Design News articles from October 2007

Design News archives from October 2007

The Case Of The Croupy Carburetor.
October 8, 2007... By Kenneth Russell, Professor Emeritus, MIT, Cambridge, MA The pilot reduced power in an approach to Hyannis, MA airport on Cape Cod. He then attempted to add power and got a nasty surprise: The throttle was frozen and could not be worked...

Green Engineering Repellent: Cheap Energy.
October 8, 2007... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief With $100 a barrel oil more a likelihood in the next 12 months than just a distinct possibility, green engineering and design have taken center stage. At long last, America is going green with a gasoline...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.
October 8, 2007... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham Migatron's RPS-409A-IS Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham Intrinsically safe ultrasonic sensor The RPS-400-30 has a 22-mm barrel housing, completely...

Engineering Green Packaging.
October 8, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control The move toward sustainable packaging will usher in material, design and machinery changes Food, beverage and consumer product packaging will soon get a whole lot greener. And much of the...

Enough Already!
October 8, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Automakers are furious over proposed fuel economy legislation that they say will drive them out of business. Environmental groups believe they're lying. Fuel economy: It's...

Power Polymers.
October 8, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Proprietary semi-conductive polymers team with conventional processes to advance solar energy It sure isn't easy being green. America launched major initiatives to ease...

Powering Up Green Design.
October 8, 2007... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Software/Hardware Companies are hot on cooling their product's reliance on energy consumption and hazardous materials. PLM and CAD software can help companies achieve their sustainable design goals....

Watching for Damage.
October 8, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Environmental data recorders will probably be getting a lot more attention in coming months as the nation examines bridges to avoid a repeat of the disaster in Minneapolis. Environmental recorders can...

Robots Cut Health Care Costs.
October 8, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Timely delivery of medical specimen samples can be difficult in large medical facilities, with more complexity arising when dangerous materials are transferred. An autonomous carrier from CCS Robotics...

Sensors Keep Their Cool.
October 8, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Melted ice cream or spoiled meat are often the first sign grocery store refrigeration systems are malfunctioning. El Rancho Market in Solvang, CA, turned to a wireless sensor network system to monitor...

Pumping Up Energy Conservation.
October 8, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Energy consumption is becoming an issue in the water pumps used in irrigation systems, homes with wells and other locations. In industrial applications, it can account for more than a quarter of a...

High Speed Sensing.
October 8, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor The Andretti Green Racing Team is faring well this season, in part due to precise sensing of operating conditions. PCB Piezotronics is a sponsor and its sensors help give the IndyCar racers input on...

Case #109: Linux Server Serves Cats.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Lee Holmes' two cats get their portions served personally by his server computer. The computer stands right next to his homemade mechanical dry cat food dispenser, running the Subversion Version Control System under...

Bosch Advances Diesel Racing Engine.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Clean-diesel engines are matching - even surpassing - the performance of conventional auto engines. The Bosch Group of Farmington Hills, MI, is running race cars powered by clean diesel engines - and...

Green Bandwagon Not So Strong Among Consumers.(Survey)(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor While the media has given a lot of attention to "going green," consumers are a bit ho-hum, according to Yankelovich research. In a survey of 2,763 consumers, the firm found only 34 percent are more...

University of New Hampshire Runs on Landfill's Trash Fumes.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor The University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham, NH, has launched a landfill gas project that pipes enriched and purified gas from a landfill in Rochester to the Durham campus. The renewable,...

Bond Graphs to the Rescue.
October 8, 2007... By Kevin Craig What comes to mind when you hear the words "bond graph?" Maybe it's James Bond trying to get out of a jam or get the attention of someone he'd like to bond with. There are similarities. Bond graphs quantify attractive...

New Aluminum Structures Will Challenge Plastics Composites.
October 8, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Lightweight Lithium Alloys Combine with New Designs in White-Hot Materials' Competition Advanced hybrid aluminum structures cut weight and costs 15 to 20 percent and promise...

High-Performance Computing Goes Green.
October 8, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics Four-coil heat exchanger cuts electrical consumption and lowers data center costs Engineers at Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) (http://rbi.ims.ca/5405-545 ) have developed a...

Gore-Tex and Fans Cool WiMAX Base Stations.
October 8, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening OEM's demand smaller sizes, lower costs, more energy-efficiency Gore-Tex, best known for outdoor clothing, is now being used for thermal management in base stations used to...

