It’s easy to become so enamored with your own discipline that you blinker yourself to things going on around you. However, although the “nothing to do with me” approach may be easy, it’s not a great idea.
I remember deep in the mists of time we used to call the 1980s when the company I was with developed a UNIX accelerator. This was about the size of a small filing cabinet. It sat next to the main UNIX computer and speeded the processing of heavy-duty applications by one or two orders of magnitude. I was focused on the digital portion of the design, so the enclosure fell into the “nothing to do with me” category.
The final step was to send our creation off to a special vibration testing facility. It failed. We were sad. The laboratory reported that, by the time our unit arrived with them to be tested, the nuts holding its cooling fan had vibrated off their machine screws and the fan ended up in the guts of the processing engine.
I only wish I’d been aware of a special type of fixture called a Nord-Lock washer that I discovered just yesterday as I pen these words (bit.ly/3mbIzAS).
That’s the great thing about DENA. It’s a one-stop-shop where you can dip your toes into other disciplines’ waters. In this issue, for example, hardware designers can learn about MISRA C, while software developers can acquaint themselves with power supplies. Stay curious my friends!