Nibbler

A nibbler, or nibblers, is a tool for cutting sheet metal with minimal distortion. One type operates much like a punch and die, with a blade that moves in a linear fashion against a fixed die, removing small bits of metal and leaving a kerf approximately 6 mm wide. Another type operates similar to tin snips, but shears the sheet along two parallel tracks 3–6 mm apart, rolling up the waste in a tight spiral as it cuts. Nibblers may be manual (hand operated) or powered.

Power nibblers are often powered by compressed air, though electrical types also exist. A common DIY nibbler tool is an electric drill attachment, which converts the rotary motion of the drill into a reciprocating motion of the jaw.

Detail of cutting bit of manual nibbler, punch-and-die type

Detail of cutting bit of manual nibbler, punch-and-die type

Shear-type nibbler and detail of cutting head

Shear-type nibbler and detail of cutting head

References

Nibbler (video game)

Nibbler is an arcade game by Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation. Its gameplay is a variant of Pac-Man and Snake: the object is to navigate a virtual snake through an enclosed maze, while consuming dots along the way. The length of the snake increases with each object consumed, making the game more difficult. The player must also avoid colliding with walls or obstacles, and must also avoid colliding with the snake's own body sections. After all the objects on the screen have been eaten, the player progresses to the next wave, involving harder obstacles and/or higher game speeds.

In the Competitive Arena

Nibbler was the first video game with a nine-digit score counter and the first game where it was possible for a player to score one billion points. The core patterns and strategies used to achieve that were introduced at Twin Galaxies Arcade by Tom Asaki of Montana, who made a pilgrimage to the arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1983. Asaki aimed to become the first gamer to reach one billion points on any game and to win a Nibbler machine from Rock-Ola, who were running a contest for the first billion point game. Due to a number of setbacks, Tom only reached a score of 838 million points.

List of recurring Futurama characters

This is a list of recurring characters appearing in the TV show Futurama. It is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century. Futurama has eight main cast members and many other incidental characters. For an overview of the show's main characters, see the list of Futurama characters.

Main recurring characters

Kif Kroker

Lieutenant Kif Kroker (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the long-suffering assistant to Captain Zapp Brannigan, and Fourth Lieutenant on the Democratic Order of Planets (DOOP) starship Nimbus. Kif is a short and thin green skinned alien crew member. His frustration with Brannigan's arrogance and general incompetence in Season 1 leads him to be a disaffected, indifferent, sardonic lackey, although his personality differs greatly in later seasons. Zapp thinks Kif to be his best friend and loyal confidant, whereas Kif sees Brannigan as an incompetent jerk, going so far as to call him a jackass in "Love's Labours Lost in Space". Despite this, Kif seemingly has some loyalty to Brannigan, even continuing to associate with him after Brannigan caused him to be court-martialed along with him in "Brannigan, Begin Again". Kif is in a relationship with Amy Wong.