousands of cases. He diagnoses based on your...
FEA and the Deepwater Horizon

FEA and the Deepwater Horizon

I enjoyed walking the Offshore Technology Conference exhibits in Houston this past week. I saw many of you there, though traffic was a little down this year. The attendance was just under 70,000 people down from 95,000 a year ago. The nice thing about that was easy...
Inspecting Passenger Loading Bridges In Canada

Inspecting Passenger Loading Bridges In Canada

This picture was taken in Ottawa, Canada where we were inspecting the installation of passenger loading bridges like the one shown. While boarding and unboarding planes may be a largely mundane action for you as a passenger, a lot of engineering thought goes into the...
The Robots Are Here

The Robots Are Here

  Does the pace of technology just blow your mind at times? One of the futurist proclamations is that robots will infiltrate every part of our life. Well, if you click the image above, you will see how robots are building a bridge using 3D printing technology....
Engineering Oil Fields

Engineering Oil Fields

If you’ve ever driven the coastal highways in Long Beach, CA, you will see a set of islands that look like resorts. They are man-made wonders, in fact. These are the THUMS islands, also known as the Astronaut Islands. These islands were built by a consortium of...
Is the Force With You?

Is the Force With You?

The Engineering Force is strong with us, it is. You a prosperous new year we wish! Enjoy the holiday derivation above!  
International Workboat Show 2015

International Workboat Show 2015

  I attend a lot of trade shows as many of you know. Recently, I was in New Orleans checking out the latest technologies at the International WorkBoat Show. I got some great pics from the show floor.  One of the sites that caught my eye was a booth selling marine...
Modeling for Engineering Specifications

Modeling for Engineering Specifications

We get hired for many different types of engineering projects. One type of engineering job is for certification. A client of ours needed an Engineer to certify that their machine met API 7K specification. That is the American Petroleum Institute’s specification...