Design News articles from January 2009

Design News archives from January 2009

What's in Your Toolbox?
January 5, 2009... By John Ardizzoni, Contributing Writer Q. Do you prefer power tools or hand tools for solving problems? A. I prefer hand tools for small to medium sized jobs and power tools for large jobs. Every day we use 'tools' to get things...

My Breakfast with Amory Lovins.
January 5, 2009... By Geoffrey C. Orsak Rocky Mountain Institute founder leaves you hungry for more Amory Lovins is everywhere these days. Turn on the TV, and he's on Charlie Rose. Open 'The Economist,' and there he is being celebrated. It was kind of...

DN's Most Popular Blog Posts.
January 5, 2009... Staff PowerPoint Fails Engineers Engineers overuse PowerPoints to make technical presentations and the results can be disastrous. So says Edward Tufte, professor emeritus at Yale University, who is an expert on statistical evidence and...

The Case of the Fatal Forklift.
January 5, 2009... By Myron J. Boyajian, President, Engineering Consultants Inspection and analysis of an accident usually provides a cause. An attorney may cease the investigation early, leaving conclusions drawn from meager evidence. While these conclusions...

Innovation to Chase the Blues Away.
January 5, 2009... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief Technology has lifted the U.S. out of recession before and could well save us again. Autos and jets were winners in the 1950s and 1960s. We languished in the 1970s, but mainframes, minicomputers and integrated...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.(Idec Corp. introduces photoelectric sensors)(TDK-Lambda Americas Inc. introduces voltage regulators)(Opto Diode Corp. introduces preamplifiers)
January 5, 2009... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham IDEC's New Heavy-Duty Photoelectric Sensors Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham In four sensing modes These high-quality photoelectric sensors are offered in four...

Faster Processors Pave Way for Vision, 3-D TV.
January 5, 2009... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Multi-core microcontrollers and DSPs will boost vehicle safety, improve entertainment Forget what you hear about the demise of Moore's Law. With or without Moore, electronic...

Setting Alternative Energy in Motion.
January 5, 2009... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control & Automation The push for energy independence will affect automation systems Among the technologies that will play a role in America's growing desire for energy independence, motion...

Think Small and Tough.
January 5, 2009... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Carbon fiber, nanotubes boost performance Significant advances in materials' and assembly technology will take place in the next five years as engineers push harder to reduce...

It's a Virtual World, After All.
January 5, 2009... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Design Tools Advances in simulation, 3-D collaboration tools and CPU horsepower are leading the charge Even as engineers flock to the virtual worlds of CAD and CAE to do ever-complex early stage...

One Finger Keeps Thieves at Bay.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor One downside to portable PCs is the thieves who sometimes enjoy that portability. Samsung is making it difficult for them to steal data, using a fingerprint sensor to provide security. AuthenTec's...

Blurring the Line Between Digital and Film.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor The look and feel of 35-mm film gives cinematographers more latitude, like directing attention to an area of the image by using the film's depth of field. ARRI GmbH has brought this capability to...

Using Technology to Fight Terrorism.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Technology remains a key weapon in the fight against terrorism. The Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard are expanding the Transportation Worker Identification Credential...

Space Shuttle Goes 19th Century.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor During the 18th and 19th centuries, the most sophisticated new technologies often focused on agriculture. During the space shuttle's November trip, the high-tech marvel of the 20th and 21st centuries...

Broadening a Bird's-Eye View.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Ground troops often want to watch for threats from fairly limited areas, but ships at sea need to monitor huge expanses for long periods. The U.S. Naval Research Lab. is exploring ways to continuously...

Case #132: A Spiffy Face-Lift for An Old-Time Toy.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... Staff Luis Fernando Espinal Ceballos of Colombia wanted to give his cousin's son the slot track racing set he loved as a child. But the toy seemed unbearably old-fashioned. So Luis jazzed it up with a new electronic control system. He...

Lean, Green LED Utility Lights.(Light-emitting diode)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Here's a utility light that's both green and cost-effective. Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc., a renewable energy and conservation company in Sarasota, FL, has introduced EvoLucia LED general utility...

