Appliance Design articles from February 2005

Appliance Design archives from February 2005

The romance of robots.(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... Robosapien, a dancing, robotic dog that makes belching and flatulent noises, was one of the hottest selling products this past holiday season. We could reflect on what that tells us, but this is a design and engineering magazine, not a journal...

Shipments.(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... SHIPMENTS Product Nov. '04 Nov. '03 % Chg. MAJORS--TOTAL 5,624,700 5,293,000 6.3% CLEANUP-TOTAL 1,065,800 1,111,800 -4.1% Compactors ...

Forecasts.(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... AUTOMATIC WASHERS--Shipments (Thousands of Units) Qtr: 2004 2005 2006 1 2,271.7 2,284.5 2,381.3 2 2,197.0 2,165.2 2,211.1 3 2,162.2 2,190.4 2,267.8 4 2,085.1 ...

CES shines.(News Watch)(Consumer Electronics Show)
February 1, 2005... More than 1.5 million sq. ft. showcased the latest consumer electronics products and technology in emerging product categories such as digital imaging, wireless technology, electronic gaming and broadband at the 2005 International CES in Las...

ASHRAE.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... ASHRAE. Standard 62.2-2004, which contains the first changes resulting from continuing maintenance proposals from the public, has been published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)....

Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. (CNI).(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CARBON NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC. (CNI) and C Sixty Inc. announced the completion of a merger of the two companies. C Sixty will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of CNI. These two industry leaders in the field of carbon nanotechnology, both...

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... THE ASSOCIATION OF HOME APPLIANCE MANUFACTURERS (AHAM) announced several leadership changes in its directors and officers. Yigal Offir, executive vice president, engineering, The Holmes Group, was appointed to the board of directors to fill the...

Power Supplies.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... POWER SUPPLIES. Demand for power supplies used in portable products in the U.S. is projected to increase 6.1 percent annually to $10.3 billion in 2008, an acceleration from the 1998 to 2003 performance. New generations of wireless devices,...

Heat & Glo.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... HEAT & GLO (formerly spelled Heat-N-Glo) launched a new brand identity to better define its position in the fireplace market. The re-branding effort hopes to more closely instill the warmth, connection and balance that the Heat & Glo name...

The Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI).(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... THE AIR-CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATION INSTITUTE (ARI) formed a new product section to represent unitary ductless. "This is an exciting opportunity to bring together manufacturers of ductless equipment to ensure that approved standards are...

Graco Inc.(News Watch)
February 1, 2005... GRACO INC., Minneapolis, has purchased the stock of Liquid Control Corp. and affiliated company Profill Corp., of North Canton, Ohio. The acquisition includes Liquid Corp. subsidiaries Decker Industries, Inc. of Palm City, Fla. and Liquid...

Correction.(News Watch)(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2005... CORRECTION: Due to a multiplication error on the part of Appliance Design, the forecasts for shipments of major appliances that appeared in the Industry Outlook section in the January issue, page 42 and 43, were off by a factor of 10. The...

The Electric Power Research Institute.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE and its subsidiary Primen released "Broadband Over Powerline: Status and Prospects 2004" a white paper summarizing the state of emerging technology that allows for high-speed data communication over...

USA Technologies.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... USA TECHNOLOGIES announced the receipt of a purchase order for 5,000 VendingMisers to a major Federal Government department with installations worldwide. The $500,000 purchase order is USA Technologies' single biggest order to date authorized...

Cell phone ban.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CELL PHONE BAN. To ensure the safety of commercial air travel and minimize confusion on the part of the traveling public, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA recommended that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leave unchanged its...

James Pomeroy to vice president of strategic marketing and communications at Tyco Engineered Products & Services and Gwen Fisher to vice president of marketing and communications operations.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... James Pomeroy to vice president of strategic marketing and communications at Tyco Engineered Products & Services and Gwen Fisher to vice president of marketing and communications operations at Tyco Plastics & Adhesives, Tyco International.