Autodesk Takes Flight with FEA Functionality.
October 8, 2007... By Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor, Software/Hardware PlassoTech technology enhances firm's digital prototyping story, providing FEA capabilities for both parts and entire assemblies Joining in its competitors' push to make...

A New Source for Off-the-Shelf Linear Actuators.
October 8, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control MISUMI has introduced a standard line of ball-screw-driven actuators for use in general automation applications Engineers with specialized linear motion requirements may still find...

2.5M Miles and Still Running.
October 8, 2007... By Irv Gordon, Self-Proclaimed Owner of the "Highest Mileage Car in the World" Irv Gordon's P1800 Volvo has been on the Road Since 1966 Keeping a quality car on the road for a long time is no great secret but rather an "attitude" and a...

Analog IC Gets Smaller, More Complex and Energy Efficient.
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Changing applications force innovation on analog IC The trends in analog IC match the trends across all electronics. Everything needs to be smaller and more energy efficient, while offering a wider...

Powering Multi-Functions.
October 8, 2007... By Desing News Staff Managing energy for efficiency As with most electronic products and components, the pervasive trend is toward greater complexity and multiple functions. And of course, everything has to get smaller. In the handheld...

Connectors/Cables.
October 8, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Connector industry grows by following electronic product trends As electronic products increase in functionality, interconnects increase in pin count, bandwidth capability and more. As portable...

Automotive Connectors.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Handle nasty road trips Well known for its harsh environment, vehicle applications for electronic systems require connector systems that can be easily and securely attached in the production environment. Once...

Rugged Industrial Cables.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Surviving in hostile environments Rugged cables mean longer life for systems. Improvements for increased ruggedness address crush, torque and kink resistance, higher temperature and continuous flexing, bending and...

Fiber Optic Interconnects.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff New possibilities for connecting optical fibers in harsh environments The increasing performance demands and density requirements of many applications have driven the need for more rugged optical connectors. As...

Round Form-Factor Connectors.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Meeting specific standards is essential Industrial has become a very hot market sector in the connector industry. "A lot of companies that were not traditionally in the industrial market are now trying to diversify...

Industrial Connectors and Cables.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Complying to standards ensures interoperability An international association whose members represent the world's leading automation companies, ODVA (http://rbi.ims.ca/5406-538) stands for Open DeviceNet Vendors...

Board Level Connectivity.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Simplifying pc board assembly, increasing the functionality of products All of the connections in advanced electronic circuits are not made at the pc board level. To connect other components or portions of a...

Rugged to the Rescue.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff For hostile environments, these connectors are really rugged While the term rugged is frequently used to describe a variety of products including connectors, products are increasingly going beyond normal...

Systems Transition Connectors.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Providing firm yet flexible connectivity Terminal blocks provide a transition point for internal and external system connections and the means for easy servicing. For some applications, high temperature operation...

The Virtual Future of Distribution.
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Engineers get what they need at enhanced distributor websites Distributors have reached the tipping point in delivering virtual service for design engineers. With the pressure to bring out products in...

Engineering Meets Online.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Distributors meet accelerated time-to-market needs Distributors have responded to the changing needs of design engineers by enhancing their websites with engineering support. Both large and small distributors have...

Multiple Trends Pressure Change in DSPs.
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Complexity, size and energy efficiency drive innovation The DSP/embedded market will go through a variety of changes in coming years as a plethora of changes in the electronics' market are forcing...

Microcontrollers Tasked for Energy Efficiency.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Devices work to reduce power consumption Microcontroller manufacturers have responded to the dual trends of environmental concerns and the need to extend battery life. They've developed devices that measure out...

Editor's Letter.(Letter to the editor)
October 8, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, charles.murray@reedbusiness.com Tom Watson, one of the top engineers behind Ford Motor Co.'s Escape hybrid, has a word of advice for prospective designers: mechatronics. Watson, Design News ' Engineer of the Year...

Continuing to Satisfy System Requirements.
October 8, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Electromechanical components complete electronic systems Electromechanical components perform system functions that are usually outside the range of electronics. Key products include relays, switches...

High Current Auto Relays.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Addressing traditional and high voltage loads Automotive applications for relays continue to increase even though semiconductor alternatives are available for the same functions. Electromechanical relays provide an...

Fans and More.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Cooling designs fit the application From cooling integrated circuits (ICs) to rooms, fan designs have to address specific application requirements. For getting the heat away from ICs, this specifically requires...

Small Relays, Big Performance.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Small form factors required to minimize space More and more electronic circuits incorporate relays directly on the pc board making pc board-mounted relays a more attractive solution than a traditional blade...

