Design Engineering articles from April 2002

Design Engineering archives from April 2002

Canal renaissance. (Design News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... While our roads choke to death, and our rail services grind to a halt, Britain's canals and waterways are enjoying something of a renaissance. Following British waterways' recent announcement that [pounds sterling]500 million is to be...

Concrete discovery breas he ice. (Design News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Scientists at Canada's National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa have developed a form of electrically charged concrete which could provide de-icing on roads, sidewalks, bridges and runways. Electric de-icing has been tried before. In the late...

Affordable smog sensing. (Design News).(new sensing instrument being developed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Monitoring air quality on every street corner and keeping a close watch for pollutants leaching into groundwater from waste sites could soon become a reality, thanks to a simple and inexpensive sensing instrument under development at University...

Euro feeling runs high. (Design News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Four months after its introduction on the continent, engineering exporters are increasingly in favour of the Euro. According to DHL's Quarterly Export Indicator, 52% of engineering exporters now believe that the single currency will aid their...

Banishing whiplash. (Design News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The chances of drivers suffering whiplash injuries could be dramatically reduced by a new system developed by Dr Dave Viano, professor of traffic injury prevention at Chalmers University of Technology in the US. In Viano's system the...

Mobile phone with integral razor. (Patent Watch).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Men on the go will appreciate this mobile phone combined with a razor (DE2011379). As if that wasn't enough, its high voltage contacts (powered by a transformer from a battery) can be used as an electric stunner in self defence - and it has a...

Movable road. (Patent Watch).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... According to the inventor of Gb2360989 we've been stuck in a rut as far as road development goes. Roads have remained largely unchanged since Roman times, whilst traffic congestion continues to soar. The solution he proposes is simple - move...

Glasses with personal air filtration. (Patent Watch).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Personal filtration devices usually work on a negative pressure principal; a mask covers the whole face.placing stress on the respiratory system and inhibiting activities such as talking. This system (US20010050079) provides air at a positive...

Http://www.3daycar.com/. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Just Imagine being able to choose a car to your exact specification on Monday and have it built and delivered to you in three days. This is the aim of the 3Day car project. With many of the major vehicle manufacturers now pursuing...

Http://www.eureka-club.org/. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The purpose of the Eureka Club is to support inventors. The European Patent Office (EPO) estimates that 98% of inventions are filed by corporations for strategic and political reasons - ie they will never be made into products. The EPO also...

www.ukiva.org. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The website for the UK Industrial Vision Association carries transcripts of the seminars run by the Association and the Association's own technical documents as well as links to numerous vision-related sites.

Http://www.keveney.com/engines.html. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... You could easily while away hours staring at this remarkable website. Engine enthusiast Mall Keveney has lovingly created a great series of animated diagrams which illustrate the operation of a variety of steam, internal combustion and stirling...

www.ferrari.it. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Why not try and build your own 8-cylinder F1 engine? This challenging game can be found by opening the Ferrari home page and then clicking on 'games' at the top right hand side of the page. A word of warning though; the game only seems to work...

www.toolcraft.co.uk. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... If you're ready for production, stop by Toolcraft's website before you decide on a specific moulding process. This Swindon-based plastics expert has plenty of useful comparative advice on materials and moulding processes.

www.techcenter.omnexus.com. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Global plastics marketplace Omnexus has thoughtfully gathered some of the industry's top minds together to answer questions and offer advice on topics chosen by its members as important to their success in the plastics market.

Http://www.starchaser.co.uk/media/launch.mpg. (This Month's Pick of the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Finally, for some dramatic, high-octane action turn up your speakers and check out the launch footage from Starchaser Industries; the UK favourite for the X prize space tourism competition.

Wing idea full of holes. (Design News).(holes in aircraft wings reduce fuel consumption)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... An innovation inspired by golf balls could soon be saving the airline industry millions of pounds every year. Physicists from Heriot Watt University, led by Dr Duncan Hand have developed a technique that uses lasers to drill millions of...

Win a Dremel. (Brain Teaser).
April 1, 2002... Our friends over at BoschRexroth are kindly giving away a Dremel powertool to the first person with the right answer. This multi-use power tool is ideal for hundreds of DIY projects, including sanding, grinding and polishing. Dremel is a...

Last month's winner. (Brain Teaser).
April 1, 2002... Thanks for writing in with your answers to last month's question concerning Roger Brownline and his sail boat pub conundrum. The answer is that Roger should, if the boat is square-rigged, lower the sail, since raising it will simply increase...

Mystery magnets. (Brain Teaser).
April 1, 2002... Searching for a magnet to retrieve a paper clip from behind his oven, Design Engineering's Sales Manager Paul Tompkins found two bars of iron in the shed at the end of his back garden. One of these iron bars was magnetised along its length and...

The secret squirrel. (Editor's Comment).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 1, 2002... There is a problem with engineering journalism. It's always been there and it's quite understandable really but it does hamper the spread of knowledge. The problem is secrecy. So many times we will talk to a supplier and they will give us...

Smart material steps out of the shadows. (Design News).(Newlands Technology SoundBug)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... It's a UK engineering success story, it's taken CeBit by storm, and this time next year it'll probably have been banned from most of the schools in Britain. It is the SoundBug, a harmless looking electronic device that can turn almost any solid...

Pull your socks up. (Design News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... They're often hailed as the possible saviours of UK manufacturing, but medical device manufacturers need to sort out a few problems according to speakers at a recent seminar held by the Southern Medical Alliance. Many assistive technology...

Video-camera or Laser-triangulation? (Measurement, Sensors & Encoders).(MEL Mikroelektronik Laser Line-Scanner Systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Object recognition systems generally use cameras as the primary sensor. These systems have limitations, particularly when object are shiny, textured, or of differing colours. Laser Line-Scanner Systems from MEL Mikroelektronik may solve...

Tag wrestling: RFID tags offer the end user a host of benefits when compared to barcoding. DE'S Jason Ford looks at what what RFID actually is and where it is going in manufacturing. (Encoders & Sensors).(Radio Frequency Identification)
April 1, 2002... What technology has been around since the 1940's as a means of identifying enemy aircraft yet today has the potential to replace barcoding within supply chain management? The answer is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. But,...

Valdyn rids engine of rattle. (Belt Drives, Chains).(software)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Ricardo consulting engineers' Valdyn software has been utilised by one high-profile automotive manufacturer to optimise the timing drive for a new V8 engine. without naming names, DE looks at how the software was used to eliminate engine...

Ta-ta to tooling. (Rapid Prototyping & Materials 21).(Rapid Manufacture)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... For tomorrow's maintenance engineers there'll be no such thing as stock. Instead, with just a pile of powder and a clever little machine they'll be able to conjure up just about any functional component you require. Improved materials and...

The perfect employee. (Rapid Prototyping & Materials).(Fused Deposition Modelling machine)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Brainstorming meetings and working lunches can be a crucial part of the product design process hut a fresh employee at design consultancy PDD shuns this sociable approach, preferring to work through lunch and never leaving the office. The...

RPD: Concept to component. (Subcon Preview).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Visitors to Subcon 2002 can look forward to a rapid concept-to-component feature that brings all that is best in British manufacturing to an innovative feature at the heart of the event. SUBCON 2002 is located alongside MACH, Metal Working,...

Flexible displays cast off rigid constraints. (HMIs).(Philips Research)
April 1, 2002... Despite the fact that the real world is unequivocally round, the world of displays has remained remarkably flat. In large area displays for TV sets and monitors, it is striving to get flatten For smaller displays, however, things look set to...

Moeller touch. (HMIs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Moeller Electric has extended its range of MV4 graphical touch panels offering stainless steel case fronts protection rated up to IP65 that are ideal for the food chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The panels glass protective surface...

Hayes PCs. (HMIs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Industrial PCs in the new 6200 range from Hayes Control Systems have been designed not only to take up the minimum possible amount of panel space but also to provide fast and easy access to expansion cards disk drives and other components. All...

