As we age, we sometimes outlive our joints. The aging of the largest segment of our population (the Boomers) will surely increase the number of joint failures. When joints fail, the solution is often to replace the problem area with an artificial joint. Before that can happen, however, a number of thermal processes must take place because most of these replacement joints are made from a cast metallic alloy.

I discussed inventor Gilbert Hyatt and his on-going litigation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) regarding his substantial patent portfolio in my Aug. 11, 2016, blog post. He is the inventor of a single-chip microcomputer in the 1960s and reportedly licensed his invention for more than $150 million. He is the named inventor on at least 70 patents.

As expected, the legal challenges flooded in against OSHA’s Federal Vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more workers after the Department of Labor published the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on November 5.

When visiting a brazing job-shop recently, I was told that one of the shop’s clients insisted that some of their components be re-brazed because the braze fillets were not large enough, according to that client. When I examined the component myself, the braze fillet was actually perfectly OK, but the shop’s client thought that all fillets – welded or brazed – needed to be large.

We continue David Pye's blog series on the causes and effects of distortion. Part 2 can be found here.

OSHA recently issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating that employers with 100 or more workers implement a vaccine mandate and/or testing policy by Jan. 4, 2022, with mask and other requirements for other unvaccinated workers taking effect Dec. 5, 2021.

On the subject of tooth damage, many of my teeth have gum-line grooves. A friend who is a retired dental technician insisted that gum-line grooves are a result of brushing horizontally and using an excessively hard toothbrush.

The story of the Titanic is a tragic tale of life lost. We have long been intrigued with the reasons why this catastrophe occurred. Design certainly played a role, but other similarly designed ships had useful service lives. At least one “cause” can be attributed to the metal used to make the hull of the ship. The melting and forming of this material certainly contributed.

We continue David Pye's blog series on the causes and effects of distortion.

While negotiations in Washington, D.C. continue over tax rates, it looks increasingly unlikely Senate Democrats will have the votes to raise the C-Corporation rate from 21% to at least 25%, as planned.