Get It On.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Rugged is key aspect for industrial switches In industrial applications, switches provide the initial input to start the process. In some cases, assurance the switch will function under fault conditions provides a...

Switch Packages Shrink.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Small is the key to many new switch applications With applications such as handheld instruments and consumer electronics, smaller is a key attribute for most components including switches. However, even larger...

Application Trends Drive Changes in Passive Components.
October 8, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Passives suppliers strive for high performance with low energy consumption As electronic products become smaller, increasingly complex and more energy efficient, passives components are changing. The...

Cars Are Gobbling up More Electronic Components.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Entertainment systems and powertrain tracking are becoming more complex More than 20 percent of the cost of the average car comes from electronics. Electronic devices now measure powertrain performance and track...

Capacitors Get Smaller, More Energy Efficient.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Manufacturers innovate to meet changing capacitor needs Capacitor manufacturers have been under pressure to innovate. The market wants smaller components as handheld devices become more complex. Plus, there is...

LED.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Brighter, Smaller and More Colorful LEDs evolve to meet need for more illumination in a smaller package A number of trends are driving innovation in the LED market. Many handheld products are becoming...

Lithium Technology Expands.
October 8, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Higher efficiency, smaller form factors and energy alternatives provide growth Power sources include the ac-to-dc and dc-to-dc converters that make the proper voltages and power levels available in...

DC-to-DC Converters.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Electronic circuit variations require more sophistication to convert dc voltages As electronic circuits proliferate and increasingly lower voltages are used to power increasingly higher performance digital ICs, the...

Lithium Technology Expands.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff More energy for greater portable electronics usage Having sufficient energy to power portable electronics continues to challenge battery manufacturers. Each application has its own unique requirements. For example,...

Sensing in Consumer and Industrial Systems.
October 8, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Innovative and integrated characterize new sensors You have to be fascinated at precise mechanical structures that are much smaller than the width of a human hair. That is exactly what...

Hall Effect Sensors.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Application-specific designs proliferate for magnetic sensors The Hall Effect provides the capability for several non-contact magnet measurements. From speed and direction to current sensing, application...

High Pressure Industrial Sensors.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Call them sensors, transducers or transmitters, these units are tough Full scale pressure ranges for industrial applications can be as low as 1 psi or even in inches of water, vacuum or as high as 15,000 psi or...

Expanding Beyond the Basics.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Digital and wireless technology simplifies temperature measurements Although temperature is one of the basic measurements for process control, system and even human health monitoring, the newest temperature sensors...

Thin Is In.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Squeezing three-axis accelerometers into a very small space Bringing new functionality for controlling motion in portable electronic products requires low cost, low power consumption, unique functions and, of...

The Future Will See Ever-Increasing Complexity.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Software takes a big role in managing complex data The trend in software - whether embedded systems or CAD tools for design engineers - is moving toward greater and greater complexity. More than 20 percent of the...

Test and Measurement Heads Toward Greater Diversity of Measurements.
October 8, 2007... By Design News Staff Software takes a greater role in managing data Test and measurement equipment - like all electronic components and instruments - is getting more complex. Test equipment has to track a greater diversity of...

Keeping Up with the Consumer Joneses.
October 8, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor I gotta have one of these. With its introduction of the iPhone (http://rbi.ims.ca/5406-500 ) as a follow-on success to the iPod, Apple has set the stage for changing the way users interact with...

Power Management ICs Meet Growing Needs.
October 8, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics ICs help designers deal with higher power, new features Now more than ever, every electronic product needs a power management IC. Cell phones, routers, modems, servers, portable...

Talk About Tough Specs.
October 8, 2007... By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening Mine apparatus must resist static build up and provide RFI shielding Applications for specialty plastics continue to expand. A housing for a self-contained breathing apparatus...

The Ins and Outs of In Amps.
October 8, 2007... By Jon Titus, Contributing Editor While designing a data-acquisition system for a government lab, my colleagues and I added an instrumentation amplifier to each of the system's 16 analog inputs. The buyer offered hazy specifications about...

A Virtual Hall of Shame.
October 8, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control The CPSC's recall notices should be mandatory reading for engineers wanting to eliminate design mishaps Want to make a virtual visit to an Engineering Hall of Shame? You need go no...

Top Blog Spots.
October 22, 2007... By Design News Staff Recent posts on the latest engineering technology trends designnews.com/blogs Advanced Gripper Relies on Microtechnology Small is getting big at Festo. The company's International Media Day highlighted the...

