Machine Design

How-to, in-depth technical articles for machine design engineers

3D Scanners

A white paper to assist in the evaluation of 3D scanning hardware solutions.

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Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) 3D printing for parts with reduced cost and little waste.

Wind Systems

Towers, turbines, gearboxes; processes for shaping and finishing component parts.

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Counter Bore/Sink
  • Counter-sinking is often done to accommodate heads of flat head screws. However as can be seen from the figure, there is a sideways component of the thrust which could split the countersink due to the generated hoop stresses

  • Counter-boring is done to accomodate pan-head, fillister-head or round-head screws or other screws with flat-bottomed undersides.

  • Counter-bored screws exert only force in the axial direction, thus operate mostly under compression, with no sideward component to the applied force vector. Such design is inherently more robust than counter-sinking.