Work the floor. (HMIs).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Imagine the benefits of an HMI that not only displays information, but also allows a machine to be controlled from around the shopfloor. Rockwell Automation has made this possible with the MobileView family of portable HMIs. MobileView...

Swing it panel PC. (HMIs).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Advantech has launched a powerful, versatile panel computer, the PPC-S153T, for use in abroad range of applications, from medical and multimedia to point of information (POI). The PPC-S153T has a 15" TFT XGA LCD display and an optional analogue...

Cooled touchscreen. (HMIs).(Pro-face graphical touchscreen operator interface range)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Pro-face is launching four new models in its graphical touchscreen operator interface range, the 6" display GP2300 series. The GP2300 housing is made of aluminium die cast for enhanced cooling with no need for a rear panel air-cooling outlet,...

Simplified spring brakes. (Brakes & Clutches).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Lenze has launched the BFK418 series of spring-operated brakes for servo motors, specifically designed to offer OEMs a cost-effective, easy-to-install, reliable and safe alternative to traditional permanent magnet electromagnetic brakes. ...

Limit torque. (Brakes & Clutches).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Fast and efficient disengagement of driving and driven forces is on offer with the new clutch-operated torque limiter from RA Rodriguez. A new product within its Zetasassi range, LIMIT is a reliable, high quality safety device whose torque...

Torque is inexpensive. (Brakes & Clutches).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... For miniature precision drive applications the Huco Micro-Beam coupler offers a cost-effective means of dealing with shaft misalignment whilst ensuring high positional accuracy. With an overall length of only 12.7mm and a diameter of 6.4mm this...

Happy torque. (Brakes & Clutches).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Transmission specialist KEB has introduced Type 38 brake series to its comprehensive range of mechanical and electrical power transmission solutions. The spring applied brakes feature a wide range of torque ratings, matching IEC motor torque...

Coupling king. (Brakes & Clutches).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Universal joint shafts are frequently used to transmit power from a diesel engine where the driven unit cannot be flange-mounted on the engine preventing axial alignment of the two units. However, because of their reciprocating design, all...

Look out for the quiet ones. (Gears & Gearboxes).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The Portescap R10 family of planetary gearboxes is now available from Trident. Only 10mm in diameter these gearboxes are available in a choice of six ratios between 4:1 and 4096:1. All models have a high continuous torque rating of...

Higher torques. (Gears & Gearboxes).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Power transmission specialist Sumitomo Cyclo Europe is launching the HSM as an addition to its product portfolio. Sumitomo has been manufacturing its shaft mounted speed reducer (SMSR) for many years and now has a new model for the 21st...

EMS value. (Gears & Gearboxes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... In the late 80s Electro Mechanical Systems, suppliers of small motor and linear actuators to UK OEMs, decided that they could add value to the products they sold. It was decided that adding custom components or even designing complete custom...

Holroyd giants. (Gears & Gearboxes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The winning of a major contract to manufacture what will be three of the biggest sets of screw compressor rotors ever made by Holroyd poses challenges that few would contemplate. At nearly 650mm diameter and almost 4 metres long, the rotors are...

Lovell relies on reliance rack. (Gears & Gearboxes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Twenty years ago, engineers in charge of the Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope had problems. The original azimuth measuring system on the telescope, installed in 1958, was a chain and sprocket drive and could only achieve a repeatability of 5arc...

Savings servo. (Gears & Gearboxes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Savings of between 20 and 40% over conventional servomotor gearhead arrangements can be made thanks to the introduction of fully integrated 'Stealth' servo gearmotors, says the Bayside Motion Group. A Bayside GM60 frame size unit now costs...

Able to print. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Able Systems, the mini printer specialist, has introduced the ELM224, an ultra compact 24V thermal printer mechanism from APS. Designed for point-of-sale applications and other data terminals in diverse locations, the 'Easy Load' printer...

Vantico gold. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The final stone served by team captain Rhona Martin to win Olympic Gold for Great Britain at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics was bonded with Araldite 2013 from Vantico's Araldite 2000 series of structural adhesives. The range provides a...

