Design Engineering articles from January 2003

Design Engineering archives from January 2003

Looking to the future.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2003... Who cares about Brunel, Alexander Graham Bell, or Frank Whittle? They are dead. If we don't think about now and stop lamenting then, UK engineering will be soon dead too. Sorry about that. I just had to get it off my chest. It seems a...

Terminating tripple tapping. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Text messaging is fast replacing talking as the preferred method of human dialogue. Yet, despite developments like predictive typing, tapping a message into your mobile phone remains a cumbersome, time-consuming process. Thankfully, the...

Design software goes Darwinian. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The days of manufacturers dictating the way a product looks and feels are long gone, and today any design house worth its salt employs teams of psychologists and market researchers to find out exactly what the consumer wants. A new...

[pounds sterling]100,000 for chip theft information. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Samsung is offering a [pounds sterling]100,000 reward for information leading to the recovery, arrest, charge and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the theft of $4.5m of computer chips from the Cargo Service Centre, Bedfont...

It's a biometric hat-trick. (Design News).(A new smart card system developed by Siemens)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A new smart card system developed by Siemens is the first of its kind to combine three biometric parameters. The system, which records data on the user's voice, face and fingerprint has been made possible largely thanks to the latest...

A two-stroke of genius. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Rugby-based engineer Bryan Parsons has received a NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Invention & Innovation Award of [pounds sterling]66,000 to develop a simple new engine for low cost and easy-to-use, hand-held...

Letter from Japan.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... HELP! I'M BEING STALKED BY A ROBOT! Kyodo News reports that Honda has developed a new model of its intelligent humanoid robot ASIMO. The updated biped can reportedly interpret the postures and gestures of humans and move independently in...

Simple pipe averts PC meltdown. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... As computers get smaller, and engineers cram in more and more transistors to up performance, the problem of heat becomes more of an issue. With upcoming chips expected to produce 100 watts per square centimetre--the heat generated by a...

Hybrid hydraulics cuts freight costs. (Design News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A hybrid hydraulic drive system developed by Australian company Permo-Drive Technologies could reduce fuel consumption for trucks and buses by up to 40%. Paul Chandler, Permo-Drive's vice president for North America, boldly claims that...

Weight-saving tyre gets safety makeover. (Design News).(Bridgestone uses AIRCEPT technology in GREATEC tire)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Two years ago, Bridgestone launched the GREATEC tyre, a line of ultralow aspect ratio tyres designed to replace dual drive tires on trucks and buses with single tyres. While the weight, space, and fuel saving qualities of the tyres were...

Pump shock: a pump that has no moving parts and will not be blocked--a pipe dream? That's exactly what it is. Roger Brownlie reports on a highly innovative pump design based on an open bore tube. (Breakthrough).
January 1, 2003... OVER 45% of all fuel burnt by US manufacturers is consumed to raise steam, says the Office of Industrial Technologies at the US Department of Energy. 'We all thought we'd come out of the steam age. Well that's proof that we haven't,'...

Driver focused auto alliance. (Business Digest).(Visteon, QinetiQ partner)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... QinetiQ and Visteon have joined forces to form an electronic technology partnership for the automotive industry. This collaboration, designed to leverage the human system interaction and systems engineering strengths of the two companies,...

Turkey termination time. (Business Digest).(Design Council's 'Humanising Technology' discussed)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... No, its not a bizarre show of solidarity between UK manufacturing and Bernard Matthews, but a new project designed to help emerging technology companies boost their chances of developing commercially successful products. The Design Council's...

Tech need challenge by yet2.com. (Business Digest).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... POSITIONING AND WEAR MEASUREMENT This organisation seeks a low-cast device to measure the wear and position changes of a small target moving very quickly-about 7.5 m/s. The ability to measure ceramic blades would be a big plus. The blade...

Purchasing Managers' Index. (Business Digest).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * 50.0 November's CIPS/Reuters Purchasing Manager's Index fell slightly from the previous month's level of 50.5, but continued to suggest that the manufacturing economy as a whole had once again avoided contraction. Although the headline...

