Thursday, August 6, 2009

cnc

Numerical control (NC) refers to the automation of machine tools that are operated by abstractly programmed commands encoded on a storage medium, as opposed to manually controlled via handwheels or levers, or mechanically automated via cams alone. The first NC machines were built in the 1940s and '50s, based on existing tools that were modified with motors that moved the controls to follow points fed into the system on paper tape. These early servomechanisms were rapidly augmented with analog and digital computers, creating the modern computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools that have revolutionized the design process.

In modern CNC systems, end-to-end component design is highly automated using CAD/CAM programs. The programs produce a computer file that is interpreted to extract the commands needed to operate a particular machine, and then loaded into the CNC machines for production. Since any particular component might require the use of a number of different tools—drills, saws, etc.—modern machines often combine multiple tools into a single "cell". In other cases, a number of different machines are used with an external controller and human or robotic operators that move the component from machine to machine. In either case, the complex series of steps needed to produce any part is highly automated and produces a part that closely matches the original CAD design.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Financial planninf advice July/1

Should the Fed be in the business of pricking asset bubbles?

This week, we step back a moment to think about monetary policy. Still, the Fed faces severe downside risk to the economy – commercial real estate and state and local budgets alone cause havoc on the outlook. Furthermore, the Fed will likely be in easing mode for some time, especially with the pile of assets it must eventually unwind.
However, the future of Fed policy is being challenged. Last week, the Board of Governors Vice Chairman, Donald Kohn, defended the Fed’s need for autonomy from Congressional oversight, as “Any substantial erosion of the Federal Reserve’s monetary independence likely would lead to higher long-term interest rates as investors begin to fear future inflation”.1 As the economy recovers from the grandest housing bubble in modern history, the Fed will once again assess its mandate to promote maximum sustainable employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Should this mandate include a policy of targeting asset prices?
Bill Cheney
Chief Economist
617-572-9138
bcheney@mfcglobalus.com
Oscar Gonzalez
Economist
617-572-9572
ogonzalez@mfcglobalus.com
Rebecca Braeu
Economist
617-572-0868
rbraeu@mfcglobalus.com
Economic Research
The short answer is going to be YES and NO. Yes, the Fed and related agencies should further explore their roles as financial regulators, which is part of the Fed’s job of ensuring financial stability. No, even a pre-emptive strike against asset prices requires that the Fed reliably identify the bubble given the information at the time. Furthermore, the Fed’s dull monetary policy tool, the short-term rate, is likely to rip through key macroeconomic variables while slowing down asset-prices.
The evidence supporting a policy of targeting asset prices is mixed at best. Furthermore, in the last year it has become abundantly clear that the Fed’s toolbox is more fluid than previously thought - there is a much to do in the area of regulation before changing its policy toward pricking bubbles.
Why do bubbles matter?
The Fed already follows asset prices to the extent of their effects on the real economy. Asset prices affect consumer spending behavior via wealth effects (tangible, housing, and non-tangible, financial, wealth). Second, stock prices affect the ability of firms to raise funds for growth and new investment.
Research shows that the Fed already incorporates asset prices into its policy decisions. According to Rigabon and Sack (2003)2, the probability that the Fed eases (tightens) increases by roughly 50% in the face of a 5% shock to the S&P 500. Simply put - the Fed currently reacts to the expected macro-economic instability that is caused by asset pric

Monday, July 20, 2009

Enginnering

Engineering is the science, discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to ...

Audio engineering Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means ...

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and ...

Electrical engineering Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the ...

Computer engineering Computer Engineering (also called Electronic and Computer Engineering , Computer Systems Engineering, or "'Hardware Engineering"') is a ...

Mechanical engineering Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics and chemistry for analysis, ...

Engineer An engineer is an engineering professional. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, ...

Aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering behind the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft . ...

Industrial engineering Industrial engineering is also known as operations management , management science , systems engineering , or manufacturing engineering ; a ...

Software engineering Software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance ...

Genetic engineering (section Engineering) Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM) and gene splicing are terms that apply to the ...

Biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. skills of engineering with ...

Structural engineering Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structure s that support or resist load s ...

Bachelor of Engineering Bachelor of Engineering (commonly abbreviated as BE or BEng) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five ...

Environmental engineering Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment (air, water, and/or land ...

National Academy of Engineering The United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a private, non-profit institution that was founded in 1964 under the same ...

Architectural engineering Architectural engineering, also known as Building Engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building ...

Materials science (redirect from Materials engineering) Materials science or materials engineering is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various ...
25 KB (3051 words) - 15:02, 19 July 2009
Civil engineer A civil engineer (in English usage) is a person who practices civil engineering , one of the many professions of engineering. ...
9 KB (1222 words) - 04:57, 23 June 2009
Combat engineering Combat engineering is a combat arms role of using the knowledge, tools and techniques of engineering by troops in peace and war, but ...
18 KB (2380 words) - 08:48, 14 July 2009

Science

Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") refers to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice.[1]

In its more restricted contemporary sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, and to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research.[2][3] This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word. Science as discussed in this article is sometimes called experimental science to differentiate it from applied science—the application of scientific research to specific human needs—although the two are often interconnected.

Science is a continuing effort to discover and increase human knowledge and understanding through disciplined research. Using controlled methods, scientists collect observable evidence of natural or social phenomena, record measurable data relating to the observations, and analyze this information to construct theoretical explanations of how things work. The methods of scientific research include the generation of hypotheses about how phenomena work, and experimentation that tests these hypotheses under controlled conditions. Scientists are also expected to publish their information so other scientists can do similar experiments to double-check their conclusions. The results of this process enable better understanding of past events, and better ability to predict future events of the same kind as those that have been tested.

Singapore Botanic garden