The Engineer articles from October 2003

The Engineer archives from October 2003

Cleaning up or leaving a vacuum?(This Week)
October 10, 2003... THE BRITISH press has a rum old relationship with James Dyson, the undisputed king of domestic appliance innovation. When Dyson this week unveiled his latest advance, a highly efficient motor for vacuum cleaners and washing machines that...

Lift-off for joint Franco-Russian space project.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... RUSSIA AND FRANCE have agreed a joint venture to launch Russian Soyuz rockets from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. The move is an attempt to cut launch costs as the site, on the northeast coast of south America, is closer to the equator...

SARS detector ready by January.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... THE GENOME INSTITUTE of Singapore is developing a chip that it claims can almost instantly diagnose whether a patient has flu, dengue fever, SARS or another respiratory disease. Similar symptoms are seen in the early stages of many...

Credit where limits are due.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... A CREDIT CARD that will allow users to set their own spending limits has been developed at the University of Pennsylvania. It could be used by employers to control spending on corporate cards, or by parents to provide a card for their children....

Solar panels take leaf out of nature's book.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... FRENCH-ITALIAN semiconductor maker ST Microelectronics claims it will be able to produce electricity from solar panels 20 times cheaper than at present and as economically as from fossil fuels. Currently solar panels are made using silicon....

UK double take for Nobel.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... THE NOBEL PRIZE for medicine has been awarded to the UK's Sir Peter Mansfield and Paul Lauterbur of the US for their pioneering 1970s work in the development of magnetic resonance imaging. Lauterbur discovered the possibility of imaging the...

Jarvis to face further criticism over derailment.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... RAIL MAINTENANCE firm Jarvis was this week expected to face renewed criticism over the derailment of an intercity train at King's Cross last month. According to reports, an inquiry has found that the company failed to file the paperwork on...

A new spin on vacuum cleaners.(This Week)
October 10, 2003... DYSON HAS announced a new type of vacuum cleaner motor that spins three times faster than traditional ones and can 'speak' to the manufacturer when it goes wrong. The redesigned motor, codenamed X020, turns at 100,000rpm, producing a...

Bathroom Crooners.(Good Week)
October 10, 2003... * BATHROOM CROONERS: A UK firm has developed a flat panel loudspeaker that can turn baths into mini recording studios.

Christmas shopping.(Good Week)
October 10, 2003... * CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: His and her opera singing, hip hop dancing robots can be bought in the US for just $400,000 each.

Pound.(Bad Week)
October 10, 2003... * POUND: University of Pennsylvania Prof Donald Simanek has discovered that the UK's new 2 coin [pounds sterling], which celebrates our scientific heritage, shows interlocking gears that could not turn.

Royal navy.(Bad Week)
October 10, 2003... * ROYAL NAVY: A Dartmouth Royal Naval College vessel struck rocks on sunny day 10 miles south of Plymouth, allegedly due to a GPS error. Yet the rocks formed the base of a 100ft lighthouse the sailors claim they did not see.

Deep heat: government is ignoring geothermal technology despite its pledge on renewable energy, claim supporters.(News)
October 10, 2003... A TECHNOLOGY that could provide the UK with clean, reliable energy is being ignored by the government, despite its commitment to increasing the country's use of renewable energy, claim supporters. Man-made geothermal technologies, known as...

Purr-fect partnership: car giant heads research collaboration to improve engine performance and minimise combustion variations.(News)
October 10, 2003... JAGUAR AIMS to improve the performance and fuel economy of its engines, while reducing emission levels, in a long-term project to minimise variations in the combustion process. The Jaguar-led, EPSRC-funded four-year research project, which...

Low pressure, high mileage: hydrogen storage system could mean same range as petrol.(News)
October 10, 2003... A HYDROGEN storage system developed by Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems (TOHS) in the US will allow future vehicles to run with a similar range and refuelling experience to petrol cars, the company claims. The system allows relatively large...