Using the force: 40 years ago, Bulgarian inventor Roumen Antonov made a startling discovery--20 years later his ideas for a redesigned automatic transmission have come to fruition. (Gears).(the Antonov Automatic Drive is discussed)
January 1, 2003... With road congestion increasing, driving speeds dropping and gear changes per kilometer rising there's a definite feeling in the automotive industry that automatic transmission is the way forward. The trouble is that most of today's...

Tape that. (Fasteners).(applications for adhesive tape)
January 1, 2003... It was once the cornerstone of a british institution--but thanks to recent material advances, adhesive tape can now do a lot more than help you make spaceships out of toilet rolls. Technical tapes expert scapa explains how tapes have numerous...

Life after the chisel. (Design Works).
January 1, 2003... How many millions does destructive testing cost the automotive industry? to ensure quality standards in spot welds this is still a common technique and until now it seemed there was little alternative to statistically significant destruction....

Hybrid tool for mid range market: Autodesk's inventor 6 is a watershed release that gives Mechanical Desktop users exactly what they've been crying out for writes. (On Screen).
January 1, 2003... Inventor 6, the latest release of Autodesk's mid-range solid modelling system, has the now compulsory list of over 200 major productivity and drawing enhancements. It also has industry-specific solutions such as routing tools and weldments as...

Simulation. (On Screen: Products).
January 1, 2003... Flomerics believes it has ushered in a new era in 3D electromagnetic (EM) simulation with the advent of the 64-bit parallel versions of Flomerics' FLO/EMC V1.2 and Micro-Stripes V6.0. This allows models requiring more than 2 Gbytes of memory...

CAD uncertainty cure. (On Screen: Products).
January 1, 2003... A new improved solution claims the developer, to the uncertainties surrounding incoming and outgoing CAD data--CADverter Version 6.1--has been released by Theorem Solutions. The release integrates Dassault Systemes Catia V5 to its series of...

Technical illustration. (On Screen: Products).
January 1, 2003... Centra Technology is now shipping release 12.2 of its technical illustration and electronic publishing software, Tech Illustrator for Windows. This release includes the flagship TI Plus and the popular mid-range TI Express applications. With...

Analysing tolerance in 3D. (On Screen: Products).
January 1, 2003... Dimensional Control Systems (DCS) has established a UK office to support the deployment of 3DCS integrated into Catia Version 5. Analysing the effects of tolerance in three dimensions has been difficult until now. Simple one-dimensional...

Adept selling Mathcad 11. (On Screen: Products).
January 1, 2003... Adept Scientific is selling Mathcad 11, a new version of its software for applying mathematics to engineering, science and other technical operations. Available for the first time in single user and Enterprise editions, Mathcad 11 delivers...

Force launch. (Select Products: Industrial PCS).
January 1, 2003... Force Computers, a Solectron company specialising in embedded computing, has announced the launch of its CPCI-740 line of CompactPCI (CPCI) single board computers (SBCs) based on Intel's 4-M processor -- rated at 1.4GHz and higher. Compliant...

The future of PLCs? (Select Products: Industrial PCS).
January 1, 2003... Ask any OEM and Machine Builder what they expect from the nest generation of PLCs and high among the answers, says Mitsubishi, will be smaller size, faster speed, more intelligence and greater connectivity. With this in mind Mitsubishi has...

Custom keypads. (Select Products: Industrial PCS).
January 1, 2003... Bafbox has launched a new custom membrane keypad division, customKeypads. In the membrane keypad area there are a number of players, all offering similar products. Where customKeypads feels it can score is in the added value of 'good...

DIY overlays. (Select Products: Industrial PCS).
January 1, 2003... EAO has developed innovative software for creating unique layouts to support its new range of touch sensitive internet keyboards. The Studio Creative Box (SCB) software, included with every EAO touch sensitive internet keyboard, allows you to...

CPU's P4 power. (Select Products: Industrial PCS).
January 1, 2003... Equipped with the Intel Pentium 4 processor in the 478 pin micro FCPGA housing, the CP605 CompactPCI CPU utilises the current fastest and most powerful mobile P4 processor technology. The board supports both the desktop version and the Mobile...

