Design News articles from November 2007

Design News archives from November 2007

The Case of the Molten Menace.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Kenneth Russell, Professor Emeritus, MIT, Cambridge, MA There are no minor accidents in foundries. Any mishap involving molten metal is serious. In the present case, a young man was charged with operating a so-called 'bull ladle' that...

Katrina's Mark on Technology.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief As a boy growing up, hurricanes were more exciting than terrifying. One I recall quite vividly was Hurricane Carol (http://rbi.ims.ca/5408-500 ) which ripped through New England on Aug. 30, 1954, the day...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.(Custom Sensors and Technology )
November 5, 2007... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham Migatron's Ultrasonic Sensor Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham Built-in temperature compensation target The RPS-412A is a high-accuracy analog ultrasonic sensor...

Instant Wireless.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Hurricane Katrina showed the real speed and mobility of wireless in an emergency. Two years later, communications companies are still learning from the experience. Amid the...

Fixing the Pumps.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Did the engineers who built New Orleans' huge flood protection pumps after Hurricane Katrina get a bad rap? Judge for yourself. A lot of ink has been spilled over the huge hydraulic pumps...

Bend But Don't Break.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials Fastening New materials systems, highlighted by engineered cement, show promise in providing protection against hurricane-force winds New building codes and soaring insurance costs are...

Katrina's Repeat Performance.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor Software/Hardware FEA and computer modeling software are helping engineers analyze the effects of Katrina and are lending an assist in the rebuilding effort After all the devastation and...

Boosting Solar Efficiency.(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Solar power discussions typically center on the solar cells, but the inverters are an equally important aspect of energy conversion. Fronius USA's IS 30 stand-alone inverter accepts a nominal battery...

Scooter Goes Electric.(Brammo Motorsports)(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Brammo Motorsports is creating a new level of energy efficiency and emission reduction with the Enertia, a battery-powered, plug-in electric motorcycle. The scooter eliminates emissions completely,...

A Medical Advance That's Not Hard To Swallow.(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor When a radio receiver is sending out signals as it moves through a human gastrointestinal tract, battery lifetime is a critical parameter. Once SmartPill Corp.'s ingestible capsule is swallowed, it...

Raleigh Discovers LEDs.(Lighting Science Group Corp.)(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor The city of Raleigh, NC, aims to become a leader in energy conservation by exploiting LEDs to replace high-intensity discharge lamps in street and facility lighting. Those applications consume about 30...

Hybrids Get More Luxurious.(Editorial)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Mercedes is augmenting its hybrid vehicle offerings with an S Class luxury car that will be a highlight of its 2009 line. The S Class 400 hybrid will use electric motors and a battery pack to augment...

Case 111: New Gun Shoots Light Bulb Storms.(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Here's a gun that can light up an unplugged fluorescent bulb or spark electrical storms in an unplugged incandescent bulb - the same effect as a plaza globe. Richard Morrow of Cheshire, England, built the Tesla Coil...

NetJets Europe Launches Green Program.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff London-based NetJets Europe has started a Climate Initiative to neutralize carbon emissions from all company activities by 2012. The company is investing in technological innovations designed to bring about changes in...

ZAP Electric Cars Expands Into Alt Fuels.(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Electric car maker, ZAP, of Santa Rose, CA, has partnered with Lotus Engineering and Brazilian car manufacturer Obvio! to produce and distribute alternative-energy vehicles. ZAP is working with Lotus to develop a...

Yokohama Tire Debuts Green Social Network Site.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Yokohama Tire Corp., a division of Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) of Fullerton, CA, has launched Eco Treadsetters (ecotreadsetters.com ), an online environmental social network that offers daily green news and forums. The...

Dumbing Down the Engineer.(Column)
November 5, 2007... By Kevin Craig Over the past four columns, I have talked about modeling and analysis techniques for multidisciplinary systems: block diagrams, linear graphs and bond graphs. I had planned in this column to compare these approaches and...

Dreamliner Delayed Six Months.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief Company cites part shortages, which will push first flight back to the end of the first quarter Not surprisingly, Boeing has announced a six-month delay (http://rbi.ims.ca/5408-524 ) in shipments of the...

High Definition Video Chip Sells for under $10.
November 5, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics On-board peripherals, codecs and IP cut costs for developers Texas Instruments has rolled out a high definition (HD) video processor that could cut the cost of HD-capable video...

