Welcome to Tales from the Cube

Welcome to Tales from the Cube. EDN has featured contributed Tales from the Cube in our magazine for years. We are now transitioning it into a blog to allow for more conversation and idea exchange in the comments section.
 
In EDN's Tales from the Cube, engineers relate their most vexing design challenges—and how they conquered them. From the cubicle to the test bench to the field, hear how your peers solve real-world problems.
 
Murphy's Law applies even under water
While working on a hydroelectric feed tunnel through the Andes in Peru, one engineer learns that Murphy’s Law is relevant when it comes to a manipulator and a mountain.
David Jeffrey, Marine Applied Research and Exploration

Printer parking brake
A so-called feature nearly foils plans to speed up wide-format inkjet printers.
Dan Dull, Novo Engineering

Copy that
A copy machine causes trouble for two engineers chasing phantom oscillations.
John E Rogers, Test Engineer

Cow tipping
Open-range cattle have one engineer scratching his head when it comes to boresight measurements.
Arnold N Simonsen, Electrical Engineer

The silence of the circuit
A challenging VCR-to-TV connection is nothing compared to winning this engineer’s small-town mother and neighbors over after inadvertently playing The Silence of the Lambs.
Harry Maddox, Senior Engineer
 
Be sure to visit this blog often and share your thoughts in the comments section, found at the end of each post.