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Showing posts from September, 2007

Improve math skills of your kids - Learn step-by-step arithmetic from Math games

Math: Unknown - Step-by-step math calculation game for iOS.


Math: Unknown is much more than a math game. It is a step-by-step math calculation game which will teach users how to calculate in the correct order rather than just asking only the final calculated results.

The app consists of four basic arithmetic operations which are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In order to get started, users who are new to arithmetic can learn from animated calculation guides showing step-by-step procedures of solving each type of operation. It is also helpful for experienced users as a quick reference.

Generally, addition and subtraction may be difficult for users who just start learning math especially when questions require carrying or borrowing (also called regrouping). The app helps users to visualize the process of carrying and borrowing in the way it will be done on paper. Once users understand how these operations work, they are ready to learn multiplication and division.

For most students, division is considered as the most difficult arithmetic operation to solve. It is a common area of struggle since it requires prior knowledge of both multiplication and subtraction. To help users understand division, the app uses long division to teach all calculation procedures. Relevant multiplication table will be shown beside the question. Users will have to pick a number from the table which go into the dividend. Multiplication of selected number and divisor is automatically calculated, but the users have to do subtraction and drop down the next digit themselves. Learning whole calculation processes will make them master it in no time.

Math: Unknown is a helpful app for students who seriously want to improve arithmetic calculation skills.

Properties of Friction

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Friction is the resistance to motion that takes place when one body is moved upon another, and is generally defined as “that force which acts between two bodies at their surface of contact, so as to resist their sliding on each other.” According to the conditions under which sliding occurs, the force of friction, F, bears a certain relation to the force between the two bodies called the normal force N. The relation between force of friction and normal force is given by the coefficient of friction, generally denoted by the Greek letter μ. Thus: F = μ × N and μ = F/N A body weighing 28 pounds rests on a horizontal surface. The force required to keep it in motion along the surface is 7 pounds. Find the coefficient of friction. μ = F/N = 7/28 = 0.25 If a body is placed on an inclined plane, the friction between the body and the plane will prevent it from sliding down the inclined surface, provided the angle of the plane with the horizontal is not too great. There will be

Surface Hardening Treatment (Case Hardening)

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Source: Google Book Many applications require high hardness or strength primarily at the surface, and complex service stresses frequently require not only a hard, wear–resistant surface, but also core strength and toughness to withstand impact stress. To achieve these different properties, two general processes are used: 1) The chemical composition of the surface is altered, prior to or after quenching and tempering; the processes used include carburizing, nitriding, cyaniding, and carbonitriding; and 2) Only the surface layer is hardened by the heating and quenching process; the most common processes used for surface hardening are flame hardening and induction hardening. Carburizing: Carbon is diffused into the part’s surface to a controlled depth by heating the part in a carbonaceous medium. The resulting depth of carburization, commonly referred to as case depth, depends on the carbon potential of the medium used and the time and temperature of the carburizing treatment. The ste

Hardness and Hardenability of materials

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Hardenability is the property of steel that determines the depth and distribution of hardness induced by quenching from the austenitizing temperature. Hardenability should not be confused with hardness as such or with maximum hardness. Hardness is a measure of the ability of a metal to resist penetration as determined by any one of a number of standard tests (Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers, etc). The maximum attainable hardness of any steel depends solely on carbon content and is not significantly affected by alloy content. Maximum hardness is realized only when the cooling rate in quenching is rapid enough to ensure full transformation to martensite. The as-quenched surface hardness of a steel part is dependent on carbon content and cooling rate, but the depth to which a certain hardness level is maintained with given quenching conditions is a function of its hardenability. Hardenability is largely determinedby the percentage of alloying elements in the steel; however, austenite grain s

Working Model for Design Simulation

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The world's most popular CAE tool, Working Model is a conceptual design tool that allows you to create simulations that replace vague, time consuming, inaccurate “back of the envelope” calculations. Working Model has been adopted by thousands of professional engineers to create and analyze real-life mechanical systems. It has been designed from the ground up to optimize performance on the Windows 2000/XP operating systems. Working Model includes automatic collision detection and responses for NURBS geometry. Our latest release also includes such popular scripts as Flexbeam, Shear and Bending Moment, and Pin Friction. These scripts have been customized to expand your use of Working Model. At every stage in the product development cycle, Working Model lets you do more. What used to take days now takes hours, giving you more time to do the job, and saving your company money. In fact, many of our customers say that Working Model paid for itself the first time they used it. Thousand