More than a load of hot air: self-adjusting air-conditioning improves car comfort.(News)
October 10, 2003... A SIMULATION system based on technology originally designed to help keep NASA astronauts cool will make next-generation cars more comfortable and efficient, its developer has claimed. Virtual Thermal Comfort Engineering (VTCE), developed by...

The race for fusion power: Europe will beat off international challenge to site world's first thermonuclear reactor says government's chief scientific adviser.(News)
October 10, 2003... THE WORLD'S largest fusion reactor will be built in Europe despite global competition, the government's chief scientific adviser Prof Sir David King claimed this week. The International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) project will build a...

Getting all steamed up about nuclear clean-up.(News)
October 10, 2003... STEAM-POWERED pumping technology may be used to help clean up nuclear sites more safely, according to its UK developer. Pursuit Dynamics, which is developing its system for a wide range of industrial process applications, confirmed that it...

Silent flight: UK-developed lightweight device could mean a more comfortable journey for air travellers.(News)
October 10, 2003... AIRCRAFT CABIN noise, the audible hum experienced by airline passengers, could be halved by a lightweight mechanical device being developed in the UK. The device, the result of a collaboration between Qinetiq, noise and vibration systems...

Fighting talk: broadband internet technology is vital to success in future conflicts say military chiefs.(News)
October 10, 2003... THE IRAQ WAR has taught military commanders that the technology to bring broadband internet communications to the battlefield will be crucial in future conflicts. The technology to move huge amounts of data across the theatre of...

Saving patients' breath: inhaler could be used to deliver anti-cancer medication directly to the lungs.(News)
October 10, 2003... MICROSCOPIC plastic spheres that can be inhaled into the lungs could provide a new weapon in the treatment of lung cancer. The particles, developed by Prof Justin Hanes of the department of chemical and biomechanical engineering at Johns...

Renishaw: precision instrument specialist celebrates 30th birthday with a return to profits and ambitious expansion plans.(Company Profile)
October 10, 2003... AS A COMPANY obsessed with precision measurement Renishaw was unlikely to forget its own 30th birthday, and has spent the last few months celebrating with employees, customers and suppliers. Few would blame the Gloucestershire company for...

Motorola to give semiconductor operation its independence.(The Week)
October 10, 2003... Motorola has unveiled plans to spin off its huge semiconductor operation as a separate, independent business. The US telecoms and electronics group is expected to use money raised by the divestment to expand its core operations such as...

Sony to cut parts in a bid to improve financial performance.(The Week)
October 10, 2003... Sony plans to clash by 90 per cent the number of different parts used in it's plethora of products, according to reports from Japan. The electronics behemoth is said to be concerned that more than 800,000 different components are now used...

Oxford Instruments buys VG Semicon to up technology portfolio.(The Week)
October 10, 2003... Oxford Instruments has strengthened its technology portfolio by snapping up VG Semicon, a specialist in molecular beam epitaxy [MBE]. East Sussex-based VG Semicon was one of the pioneers of MBE, a process that allows thin films to be...

Smiths awarded 300m [pounds sterling] contract for cabling work on US JSF.(The Week)
October 10, 2003... Smiths Group has landed a potential $500m (300m [pounds sterling]) worth of new work on the US F 35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. The UK engineering group's Smiths Interconnect subsidiary has been selected by Lockheed Martin to supply...

Wagon and Sweden's Accra Teknik sign European sharing agreement.(The Week)
October 10, 2003... Automotive engineering group Wagon has signed a technology sharing agreement with Swedish materials specialist Accra Teknik, which has developed new methods of hardening boron steel. Under the deal, Wagon has an exclusive right to sail...

Constraint kills: think big and you'll get the big ideas back; a prototype spy UAV slipped into the war zone during the Iraq war. How? Because its developers were left to get on with their work unconstrained. David Windle calls for more innovation like it.(Comment)
October 10, 2003... HERE'S A QUESTION that keeps cropping up like a bad penny: are lawmakers, lawyers and accountants strangling 'big idea' engineering? Over the years of interviewing engineers and scientists who feel constrained by official red tape and...

