Bill Farrow, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- Milwaukee WI UNITED STATES
- Allen Bradley Hall of Science: S125B
- Mechanical Engineering
Bill Farrow is an associate professor in MSOE's Mechanical Engineering Department.
Multimedia
Education, Licensure and Certification
Ph.D.
Mechanical Engineering
Marquette University
1994
M.S.
Mechanical Engineering
Marquette University
1987
B.S.
Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University
1983
Licensed Professional Engineer
PE
Wisconsin
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
NASA Faculty Summer Research Opportunity
2005
Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Pasadena, CA
NASA Faculty Fellowship
2002
Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Pasadena, CA
Schmitt Fellowship from the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation
1992
Fellowship from the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium
1991
Awarded for work on VGT research
Affiliations
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) : Member
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) : Member
- American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) : Member
Social
Media Appearances
MSOE takes third in rocket competition
MSOE
2017-06-15
A team of students from MSOE took third place in the 2016-17 WSGC Collegiate Rocket Competition. The team is part of MSOE’s student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and was advised by Dr. Anand Vyas. Congratulations to (pictured, left to right): Nicole Jackson, Jared Maraccini, Frederick Rosenberger, Jordan Petrie, Zach Runte, Collin Rink and Trevor Niemcyzk. Not pictured: Travis Ballard and Tyler Braun. All are majoring in mechanical engineering, with the exception of Rink, who is majoring in electrical engineering.
Dr. Bill Farrow
MSOE online
1-30-2019
Dr. Bill Farrow is a gadget guy. Whether it’s playing with his plasma arc lighter while camping or helping students launch mini-satellites into near space, Farrow is interested in how things work, and how to make things work better.
“My favorite subject to teach is the Design of Machinery,” he said. “All the mechanisms, moving parts—that stuff always fascinated me when I was young and still does now. You get to see a real, practical application of geometry. It’s so fun.”
Farrow first worked at MSOE as a part-time lecturer from 1992-95 while earning his doctorate in mechanical engineering at Marquette University. His wife, Connie, and his father were also teaching at MSOE, in the industrial engineering program.
Even though he left to work as a research engineer for Eaton Corporation, Farrow said he had already been “bit by the teaching bug.” He would rejoin MSOE’s Mechanical Engineering Department full time in 2001.
Event and Speaking Appearances
Finite Actuator VGT Manipulator Shape Control Paradigm
RCE II: the Second Conference, Exposition and Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments Albuquerque, NM
Patents
Circuit interrupter with covered accessory case, adjustable under voltage relay, self-retaining collar and one-piece rail attachment
US6232855B1
2001
A molded case circuit breaker is taught with a housing base and a primary cover disposed on the housing base. The primary cover has a recess therein for an auxiliary module which is disposed in the recess. A secondary cover is disposed on the primary cover for covering the recess when the auxiliary module is disposed therein. A combination manual trip and secondary cover interlock is provided which is accessible from outside of the secondary cover for manually opening separable main contacts or for automatically opening separable main contacts when the secondary cover is removed. There is also provided on the back plane of the housing a single piece DIN rail attachment for securing the back plane to a DIN rail. There is provided an under voltage release mechanism for actuating the circuit breaker to trip on the occurrence of an under voltage condition of predetermined magnitude across the lines served by the circuit interrupter. The under voltage release mechanism has an adjustment spring which is controlled by a nut or thumb screw on a shaft to vary the spring force for calibrating the under voltage release mechanism. There is also provided a self-retaining collar member for the load and line terminals of the circuit interrupter. The collar member comprises a locating protrusion in the bottom thereof which aligns with a hole in the load or line conductors. Side entrapment members which entrap the line or load conductor therebetween and between the bottom of the collar member are also provided.
Circuit interrupter with covered accessory case, adjustable under voltage relay, self-retaining collar and one-piece rail attachment
US6052047A
2000
A molded case circuit breaker is taught with a housing base and a primary cover disposed on the housing base. The primary cover has a recess therein for an auxiliary module which is disposed in the recess. A secondary cover is disposed on the primary cover for covering the recess when the auxiliary module is disposed therein. A combination manual trip and secondary cover interlock is provided which is accessible from outside of the secondary cover for manually opening separable main contacts or for automatically opening separable main contacts when the secondary cover is removed. There is also provided on the back plane of the housing a single piece DIN rail attachment for securing the back plane to a DIN rail. There is provided an under voltage release mechanism for actuating the circuit breaker to trip on the occurrence of an under voltage condition of pre-determined magnitude across the lines served by the circuit interrupter. The under voltage release mechanism has an adjustment spring which is controlled by a nut or thumb screw on a shaft to vary the spring force for calibrating the under voltage release mechanism. There is also provided a self-retaining collar member for the load and line terminals of the circuit interrupter. The collar member comprises a locating protrusion in the bottom thereof which aligns with a hole in the load or line conductors. Side entrapment members which entrap the line or load conductor therebetween and between the bottom of the collar member are also provided.
Molded case electric power switches with cam driven, spring powered open and close mechanism
US6015959A
2000
Molded case electric power switches such as circuit breakers, disconnects and transfer switches have an energy storage spring which rotates a cam assembly to close and initiate opening of the switch contacts. The cam assembly includes a drive cam with a cam lobe which engages a drive cam follower on the moving contact assembly. Due to space limitations, the cam assembly is positioned so that the drive cam follower initially moves toward the cam assembly during closing. To accommodate for this, the cam lobe has a generally radial leading edge to prevent binding of the drive cam follower. A single latch mechanism latches the cam assembly in a spring charged position and in a closed position. A Y-shaped latch member has one leg which is engaged by a latch, a second leg which engages stops on the drive cam at the charged position and the closed position, and a third leg which sequentially engages the stops to reset the latch mechanism. The cam assembly, a charging mechanism including a rachet wheel and handle, the latch mechanism and the energy storage spring are all mounted between and supported by a pair of side plates. In a multi-pole switch, the drive cam engages the moving contact assembly of one pole which is coupled to the moving contact assemblies of the other poles by a cross-bar.
Selected Publications
Study Guide to Accompany Engineering Mechanics, Statics
Contributor: W.F. Riley and L.D. SturgesPublished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY
Study Guide to Accompany Engineering Mechanics, Dynamics
Contributor: W.F. Riley and L.D. SturgesPublished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY
