Appliance Design articles from October 2008

Appliance Design archives from October 2008

More magic?(influence of use of technology on productivity)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... Well, it's that magical season again. No, I don't mean the holidays. I'm referring to election season, where politicians promise the magic of lowering taxes while expanding government services. Years of such pandering has bred an infantile...

Forecasts.
October 1, 2008... FORECASTS DVD PLAYERS/RECORDERS--Shipments (Thousands of Units) Qtr: 2007 2008 2009 1 2,463.1 2,645.4 2,629.5 2 4,344.6 4,692.2 4,560.8 3 ...

Shipments.(Statistical table)
October 1, 2008... SHIPMENTS Product July '08 July '07 %Chg MAJOR APPLIANCES (Thousands of Units) TOTAL 4,921.6 4,862.8 1.2% Cooking-Total 1,489.0...

IFA adds appliances.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... The European consumer electronics exhibition, IFA 2008, held Aug. 29-Sept. 3 in Berlin, exceeded expectations of show organizers, and the first-time inclusion of home appliances, large and small, was also considered a success. The show featured...

EPA's engine standards.(NEWS WATCH)(Environmental Protection Agency setting standards for gas-powered lawn and garden equipment)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The Environmental Protection Agency set standards for gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, as well as engines for marine watercraft. The rule takes effect in 2011 for lawn and garden equipment of 25 HP or less. The EPA says that to meet the...

LG has designs on N.Y.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... LG Electronics has relocated its U.S. Design Center from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., to New York City. Focusing on industrial design, the center will look to incorporate global design trends into new mobile handsets and devices, flat-screen HDTVs...

LG recycling.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... LG Electronics has launched a nationwide electronics-recycling program in conjunction with Waste Management's Recycle America subsidiary. The program was initially launched with 160 locations across the country, and was expected to include...

Dynacast buys Fishertech.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Dynacast, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has acquired the Canadian and Welsh businesses of Fishercast Global Corp., a manufacturer of high-precision zinc and magnesium components and injected metal component assemblies, with operations in...

Retailers stack pack.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... The 24-7 Fuel Cell Power Pack from Medis Technologies of New York will be offered in select Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores. The power packs, which are based on the company's direct liquid fuel cell technology, is used to power handheld...

Testing agreement.(NEWS WATCH)(CSA International)(VDE Testing and Certification Institute)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... CSA International, a Cleveland-based testing organization, has signed a reciprocal product testing agreement with the Europe-based VDE Testing and Certification Institute. CSA will provide testing services in North America for products destined...

Air of confusion.(NEWS WATCH)(survey of homeowners about air polluition)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Nearly 40 percent of U.S. homeowners believe the air inside their homes is cleaner than air outside their homes, according to a new survey by Johns Manville, a Denver-based maker of building products. Still, two-thirds of those surveyed said...

TurboChef bought.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Foodservice and food processing equipment company Middleby Corp., Elgin, Ill., plans to buy high-speed oven maker TurboChef Technologies for $200 million in cash and stock. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter pending approval by...

Laundry leaders.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... LG Electronics ranks highest in customer satisfaction for its clothes washers, while Samsung ranks highest among clothes dryer manufacturers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Laundry Appliances Study. The study measures customer...

Walking energy.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] M2E Power, a renewable energy design and development company based in Boise, Idaho, is developing an external charger for mobile devices that will use the kinetic energy of everyday motion. For every six hours of...

Digital boon.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Consumers, who appear to be cutting back of vacation travel, are purchasing more electronics for the home, according to consulting firm iSuppli, El Segundo, Calif. The analysts also point to falling prices, the mandated switch to digital...

Super skinny TV.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Philips Research, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, unveiled an ultra-thin 32-in. LCD prototype at the IFA trade fair in Berlin. Only 8 mm thick, and weighing only 5 kg (11 lbs.), the new technology will make it more...