Planting an idea.(Letters)
October 10, 2003... Assuming that global warming is a reality, which is by no means universally accepted, and that our production of C[O.sub.2] is a significant contributor, the research and funds being expended on 'sequestration' schemes (News, 12 September)...

Saddle sore.(Letters)
October 10, 2003... So Tony Hollinshead (Letters, 26 September) considers cyclists to be 'the most dangerous section of road users'. According to published information, 3,431 people died on the UK's roads in 2002. Does Mr Hollinshead believe a large proportion...

High-speed safety.(Talking Point)
October 10, 2003... In response to Andrew Lee's editorial 'Language Kills' (Leader, 12 September) although some sports cars such as the Lotus Exige (pictured) are geared to do speeds of 160mph, what he fails to say is that they are also built to stop at these...

Allied smartest.(Letters)
October 10, 2003... With reference to Rob Coppinger's editorial 'Helping the US help us' (Leader, 26 September) I'm glad to hear that 'unmanned aerial vehicles will ensure zero US casualties in future conflicts'. It would be even better if they also ensured zero...

Equality street.(Letters)
October 10, 2003... With young men accounting for 97 per cent of people doing advanced modern apprenticeships in engineering manufacturing, are outdated gender stereotypes still influencing young people's choices? The Equal Opportunities Commission is...

Test flight into the unchartered: composites make aircraft lighter and more fuel efficient. But a simple way to test the new materials between flights has proved elusive.(Composite Technology)
October 10, 2003... THE AGE OF the composite airliner is just a few years away. But engineers are in a race against time to solve one glaring problem: how to test the new generation of materials for microscopic flaws between flights. Tested exhaustively in...

Safety concerns.(Composite Technology)
October 10, 2003... Advanced composites are already being used across the airline, maritime ace construction industries. However, there has been a degree of suspicion over their safety and effectiveness. Doubts were cast on their safety in aircraft...

Ion-age man: ESA's technology R&D boss is setting the agenda for extending the boundaries of space exploration. His first mission is to prove that the ion engine works.(Interview Pedro Cordero Perez)
October 10, 2003... WHEN EUROPE'S first solo mission to the Moon, Smart-l, was launched last week it carried the hopes of planetary scientists eager to unlock more of the secrets of our nearest neighbour in space. But with all due respect to the data it will...

Smart move: research is underway to convince automotive manufacturers that components produced using rapid prototyping are functional and not as fragile as is widely thought.(Design News)
October 10, 2003... A PROJECT to rebuild Smart car parts using rapid prototyping aims to show how the technology can be used to manufacture functional components. The project, which will be based at the Newbury headquarters of RP expert 3T RPD, will attempt...

Corrosion gets an early warning: a unique scanning technique will detect the first signs of trouble, avoiding the cost of major repairs.(Design News)
October 10, 2003... A METHOD OF detecting localised corrosion in steel and other metals could help industry avoid major repair bills and even prevent serious safety problems. While conventional detection methods usually assume the process takes place...

Telebanking.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
October 10, 2003... Credit card companies Nippon Shinpan and Visa International have announced that this month they will begin a joint experiment to let NTT DoCoMo 'imode' internet-accessible mobile phones work like credit cards to make payments. The...

Phone lock.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
October 10, 2003... In another mobile-phone related move the West Japan Railway Co has introduced new luggage lookers at Osaka Station that dispense with the traditional key and can instead be accessed with a mobile phone. To lock the door, users call a given...

The toner with nose.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
October 10, 2003... PFU, a subsidiary of Fujitsu, has developed a new toner-cartridge far large-scale printers that could spell the end for unpleasant printing smells. In place of the petroleum-based solvents currently used to keep the powdered ink from...

Corny idea.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
October 10, 2003... Sanyo Electric subsidiary Sanyo Mavic Media has developed a solution to the mounting problem of environmentally-friendly disposal of storage disks. The company recently claimed that it had developed the world's first commercially viable...

Facing up to a stiff challenge: how do you turn a family-friendly Astra coupe into a championship-winning demon of the track? Jon Excell visited Triple Eight Race Engineering to find out.(Motorsport)
October 10, 2003... FOR LEGIONS of motorsport fans, it doesn't get much more exciting than F1 --the speed, the glamour and the superstar drivers make a compelling blend. But, for a growing number of enthusiasts, F1 is simply too remote: the drivers lead lavish...

