Design News articles from June 2008

Design News archives from June 2008

The Case of the Crushed Cable.
June 2, 2008... By Kenneth Russell, Professor Emeritus, MIT, Cambridge, MA Wire rope or cable is strong, flexible and durable, but must be subjected only to straight forces and, in particular, it must not be kinked. Wire rope is normally coiled on steel...

Sizing up Auto Safety.(Editorial)
June 2, 2008... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief Every time I run out to the grocery store three miles away, I hop into my 3,961 lb 1999 Mercedes with a 221 hp engine or my 3,470 lb Acura TSX with 205 horses. The Mercedes (which has 190K on the odometer and...

Best in the Engineering Marketplace.
June 2, 2008... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham Astrodyne's 320W Switching Power Supplies Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham Available with two mounting options Accepting input from 90 to 264V ac, the PMK320...

The Biggest Thing in Safety.(Intelligent Highway)
June 2, 2008... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Automotive experts say nothing comes close to the lifesaving potential of the intelligent highway It will save more lives than seat belts, more than air bags and more than...

Integrated Safety on the Rise.
June 2, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Machine builders have good reason to move away from their traditional relay-based safety systems and adopt an approach that integrates safety with the main automation systems Machine...

Five Critical Factors to Ensure Plastics' Performance.
June 2, 2008... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Predicting plastics' performance is not a simple mathematical calculation. Engineers must consider factors ranging from creep to chemical atmosphere. Specifying plastics is...

People Power.(on Digital Humans)
June 2, 2008... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Design Tools Digital humans are helping companies evaluate ergonomic and safety factors further upstream in the development process At Ford Motor Co., Jack works the manufacturing line, testing...

Videos to Go.(Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co. Ltd.'s aigo E898 and F965R)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Handheld systems continue to do more. Two portable media players from aigo, as Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co. Ltd. is commonly known, support full broadcast resolution playback of...

Aftermarket Camera Spots Bikes in the Driveway.(Sanyo CCA-BC200 and Altera Corp.'s Cyclone II FPGAs and embedded Nios II)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor The aftermarket provides a great way to add options that were too expensive or didn't exist when a car was new. Sanyo Electric Co.'s CCA-BC200 Automotive Rear View Backup Camera System, the first...

Is the Red Planet Red Hot?(weather on Mars; Phoenix mission)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Assuming nothing went awry when NASA's Phoenix mission descended onto Mars in May, a meteorological station provided by the Canadian Space Agency is now acquiring, processing and transmitting...

A Digital Doodling Device for Spur-of-the-Moment Ideas.(digital pen; CandleDragon's dotPen Pro)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Legend has it many innovative products were designed on napkins or envelopes. CandleDragon's dotPen Pro hopes to bring that level of freedom to the digital era. The drawing device converts free-hand...

Adding Brightness to HDTVs.(Dolby Labs, Inc.'s high-definition television)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor High-definition displays have become commonplace, so TV makers are returning to the time-tested concept of improving display capabilities. Dolby Labs. Inc. is taking a very modern approach with its...

Case #121: Robot Can Read Terrain and Adjust.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Design News Staff Here's every kid's dream - a real robot vehicle that actually reads its terrain and makes adjustments in its movement accordingly. Jared Whelan, Matt Craft and Dave Richards created the 'versatile robot' which has a...

Boeing Tests Fuel Cell Airplane.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Boeing has flown the first manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The plane was engineered at Boeing Research & Technology Europe in Madrid, Spain with help from industry partners in Austria,...

AFS Trinity Produces 150 mpg Hybrid SUV.(AFT Trinity Power Corp.)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor AFT Trinity Power Corp. launched a cross-country tour for its XH-150, an extreme hybrid SUV that gets 150 mpg. According to road tests in December at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds, the XH-150...

Parducci Wine Cellars Goes 100 Percent Green.
June 2, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Parducci Wine Cellars has converted to 100 percent solar and wind power to run its winery. The company transferred all of its energy needs to non-polluting, renewable sources by supplementing its on-site...

Mechatronic Mentors.(engineering education)
June 2, 2008... By Kevin C. Craig As an engineer today you face daunting challenges. Your engineering problems are getting harder, broader and deeper. They are multidisciplinary and require a multidisciplinary engineering systems approach to solve them....

Highlights from Hannover Fair.
June 2, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Innovative robots from KUKA, Festo and others ruled the show floor Robots once again overran the Hannover Fair (http://rbi.ims.ca/5713-526 ). But there were highlights, including the...

Huge Times Square Sign Uses LED Technology.(light-emitting diode)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Lower cost of LEDs enables designers to increase the number of LEDs 25-fold Using more than 2 million bright, low-cost, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), engineers created a...

New Polymer Targets Single-Use Medical Devices.
June 2, 2008... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Rising fears of hospital infections are spurring a trend toward single-use devices such as a new glass-reinforced compound Solvay Advanced Polymers is commercializing a new...

