Can we use verbal estimation to dissect the internal clock? Differentiating the effects of pacemaker rate, switch latencies, and judgment processes

Behavioural timing is frequently assumed to be based on the accumulation of pulses from a pacemaker. In humans, verbal estimation is often used to determine whether the effect of factors which influence subjective time become more pronounced at longer durations - that is, if they affect the slope of the judgment function, consistent with a change in the rate of the pacemaker. Here, participants judged blank intervals marked by two squares which either did or did not differ in size. In Experiment 1, a small change in marker size produced shorter temporal judgments than a large change. This effect was independent of objective duration and indicates that the slope changes seen in previous work are not an inevitable artefact of the verbal estimation procedure. However, Experiments 2 and 3 included conditions where the markers did not change size and established (a) that the effect of marker size depends on the other stimuli presented during the experiment, and (b) that slope effects occur even when they cannot possibly be due to a change in the rate of the pacemaker. Taken together, these results urge some caution in the use of verbal estimation as a methodology for deconstructing the putative internal clock

A guiding framework for process parameter optimisation of thermal spraying

Currently, most thermal spray coating service providers expect original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to suggest the coating recipe, comprising of the right coating equipment, starting process parameters, type of inert gases, and robot program. The microstructure and mechanical properties may not comply in the first few runs. Feedback from a competent material testing service provider forms the initial step to adjust the parameters in the development journey, toward identifying the processing parameters required to obtain an acceptable coating. With the surge of interest in sustainable manufacturing, the time spent on trials in the future will shrink, and a more rigorous process needs to be applied to achieve the “right-first-time manufacturing” approach in thermal spraying. However, a framework for the systematic development of thermal spray parameter optimisation is lacking. This article provides a framework, based on a logical acumen, in selecting the right process parameters, using available data and prior knowledge about the thermal spraying process. To that end, the article summarises the extant developmental journey of thermal spray process parameters, by covering the aspects of equipment choice, robot and spray parameters, and how to minimise iterations, using diagnostic tools to get to the end solution most efficiently. This article, in its current form, will serve as a good guide for early career engineers and scientists or workers, to minimise the time processing window, by avoiding endless iterations to deposit a certain type of coating using thermal spraying. Besides, this work is also aimed at transforming academic research innovations to a robust and repeatable industrial manufacturing process