Pentagon Funds Efforts to Develop Titanium Processes.
November 5, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Some engineers are also exploring alternatives such as new special metal alloys, including Custom 465from Carpenter Technology Supply and cost constraints may slow down use of...

Microtechnology Drives Festo's New Gripper.(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Mechatronic gripper highlights the big role miniaturization can play Small is getting big at Festo. The company's International Media Day, held recently in Germany, highlighted the...

Teamcenter 2007 Debuts with a Unified Architecture.
November 5, 2007... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Software/Hardware New software version leverages SOA and a common code base and database structure to deliver a fully integrated system After multiple acquisitions and years of pledging to deliver...

Global Warming Causes Carbon Dioxide.
November 5, 2007... By Tom Scheffelin, California Air Resources Board Erroneous Scientific consensus stifles progress The constant barrage of articles, movies, legislation and quasi-religious fervor surrounding global warming made me wonder what naturally...

Enhancing PDM Capabilities.(product data management)(SolidWorks Corp.)
November 5, 2007... By Rich Allen, Global Product Manager, PDM Solutions, Solidworks SolidWorks releases PDM Works Enterprise 2008 SolidWorks recently released PDMWorks Enterprise 2008 with enhanced Bill-of-Material (BOM) capabilities. Global Product...

Pass Data Through a Window.
November 5, 2007... By Jon Titus, Contributing Editor Many engineers understand the need to pass signals through an anti-alias filter prior to digitizing them. But they may neglect to apply a window function to their data prior to using a fast Fourier...

Powerful, More Affordable.(digital drive technology expand application base)
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Digital drives offer distributed control at prices that expand application base Moore's Law has transformed digital drive technology in much the same way it has the computer industry, offering drives twice as much...

More Flexible Operation.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Digital drives offer configurable options and advanced software solutions New drive platforms are focused on lowering costs, providing more compact hardware solutions and new configuration options that offer...

System Level Solutions.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff The role of drives is expanding into integrated control packages Digital drives are designed to fit into complete motion control systems but, increasingly, they are also combining solutions for positioning and I/O...

Variable Frequency Drives.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff New ac drives implement advanced control features and modular designs New variable frequency ac drives and inverters are providing sophisticated control functionality and advanced software tools as part of their...

Packing the Power.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Compact drives combine features and torque-density in small packages The primary focus of low power drive development is compact packages that produce higher levels of performance. By reducing both the footprint...

Increasing Sophistication.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Automation software offers powerful, integrated solutions When Wonderware InTouch reaches Version 10.0, it's a tribute to software developers creating all types of automation control software. As an industry group,...

Powerful Control Options.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Potent platforms for distributed control and Ethernet networking lead the way to new integrated solutions If you are an engineer looking for controllers, you have more flexible options available than ever before...

All-in-One Machine Control.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Machine controllers provide integrated platforms for motion, logic and HMIs Development of single control platforms that can handle motion, logic and HMI control, with Ethernet and other high-speed network...

Motion Networks Move Ahead.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Controller options continue to proliferate for motion control networking Motion networking is a key technology for multi-axis machine and motion controllers. In the last 10 years, high-speed drive networks for...

Wielding the Power.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Automation controllers use distributed control for high performance solutions The processing power available to automation controllers at reasonable prices has been steadily rising over the last decade, as Moore's...

Motion Building Blocks.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Board-level solutions, tools provide powerful control algorithms Microprocessor-based motion modules have always been the building blocks of intelligent motion control. But these embedded controllers are continuing...

Innovative I/O Solutions.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Controls, software and I/O combine to lower application costs Controllers are using innovative methods for implementing logic control on machines, combining I/O functions and automation control software into...

Editor's Letter.(Motion Control Association)(Editorial)
November 5, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, jogando@reedbusiness.com Motion control salesmen have been hustling this year. According to a study released in October by the Motion Control Assn. (MCA), sales of motion products in the second quarter of this year jumped...

Encoders Deliver Accurate Motion.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff But the application defines the accuracy level Encoder suppliers have gone to great lengths to meet ever-growing system demands. Since customers' requirements can be as varied as the applications, products from...

Taking Advantage of Fluid Power.
November 5, 2007... By Randy Frank, contributing editor Traditional and entirely new products make their mark Hydraulics and pneumatics continue to play critical roles in motion control systems. In addition to traditional applications for products such as...

Liquid Power.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Hydraulics deliver motion with high pressures An obvious trend in hydraulic design is providing options for users. While other factors are important and often critical in high-pressure applications that can easily...

Motion Takes on Airs.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Air-powered systems provide users flexibility Air provides the force to move linear actuators including slide tables and cylinders, as well as rotary grippers and vacuum ejectors. With this variety of components,...

Pneumatic Valves and More.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Completing the system Pneumatic systems rely on valves and other components for proper operation. For valves, beyond the flow rate and pressure limits, additional requirements could include mounting considerations,...

The Soft Side of Motion Control.
November 5, 2007... By Randy Frank, contributing editor Software increases in importance in motion control design addressing complexity issues, improved performance, ease of installation and maintenance and more The growing complexity of motion control...

A Crossroads for Mechatronics.(ASME International (New York, New York))
November 5, 2007... By Lawrence D. Maloney, contributing editor ASME's annual technical conferences showcased a blending of engineering disciplines They came from all over the world - professors, graduate students and practicing engineers from companies...

Configuring a Motion Control System.
November 5, 2007... By Randy Frank, contributing editor A variety of mechanical products complement the motor and drive Mechanical components in this section include linear actuators, gearheads and mechanical connectors/couplings. In most systems, they...

Unique Application Requirements.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Survival means 'beyond business as usual' Rugged applications impose special requirements on motion control components. For gearboxes, the external packaging and the bearings are among the areas that get upgraded....

Geared Transition.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Getting the right speed/torque operating points and more The basic design criteria of gear reducers involves obtaining the proper operating torques and speeds in specific applications. This initial step is...

Options for Straight Line Motion.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Have the actuation your way Motion control engineers want choices and linear actuator suppliers have responded. In addition to the usual design criteria of thrust, lead, resolution and accuracy, options range from...

What Goes Round.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Connectivity provides a critical link in motion control Mechanical connections come in various forms from short couplings to couplings at the end of long torque tubes. Depending on the application, the connection's...

Motors Continue to Evolve.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Improving the state-of-the-art is created by refinements in many areas The latest trends in motors, whether they are servos, steppers, induction motors or brushless dc, keep coming back to detailed fundamentals...

Advances in Servo Motors.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Ongoing development produces continual improvements in servo motors Refinements in performance, feedback solutions and more compact physical sizes are the overriding trends in motors. Among motion control product...

Application Solutions.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Motors bring specialized niche capabilities to specific applications Specific application requirements create opportunities for specialized motors to provide technology and features that meet the needs of unique...

Integrated Motor Solutions.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Motor integration adds value and helps reduce total system costs A major thrust for the entire motion control industry, and motor manufacturers in particular, is how to create more highly integrated solutions....

Motor-Actuator Combos.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff New products integrate motors with precision mechanical devices Combining motors with precision motion control actuators, and the way they are combined, has everything to do with the success of many precision...

Miniature Motors.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Micro motors bring new capabilities to miniature product designs New engineering designs, and the desire to make smaller, more compact mobile phones, medical devices and other consumer products, is fueling the need...

Measurement Dynamics.
November 5, 2007... By Randy Frank, contributing editor Changes in the measurement environment impact sensor design Measurements are all about change, detecting change in an application and providing the new information to an operator or control system....

Sensors Go the Small and Rugged Route.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff But these are just two key features for photoelectric sensors Photoelectric sensors provide key position information in industrial process control. Since these sensors are in the middle of the action, both small...

Shrinking Vision Sensors.
November 5, 2007... By Design News Staff Small form factors open new applications Vision sensors or cameras that pack a lot of performance into very little space, find new applications in many industrial situations. With an increasing amount of...

The Final Word on Motion Control.
November 5, 2007... By Randy Frank, contributing editor A couple aspects worth noting The higher performance integrated circuits (ICs) that run software are a critical portion of today's advance motion control systems - a portion that requires at least...

Learn the Language of Design Online.(www.materialexperience.com)
November 5, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control 'Industrial design' should be the new language of design engineers If you want to get ahead in your career as a design engineer, it may be time to learn a new language. And not just any...

NI Week Highlights Embedded Technology.
November 19, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Multicore technology takes center stage National Instruments' NIWeek made a strong showing again this year, drawing 2,136 attendees and 101 exhibitors, including such heavy...

The Case of the Villainous Valve.
November 19, 2007... By Myron J. Boyajian, President, Engineering Consultants An attorney representing an insurance company that provided liability coverage for a Chicago-area forklift dealer called me to report an accident with one of the dealer's rental...

