Up Front

Knee Deep: A Review

Terry Persun
Editor-In-Chief

Designfax is now knee-deep into 2001 and already we've brought you some of our best pieces in years. In January, our automobile industry feature didn't discuss the latest cars and trucks coming into the market (our competitors do that). Instead, we told you about the industry targeting a new standard for power distribution. Our article, More Power, explained the trend to completely electrify electromechanical systems and how this trend could easily demand 12 kW or more of power--all within the next five years.

That same issue brought you new seal technology for submersible pumps and elsewhere, surface-mount tantalum capacitors which are now being used in implantable hearing aids. And don't forget January's Five Star Product concerning a polymeric LED that won't begin to vanish when viewed at an angle. This year we've continued our Bird-Doggin' the Internet section--the longest running Internet column in this industry.

The February issue of Designfax brought you Redefining Robots. That article alone received over 1500 reader responses in less than two weeks. We were amazed at the number of emails that poured in, and the amount of reader interest in this subject. Other features in the February issue that received positive responses included Part 3 of our Design in Plastics series and a harmonic planetary gear drive in Five Star.

Designfax is a feature article and application story magazine! When we cover products, we make selections through a laborious process where we hand-pick the Five Star Product of the Month, then select the Top Product in each product category we cover. We deliver you directly to company home pages on the Internet through our OneRS.net reader service option. Sometimes we deliver you directly to the spec page. Our March Design Engineering Show issue can be saved and used throughout the year as a reference to company sites and products.

This month, we're bringing you more technology pieces, including our Industrial Machinery feature, Application Xtras at the end of every product section, and Revision X and Tech Upgrades as they come to our attention. Yes, we're knee-deep into the year. This review was put together for two reasons: to indicate our commitment and to remind you, dear reader, of only a few of the features you may have missed. You can find the pieces mentioned here, and many more, on our Internet site. I recommend scanning back issues occasionally. You never know when an application story will come in handy.