MicroRAX Micro Review

Most engineers and other people in industry have heard of t-slot (80/20, MayTec, Bosch Rexroth, etc) aluminum. It’s kind of like a grown up erector set, made of extruded aluminum and brackets. You can make just about anything out of it from industrial equipment enclosures to XY plotters to furniture. While is it well suited for these large applications it’s over sized for most smaller DIY type projects. This is where MicroRAX comes in. They supply a miniature version of t-slot measuring just 10mm x 10mm.

Solution in Search of a Problem

Years ago I had a Canon GL-1 camcorder, and it came with this massive battery that allowed for 3 or 4 hours of continuous operation. It was one of those generic aftermarket batteries so after a few months the casing started to split apart and would no longer stay attached camera. So for the past 3 years I have been carrying this around with me:

Kinda Homemade Greek Yogurt

I must confess, I have found a new love, and that love is Greek yogurt. It’s like being able to eat a bowl of cream cheese without getting strange looks from your roommates. Seriously, between this and Gyros I think the Greeks may be making the best food around, right behind they guy who created the mini-burger sliders at Chili’s.

Let me rewind a bit, on a recent trip to the grocery store I was offered a scoop of the thickest yogurt I have ever had. They offered me a coupon so I figured I would buy some, however I found that this brand, Fage, was about 4 times as expensive as my regular brand. Put off by the high price, I went home empty handed. Later that day I researched the brand of yogurt further and found it’s called Greek or strained yogurt. It turns out Greek yogurt is just a fancy name for yogurt that has been separated from its whey, which yields the very thick creamy texture.

Here’s all the equipment you’ll need:

• Colander or strainer
• Bowl larger than the colander [note-I wrote this entire post using "bowel" instead of "bowl" the first time]
• Paper towels or cheese cloth
• Yogurt (I prefer plain low-fat)

Machine Shop Madness

Being able to operate basic machining equipment should be an essential skill for every mechanical engineer. It’s really sad how often I hear 3rd and 4th year ME students say they have virtually no practical engineering skills. Granted most ME’s will never be required to operate a lathe or mill as part of their job, knowing the capabilities of the tools that will be producing your products helps you when designing those very same products. College teaches you a lot of equations and methodology, but you don’t really learn anything useful until you start designing and building stuff with your hands. So when I had the chance to take the machine shop course offered by my school I jumped at the opportunity.

Fortunately for me I have access to equipment most home machinists can only dream about. This is a Bridgeport vertical mill with a DRO on the x and y-axis. The device hanging off the right end of the table is a power feed, which comes in handy when making long slow passes in the x direction.