Folding Plug

Ever thought of the fact that however portable and sleek your laptop or latest gadget is, the huge rectangular plug with its 3 bronze pins sticking out totally diminishes the definition of "sleek"? No matter how innovation is done on every part of an electronic device, the plug is the one with almost nonexistent change as far back as anyone could recall.

Folding Plug can, as its name suggests, be folded and carried with greater mobility (image taken from The Guardian).

IP Rating - Immersion vs Water Jet

Followers of this series of articles on IP rating will recall that a higher number on the 1st numeral will satisfy the requirements of a lower number (i.e. IP6X will mean that it passes all requirements from IP1X to IP6X, revisit here if the reader is interested). It would be prudent to note that such is not the case for the 2nd numeral.

An IPX4 test in progress. The semicircle apparatus sprays water through tiny nozzles lining the inner circumference. The apparatus is designed such that the water spray will reach the product from all directions. Notice that the spray is constrained to the top of the product, and the bottom is free from its direct effects (image taken from Qualilab).

The reason behind this is the difference in test requirement: 

• IPX1 to IPX6K, and IPX9K requires the product to be subjected to a flow of water impacting on the product 
• IPX7 and IPX8 requires the product to be immersed in a body of water.

In order to understand the test requirements, it is essential to first understand the application of the product in an environment prone to water ingress. Water ingress into the product could come in two different scenario - the product could be sprayed on by water jets, or it could be dropped into a body of water for a determinate period of time. It is possible to be subjected to both scenarios throughout the product's application lifetime as well.

IP Rating - Waterproof

Just as it would be difficult to judge the level of protection of "dustproof" products, the same applies to the term "waterproof" - it gives no indication the level of protection the product affords apart from the fact that it is protected against water ingress.

A waterproof iPod Stereo Case - how would you judge the term? Will the casing be free from water ingress if submerged for more than 1 hour? How will an engineer judge the term "waterproof" for critical engineering equipment? (image taken from Marine Audio and Stereo)

The 2nd code element of the IP rating helps shed some light on the level of protection, which is listed in the below table. The technical term usually associated to this code element is "protection against liquid ingress".

What Engineers could learn from the movie "Titanic"

A couple of days ago, I went to see Titanic 3D. This is my second, or maybe third time seeing the movie since 1997/1998 (it’s true, I swear! I know some of you saw it 10 times back then, don’t lie to me ;P). Back then when I was a teenage girl, Titanic did not left any impact on me from the engineering point of view, all I saw was the tormenting love story between star-crossed young lovers, Jack and Rose. Of course, I was like any other teenage girl back then, all doe-eyed for Leonardo DiCaprio.

Image from IMDb also includes reviews. 

Alright, this post is not actually about all the gushy-mushy gooey dooey loveyy storeyyy or how cute Leo is, but rather it is about the engineering lessons we could all learn from Titanic (3D or 2D, likewise).

Virtual Sky - Working under an Open Sky

Do you feel happy working under a clear blue sky as opposed to working in a stark office environment? Are your office employees shuffling around like zombies, or nodding off to a sleepy start in the conference room during meetings? Then fear not, for Virtual Sky will improve your employees productivity by providing them a chance to work under the infinite horizon of a clear blue sky! Or so that is how it goes...

This is how I work ever day (not the Party Rock way...)

Reading a recent news article from the technology section, I went in search for more information regarding this new innovation. Developed by Stuttgard-based Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, or IAO in short (Institut fur Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation) and exhibited in CeBIT Trade Fair in Hannover in March 6-12, 2012 was a matrix of ceiling lighting panels simulating clouds moving across a clear sky.

What I "think" do vs. What I "really" do

"Hello world"

That phrase is one of the memorable words I learned to program in Computer Programming class. And those exact words is what I would like to greet you all with in my first post here as a guest blogger. I am very much excited to share some of my thoughts and experiences here and I do hope we all could exchange ideas along the way.

In the past few weeks, we've seen these meme about "What others think I do vs What I actually do..." one too many times. Most of these reproductions are really funny, quite to an extent that it is a chilling truth that we hate to admit.

(My notes today will talk about electronic engineering in general, but maybe it could relate to other engineering fields.)

IP rating - IP5KX vs IP6KX

In the previous article, the first numeral code for an IP rating is mentioned as the protection level of a product against intrusion of foreign object, with IP5KX and IP6KX being the highest level. This article serves to elaborate on the latter requirements and how they differ from each other.

Dust test performed on a laptop within the dust chamber (photo taken from Espec website).