What is College Worth?
November 19, 2007... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief Reading Chuck Murray's Oct. 22 blog post about a Princeton Review Survey about how bad engineering professors are (http://rbi.ims.ca/5410-506 ) got me thinking: What is the value of a college or engineering...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.
November 19, 2007... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham InPlay's Next Generation Digital Pen Technology Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham Expands digital feature capability With a choice of battery-powered or...

Biomechanics 101.
November 19, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics With the debut of the television show, 'Sport Science,' the intangibles of sports are suddenly falling. The force of a major league fastball, the impact of two colliding Sumo...

Design for Disassembly.
November 19, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening It will be increasingly important to consider how products can be taken apart for easier recycling Keep an eye on design for recycling. It's long been a backburner issue at...

Moving the Metal.
November 19, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control The new WheelTug system uses a high-torque ac-induction motor to drive taxiing airplanes while their engines stay off As much as the flying public dislikes all the time airplanes spend on...

Polishing the Floors.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff As the sizes of superstores expand and the cost of maintaining these huge areas rises, flooring is changing. Polished concrete and stone are growing in popularity, but it's expensive and time consuming to smooth the...

Searching the Skies.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff If humans on earth are not alone in the universe, arrays of visual and radio telescopes built by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute may be the first to find signs of alien existence. SETI recently...

Powering the Military.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff Drivers stung by $3 per gallon gasoline aren't the only ones thinking about hybrids. The U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Army's Tank - Automotive and Armaments Command, are also looking at petroleum alternatives. Hybrid...

Digitizing the Planes.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff The A-10 aircraft was designed in the 1970s when analog technology was state of the art, so it was set for phase-out a decade ago. But, the fighter's success in Operation Desert Storm brought about government funding...

Protecting the Skies.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is one of the most advanced aircraft in the skies. An often overlooked aspect of its electronics is the cabling that links pilot controls to applications like targeting pods, fuel control...

Case #112: Simple Pressure Alarm Monitors Water and Air.
November 19, 2007... By Design News Staff William Grill had a periodic problem with backed-up water in his laundry room. The laundry tub has a shallow drain that is shared with the kitchen plumbing. The drain would regularly get clogged with refuse from...

Nintendo Goes Green and Releases Eco-game.(Nintendo Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 19, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Nintendo has released an eco-game, Chibi-Robo Park Patrol, which takes players on an environmental cleanup adventure. As part of the promotion for Chibi-Robo, Nintendo has given away 500 tree seedlings to...

UC Santa Cruz and Zipcar Share Cars on Campus.(University of California)(Brief article)
November 19, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor The University of California, Santa Cruz and Zipcar, an on-campus car-sharing service, have joined to provide Zipcars to UC Santa Cruz campus faculty, staff, students and community residents. The program...

DuPont, Plantic Technologies Collaborate on Bio Materials.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Plantic Technologies Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 19, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor DuPont and Plantic Technologies, an Australian company that specializes in starch-based biopolymers, are collaborating in the development and sale of renewably sourced polymers that will be marketed as...

Fatigue Could Loom Large in Collapses.
November 19, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics It may cause structural failures like the one in Minnesota. The challenge lies in recognizing it. A spate of news stories about structural deficiencies in bridges is leading...

Global Teams Look to Service-Oriented Architectures.
November 19, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Standards-based protocol could help engineers communicate with teams in India, China A standards-based Internet software architecture may be ready to make a widespread move...

New Battery Technology Eyed for Trucks, Tractors.
November 19, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Carbon-graphite foam developed by Caterpillar replaces lead plates to dramatically extend battery life and enhance performance Highly porous carbon-graphite foam structures...

Yaskawa's Next Generation Motion System.
November 19, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control The company has brought out servo enhancements as well as a new controller that's compatible with programming standards Yaskawa Electric America, at the Pack Expo show, unveiled a...

Alibre Upgrades Core CAD Features.
November 19, 2007... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Ssoftware/Hardware Version 10.0 serves up a range of price/performance enhancements for mainstream customers Focus on the core - that's the mantra behind Alibre Inc.'s latest version of its 3-D...

Lost and Found in Data Translation.
November 19, 2007... By Ken Tashiro, COO/Vice President, Elysium Inc. Modern solutions bring the digital revolution closer to reality Multi-CAD engineering environments are the norm. Knowledge workers - whether outsourced, contracted, offshore or down the...

Resistors (and Old Ladies) Have Hidden Depths.
November 19, 2007... By James Bryant Q. You recently discussed the thermal noise of resistors. They seem to be such straightforward components with just two connections and one simple property: resistance. Do they have more traps for the unwary? A. I...