Unidrive SP. (Select Products: Drives & Controllers).
January 1, 2003... Winner of the gold medal in the static frequency inverter category at this year's Brno fair, Control Techniques' Unidrive SP drive system is said to have set a new benchmark for AC drive performance and flexibility. With universal...

Inverters. (Select Products: Drives & Controllers).
January 1, 2003... A new series of inverter drives from Omron are said to enable energy savings of up to 20% when used to control motors driving instruments such as fans and pumps. The 3G3PV drives have been developed to address the needs of the heating,...

Three level control. (Select Products: Drives & Controllers).
January 1, 2003... Yaskawa new Varispeed G7 is said to be the world's first general purpose inverter to offer three level control. The drive eliminates damaging micro surges caused by reflected voltage waves and offers smooth and stable performance at low...

Intelligent servo. (Select Products: Drives & Controllers).
January 1, 2003... A digital intelligent servo drive from Parker Hannifin is said to set a new cost/performance standard in the low- to medium-power market sector. Combining leading-edge software and electronics technology, the latest ViX servo drive packs a...

Windows first. (Select Products: Drives & Controllers).
January 1, 2003... Yokogawa claims a first with the addition of Wndows XP functionality to its new Centum CS3000 distributed control system (DOS). The system provides enhanced remote communications for operation and engineering, including a...

Composite future: despite its long history, the composites industry continues to evolve, developing new materials and processes to meet commercial and environmental pressures, writes Gordon Bishop of NetComposites. (Buyers Guide).(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2003... The term 'composites' covers a diverse range of complex and varied materials, processes and products, serving a large number of application sectors. A wide range of technology levels therefore exist, from hand lay-up GRP to autoclaved cured...

Covering up storm damage. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... The ravaged set front of a fishing village on the Indian Cream island of Le Reunion required quite a makeover when it hosted the 1999. Rip curl surfing worldup. The lamposts and flag masts of St. Leb were coated with Plascoal RPA57 L...

Brochure. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Hellermann Tyton's new brochure details its range of electronic enclosures. The catalogue gives full details of a wide spectrum of enclosures from Apra-Norm for whom Hellermann is the sole UK distributor. Hellermann Tyton...

Cure for cans. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A carbon medium wave infra-red system from Heraeus Noblelight is helping Carnaud Metal Box to cure lacquer applied to the longitudinal seam welds of cans at production line speeds. Carnaud previously used a radio frequency drying system for...

Tolerance rings. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... New tolerance rings from Rencol give greater control of steering column collapse parameters thanks to a unique wave form design. While conventional rings rely on steel type, material thickness, the pitch of the wave form, and shoulder width...

Long life seals. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... John Crane's 8600 Series of high-performance seals provide exceptional life cycle reliability, maximum tolerance to, and recovery from, process changes and reverse pressure running, and the facility for high pressure dry running in remote...

Stage partners. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A partnership between Sheffield-based access and mechanical handling expert SCX and theatre engineering designer Multistage aims to offer theatres and entertainment centres an unprecedented level of service and innovation in stage...

Batteries online. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Customers can now buy the full range of Sonnenschein lithium batteries from Cell Pack Solutions' award winning e-commerce web site (www.cellpacksolutions.com) The Sonnenschein lithium chloride inorganic electrolyte battery is a power...

Catman software. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Remote communication with field equipment upto 5km away is now possible with HBM's improved catman software. Data exchange rates of up to 100Hz across eight channels is possible with measuring devices such as HBM's Spider8. The improved...

Small electric motors. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Parvalux specialises in the manufacture of small electric motors with outputs from 8 to 350 watts continuous riting this capability coupled with the company's 166 basic months frames provides the potential for more than 100 million possible...

Finger on the pulse. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A new heart monitor, manufactured by Aortech, depends upon flow transmitters and sensors form Burkert to retain accuracy and high levels of operational standards. Aortech's truCATH system is a pulmonary after system that has been developed in...

Lubricant. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Rocol Lubricants has launched Sapphire Premier, a high performance, multipurpose lubricant that is ideal for use in high speed and high temperature applications. Fortified with PTFE, it offers superior corrosion protection and provides...

New Nikon website. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Nikon has launched website for its industrial product range that allows users to search for solutions for application, industry or name. The approach will make finding information a lot easier. For full details of Nikon's complete industrial...