Troy Roberts to president of AIDA-America and Masaharu Sakaki to president of AIDA-Europe.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Troy Roberts to president of AIDA-America and Masaharu Sakaki to president of AIDA-Europe, AIDA.

Solar Compounds Corp.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Joseph Barbanel to executive vice president, Solar Compounds Corp...

Ametek Commercial Motor Division.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... B. Bruce Gaynor to division vice president of marketing and sales, Ametek Commercial Motor Division...

Fox Electronics.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Jimmy Steinar to director of European, Middle East and African sales, Fox Electronics...

Cooper Wiring Devices.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Jeff Alva to manager of marketing communications, Cooper Wiring Devices.

Donnelly Custom Manufacturing.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Sam Wagner to director of advanced manufacturing, Donnelly Custom Manufacturing...

Cognis Functional Products Technology.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Markus Soberer to global technology manager synlubes, Cognis Functional Products Technology...

Trumpf Inc.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Annette Doyle to training manager, Trumpf Inc...

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products.(People On The Move)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Tony Anderson to corporate technical training manager for North America, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products.

Doug Reffley DE-STA-CO Industries to chair of the education committee and Michael Ferrara Epson Robots.(People On The Move)(Robotics Industries Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Doug Reffley DE-STA-CO Industries to chair of the education committee and Michael Ferrara, Epson Robots, to chair of the membership committee, Robotics Industries Association.

Lynch Corp.(News Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... LYNCH CORP., Greenwich, Conn., announced a $5.2 million contract for three large presses used to form the glass back ends, or cones, of television sets, computer monitors and other CRTs (cathode ray tubes). John C. Ferrara, Lynch Corp....

Purafilter 2000[R].(News Watch)
February 1, 2005... PURAFILTER 2000[R] announced a strategic alliance between the Las Vegas-based air filter company with Kimberly-Clark Corp. Kimberly-Clark will provide Intrepid[R] Filtration Media for the Purafilter 2000 line of products, which includes The...

MPIO.(International)(International Forum Design GmbH )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... MPIO has received the highly rated iF product design award from the International Forum Design GmbH of Hanover, Germany for its MPIO FL300 flash MP3 player available to U.S. consumers since October 2004. The Korean company's MPIO FL300 weighs...

Infocus.(International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... INFOCUS, a leader in digital projection technology and services, and TCL Corp., a multimedia consumer electronic products company in China signed a definitive agreement to form a 50-50 owned joint venture named South Mountain Technologies for...

Daye Special Steel.(International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... DAYE SPECIAL STEEL, based in Hubei, China said CITIC Pacific had bought 39 percent of the steel maker for about 400 million yuan (U.S. $48 million), raising its stake to around 58 percent. Two subsidiaries of CITIC Pacific, a conglomerate whose...

Applitec Engineering.(International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... APPLITEC ENGINEERING, a new German engineering and consulting firm, has been organized to serve appliance manufacturers worldwide. The firm provides complete technical design for assemblies, subassemblies, components and mold design. Applitec...

Bosch Rexroth AG.(International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... BOSCH REXROTH AG will invest 83 million euros over the next three years to expand its production capacities in China, beginning with the construction of a new factory in Beijing. The largest project within the framework of the newly announced...

Slide sensing: new chip can anticipate human contact and react.(Controls & Sensors)
February 1, 2005... Increasingly, capacitive sensing technology is realizing its place, not only as a cost effective replacement for mechanical switches, but also as an alternative that enables completely new ways of approaching human/machine interface challenges...

Roaming robots: accurate and affordable navigation system emerges.(Controls & Sensors)
February 1, 2005... Many of us remember "The Jetsons," with Rosie the robot maid scurrying through the household, knocking out mundane chores with unwavering efficiency. The specific breakthroughs that must be achieved to deliver this ideal home robot are...