Taking to the tablets: dismissed by some IT analysts, the Tablet PC is a totally new computing theory which played an integral part of VX Racing's success this season.(Motorsport)
October 10, 2003... IN A SEASON where competition was closer than ever, VX Racing still managed to win the 2003 BTCC by a healthy margin. Central to maintaining its competitiveness was the integration of all its computer systems and its use, for the first time...

Making light work of illumination: LEDs are stealing a march on conventional lighting. Their benefits, in terms of size, cost and energy savings, make them attractive for all manner of mainstream uses.(Solid-State Lighting)
October 10, 2003... THOMAS EDISON'S incandescent light bulb, for decades the universally accepted symbol for innovation, is under threat from a technology that is more efficient, lasts longer and will soon be cheaper to produce: the LED. Unlike incandescent...

A crust you can trust: magnesium, traditionally avoided by automotive manufacturers due to its lack of resistance to corrosion, could now be widely used thanks to a new surface treatment technique.(Materials)
October 10, 2003... THE REPLACEMENT of steel with other materials in the automotive industry has become a matter of increasing importance in recent times. Targets for reduced fuel consumption and new environmental legislation, coupled with the desire to...

Web source.
October 10, 2003... ACTUATORS DRIVES INTERNATIONAL--www.dil-actuators.co.uk POWER JACKS GROUP--www.powerjacks.com AUTOMATION PENNY & GILES--www.pgcontrols.com SEW AUTODRIVE--www.sew-eurodrive.com BATTERIES YUASA...

Rackmount solutions.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Rackmount AMC has announced the launch ADVANCED 201 Solutions of a family of Network MODULAR Attached Storage (NAS) units. COMPUTERS The systems are 19" rack ...

Power supplies.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Power Supplies REO UK has released a REO UK 202 comprehensive guide to power quality for those with little or no experience of effective power...

Reliability testing.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Reliability With the rapidly growing use DESIGN 203 Testing of HALT/HASS product ENVIRONMENTAL development and reliability LTD testing methods in the ...

Sensors.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Sensors Balluff takes advantage of BALLUFF 204 the most modern construction techniques for developing its sensors in order to make them ...

Sensors: Kistler Instruments has introducted new ready-to-install piezoelectric force sensors.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Sensors Kistler Instruments has KISTLER 205 introduced new INSTRUMENT ready-to-install piezoelectric force sensors. The...

Filters.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Filters Changing from conventional HODGE CLEMCO 206 paper filters to Dralle CPA media, supplied by Hodge Clemco, dramatically improved filtration...

Drives.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Drives Unidrive SP, the benchmark AC CONTROL 207 drive recently launched by TECHNIQUES Control Techniques now has an added feature - CT Sync - ...

Air equipment.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Air Equipment Hoerbiger-Origa has extended HOERBIGER-ORIGA 208 its Airfit family of industrial air preparation equipment with the introduction of a massive...

Control.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Control The Weidmuler WAVEAnalog PRO WEIDMULLER 209 Bridge is an analogue signal conditioner that enables direct connection of strain gauges, load...

Cabling.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Cabling Corporate Cable CORPORATE CABLE 210 Solutions, a provider of SOLUTIONS specialised cabling products designed to match clients' ...

Power tools.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Power Tools Atlas Copco, a leading ATLAS COPCO 211 manufacturer of ergonomically designed power tools, has published its latest full colour and...

Handbook.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Handbook Southco has introduced a SOUTHCO EUROPE 212 product handbook that doubles as a comprehensive, global engineering resource. Titled Easy...

Clutches.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Clutches Combidrive have combined two COMBIDRIVE 213 standard components, clutch and flexible coupling, creating an off-the-shelf combination....

Automation.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Automation Okura Automation has designed OKURA 214 an integrated conveying AUTOMATION solution for Randox Laboratories in Northern ...

