1. Penny Wise: Place six pennies on a flat surface. Can you arrange the pennies in the exact positions shown, such that – IF you placed a seventh penny in the middle – it would touch all of the original six. You may not lift any of the pennies from the surface or use any…

1. Circular References A factory has a circular work cell, which they wish to divide into four equal sections, using three safety curtains, each the same length. How might this be done? Extra Credit: What is the length of the three safety curtains? 2. The Circling Cart That same factory has a four wheel cart that rides…

In each issue of the Automation Notebook we feature a section of brainteasers. These are the brainteaser answers from  Issue 24, 2012 of the Automation Notebook. The brainteaser questions are repeated in black. The answers to the brainteaser questions are highlighted in red with explanations. You can view the brainteasers from Issue 24, 2012 without the answers…

1. Widget Not The WidgetMaker2000 had only been making widgets for an hour before something in the drive train malfunctioned. The machine had to finish the production run at 3/5ths of its normal speed. This caused a two-hour delay for the completion of the production run. The operator explained that if the machine could have…

In each issue of the Automation Notebook we feature a section of brainteasers. These are the brainteaser answers from Issue 23, 2012 of the Automation Notebook. The brainteaser questions are repeated in black. The answers to the brainteaser questions are highlighted in red with explanations. You can view the brainteasers from Issue 23, 2012 without the answers…

1. The Curly Shuffle A factory has three CNC machines – each with its own operator. One day a large order is received and Larry quickly boasts “Curly and I can produce all those parts in ten days, but if you let Moe help me instead of Curly, we can do it in 9 days”….

In each issue of the Automation Notebook we feature a section of brainteasers. These are the brainteaser answers from Issue 22, 2012 of the Automation Notebook. The brainteaser questions are repeated in black. The answers to the brainteaser questions are highlighted in red with explanations. You can view the brainteasers from Issue 22, 2012 without…

1. Alignment Time On a functioning clock, the hour and minute hand are perfectly aligned (superimposed, not opposed) several times each day. Can you determine a formula to calculate those times? How about for the minute hand and a sweep-second hand? How about for all three hands? 2. Real-Time Conversation A man in Florida decided…

In each issue of the Automation Notebook we feature a section of brainteasers. These are the brainteaser answers from Issue 19, 2011 of the Automation Notebook. The brainteaser questions are repeated in black. The answers to the brainteaser questions are highlighted in red with explanations. You can view the brainteasers from Issue 19, 2011 without the answers…

Packing Puzzles Pack the given number of each shape in the given box size. The shapes may be rotated and reflected, but should not overlap. Each puzzle has a unique solution. Each shape consists of a group of small squares; the size of those squares is the reference for the given box size. Our thanks…