Design Engineering articles from April 2001

Design Engineering archives from April 2001

Urban clean air corridor system.
April 1, 2001... One of the major scourges of the urban environment is air pollution, with children in pushchairs particularly at risk of breathing in car exhaust fumes due to their low height. This system (FR2795163) uses filter units mounted on lamp posts at...

Electromagnetic car circuit destroyer.(neutralising system (FR2793973))(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... This sounds like something from Knight Rider! Police chasing suspects by car usually have to resort to shooting out tires or vehicle obstruction, which can place many lives at risk. The neutralising system (FR2793973) uses a portable case...

Computer punch ball.(impact absorber (DE19932341) )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... There can't be one person reading this who hasn't wanted to kick their computer in frustration at some stage, to teach it a lesson. Don't you just want to hurl it out of the window when you get that polite message before the system crashes?...

Good news for lamp-posts.(RS-01 Robodog from Roboscience)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Dog-shaped technology demonstrator offers spin-off opportunites Dogs are great. They offer unconditional love, chase after sticks and bark at the postman. However, they do have their drawbacks. They pay too much attention to lamp-posts,...

Designs on a porpoise.(Delfjet water scooter)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... With a top speed of 25km/h and capable of travelling 120 metres below the surface of the water, the Delfjet water scooter was developed to give its users the manoeuvrability and speed of a dolphin. Developed in Germany by Jurgen Grimmeisen, the...

Shape shifting aircaft.(Macro-Fibre composite piezoelectric actuator)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Aircraft that flap their wings like birds, buildings that repair themselves and family cars that turn into spaceships: the stuff of science fiction? Yes certainly, but this doesn't stop NASA scientists from carrying out research into the kinds...

Protecting protective clothing.(flame-retardant fabrics)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Scientists at North Carolina State University have found new ways to make flame-retardant fabrics last longer and work better. Instead of treating the surface of the fabrics with protective polymer coatings that can wear thin and lose...

Shaddup.(earplug with a built-in computer from Sintef-Gruppen)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... An earplug with a built-in computer that conveys speech but blocks unwanted and harmful sounds has been designed by Jarle Svean, senior researcher at SINTEF. Telecom and informatics in Norway. The Personal Active Radio/Audio Terminal...

Pottering about with plastic.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Dr Evangelos Manias, a researcher from Penn State University, has found that small amounts of natural clay can lead to environmentally friendly and inexpensive plastic composites with improved specialised properties. Addition of clay can make...

New fibre is full of holes.(Holey fibres)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Holey fibres, a new kind of optical fibre created at the UK's Southampton University, could revolutionise the telecomms industry. Holey fibres have tiny holes running along their length which give them special advantages when it comes to...

Uplifting news for rescuers.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Whilst the bravado of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman cannot be faulted in 70s disaster movie 'The Towering Inferno', things would have been so much easier had Dr David Metreveli, chief designer at DM Aerosafe, been on hand. Metreveli, an...

No more nosey parkers.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... George Formby, if he were still alive, would surely be thankful that Pilkington has waited until now to develop Pilkington Activ. For the famous Lancastrian would have been sadly short of material for his amusing songs had self-cleaning windows...

Candle trick.
April 1, 2001... Brain Teaser Q Some older engineers might recall a classic classroom experiment using a candle, a drinking glass and a bowl of water, to illustrate how the burning of oxygen causes the water level to rise once the candles have gone out....

Interoperability?(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... John Wedrychowski of Theorem Solutions waxes lyrical From the earliest days of engineering, there has been a need to communicate information from the designer to the manufacturer. Over time, the communication of design intent has become...

Mixed news for UK engineering.(engineering education)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... According to the Engineering Council's latest Annual Digest of Engineering Statistics, the number of British undergraduates studying engineering has risen by 6% in the last ten years. However, this good news is countered by the fact that the...

You know it makes sense.(Corus' design competition)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Now in its third year, Design Sense, the competition rewarding sustainability in architecture and product design, is looking for products and buildings which have improved the quality of life for their end users. Sponsored by Corns, entry...

www.weborator.com.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Frustrated by the difficulties of finding reliable suppliers in the engineering industry, two British engineers Rod Shears and Trevor Money, set up this site. It's claimed that weborator is an effective, cost efficient way for companies to...

www.unc.edu/[sim]rowlett/units.(University of North Carolina)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... This is a useful one, courtesy of Professor Russ Rowlett from the University of North Carolina. Professor Rowlett has compiled a fairly exhaustive a to z of units of measurement. Covering everything from acoustic ohms to zettometers, this page...

http://www.orange.co.uk/orangeathome/.(Orange's home of the future)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Check out the home of the future or at least Orange's vision of it (I'm planning on retiring to a cave). Set in the Hertfordshire countryside, 'Orange at home', is a research centre designed to test, monitor and evaluate advanced new services...

www.omnexus.com.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Now operational in the UK, Omnexus is an online marketplace for products and service in the plastics industry, created by, amongst others, Atofina, BASF, Dow and DuPont. Users can choose from a range of products and services from leading...