IEEE-USA Conference Opens with Technical Workshops.
October 22, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Topics cover software, microcontrollers, RFID and more The annual IEEE-USA meeting held Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 in Scottsdale, AZ (http://rbi.ims.ca/5407-528 ), offered pre-conference workshops in...

The Case of the Foolproof Forklift.
October 22, 2007... By Myron J. Boyajian, President, Engineering Consultants Specialized manned and unmanned forklifts are used in new industrial facilities where high-density storage helps contain land and construction costs. Even so, the classic sit-down...

Load Cells Cope with Tough Environments.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor High temperature capability and overload protection are just the start Coping with the environment in harsh applications can reduce the life or increase the cost of many products, especially when one...

Worry-free Wireless Sensing.
October 22, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor A complete approach avoids the pitfalls that occur when implementing new technology Wireless sensing networks have the potential to improve in-process control and logistics in many industries, but...

Teoriya ResheniyaIzobretatelskikh Zadatch.
October 22, 2007... By John Dodge, Editor-in-Chief Some of you may well know what this headline means. Translated from Russian, it's the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving or TRIZ for short. TRIZ (http://rbi.ims.ca/5407-511 ) provides a methodology for...

Best of the Engineering Marketplace.
October 22, 2007... Compiled by Elizabeth M. Taurasi and Sasha Brown-Worsham Astrodyne's Compact 150W Open-Frame Switching Supplies Elizabeth M. Taurasi, Sasha Brown-Worsham New standards for size and power density The ASL150 Series is designed to...

Shedding Light on White LED Drivers.
October 22, 2007... By Randy Frank, Contributing Editor Combined with improved LEDs, these ICs enhance several products Based on recent advancements (see sidebar, page 86), high brightness (HB) white LEDs are replacing incandescent bulbs in flashlights,...

A New Era of Video Conferencing.
October 22, 2007... By Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics With the development of the TelePresence video conferencing system, Cisco has breathed life into the science fiction video phones of 'The Jetsons' and 'Star Trek' While testing...

An Ear for Motion Control.
October 22, 2007... By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control Piezo actuators and nano-positioning devices help unlock the secrets of human hearing Engineers aren't the only ones with motion control on the brain. In fact, most people walk around...

A Virtual Universe for Real Engineering.
October 22, 2007... By Matthew J. Traum, Contributing Writer SL enables users to build anything and then interact with it. By applying SL building tools, engineers are facilitating a paradigm shift in computer-aided design. First there was the drafting...

Changes Afoot in U.S. Patent Law.
October 22, 2007... By Tam Harbert, Contributing Editor Supreme Court decisions and possible legislation represent reform to some, injustice to others A series of Supreme Court decisions over the last 18 months has started to change the dynamics of...

Robots Against Cancer.
October 22, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Cancer surgery is evolving quickly as researchers around the globe develop new techniques. The Lebanese University has created a robotic manipulator that precisely positions a laser used in photodynamic...

Particle Research.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Researchers around the globe want to investigate the minute structures of materials and their transient behaviors. The X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) Project is doing its part by accelerating...

A Dirty Job With Quality.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Levee reconstruction in New Orleans, one of the largest construction tasks of the decade, required both brute strength and high precision. Tons of soil was moved, but soil types and amounts had to be...

Checking Choppers.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor When bikers want one-of-a-kind cycles with hand-built frames, elements like wiring harnesses must also be customized. Wiring is already a weak point for many bikes, so when Finch Customs is building...

Case 110: A Fridge That's Alert for Midnight Snacks.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Design News Staff When you've popped in your fridge alarm, getting peckish in the middle of the night and forgetting to close the door - along with escalating electricity bills - will be a thing of the past. Italian inventor Flavio...

Picarro Develops Sensitive Atmospheric Monitor.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor Picarro, a manufacturer of trace gas analyzers, has produced the EnviroSense 3000i, a field-deployable, real time, ambient gas monitor. The monitor measures atmospheric levels of methane and carbon...

Arrowhead Develops Super-Light Bottles.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor The water bottling company, Arrowhead, has developed a half-liter bottle that contains 30 percent less plastic than the average half-liter beverage container. Named the 'Eco-shape' bottle, the container...

Combating Bioterrorism.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... By Terry Costlow, Contributing Editor Clinical labs have used Sherlock to identify bacteria quickly and inexpensively. Now that bioterrorism is considered a serious threat, the analyzer from MIDI Inc. is also being used to detect biowarfare...