News & Resources
As engineers, we love learning about the world around us and drawing inspiration from other people and inventions throughout history. And, we love sharing our favorite stories with you! Who knows? Maybe they’ll help spark your next big idea too.
It was a simple mistake. You’ve probably even done it yourself: a trip out of town, a forgotten bowl of fruit… Next thing you know, you’ve invented penicillin. Admittedly, there were a few more steps involved in creating usable penicillin, but it just goes to show that you never know
When your stomach is upset, it’s convenient to have a pharmacist for a husband. When your husband/pharmacist makes something that works so well it becomes a best-selling product within two years, you’ve got yourself the History of Tums. Something Isn’t Agreeing With Me In the 19th century, there were many
Sales Executive Rayce Gibson has rejoined us here at Custom Powder Systems, and we couldn’t be happier. And it sure seems he’s happy with his decision, too. “I’ve known these guys forever,” Rayce says. “We already knew each other, we knew what we expected from each other. We know how
Dean Casady, Technical Services Director at Custom Powder, has been a runner for 45 years. Recently, he decided to take on one of the most rigorous runs on earth: A run into the Grand Canyon, traveling from rim to rim to rim, also known as R2R2R. “It’s seven miles to
“I don’t know how many times my boss introduced us… He really only needed to introduce us once,” recalls Denise on meeting Dale “Mac” McIntosh. The two had been working in the plant food industry and, if opposites do attract, Denise and Mac soon figured out how to blend their
Imagine you’ve just flown a quarter-million miles to the moon to collect some rock samples that every scientist on the team is eager to get ahold of. However, you need to figure out a way to let them get their hands on them… without letting them actually get their hands
When Pfizer needed an aseptic system for dispensing and blending powders, Custom Powder Systems knew exactly what to do. We developed a fully automated system to dispense sterile antibiotic powders from aluminum shipping cans, mill and transport them into vial filling equipment. We also happened to discover a diverse seaport
While some celebrities know from childhood that they are destined to be an actor, model, comedian, or other iconic personality, others may not begin pursuing these passions until they get older. But what, then, are they doing in the meantime? Well, for these six famous individuals the answer is: studying
Born in Oakland, California at the end of Reconstruction, Lillie Moller was one of the first women engineers to earn a doctorate. She entered the first grade at age nine, and in less than ten years graduated high school. Although her father didn’t approve of a young woman going to
The morning of April 2, 2021 brought devastating news for luxury brand Valentino: a fire had ravaged one of their shoe plants. Thankfully, no lives were lost. However, the structure and contents of the building were not so lucky. With 90% destruction, Valentino Shoes Labs was nearly a complete loss,
Sending a working rover to Mars is a remarkable feat. Keeping the rover working longer than expected is even more remarkable. When the rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars on August 6th, 2012, the mission was planned to last 90 sols (Martian days), equivalent to approximately 92.73 Earth days. To this
Note-taking apps on smartphones have made capturing ideas as easy as speaking them into the air. But for engineers, nothing beats putting pen to paper and sketching them out by hand. One day in 1980, Burt and Dick Rutan imagined an airplane that could make it around the world and
You are strapped into your seat, the roller coaster cart slowly crawling forward when you see a hill approaching up ahead. You start to get nervously excited as the cart ascends, knowing that you will shortly be subjected to massive amounts of force and speed. Once the cart reaches the
From the dawn of time, society has continuously looked for ways to improve the efficiency of how we complete tasks. While our own hands can be incredible tools, we can benefit from the use of additional machines. An example of this can be seen in the task of mixing—evenly blending
We were asked to design, build, and install a two-part gas-to-liquid catalyst dispensing system in 2008. We created, set up, and tested it entirely at the CPS factory in Missouri, before packing and shipping it to Ras Laffan, Qatar. A country with fewer residents than expatriates, the State of Qatar
As the 3D craze hit movies like The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, inventors Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes were banking on all of us living in homes with 3D wallpaper. Their company, Sealed Air Corporation, was formed to make a wall covering made
Humans have been seeking cures for their ailments since the dawn of time. Plant-based treatments can be tracked all the way back to the 28th century BC, when the legendary emperor of China, Shennong, is said to have written an herbal compendium—a catalog listing 365 different plant species that he
Sarah Guppy was paid £40,000 by the British Government for a way to keep barnacles off boats. That’s about $4.5 million today. In 1811, she created a way to make safe piling for bridges. This important invention was employed right away by a Scottish civil engineer. This time, Guppy refused
The Incas developed an accounting system, brain surgery, and freeze drying. They were also brilliant metalsmiths, and are likely the source of a technique still used today: Powder Metallurgy. As it has evolved over the years, it has produced unique materials like tungsten carbide, and reduced the need to use
Roughly, 12,500 years ago near present day Tucson, a small group used their collective talents and brought down a mastodon. Their efforts were rewarded with a feast that would last for weeks. With that, the premous of the mass food industry was born. The Start of Feeding in Mass At