Robotic Jellyfish Swim - and Fly.(AquaJelly and AirJelly)
June 2, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Festo's biologically inspired robots look whimsical, but they also have a serious side The biggest draws at Festo's recent Hannover Fair exhibits have been biologically inspired robotic...

SIMULIA's New Crash Test Dummies.
June 2, 2008... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Design Tools FEA-based BioRID II model evaluates safety around rear-end collisions Dassault Systemes is making its first foray into the world of automotive crash test simulation with the release...

Let's Not Forget the Dollar Per Day Economy.
June 2, 2008... By Geoffrey C. Orsak, Ph.D., Dean of the Engineering School, SMU, Dallas, TX Problems of the poor are not beyond our intellectual reach We engineers tend to be an optimistic sort - always confident we can solve problems of remarkable...

A Capaciticectomy? Sounds Awfully Painful!
June 2, 2008... By John Ardizzoni Q. One of your high-speed triple amplifiers is oscillating. What's wrong with it? A. Well there are a variety of things that could be wrong with the 'circuits,' but most likely there nothing intrinsically wrong with...

Designing for MIM.(Metal injection molding)
June 2, 2008... By Mark Torgerson, Business Development Manager, BASF Parts are used for everything from cell phones and laptops to medical instruments and automotive parts Metal injection molding (MIM) is growing as the manufacturing method of choice...

Mechatronics: Ticket to Integrated Design.
June 2, 2008... By Lawrence D. Maloney, Contributing Editor Increasingly, system integrators are being challenged to provide design solutions that feature a blend of engineering technologies When INVOTEC opened its doors 15 years ago, most customers...

Robots Conquer New Frontiers.(Interview)
June 2, 2008... By Lawrence D. Maloney, Contributing Editor Advances in technology are putting robots in a wider range of applications How has industry's willingness to adopt robot technology changed over the years? When our company, Genesis...

A Tale of Two Robots.
June 2, 2008... By Lawrence D. Maloney, Contributing Editor A look at new robot designs shows why this branch of automation has become a lively laboratory for mechatronics' innovation Once viewed as a threat to American workers, robots are fast...

Mechatronics Spreads Sunshine.
June 2, 2008... By Bob Fung, Contributing Writer Multi-axis motion controller, smart camera and collaborative CAD speed development of prototype machine for solar manufacturing As the U.S. weighs its options to reduce dependence on foreign oil, one...

Analog's Driving Force.
June 2, 2008... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Driver ICs take advantage of analog technology Utilizing analog building blocks such as comparators, charge pumps, a bootstrap function, under- and over-voltage detection/protection and more, analog...

Improving Power Management.
June 2, 2008... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Common and unique requirements determine different approaches Managing the power in different products frequently dictates a somewhat unique solution for each application. Among the key differences...

Converters Go to Market Faster.
June 2, 2008... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics New tools, devices simplify process More than ever, the focus on converters is time-to-market. The devices, which quietly convert continuous signals to discrete signals, need...

Keep It Simple.
June 2, 2008... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Emphasis is on easier installation, reduced inventory Productivity improvement is a major trend in new fastening technology. Often overlooked in initial design considerations,...

Energy Efficiency on Display.
June 2, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Hannover Fair highlighted the ways existing motors and drives can save energy Reducing energy consumption is a bit like exercise. People tend to agree it's a good idea and should do it...

USB Data Acquisition, Part 2.(universal serial bus)
June 2, 2008... By Jon Titus, Contributing Writer Unbelievably useful info on data measurement, collection and analysis from the test expert In the last 'Tips' column, you learned a bit about how instruments can take advantage of the Universal Serial...

The Greatest Traveling (Automation) Show on Earth.(Siemens)
June 2, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Siemens' technology show brings more than 130,000 automation products and technologies to a city near you Engineers who want some face time with the latest Siemens' automation technology...

The Case of the Sinful Sole.(forklift driver's)
June 23, 2008... By Myron J. Boyajian, President, Engineering Consultants Sometimes an accident or equipment breakdown appears to have been caused by some combination of equipment design and improper usage, but when seen from a different perspective, a...

Hydrogen: A Classic Chicken or Egg Problem.
June 23, 2008... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief As we ponder alternatives to gasoline, hydrogen invariably enters the conversation. Our Aug. 11 issue will analyze hydrogen for transportation and examine what engineering challenges stand in the way of...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.(Directory)
June 23, 2008... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham Celesco's New CH25 Incremental rotary encoder Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham Accepts wide input voltage The CH25 incremental encoder is perfect for high cycle,...

Motion Masterpieces.
June 23, 2008... Staff The MoMA's Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit showed motion control and mechatronics in a new light A museum might seem like an unlikely place to see cutting-edge motion control and mechatronic systems in action, but the...

These Jaws Save Lives.
June 23, 2008... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Novare Surgical turned to metal injection molding, a fast-growing process that combines the best of plastics and metals Dave Danitz invented a new type of fully mechanical...

