Tag Archives: Manufacturing

A Tour Through the Archetypical Asian Factory

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Overseas factories can be sort of a mythical topic. News articles remind us that Flex (née Flextronics) employs nearly 200 thousand employees worldwide or that Foxconn is up to nearly a million. It must take an Apple-level of insider knowledge and capital to organize such a behemoth workforce, certainly something well past the level of cottage hardware manufacturing. And the manufacturing floor itself must be a temple to bead blasted aluminum and 20 axis robotic arms gleefully tossing products together. Right?

Well… the reality is a little different. The special sauce turns out to be people who are well trained …read more

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How Precise is That Part? Know Your GD&T

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How does a design go from the computer screen to something you hold in your hand? Not being able to fully answer this question is a huge risk in manufacturing because . One of the important tools engineers use to ensure success is Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).

A good technical drawing is essential for communicating your mechanical part designs to a manufacturer. Drafting, as a professional discipline, is all about creating technical drawings that are as unambiguous as possible, and that means defining features explicitly. The most basic implementation of that concept is dimensioning, where you state the distance …read more

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Planned Obsolescence Isn’t A Thing, But It Is Your Fault

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The common belief is that big companies are out to get the little people by making products that break after a short period, or with substantially new features or accessories that make previous models obsolete, requiring the user to purchase a new model. This conspiracy theory isn’t true; there’s a perfectly good explanation for this phenomenon, and it was caused by the consumers, not the manufacturers.

When we buy the hottest, shiniest, smallest, and cheapest new thing we join the wave of consumer demand that is the cause of what often gets labelled as “Planned Obsolescence”. In truth, we’re all …read more

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Week 33 Cyberattack Digest 2018 – Cosmos Bank, Adams County, Apple and others

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It is Monday again, and we are ready to give you an overlook on the latest incidents in the sphere of cyber security. As you remember, for a couple of weeks, the attention of attackers has been totally drawn to healthcare organizations, and this vector… Continue reading Week 33 Cyberattack Digest 2018 – Cosmos Bank, Adams County, Apple and others→

Manufacturing: A Rising Target for Cybercriminals

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Every morning, I start my day by reading email about the latest cybersecurity news. These emails almost always involve data breaches or malware targeting a retail outlet, a restaurant, a healthcare company or a financial institution. What do these cyb… Continue reading Manufacturing: A Rising Target for Cybercriminals→

Threatlist: Manufacturing, a Top Target for Espionage

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Vectra’s 2018 Spotlight Report found that attackers can easily spy, spread and steal information, largely unhindered by the insufficient internal access controls that are in place. Continue reading Threatlist: Manufacturing, a Top Target for Espionage→

RiskRecon’s security assessment services for third party vendors raises $25 million

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In June of this year, Chinese hackers managed to install software into the networks of a contractor for the U.S. Navy and steal information on a roughly $300 million top secret submarine program. Two years ago, hackers infiltrated the networks of a vendor servicing the Australian military and made off with files containing a trove […] Continue reading RiskRecon’s security assessment services for third party vendors raises $25 million→

Custom LCD Module is Unexpectedly Cheap and Easy

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Looking to take your project to the next level in terms of functionality and appearance? A custom LCD display might be the thing that gets you there, at least compared to the dot-matrix or seven-segment displays that anyone and their uncle can buy from the usual sources for pennies. But how does one create such a thing, and what are the costs involved? As is so often the case these days, it’s simpler and cheaper than you think, and [Dave Jones] has a great primer on designing and specifying custom LCDs.

The video below is part of an ongoing series; …read more

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Should Business Risk Mitigation Be A Factor When We Choose Our Suppliers And Manufacturers?

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This is something that I have struggled with for most of my working life. As a technology professional, it is my job to pick the best products and solutions or to dig deeper to marry that technological decision with one that’s best for my organi… Continue reading Should Business Risk Mitigation Be A Factor When We Choose Our Suppliers And Manufacturers?→

Using Pad Printers To Add Color To Artistic PCBs

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I’ve done a few experiments in adding color to printed circuit boards. These experiments used a process known as pad printing, and so far all indications are that pad printing is a viable process for truly multicolor artistic PCBs. For this year’s DEF CON, I’m stepping things up and taking them to their logical conclusion. I’m making true multicolor PCBs with orange and blue ink. This is, I believe, the first time this has ever been done with printed circuit board art, and it is certainly the first time it has ever been documented.

You may be wondering why I …read more

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