Rittal housings. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Rittal's RiBox housings provide a desktop or 482.Smm(19) rack mountable enclosure for between one and three 6U Eurocards. Available in 1U and 2U options, the instrument cases are formed from aluminium covers which locate into the...

Vision Dynamics. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Vision Dynamics' MACE card combines 5 PWM motor power stages with closed loop motor control chips on a single PCI card. The most important feature of the card is that it plugs directly into the PCI bus of a PC, one of the most economical...

Yuasa. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... In a move to consolidate its position in Europe, the Yuasa Corporation of Japan has announced the formation of a holding company, Yuasa Battery Europe Ltd. The new company, with headquarters in Birmingham, is now the holding company for all...

Anyone for Piezo? (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... MKS Instruments has announced the new HPS Series 902 Absolute Piezo, a piezo sensor with an integrated electronic control circuit, digital communications, analogue output and a setpoint, as standard features, for process control. Piezo...

Pressure relief. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Elfab has increased its range of bursting panels to cover all industry sizes currently available, encompassing both flat and domed styles. Both traditional rectangular panels and custom designs now feature dimensions of up to 3500mm x 1500mm,...

Batteries. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Following the announcement that Tungstone Battery Ltd is to close its manufacturing site at Market Harborough, Yuasa Battery Europe Ltd, has signed an agreement with Invensys to transfer its order book and product names to Yuasa Battery...

Leica stereomicroscope. (What's New Design).
January 1, 2003... Trikon Technologies, leading supplier to the semiconductor industry, has recently added a camera and image analysis software to its Leica MZ12 stereomicroscope. A Materials Workstation and software for particle sizing has proved invaluable...

Free guide. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A free mini-guide from REQ (UK) Ltd simplifies the issue of power quality problems surrounding electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). The guide coincides with a recent European Directive 89/336/EEC, which sets out essential EMC requirements....

Mitsubishi PLC. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Ask any OEM and Machine Builder what they expect from the next generation of PLCs and high among the answers will be smaller, faster, more intelligence and greater connectivity. Mitsubishi's Q PLC is just that. It is the control platform that...

A Sterling effort. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Sterling SPP has supplied the environment Agency in Lichfield with 6 mobile pump sets that have been positioned about the Midlands to assist in emergency response in flood water control operations. The Agency's initial requirement was for...

Analysis. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Wonderware, an operating unit of Invensys plc, has introduced version 8.0 of its Active Factory[TM] suite of analysis clients, which gives managers, engineers and operators easy access to plant information in Wonderware's Industrial SQL...

ETA brochure. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... E-T-A Circuit Breakers has produced a brochure outlining its standard and customised system solutions. These include circuit breakers in standard terminal blocks, modular assemblies and bases for rail mounting; standard and customised bus...

Nice clean panel. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Studies in Germany show that using a panel such as Trespa Virtuon in changing and sanitary facilities enhances visitor experience and provides a safer environment. Trespa Virtuon is a new range of solid resin panel. Available in a range of...

Lithium batteries. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Low maintenance, economical lithium coin-cell batteries targeted at memory back-up power supply applications have been added to Dubilier's battery range and are available ex-stock. Applications such as GPS devices, games consoles and PDAs...

Plugs & Sockets. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... For ease of operation as well as more than meeting all the safety requirements of the new standard for industrial plugs and socket (BSEN603091) Marechal Electric offers the DSN range of plugs and sockets. They can be used in a wide range of...

ABB drives for Mini. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... ABB drives installed on the new MINI paintshop at BMW Group Plant Oxford are saving the company [pounds sterling]24,000 a year in electricity costs Iwelve ABB Comp-AC drives ranging from 11 to 37 kW, have been installed by ABB Drives Alliance...

Nylon bushings. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Bulte Plastics is extending its range of polyamide (nylon) bushings with reinforced collar for its six M5, M[conjunction], M10, M12 and M16 models. The reinforced collar (1mm to 6mm depending on reference) is now available on all of its 5 to...

Spot welding strain gauges. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Sensors UK has launched a new 2003 range of capsule type easy to install spot welding stram gauges. These gauges offer solutions to many hitherto difficult stress measurement problems These range from Song term under sea application through...