3D Systems and DTM merge.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Rapid prototyping giants 3D Systems and DTM Corporation have signed a definitive merger agreement under which 3D Systems will purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of DTM for $5.80 per share in cash. The transaction will value...

Burning Bush in the wilderness.(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... U.S. President George Bush's refusal to ratify the Kyoto treaty on global warming has been greeted with almost universal disgust. As the biggest polluter in the world, as well as the most powerful country, surely America has some responsibility...

Less is more.(embedded software)
April 1, 2001... The relentless march to ever smaller board sizes with fantastic functionality shows no signs of slowing. For many, software is seen as a solution but as the Thumbscrews Project discovered, it isn't simple Many functions in electronic...

Taking the strain.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... An all new strain gauge from Kyowa Electronic Instruments has been designed specifically for those situations when the temperatures reach 950[degrees]C = hot. The KHCX is a half bridge weldable gauge featuring a hermetically sealed...

Small but fully formed.(Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s pressure sensor)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Matsushita has created a sensor half the size of conventional pressure sensors and weighing just 30g for applications where space and weight are at a premium. Suitable for robotics and automated systems applications, the device has a large...

In the long run.(Baldor's motors meet the Efficiency 1' standard)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Baldor's range of IEC frame motors meet the new Efficiency 1' standard. The company believes they are the first to support the entire 1.190kw CEMEP power range, thanks to materials and design techniques that make it possible to achieve high...

Crouzet.(solid state relays )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Silent and durable, solid state relays have long won their place for industrial uses despite their relatively bulky heat-sinks. Crouzet has succeeded in eliminating these extensions. With half the volume of the market's smallest equivalents,...

Touch of a button optical sensing.(STM sensors and the V9 amplifier)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... New digital technology from STM brings the latest 'touch to teach' features to its range of optical sensors. The V9 amplifier has been developed to provide digital technology at analogue price. The amplifier combines the high gain and high...

Plug and play pneumatics.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Thanks to the home computer, most of us are familiar with the term 'plug and play'. You can now connect a dazzling array of ready to use gizmos and gadgets to your PC and be scanning, printing, or taking photos seconds after you've taken the...

Precision guaranteed.
April 1, 2001... A new series of hydraulic valves from Hydraforce provide proportional speed and directional control for hydraulic cylinders and motors. The SP series valves are designed for functions such as drive control on scissors lifts, control of small...

New valve banishes bacteria.(non-return valves)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Following a 12-month R&D programme working in partnership with the food processing industry, valve manufacturer Dairy Pipe Lines has developed a new range of non-return valves (NRV) to meet the stringent requirements of hygienic processing. ...

Strong, silent type.(hydraulic pumps)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Kawasaki has released a range of hydraulic pumps that is says will set new standards for energy efficiency and ultra quiet performance. The K3V medium-high pressure, hydraulic pumps are available in a range of sizes for industrial and mobile...

Get the most out of a bore.(Moduflex system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Parker pneumatic has developed a new miniaturised valve system that the company claims will revolutionise the design of electro-pneumatic control and automation systems. The Moduflex system can be configured, says Parker, to control...

A true eccentric.(Invensys Flow Control)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Invensys Flow Control claims to have overcome the problem of the high maintenance costs associated with many control valves. Its new eccentric plug control valve features an innovative two-piece plug design. In many control valve...

The choice is yours.(data base searching)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... It was January 2000 when this magazine began it's monthly features on e-engineering. The hunch that engineering data, as all other, would be communicated over the internet has become a certainty. While we have extolled the virtues of leading...

A quiet sandwich.
April 1, 2001... MSC Laminates and Composites has announced the release of QuietSteel a constrained layer 'sandwich' comprising two skins of metal around a viscoelastic polymer core. Aimed at body applications on a number of vehicles, the product is said to...

Heal myself.(self-healing synthetic material)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a synthetic material that can heal itself when cracked or broken. When the material cracks microcapsules rupture and release a healing agent into the damaged region through capillary...

Miracle cure.(acrylic adhesives)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Permabond has introduced 4 new UV acrylic adhesives that it claims combine the advantages of single-part application with a fast 'cure on demand' capability. The range is said to cure to a transparent material almost instantaneously under...

CM20.
April 1, 2001... Warth has released CM20, a low cost thermal interface material that is said to provide thermal conduction between component and heatsink up to 85% more efficiently than standard silicone pads, or mica and grease solutions. Constructed from...

Coating improves engine efficiency.
April 1, 2001... Coating specialist Balzers Ltd has introduced a coating which it claims meets the seemingly contradictory automotive demands of higher performance, lower emissions and better fuel economy. The BALINITC coating is said to improve the...

Stirling job for Cepheid.
April 1, 2001... Cepheid recently developed a faster thermocycles test for detecting the presence of specific DNA in a test sample. The process can take as little as 10 minutes to complete. While the procedure is faster than competitive tests, the process...