AcSoft analyse. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Building on the success of Svantek's SVAN 912 handheld sound and vibration analyser, AcSoft now offers the company's latest introductions, delivering the same amazing value in acoustic measurement, environmental noise monitoring, and...

SigmaPlot standard. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... As a scientific researcher you rely on your graphs to tell your story. With SPSS SigmaPlot you can choose from over 80 different 2-D and 3-D publication quality graph types to help your audience understand your research. From simple 2-D scatter...

Compact Axair Fans. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... This new all metal construction frame from leading distributors Axair Fans is being launched this month and is said to be ideal for control panels and other applications where a strong, compact unit is needed. Features include a capacitor-run...

GDS formed. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The international customer base for quality display solutions will benefit hugely from the announcement that display systems provider, Emco electronics has merged with Italian electronics company, CA&G Electronica to form global display...

Sunrise angles. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Dedicated NEC distributor Sunrise electronics has just extended its range of high performance LCD modules from NEC to include two new models in widescreen format suited to digital TV and multimedia presentations as well as gaming consoles and...

HiServer. (Marketplace).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... AMC has unveiled its latest ultra dense server, a 3U chassis containing 18 hot-swap redundant server blades. The AMC HiServer 318 chassis is an impressive piece of engineering, designed to combat the space, clustering, redundancy, fail-over and...

Ultrafilter. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Energy and compressed air purification specialist ultrafilter ltd, is continuing its long standing motor sport association, announcing its sponsorship of the highly successful Paragon racing team. The team, emblazoned with the ultrafilter logo,...

Burkert levels competition. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Burkert Fluid Control Systems has extended its range of ON/OFF level switches with the new Type 8181 Buoyancy Level Switches. The whole range of ON/OFF level switches can be used in a wide variety of applications -- from food processing to...

CKS thin client. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... CKS Holdings, the specialist HMI solutions provider, have just launched a new thin client to add to their range of rugged computers. Thin clients are ideal for industrial environments because they have no moving parts. Essentially, thin clients...

BF Group. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... A complete range of alphanumeric LCD modules, from 8X2 to 320x240, is now available on very competitive delivery times from the BF Group. the complete portfolio of devices from leading manufacturer, Data Image, includes display modules that use...

Cross inserts. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Cross Manufacturing has announced an extension of its innovative Spiralock range of self-locking wire thread inserts, which are now available in sizes down to M3 and 4x20 UNC. The introduction of smaller sizes has been driven by applications...

Lubricant. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... To minimise connector failure from fretting corrosion, manufacturers developed high-contact-force, spring-loaded connectors. The problem: as mating force increases, it is harder to get a secure connection. Combine high insertion force and...

Broderson. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Broderson's new Thin Client Windows terminal is designed both for great safety and to prevent the loss of valuable data in the event of power being cut off. Data integrity is ensured by the fact that all calculations and configurations are made...

E-T-A IEC inlet. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... E-T-A Circuit Breakers is offering an IEC style appliance inlet module which incorporates an E-T-A rocker actuated circuit breaker. Offering reduced assembly time, together they provide an ultra-reliable alternative to fused power inlet sockets...

Couplings handle anything. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The manufacturers of the giant wind vanes used across Europe for generating electricity say that the steel-coated couplings fitted within their units are probably the toughest and most reliable employed in any industrial applications. Over the...

Make a mark. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Permark 316 is a stainless steel marker system, from Tyco Electronics, designed to provide permanent and highly visible identification to cables, pipes, hoses and other service lines located in hostile environments. Using state-of-the-art...

IC Sensors. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... IC Sensors, a division of Measurement Specialities, Inc. has recently introduced a piezoresistive silicon pressure sensor designed specifically for low pressure applications. Intended for use in medical instrumentation, process control, waste...

Sales growth. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Belt Technologies Europe, the leading supplier of precision steel belts, drive tapes and complementary pulleys, has announced a sales increase of over 20% for 2001 compared with the previous year. Sales to the European market-place have more...

IFM dynamic. (Marketplace).(advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The new website from sensing and control expert, IFM Electronic, which can be accessed at www.ifm-electronic.co.uk, has been carefully designed to provide the fastest, easiest way of finding exactly the right sensor for almost any application....

