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The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect How a seemingly throwaway line on a resume led to a fulfilling career in tribology The downturn in employment opportunities over the past several years reminds me of the difficulties I faced upon graduating…the first time. There I was, freshly out of my school’s chemical engineering program and waiting to hear back…
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Pining for the holidays

Pining for the holidays Making the holidays ‘greener’ still takes trees. With the holiday season upon us, many people are shopping for a pine tree or wreath to decorate their homes. Certainly the downside of using living trees or branches over artificial plastic decorations is dealing with the needles, but many think the wonderful aroma…
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Sources of Tin

Sources of Tin Tin is another wear metal expected in any machine using plain bearings, as lead and tin are the most predominant metals used in Babbitt overlay, with lesser amounts of copper, antimony, and/or arsenic. Typically, increasing levels of tin from this layer are not considered actionable, not until metals like copper or nickel…
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Sources of Nickel

Sources of Nickel Nickel is a wear metal found in some machines using plain bearings, as lead and tin are the most predominant metals used in Babbitt overlay, with lesser amounts of copper, antimony, and/or arsenic. Typically, increasing levels of nickel are from an intermediate layer and therefore considered actionable. Nickel can also increase as…
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Sources of Chromium

Sources of Chromium Chromium is a wear metal found in the coating of parts like valves, rods, rings, and bearings. Typically, increasing levels of chromium, and possibly nickel, disproportional with iron, indicate coating wear, whereas proportional increases suggest steel alloy wear. One form of proportional chromium and iron increase may arise from non-wearing parts made…
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When Failure Doesn’t Stick

When Failure Doesn't Stick The difference between success and disaster often is a matter of perspective. Have you ever thought about how many of today’s successes began as failures? I am not talking about successes like the light bulb, where Thomas Edison tried thousands of filament materials before finding Tungsten. I am talking about “successful…
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