Shamu Goes Green.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor From shuttles fueled with hydrogen to dinner plates made from sugarcane, the 10 theme parks owned by Busch Entertainment Corp. of Orlando, FL - including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens - are launching...

SAP Releases Sustainability Report.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor The German-based enterprise software company SAP has released a full sustainability report that reveals the company's corporate effort at environmental performance and also points to the products and...

Readers Sound Off.
January 5, 2009... Staff 'It will be hard to get Americans to save on fuel or other energy' Your latest issue promotes the advantages, etc. of ethanol, hydrogen and whatever automobile fuels are being considered 'Ethanol & Hydrogen: Can They Help Wean...

The Other Side of Resonance.
January 5, 2009... By Kevin C. Craig We all want our ideas and work to resonate with others. Resonance in engineering mostly has a negative connotation - something to be avoided. Of course, without resonance we wouldn't have radio, television, music or...

New Fastener Problems Plague Boeing 737s.
January 5, 2009... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Boeing also discloses problems attaching structures in the 787 Dreamliner A raft of fastener problems continue to plague Boeing, in aircraft ranging from the 737...

Automakers: Electronic Content is Still Rising.
January 5, 2009... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Software will increase, microcontrollers will decline A global panel of automakers at Convergence 2008 in Detroit (http://designnews.hotims.com/23090-531 ) said electronic...

Film Protects against Pollution.
January 5, 2009... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Bell Labs invention also stops damage from electrostatic discharge A packaging film originally developed at Bell Labs attracts corrosive chemicals in the atmosphere to improve...

SERCOS Gets a Pack Profile.(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control & Automation SERCOS III will offer plug-and-play capabilities for drives, controls and I/O for packaging machines Makers of packaging machines will soon have an easier time implementing...

Pro/ENGINEER® Finds Its Human Side.
January 5, 2009... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Design Tools New digital human modeling software is integrated directly into the Pro/ENGINEER[R] development environment PTC[R] is joining the handful of design tool companies offering a digital...

The Vision for New Products.
January 5, 2009... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Imaging sensors provide new functionality for many applications Imaging sensing provides exciting new capabilities to a number of products. In its 'Advances in Image Sensors' report, Frost & Sullivan...

Microsoft Spins Out Development Tools.
January 5, 2009... By Howard Baldwin, Contributing Editor Demand from industrial customers prompts availability of tools for asynchronous, distributed work Responding to the requests of industrial customers such as Siemens and Tyco, Microsoft recently...

Electric DeLorean Goes Back to the Future.
January 5, 2009... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Enthusiasts convert 1981 DeLorean to an electric vehicle Dr. David Delman's license plates say 'E Fluxed.' In his car's backseat, there's a model of a so-called 'flux...

In with the New - Out with the Old.
January 5, 2009... By Joseph E. Kovacs, RF and Wireless Communications Senior Manager, National Instruments Modern User-Defined Instrumentation Solves the Test and Development Challenges of wireless technology Last week, I finally cut the cable. Yes, I'm...

LSI, Freescale Roll Out DSPs for Broadband, Telecom.
January 5, 2009... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Targeted at media gateways, wireless base stations As broadband and mobile phone technologies evolve, digital signal processors are carving out a niche in media gateways and...

New Resin Targets Inserts.
January 5, 2009... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Electronic parts require better mating of plastics to metal Design engineers are pushing for smaller and smaller electronic components, stretching materials' capabilities. ...

Electric Motors Fit In.
January 5, 2009... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control & Automation Suppliers make it easier to integrate motors into motion systems With so much overlap in specifications nowadays, electric motors from different vendors can all start to seem...

Use ADCs to Measure Ratios.(Analog to digital converters)
January 5, 2009... By Jon Titus, Contributing Writer Used carefully, ratiometric techniques will improve measurement accuracy. Suppose you have two resistors - one fixed and the other a sensor - in series with a voltage across them. You use an ADC to measure...