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WHAT IS THE WAVE?
The Wave is a platform of tools, education, and community to dramatically accelerate the speed of engineering for teams who develop machines, hard goods products, & devices. If you are a mechanical engineer, R&D engineer, process development engineer, mechanical design engineer, product development engineer, or similar, you've found your new tribe here at The Wave.
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Articles
The Elegant Art of Keeping It Simple: A Tale of Overengineering and Redemption
Back in the days when Pipeline was pretty much a one-man show starring yours truly, I got this gig to whip up a cleaning fixture for a medical device. Picture this: it needed to snuggle right into an existing ultrasonic bath housing like it was made for it, be crafted out of 316 stainless steel to avoid rusting away to oblivion, and play nice with a bunch of different device setups. No pressure, right? Diving into this project, I ran headfirst into the usual design drama—challenges popping
Knowing When To Ask For Help
Knowing when to ask for help can mean the difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful one. It can be the difference between managers wanting you on their projects, and teams actively blocking you from participation. So how do we know when it’s time to ask for help? A few weeks ago, we were in Anaheim for the MD&M West show. It was day 2 and we were leaving our Airbnb just after 9am to travel to our booth at the convention center. We were driving Eleanor (my beloved Rivia
Hustle Culture
This may be a controversial topic. I like hustle culture. I like working a lot. I feel proud when I see that I put in more than the “40 hour minimum” each week. I like putting in the time needed to get things done. There is a lot of talk these days about work life balance. It’s true, I don’t want to lose my family over working too much, but I also don’t want to lose my work over recreating too much. It’s a balance (I find myself using that word more and more as I get older…) There
SMAC Voice Coil Motor Product Review
Introduction Voice coil motors (VCMs) are a mechanical marvel, seamlessly merging actuators and sensors into a single powerhouse. These devices deliver blistering speed, pinpoint precision, and unwavering long-term performance. They've earned their stripes in tasks requiring surgical precision, such as product testing, autofocus systems, and even the delicate mechanics of hard disk drives. (Fun fact: The term "voice coil" originates from one of its initial applications, in which it was used
A Lesson From Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on Leadership
Let me be clear, I'm not very good at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), but I love it. One might even say I have an addiction to it (this is not part of the leadership lesson). One of the reasons I love it so much is the life lessons I learn from the sport. Last week I was rolling (BJJ speak for "sparring") with a partner when my foot started to cramp. Eventually the pain was so sever that I had to pause and stretch it out. During this pause coach Steve (who is awesome, despite how you may feel af
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Recent Activity
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8Solidworks for Makers
I was a member of the EAA years ago for this benefit. They offered it with an educational license to the full software.- 2
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sketching Sketching and Idea generation
I love sketching stuff. Originally learning on a drafting board, I find it makes me think of the whole part in my mind without 3d modeling exposing the issues for me. A few seconds with a pencil and features are scaled relationally without the need for actual dimension, and not fight the software to create something you are still figuring out. I have not tried the tablet approach to sketch and save easily. Draw directly onto a screen shot. Does this method work for others out there?- 1
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sketching Sketching and Idea generation
I love this, and I have found the same thing to be true. We often hear the advice "fail fast" - I think paper sketching is a great way to do this because you start finding problems (and solutions) so quickly without, as you put it, fighting software.- 1
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2sketching Sketching and Idea generation
I had an idea for a problem that was showing up on the production line (the idea came about after seeing the Device Rotating Module). Normally I would make a simple cad design in Onshape (I don't have Solidworks at work and I use the makers edition at home) but I decided to just start with a piece of paper and a pencil. I got further inspiration viewing YouTube videos on 3D printing and just starting drawing. I added dimensions where I needed to and notes as well to create a version 1 and it felt relaxing because I wasn't fighting software. (I of course made the paper sketch into a PDF so I couldn't lose it). It also helped that it was quiet and I could focus but to me sketching seems easier on paper and then turning to CAD once ready.- 1
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