Girder Clamps.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Girder Clamps Girder Clamps from steelwork LINDAPTER 215 connection specialist Lindapter International were recently used to help renovate Cumberland...

Linear motion.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Linear Motion Accuride International, the ACCURIDE 216 manufacturer of ball bearing INTERNATIONAL slides, is continuing to demonstrate its flair for ...

Infra-red oven.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Infra-red Oven A short wave infra-red oven HERAEUS 217 from Heraeus Noblelight is NOBLELIGHT being used by Intier Automotive Interiors to remove...

Materials.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Materials An environmental study SSAB SWEDISH 218 conducted by SSAB Swedish STEEL Steel has proved that the use of high-strength steels ...

Mouldings.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Mouldings Rediweld Rubber & Plastics REDIWELD RUBBER 219 have emerged from a period of & PLASTICS investment and reconfiguration as a single-source...

Cable reels.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Cable Reels Metool Products has METOOL PRODUCTS 220 introduced a new range of 4 to 400-way slipring collector columns. The Metool slipring ...

Materials: Sandvik Materials Technology UK, created earlier this year by the merger of Sandvik Steel UK and RGB Stainless.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Materials Sandvik Materials Technology SANDVIK 221 UK, created earlier this year MATERIALS by the merger of Sandvik TECHNOLOGY UK Steel UK and RGB...

Alarm Annunciators.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Alarm RTK Engineering have launched RTK ENGINEERING 222 Annunciators www.annunciation.co.uk, an online site to specify, configure and order process Alarm...

Electrical equipment.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Electrical Don't replace--refurbish, is R F WINDER 223 Equipment the latest trend in the power ELECTRICAL engineering industry as a means of offsetting the cost ...

Locks.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Locks Locking mechanism LOWE & FLETCHER 224 manufacturer, the Lowe & Fletcher Group, has added new models to its range of sliding door...

Control.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Control Observant Electronics have OBSERVANT 225 released Datastation, a new ELECTRONICS family of software configurable, mixed signal I/O...

Pneumatic components.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Pneumatic As engineers are faced with NORGREN 226 Components the drive to design machines that offer more functionality in smaller packages, the need for...

Sealing.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Sealing Garlock Sealing Technoligies GARLOCK SEALING 227 has introduced a single TECHNOLOGIES source reference of sealing solutions on CD ROM. The CD ...

Packaging.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Packaging A lead container system that DS SMITH 228 protects from radiation TRIWALL saline injection fluids used when X-raying the human body ...

Enclosure cooling.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Enclosure Rittal has launched its RITTAL 229 Cooling version of the Therm software used to aid specification of enclosure cooling. Therm 4.1 ...

Adhesives.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Adhesives Araldite adhesives are HUNTSMAN 230 proving their toughness with ADVANCED an application bonding the MATERIALS panels in portable military ...

Marking.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Marking Hellerman Tyton has HELLERMANN 231 introduced two new ranges of TYTON write-on cable markers particularly designed for use by...

Motors.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Motors For those who are truly MAXON MOTOR 232 serious about matching components precisely to the demands of their applications, the 2003/04...

Components.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Components ATF Distributors, ATF 233 distributors of electrical DISTRIBUTORS and mechanical components, is celebrating 21 years of ...

Switches.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Switches To help engineers, Schmersal, SCHMERSAL 234 has produced an easy-to-use poster, that gives comprehensive details of the zones, categories, classes...

Materials.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Materials SSAB Swedish Steel, SSAB SWEDISH 235 manufacturers of the Domex STEEL and Docol ranges of extra high strength steel is able to...

ATEX approval.(Update)
October 10, 2003... ATEX Approval ACI's range of industrial AIR CONTROL 236 fans, blowers and exhausters INDUSTRIES now complies with European Directive 94/9/EC. ACI's ...

Materials: SSAB Swedish Steel, manufacturers of the Domex and Docol ranges.(Update)
October 10, 2003... Materials Morgan Advanced Ceramics has MORGAN ADVANCED 237 developed a new reflective CERAMICS glaze that they claim can significantly improve the ...