V-Belt Drive Design

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A belt is a flexible power transmission element that seats tightly on a set of pulleys or sheaves . When the belt is used for speed reduction , the typical case, the smaller sheave is mounted on the high-speed shaft, such as the shaft of an electric motor. The larger sheave is mounted on the driven machine. The belt is designed to ride around the two sheaves without slipping. The belt is installed by placing it around the two sheaves while the center distance between them is reduced. Then the sheaves are moved apart, placing the belt in a rather high initial tension. When the belt is transmitting power, friction causes the belt to grip the driving sheave, increasing the tension in one side, called the " tight side ," of the drive. The tensile force in the belt exerts a tangential force on the driven sheave, and thus a torque is applied to the driven shaft. The opposite side of the belt is still under tension, but at a smaller value. Thus, it is called the "slack sid

Flexible Couplings and Universal Joint

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Flexible Couplings .—Shafts that are out of alignment ( misalignment ) laterally or angularly can be connected by any of several designs of flexible couplings . Such couplings also permit some degree of axial movement in one or both shafts. Some couplings use disks or diaphragms to transmit the torque. Another simple form of flexible coupling consists of two flanges connected by links or endless belts made of leather or other strong, pliable material. Alternatively, the flanges may have projections that engage spacers of molded rubber or other flexible materials that accommodate uneven motion between the shafts. More highly developed flexible couplings use toothed flanges engaged by correspondingly toothed elements, permitting relative movement. These flexible couplings require lubrication unless one or more of the elements is made of a self-lubricating material. Other couplings use diaphragms or bellows that can flex to accommodate relative movement between the shafts. The Universa

CAD/CAM

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CAD/CAM.— CAD in engineering means computer-aided design using a computer graphics system to develop mechanical, electrical / electronic, and architectural designs. A second D (CADD) is sometimes added ( computer-aided drafting and design ) and simply indicates a mechanical drafting or drawing program. CAD technology is the foundation for a wide variety of engineering, design, drafting, analysis, and manufacturing activities. Often a set of drawings initially developed in the design phase of a project is also used for analyzing and optimizing the design, creating mechanical drawings of parts and assemblies and for generating NC/CNC part programs that control machining operations. Formerly, after a component had been designed with CAD, the design was passed to a part programmer who developed a program for machining the components, either manually or directly on the computer (graphic) screen, but the process often required redefining and reentering part geometry. This procedure is o

BALL, ROLLER, AND NEEDLE BEARINGS

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Rolling contact bearings substitute a rolling element, ball or roller, for a hydrodynamic or hydrostatic fluid film to carry an impressed load without wear and with reduced friction. Because of their greatly reduced starting friction, when compared to the conventional journal bearing, they have acquired the common designation of “anti-friction” bearings. Although normally made with hardened rolling elements and races, and usually utilizing a separator to space the rolling elements and reduce friction, many variations are in use throughout the mechanical and electrical industries. The most common anti-friction bearing application is that of the deep-groove ball bearing with ribbon-type separator and sealed-grease lubrication used to support a shaft with radial and thrust loads in rotating equipment. This shielded or sealed bearing has become a standard and commonplace item ordered from a supplier's catalog in much the same manner as nuts and bolts. Because of the simple design a

Standard roller chain drive design

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A chain is a power transmission element made as a series of pin-connected links. The design provides for flexibility while enabling the chain to transmit large tensile forces. When transmitting power between rotating shafts, the chain engages mating toothed wheels, called sprockets. The most common type of chain is the roller chain , in which the roller on each pin provides exceptionally low friction between the chain and the sprockets. Other types include a variety of extended link designs used mostly in conveyor applications. Roller chain is classified by its pitch , the distance between corresponding parts of adjacent links. The pitch is usually illustrated as the distance between the centers of adjacent pins. Standard roller chain carries a size designation from 40 to 240. The digits (other than the final zero) indicate the pitch of the chain in eighths of an inch. For example, the no. 100 chain has a pitch of 10/8 or in. A series of heavy-duty sizes, with the suffi