Feeling the Pressure.
June 23, 2008... By Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Executive Editor Stress, company politics, demanding workload taking a toll on today's engineers Today's engineers are feeling the heat. Stress, company politics and a demanding workload were identified as the...

Biometrics Gain in Banking World.
June 23, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Financial institutions want to use automation to handle transactions as quickly as possible, but they're also keenly interested in making sure only authorized users complete those transactions. Diebold...

Controlling Complex Phones Gets Easier.(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor As mobile phones offer functions far beyond simple telephonic communications, the human machine interface becomes more important. KEYnetik Inc. developed a Motion Enabled Prototype Phone that lets...

Le Mans Racer Senses Change.(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor The Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the most ambitious races there is, testing the endurance of drivers and their machines. Mega-Line Racing Electronic GmbH, which is providing the absolute magnetic shaft...

Imagers Aim to Reduce Accidents.(Mobileye N.V.)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Some traffic studies say if drivers reacted half a second earlier, approximately half of all accidents could be avoided. Mobileye N.V. is among the suppliers attempting to provide alerts that let...

Imagers Lighten Up Military Trucks.(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Sensors are playing an increasingly important role in the American military's race to hold onto its technological edge. The U.S. Army's Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) II program,...

Case #122: Cutting Pumpkins the Tesla Way.(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... Staff Rick Crammond created a gadget for cutting Halloween pumpkins that is powered by the faucet in a kitchen sink. The water pressure drives a stack of CDs that has been converted into a turbine. Crammond's Tesla CD Turbine uses two...

Toshiba's Long-Life LED Backlighting Systems.(Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc.)(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Toshiba America Electronics Components Inc. has developed a new color active-matrix thin-film transistor liquid crystal display module lineup for industrial applications that incorporates long-life LED...

Seeds Developed for Bio Crops.(Ceres Inc. )(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Energy crop producer Ceres Inc. plans to market its new agricultural seeds and traits under the trade name Blade Energy Crops in the U.S. The first products to be sold under the brand are currently being...

Wood Flooring Goes Green.(Brief article)
June 23, 2008... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor The term "green wood" has taken on a new meaning. JG Architectural Supply is now producing wood flooring that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as complying with environmentally...

The Fuel-Efficient Automotive Transmissions of Tomorrow.
June 23, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Advanced technologies were highlighted at the recent CTI Symposium A big shift is looming in the type of automotive transmissions we drive. Under pressureto improve the gas mileage of...

GM Tests Lithium-Ion Batteries.(General Motors Corp.)
June 23, 2008... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Automaker says the Chevy Volt is still on time for 2010 launch General Motors' highest priority technology reached the proving grounds in April, as engineers tested the...

Auto Engineers Boost Use of High-Strength Steels.
June 23, 2008... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Steel retains strong cost advantage over competing materials, including aluminum, magnesium and plastics New grades and assembly approaches are giving steel new life in the...

Mechatronics Advice.(Mechatronics Expo 2008)
June 23, 2008... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Mechatronics 2008 focused on the skills engineers need to create smart electromechanical systems Engineering success in the coming years will increasingly be defined not just by specific...

HP Blades toward MCAD Market.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)
June 23, 2008... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Design Tools Architecture gives engineers secure and real-time access to high-performance workstation resources when and where they need it Hewlett-Packard Co. is leveraging its blade...

Flex-Honing -- Taking It to the Big Stuff.
June 23, 2008... By Ed Sullivan, Contributing Writer When it comes to manufacturing, rebuilding or servicing large pumps, valves and cylinder bores, honing can make all the difference in performance and service life Overhauling or servicing big pumps...

Sealed for Takeoff.
June 23, 2008... By Al Presher, Contributing Editor Sealing technology plays key role in the Eclipse 500[R] VLJ Extreme heat and cold, radical temperature fluctuation, pressure, moisture, ozone and UV radiation are just a few of the hostile elements...

Innovations in Mechanical Motion.
June 23, 2008... By Al Presher, Contributing Editor Black chrome plating offers technology for linear motion in corrosive environments One way to create innovative mechanical components, particularly those used in linear motion applications and...

Actuator in the Mix.
June 23, 2008... By Al Presher, Contributing Editor Provides enhanced performance, reliability for volumetric mixer Mobile volumetric mixers from Reimer International (http://rbi.ims.ca/5716-558 ) are capitalizing on rotary actuator technology to...

USB Data Acquisition Wrap-Up.(USB-DAQ software)
June 23, 2008... By Jon Titus, Contributing Writer Our two previous columns discussed USB-DAQ software, timing and triggering. This column wraps up the USB topic with a few aspects of USB connections engineers might not think about. Most USB connectors...

German Sedans Slip.
June 23, 2008... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Consumer Reports' latest test results put Japanese makes ahead in ratings for performance, reliability A friend of mine hates Consumer Reports' annual auto ratings. When he...