Setting the Stage: Turntable Bearings A turntable’s purpose is rotating records at precise speeds while minimising noise and vibration. The platters, belts, motors and frames aid this process. Tonearms traverse across records, allowing cartridges to convert mechanical grooves into audio signals. Tiny cartridge bearings make this tracking possible through ultra-low friction rotation. Their engineering impacts fidelity and usability dramatically. Hidden Constraints and Tribology Challenges Invisibly facilitating the tonearm’s movement, cartridge bearings overcome immense tribological difficulties. Sub-1 gram tracking forces, sub-2mm dimensions, sub 0.5 degree static…

Working at height brings inevitable risks, but a properly set up and maintained scaffold hoist can make working on scaffolds much safer and more efficient. As a qualified scaffolder in England, I’ve seen my fair share of hoists on site and learned how invaluable they can be when used correctly. The most common hoist is the manual scaffold hoist, which uses a hand-cranked winch and steel cable to raise and lower materials up the outside of the scaffold. They come in electric or pneumatic models…