Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

The concept of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, initially surfaced in the 1980s, thanks largely to the innovative work of engineer Chuck Hull. Hull invented a process called 'stereolithography', or SLA, a method that allowed for the creation of 3D models layer by layer, literally bringing ideas to life. It was a revolutionary breakthrough that sparked the beginning of the 3D printing era.

It’s hard to believe that it was just three years ago that much of the country was on red alert status thanks to Covid. Researchers were still learning more about the new virus, but one thing they were sure of was that it spread through the air, which made air purification systems a new priority for any place people gathered in large numbers.

Occupancy sensors are quickly becoming a regulatory requirement in many commercial spaces, thanks to evolving energy codes seeking to wring out kilowatt-hours of energy savings anywhere it’s possible.

They look a lot like a whiffle ball – and sound like one, too – but that thwok, thwok, thwok sound now resounding through cities and suburbs, alike, is probably coming from a pickleball ball, the centerpiece of a sport soon to be coming to a court near you (in the unlikely case that it hasn’t already), and possibly even to an Olympic arena, if proponents have their way.

It took a while, but people finally understand that watts don’t measure visible light output.

Lumens do.

Watts has to do with energy consumption, not light output. Getting some folks to understand that was a tough nut to crack, and I’m guessing some still don’t have a handle on it.

A decade ago, LED lighting was still fighting for acceptance among designers, contractors and consumers. Early product generations suffered from quality control problems, flickering and light that was too far into the blue end of the visual spectrum.