Motox masters food industry. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Flenders Motox Master motor integrated frequency inverters have been specified by BCH Coates Engineering for a food mixer drive and pump. Both comprise Flender CF81 geared motor units that incorporate Siemens Micro Master integrated variable...

Bulgin power. (Marketplace).(Bulgin Power Source offers switch-mode power supply)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The new Oracle 500P-28 switch-mode power supply from Lincoln-based Bulgin Power Source incorporates remote diagnostics and power-management facilities that not only enhance system reliability but also minimise the need for on-site maintenance....

Big machine. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... On Datron technology's stand (4118, hall 4) at MACH 2002, a working scale model of the fastest and largest 5 axis prototyping machine, EEW's HSM-Modal, can be seen in action for the first time. The working length of the full size HSM-Modal can...

Redundancy. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Solarton Mobrey's leading multistream liquid gas flow computers are now available with a 'hot duty/standby' option. The new feature allows full redundancy to be built into the system using just two flow computers for up to four metre runs, and...

Just squeeze. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... The connection of the sold copper conductors of a building installation and the flexible stranded conductors on a light fitting used to be a time consuming task. Now Weidmuller's D-Lux 2/1 Lighting Connector allows two solid and one flexible...

Tiny tough. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Textron Fastening Systems has become the first manufacturer to successfully develop and manufacture a range of sub 2mm diameter blind fasteners for use in the electronics industry. The need for such miniature blind fasteners is a direct result...

Improved PET. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Hankison UK Limited has developed the HPET series of refrigerated compressed air dryers and HF filters to eliminate costly air contamination problems in PET blow moulding applications. Hankison's HPET dryers are designed for 725 psig (50 bar...

Electrox marks. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Electrox Scriba machines have long been regarded as the industry standard for laser marking. Now, the 600 Group company's newly launched Scriba 'plus' versions of these popular Nd:YAG laser markers offer greater flexibility and productivity...

World's smallest. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... MKS instruments UK Ltd has introduced the world's smallest mass spectrometer-based leak detector the MKS PICO Series. The first PICO units were shipped to selected customers mid-2001 and since then the PICO has rapidly gained acceptance across...

Euroquartz. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Euroquartz Group, has published a new shortform catalogue that provides details of the company's extensive lines of frequency control products. The new 24 page full colour catalogue features information from four companies within the Euroquartz...

Starting softly. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... The Varesoft range of soft starts from REO has been extended by the addition of the microprocessor controlled SAG M series. These soft starts will eliminate the high torque, delivered at full load, on start up of a motor which creates the...

Exchange heat with Rittal. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Rittal's SK cooling range includes a range of industrial air to water heat exchangers for use with chillers or a mains water supply. Available in 13 different sizes, the range covers a broad spectrum with cooling capacities between 600 Watts...

Access all areas. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... With removable top, bottom and back plates, plain or glazed lockable front doors, and hinged side panels, the new CaSys OPB range of cabling enclosures from Sarel, a brand of Schneider Electric, provide complete freedom of access from all...

SEV fixes it for Bob. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Four electric powered vehicles are proving a hit with the young audiences of Hit Entertainment's 'Bob the Builder Live' show currently touring the UK. The vehicles, Muck, lofty, Scoop and Roley have been designed and manufactured by special...

Camden electronics. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Screwless terminal blocks from Camden Electronics, the UK's prime source of PCB terminal blocks, have now received UL and VDE approval. Camden's CSTBV series is available in 5 and 5.08mm pitch versions from 1 to 36 poles, 7.5 and 7.62nn pitch...

Schaevitz. (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Schaevitz Sensors, a division of Measurement Specialties Inc, has recently introduced a new signal conditioner for industrial applications requiring the DIN standard rail mounted form factor. Designed for a wide variety of industrial position...

Master mover say no strain, no pain! (Marketplace).
April 1, 2002... Up to 75% of all industrial injuries are caused by the manual handling of heavy or awkward loads. That's a worrying statistic, especially if health and safety implementation is your main responsibility. The HSE strongly recommends that...