This is a quick note on an approximation that I use all the time for back-of-the-envelope calculations: taking a linear, multivariate Taylor series expansion and converting it to percent changes. It sounds kind of lame, but it's totally way awesome.
This entry gives a brief, practical overview of finite element analysis. There is so much more to FEA than making a finer mesh. Important parameters are what study you use, mesh size and type, material properties, loads (type, magnitude, and point of application) and boundary conditions.
Where do I make all of these cool things? I make them at various machine shops at MIT. Each shop has advantages and disadvantages, some shops are more suited to certain projects than others. This entry is meant to showcase these differences, as well as indicating what it takes to gain access to these shops.
This is an introduction to flexure bearings. When designed properly, flexures can provide motion in some directions while constraining motion in others. They can also be used to relieve overconstraint. This blog entry is meant to provide the reader with a simple overview of what to do when designing flexures.
I recently finished a woodworking project, and I thought it would be a good idea to collect all of my thoughts about woodworking in this entry, giving the reader a step-by-step process for completing a woodworking project. Woodworking can be a rewarding albeit time-consuming process. There will be several lessons that carry over into general machining. I will cover buying wood, making parts, connecting those parts, sanding and finishing.
Next Make is back in full swing, making stuff, holding seminars, and teaching interested people how to make cool stuff. However, most of the efforts made by Next Make Exec lately has been to get our stuff together for this year’s Large Project, the NEXT HOUSE PARTY!
A good friend of mine recently told me that she wanted to learn $\LaTeX$. I’ve been teaching myself how to use $\LaTeX$ over the course of this semester, so I decided to help her out.