There was a time when everyone was so impressed by intelligent part numbering schemes that choosing to adopt one was a no-brainer.

But things have changed. If you're growing quickly with a wide variety of parts, or have a globally dispersed or complicated manufacturing process, intelligent part numbering could actually be a difficult system to maintain as you grow.

If you're trying to decide if it's right for you, here are a few pros and cons of intelligent part…

We added an extra five to our weekly top tweets wrap-up — consider it a holiday gift :)

[ Click here to read it ]

We got lots of cool news, links and other tidbits to keep you entertained. It's been a good year, everyone! See you on the other side!…

Design World -- the ones who started Eng Ex -- held a contest recently that awarded a bunch of cash to a few inventors. Find out what the winning ideas were here!…

I don't know if you've noticed this, but some really innovative products are starting to hit the market that are aimed at improving health, fitness, and sexiness. While a lot of technology - cars, microwaves, electric toothbrushes - makes us lazier, these products are designed to get people up off their butts, and out into the real world.

Here are a few of the most innovative ones I've seen. (…

An Australian blogger had some kind words to say about Bishop-Wisecarver's social media prowess. He talks about marketing and the manufacturing industry in his latest blog, which you can check out on our own here! Thanks, Damian!…

A new suit researchers developed to limit strength, mobility and vision gives youngsters an idea of what it's like to be gettin' up there in years. They call it an empathy suit and it's helping people understand the needs of our aging population. Interesting! Read more about that and other cool science, humor and miscellaneous articles in our weekly Top Ten Tweets…

I’m a bit late with my top 5 review for November. It was a tough month for me because of travels. I made double-Vegas. What does it mean you can ask? It means that Vegas this year became a top PLM destination. Back in June, PTC organized their annual conference in Vegas. However, in November, both Dassault System and Autodesk managed to have their annual customer…

My coworkers and I put together some Christmas care packages for a bunch of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan this holiday season. The guys and gals are so appreciative every time they hear from home, let alone get gifts. [ Check out our blog to read more about the troops we're supporting this year ]…

So, a coworker related to me how his mother-in-law made an omelet by combining the raw ingredients in a plastic ziplock bag, sealing it, and boiling it in water for 14 minutes. I was a bit skeptical, but tried it last night, and it worked like a dream. It was so easy, didn't require any skill and there was absolutely no clean up required. I should add that it also tasted fantastic.

I posted on Facebook about it, and was surprised that many people hated on the idea. One of the…

If there are no new ideas, why not look to the oldest idea generator around — evolution.

The concept of using nature as inspiration for mechanical design has been around for a long time. What young engineer hasn’t heard the story of George de Mestral, the Swiss electrical engineer who invented Velcro? de Mestral famously took his dog for a hike, and upon…

I would imagine most engineers tend to be pretty  . . .let's say fastidious . . when it comes to managing their spreadsheets and product data. So perhaps keeping a clean spreadsheet is a no-brainer. 

But the BOM is a very unique spreadsheet, and one that gets shared all around the organization. There are a ton of people who input into the BOM, and a lot of things the BOM must keep track of. So it's not surprising that it can quickly become a disorganized mess. (Color-coding, lack of…

You guessed it — time for our weekly top tweets wrap-up! In this recent edition, we discuss a newly discovered earth-like planet, a new breed of air vehicles, how to avoid back injuries on the shop floor and a free on-demand webinar by renowned inventor extraordinaire /robotics expert Dean Kamen.

[ C'mon, you know you have to read more…

A Facebook friend of ours just tagged us in this photo to show how they used our Dualvee guide wheels to set this staple gun in motion! [ CHECK IT OUT ]…

We have so much fun meeting the kids taking part in the upcoming FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition. We're sponsoring a few teams this year, including this one at Heritage High, where they have their first-ever female president of the robotics club! [ Read about her here]…

If Einstein had been born 100 years later, would he still have invented relativity?

That question came up during my fascinating discussion with Howie Choset, Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. Howie’s lab has done some brilliant work with developing a variety of snake robots, which crawl and climb in amazing ways. He teased me that he didn’t want to be pigeon-holed as “the snake robot guy,” and for sure he shouldn’t be, given the…

The World Energy Council (WEC) expects that transport fuel demand in the next forty years will come mainly from developing countries such as China and India, where demand will grow by 200 to 300%. In contrast, the transport fuel demand for the developed countries will drop by up to 20%, mainly due to increased efficiencies. The demand of the developing countries is expected to surpass that of the developed countries by the year 2025.

The report also sets out that oil may still…

MILITARY STRENGTH IN MOTION:

Nook's Electric Cylinder Series delivers rugged actuation for harsh environments featuring ground and hard-chrome plated actuator tubes that enclose Nook’s Precision Acme and Ball Screw system. Nook Electric Cylinders are completely enclosed- making them ideal for…

We just posted a new application story about our Dualvee guide wheels being used in a sawing and guidance system that carves notches into heavy lumber for prefab log homes. [ You got to check this out ]…

So it's the decade anniversary of the official WD40 fan club, I learned via Twitter. You could win a prize if you post your top 10 favorite uses for the stuff ... [ click here to list them! ]

On that note, Bishop-Wisecarver has some nifty little WD40 pens. Want some? Let me know and I could send one your way! My email: jenniferw@bwc.com.…

You guys will love our latest Twitter wrap-up, which includes geeky gift ideas, cool slideshows and some stranger-than-fiction science news. Yup, we write about more than linear motion, bearings and guides and manufacturing! [ Here you go! ] …