Buy Bosch at Sears.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Sears will sell the Bosch Nexxt Laundry and Axxis Laundry products at its stores. The units are made by Bosch Home Appliances, which are part of BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliance Group. The retailer now sells Bosch's complete line of...

Dell's low-cost PCs.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dell has unveiled four low-cost computer models, dubbed Vostro, manufactured for sale in 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Two notebook computers and two desktop PCs were introduced for use by...

Sales pop.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Sales of products used for home entertainment are expected to grow even as consumers tighten their fiscal belts in other areas, according to the Summer edition of Housewares MarketWatch, a publication of the International Housewares...

Aiming for India.(NEWS WATCH)(Jarden Corp.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The Jarden Corp., a U.S. based housewares manufacturer, plans to expand into the $240 million Indian kitchen appliances market with its recently introduced Oster brand of products. The company's Indian subsidiary, Jarden Consumer Solutions,...

Vesta eyes Europe.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Vesta, a Zonu Group subsidiary and one of Turkey's biggest home appliance suppliers, has bought Denmark's Vestfrost, which is one of Europe's and Russia's biggest appliance brands. The company aims to grow in Europe...

Engineering incentives.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Congress has passed legislation that provides financial incentives for engineering students. The provision, backed by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), provides $2,000 a year, up to $10,000, in school loan forgiveness for...

Water-treatment testing.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... CSA International has created a program to test and certify products to the requirements of the new CAN/CSA B483 Drinking Water Treatment Systems standard. The program will help manufacturers show compliance to the 2009 Canadian Building Code...

At-home support.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... AT&T launched a 50-state, home services care program called AT&T ConnecTech. The program features a full suite of in-home services including custom installation of home theater and TV equipment; PC or Apple computer installation and the startup...

Wireless power.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Intel demonstrated a new wireless power transmission technology that built upon work by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intel showed a 60-watt light bulb that was powered by an energy source 3 ft. away. The Intel team did it with...

Oreck moves HQ.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Oreck has moved its corporate headquarters from suburban New Orleans to Nashville, Tenn., completing a transition begun in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The maker of vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, and other home products will employ about 75...

UL/AQS partner.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and Air Quality Sciences (AQS) have partnered to test and certify indoor air devices against an improved UL 867 ozone emission standard. The partnership was created for manufacturers who must comply with a new...

Gram bought.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2008... The Hoshizaki Group, a Japanese family-owned manufacturer of refrigeration products for commercial kitchens, has purchased Denmark-based Gram Commercial. The acquisition is part of Hoshizaki's plan to increase worldwide market share through...

Materials play the part: new choices offer enhanced properties.(PROTOTYPING)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the early days of rapid prototyping, product developers were ecstatic to have quickly produced parts that accurately indicated form and fit. But as compressed development cycles have placed more demands upon...

Mix & match: system builds models with multiple materials.(PROTOTYPING)
October 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] As part designs become increasingly complex, there is a corresponding growing desire to emulate that complexity in the prototyping stage. A novel technology developed by Objet Geometries, Rehovot, Israel, makes that...

Motion without magnets: medical devices employ novel technologies.(MOTORS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most motors are made of metal and they use permanent magnets, electromagnets, or a combination of both to induce motion. While these magnetic motors are perfectly suitable for the vast number of potential...

Safe control: self-diagnosing MCU is class B ready.(ELECTRONICS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since October 2007, all new household appliances have to comply with the IEC60335 norm, which is intended to prevent any dangerous malfunction in case of a fault condition. The 4th edition of the standard has...

Conquering corrosion: electroceramic finish allows material substitution.(COATINGS)
October 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The appliance industry has long relied on surface treatment chemistries such as zinc phosphate and electro-coating technologies to properly clean, conversion coat, and paint metal substrates. These surface treatments...

Educate consumers.(ASSOCIATION REPORT: AHRI)
October 1, 2008... As innovative and forward-looking as our member companies are with respect to producing energy efficient products, ensuring that highly energy efficient products result in actual energy conservation is another matter. It is not nearly enough to...