Hidden box.
April 1, 2001... Bauromat was in need of a bespoke gearbox to drive the central clamping mechanism for an eight-axis precision welding cell. The gearbox forms the central drive unit for the expanding mandrel that holds a three tonne toroidal super...

A perfect match.(Modular Automation and Bodine)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... A strategic alliance between the UK's Modular Automation and America's Bodine has resulted in the creation of an assembly machine that combines cam drives with pick and place automation. This combination seems to work because the weaknesses...

Casting off dead weights.
April 1, 2001... Rexroth Indramat is urging printing and converting machines to cast off their line-shafts, gearboxes and other mechanical drive train elements and embrace electronically synchronised high performance digital servo drives. Shaftiess Driven...

Elf stands guard.
April 1, 2001... Guardmaster has released what it claims is the smallest interlock switch of its type. Elf is said to integrate two normally closed contacts into a watertight and dustproof housing and has been designed for use on small or medium duty items...

The worm that turned.
April 1, 2001... Holroyd has been showing off some of its driving and controlling wormgears for applications in lifts, subway trains and mining locomotives. In axle drives of mining locomotives moving down a slope the transmission drive is subjected to an...

BSL.
April 1, 2001... BSL is offering Cooper split roller bearings in a higher capacity package that it claims offer up to 38% more roller bearing load capacity. In other words, a three times improvement in L10 bearing life with no dimensional increase. These...

Taking the strain.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... SKF is set to release the Stabilus Lift-O-Mat range of gas springs. The spring curve of the dampers is linear, which provides uniform force progression over the entire spring travel. The range is suited to medical devices such as theatre beds....

Buying time with Ace.
April 1, 2001... Ace Controls International has introduced the BV side load adapter. The body, which is threaded and the plunger are made from hardened high tensile steel. Said to extend the life of industrial shock absorbers, the adapter can be fitted to most...

A tight squeeze.
April 1, 2001... This fine and upstanding article is Thomson Micron's hollow shaft right angle gearhead, which has been designed for its DuraTRUE true planetary gearhead product line. It is said to provide a direct coupling to multiple drives and is best...

No room for shakin' nuts.
April 1, 2001... Disc-Lock Europe is confident that the new Disc-Lock range will solve any problems caused by vibration in high stress applications. The Disc-Lock fastening systems consist of two pieces with rising, interlocking cams whose angle is said to...

KEC.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... KEC claims that its new range of EMC glands will provide a total solution for all levels of electromagnetic shielding and environmental sealing. The KEC KG range comprises nine different but interelated models. The result is a selection of...

Fast reflexes.
April 1, 2001... Reliance has added electrically insulated precision mechanical couplings to its Reli-a-Flex range. The Reli-a-Flex coupling range of one piece slit couplings has been designed to provide accurate transfer of motion between rotating shafts....

No load like a low load.
April 1, 2001... Kawasaki Precision Machinery has released a new load-sensing valve that it says will set new standards for energy efficiency. The KMS is rated at 320 bar, available in three sizes and offers flows of up to 180 LPM. Combined with the K3VL pumps...

Well behaved.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... Heron technologies has released WATT Mechanism Design Tool, a conceptual design tool focused on mechanism and linkage design that incorporates Heron's behavioural modelling technology. Compatible with any Windows enabled PC, WATT Mechanism...

Community spirit.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... UGS has announced Solid Edge Exchange, a new web-based design collaboration portal powered by e-Vis visual collaboration technology and designed for the Solid Edge CAD community. Solid Edge Exchange is said to provide services such as...

Customer driven.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... CoCreate has launched SolidDesigner 2001 mechanical design software. The package includes Rapid Design for use with 3D models and new Mold Design Advisor, which offers solutions for optimising plastic parts for injection molding from a...

Tecplot adept at a myriad of tasks.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... Adept Scientific is confident that Tecplot from Amtec Engineering is probably the most powerful tool for visualising and communicating the results of complex data manipulations. It can transform data into a wide choice of X-Y, 2D and 3D...

Delcam enables ideas exchange.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... Delcam has announced the release of what is believed to be the World's first direct translator for PTC's Pro/Engineer 200i2 software. This is the latest addition to the range of translation options available from the online data exchange...

Design on the move with Cortona.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... ParallelGraphics has released the latest beta version of Pocket Cortona, a wireless 3D viewer that offers users a mobile CAD solution. Pocket Cortona can be used for CAD and data visualisation, virtual field manuals and a range of...

Relays without relays.
April 1, 2001... Has PLC technology entered into the realm of relays? THOMAS PETER of Pilz explains a new role for FET's. Changing the safety market forever is a safety relay that does not require relays. Replacing the electromechanical switching that we...

Flop swap.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 2001... Feeling under pressure to provide a printed circuit board that works 24-7? Worried that a dead component will lead to the demise of your system? Fear not! The drive towards 'continually available' systems puts considerable pressure on...