If Not for This

Did you ever wonder why the light comes on when you flip the switch? Why does your car roll so smoothly after you start the engine? How did the Egyptians move the huge stones to the pyramids? What was the Corvette before a car? What's first, Magma or Lava? How were the Saturn 5 Rocket and the balance of today's NASA launchings transported from the assembly building to the launch pad 3.5 to 4.2 miles away? What famous lady became the adopted daughter of Sitting Bull? 7,000 years ago a component surfaced that relates to all of the above. That component is still with us and we rely on it every day, otherwise Mankind would stilll be in the "Dark Ages. 

 "If Not For This" reveals events that occurred during the Evolution of the Industrial Revolutions. From the Sumerians who invented "The Wheel" to make pottery. 5,000 years ago to "Buzz and Neil's Moon Landing" in the twentieth century, these were two Earth-Shanking accomplishments. Mankind has cornered the market for Discoveries, Inventions, and Innovations. Names like Jethro Tull, inventor of the "Wheat Seed Drill". Without this concept today, we might be finger-planting corn fields. Two men, Best and Holt built an empire with the "Name of an Insect". Were Farris and Clark angry when they decided to "Frack"? What "Science does 10W40" come under? Professor H. Peter Jost knows. That Slippery Devil! There are 38 pages of photographs that reveal the  common thread that weaves all of these subjects together.         

James Dale McMillian, Dale to his friends and peers, is a mechanical engineer with several passions, the first for energy and aerospace. The second is the role of the shaft and bearing assembly for these sciencs. Yes, they are closely related, however, the shaft and bearing assembly go far beyond energy and aerospace. There are four sciences that oversee the future of exacting performances for products of these industries. They are Metallurgy, Metrology, Tribology, and Mechanurgy. Dale has circled the globe working with hands-on crews and engineering groups for energy, aerospace, and precision accuracy for steel, printing, and paper mill rolls applications. Participating at oil and gas drilling sites to the in-plant manufacturing of indexable wing aircraft has provided him with an array of unique and beneficial experiences. The opportunity to work close to turbine and generator manufacturers has added to his knowledge of energy-producing products. Bearing and shaft design plays a major role in these industries. He has studied with bearing manufacturers in Germany, England, Italy, and Mobile USA. As a result of these studies, He is consulted frequently on suspicious bearing failures due to possible contaminated lubrication. Dale has an in-depth study of metallurgy. These are instrumental when evaluating shaft and bearing failures. The bearing is not always the culprit. Lubrications subject to accelerated failure, errors in shaft design, and extreme subjection to mechanical forces can also be the cause of failure. Dale is currently active as a manufacturing consultant for the work holding and critical application industries.