Brighter ovens: sensor makes cooking a colorful experience.(Controls & Sensors)(Schott Italvetro S.p.A)
February 1, 2005... Appliance designers in search of unique ways to add color and excitement in the kitchen and, at the same time, satisfy design-conscious consumers are likely to appreciate a new design from Schott Italvetro, Mr. Zago's Oven, named for its...

Generating heat: new induction cooking wares suggest the technology is catching on.(Cooking Technologies)
February 1, 2005... It may be lack of understanding, or limited availability that has kept induction cooking technology out of U.S. kitchens. Or, it could be the price. Induction cooking units certainly aren't cheap, with a cooktop easily costing a few thousand...

Clarity on corrosion: advanced testing methods help in designing protection for home appliances.(Testing, Quality & Standards)
February 1, 2005... Because labor costs in many parts of the world are significantly lower than the U.S. or Western Europe, many countries have a growing working class. Driven by advertising, these emerging-middle-class workers want essentially the same benefits...

Wake up on waste: EU directives target design and disposal of electrical and electronic products.(Testing, Quality & Standards)(european union)
February 1, 2005... Around the globe, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is rapidly filling our landfills and presenting an environmental catastrophe. In 1998 alone, the European Union (EU) generated more than 915,000 tons of electronic waste (equivalent to...

Measuring sound quality: product designers debate utility of sound quality metrics.(Testing, Quality & Standards)
February 1, 2005... Traditionally, acoustic design has concentrated on reducing the noise made by excessively noisy products. But today, more companies are looking beyond mere noise control by trying to produce sounds that portray a particular image for a product,...

Stressing safety: proper design prevents power cord failures.(Connectors & Cordsets)
February 1, 2005... With the exception of people who work for a power cord company, most people tend to pull a power cord out of the wall by pulling on the cord itself, rather than by grasping the plug (See Fig. 1.). In the case of using a vacuum cleaner, for...

KB Electronics Inc.(Design Mart)
February 1, 2005... Low Cost Variable Speed Controls from KB Electronics. KB offers a comprehensive line of motor speed controls for air-moving applications, such as Fans, Air Conditioners, Fireplace Insert Brewers, Attic Fans, Humidifiers, Kitchen Ventalators,...

Buhrke Industries.(Design Mart)
February 1, 2005... As part of the IMS group. Buhrke offers short-run to high-volume metal stamping and automated assembly services to appliance, telcom, electronic, industrial machinery, automotive and other OEM's worldwide, Through our affiliated IMS members, we...

Interpower Corporation.(Design Mart)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Interpower[TM] hospital-Fade power cords are designed for use in hospital and medical settings The plugs carry the characteristic "green dot", indicating hospital-grade. These plugs meet the North American medical industry requirements in UL...

FasTest, Inc.(Design Mart)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Engineering Guide to Connectors provides the world's largest selection of leak testing connectors for filling, charging, evacuation, and vacuum or pressure testing. The guide details how FasTest connection solutions can increase productivity,...

Conductive.(Design Mart)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Conductive, a Tier 1 supplier of Appliance and Medical Grade Power cords, specializes in power cord lines aimed at resolving power cord issues in tough, high flex applications. As a value driven, vertically integrated manufacture, Conductive...

NEOPERL, Inc.(Design Mart)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Check valves for drinking water and hot water systems, NEOPERL[R] plastic check valves are pre-assembled and 100% tested to provide durable drip tight operation. Available in 12 OD sizes between 3/8" and 2" for drinking water applications (NSF...

Meetings.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration (AHR) Expo, Feb. 7-9, Orlando, Fla. Contact: International Exposition Co., Contact: 203/221-9232. Web site: www.ahrexpo.com IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit,...

Your presence is requested.(Association report: ARI)
February 1, 2005... The world is run by those who show up. Each day at ARI, staff and members are working on standards, certification, research and policies that impact our industry. If you are a manufacturer and are not a member of one of ARI's 26 product...