Cypress news. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Cypress Semiconductor Corporation has just announced sampling of the WirelessUSB family of products (CY694X). The Cypress CY694X is the first solution that enables manufacturers of human-interface devices (Hid) including PC mice, keyboards...

Linear actuator. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A linear actuator package for moving loads at high speeds that can be configured in multi-axis and gantry configurations is available from Bayside Motion Group. Comprising Bayside's new compact I-Drive with its new low-profile stages and high...

Demand. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... To meet the growing demand for customised, ready to connect junction Boxes, R & M electrical has expanded its Assembly Facility dedicated to the supply of Populated Custom-built Junction Boxes and Control Stations. Headed up by the...

Pump probes. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Monitran's new eddy current probes have been designed to offer reliable non-contact vibration measurement for all kinds of pumping systems. Now supplied with a direct 4-20mA output, the latest eddy current probes have been developed for use...

Welwyn solution. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A 'sticky problem' which was delaying the start of a new business venture for a Kent-based manufacturer of security plastic envelopes and bags has been resolved with the help of hot air applications technology from Welwyn Tool Company. The...

Humidity indicator. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A new Brownell nonreversible humidity indicator paper avoids the risk of misleading readings and missed signals of a temporary but potentially damaging problem not shown by conventional indicator papers. Conventional papers change back to a...

New DC micromotors. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Three new DC micromotors from baulhaber Group are available from UK drives specialist Electro Mechanical Systems. The largest of the new products are the two Series 82 DC micromotors and their complimentary Series 82/8 planetary gearhead The...

Enclosed. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Competitively priced enclosure solutions for virtually every telecommunications infrastructure application are now available from enclosure expert Sarel. The range now includes steel and Metering cabinets, small rack-type enclosures for small...

Steel belt system. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A steel belt system based on an aluminium or stainless steel machine frame and complete with motion control, tracking, and tensioning components is available from Belt Technologies. This off the shelf solution can be customised to suit...

Buildings online. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Schneider's latest web-based transparent building technology enables building services and installations to be monitored and controlled remotely from any location where Internet access is available. The solution features outstation...

Connect. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Wieland Electric has supplied a range of connectors and isolation housings for use in a new modular control system from the Controls Group of York International. The Wieland units were selected on a range of criteria including cost, size and...

Robots for kids. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... TM Robotics, Toshiba Machine's industrial robots partner, has been helping children learn how to build, program and operate intelligent robots, at a school-based project near Manchester. TM Robotics volunteered to supply its new TH-350...

Machine guard. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Procter Machinery Guarding has released a free guide to the standards and regulations that relate to guarding. Many machine builders have felt left in the dark in the past, having to search for the relevant information from a variety of...

New sensor range. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... A new range of sensors from IBM Electronic featuring diminutive M8 plug-in connectors means that sensor users no longer have to choose between the space savings offeredlby precabied sensors and the convenience of using sensors with plug-in...

Protection. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... ETA Circuit Breakers' 700 Series version of the ETAE1048 Solid State Remote Power Controller reduces installation times when used in conjunction with an ETA power distribution module. The plug in device provides inexpensive power...

Flender supplies drives. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Flender Power Transmission has supplied 12 conveyor drives to DBT Company's Port of Muuga fertiliser export facility in Estonia, for dry bulk handling specialist AS-C Materials Handling of Stockport, England. The gear units, which are all...

BlueLine. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... HBM has extended its P3MB series of precision force transducers with the introduction of its P3MBP Blue Line ultrahigh-pressure transducer to meet strong demand for highly reliable electronic measurement devices. The new transducer series...

Weidmuller checks water. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... Tyco Internationals modular dosing system depends on Weidmuller's CP-SNT 160W switched mode power supply unit for safe and reliable 24DC power. The unit is key to the precise operation of Tyco's PLC-based close control system which measures...

Multipulse units. (What's New in Design).
January 1, 2003... New mains distribution units from Multipulse Electronics feature a modular design that makes them simple to incorporate into any enclosure where mains power outlets are required. The MMDU distribution blocks are available for 19" and ETSI...