Design Engineering articles from July 2001

Design Engineering archives from July 2001

Insect-proof coating for PCBs.(printed circuit board)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... In countries with temperate climates, insects can cause real problems to electronic circuits; especially those associated with food production. Excrement from insects can cause short circuits and dead cockroaches can cause similar havoc. The...

Light emitting curtains.
July 1, 2001... These curtains were designed according to the principle that the decor of a room is usually designed for best appearance under daylight conditions. Artificial lighting is often placed at points around the room at a distance from the window,...

Reactive floor tiling.
July 1, 2001... Patient falls in hospitals and nursing homes are an unfortunate but frequent occurrence causing pain, distress and even death. Falls can also place a huge financial burden on the institution. A woman aver 80 who breaks her hip in hospital has...

Splitting hybrids.(new developments in hybrid vehicles)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Until fuel-cells become commonplace, our choking planet is offered some relief by the hybrid vehicle, a sort of halfway-house that uses a combination of fossil and electric power to eke out an extra 20-30 miles per gallon. Honda and...

Tapping into the power of traffic.(powerplant innovations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Gravitational Systems, a New York engineering firm, believes it can turn busy roads into powerplants. The company's device, dubbed the Traffic Tap, uses fluid filled containers placed under the road surface. When cars move over these, their...

Jurassic desk.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... In his laboratory at MIT Peter Dilworth has created a dinosaur. No, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) lab technician isn't a maniacal geneticist, and his creation isn't going to bite the 'evil dude's' head off. Instead, Dilworth's creation is...

Full beam ahead.(automated headlight system)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The thrill of the open road in the dark. Foot down on the throttle, and a suitable soundtrack to accompany your Colin McRae impersonation. All would be perfect, if only you didn't have to keep tinkering about with your headlights every time...

Icey blades.(infrared ice detector for helicopters)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center have designed an infrared sensor system that instantly detects ice on helicopter blades - a potentially life-threatening hazard. The build-up of ice on a helicopter rotor blade begins and is...

Piezo paint.(piezoelectric paint measures vibration)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A special paint that can measure vibrations in structures like bridges, aircraft, ships and oil rigs has been developed by a team of researchers at Newcastle University. The researchers, from the University's Department of Mechanical,...

CAD is dead, long live CAD.(from computer-aided design to engineering applications)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... 'The CAD business is over', claims Mike Evans, managing director of IT analyst Cambashi. 'The concentration of what used to be the CAD business into an engineering applications business is in full flood,' says Evans. 'The agreed bid by...

Design competition.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Dupont Engineering Polymers has announced the sixth outing for its Imagineering student design competition. Under the theme of 'safety in recreation and leisure', students and recently graduated designers throughout Europe, the Middle East...

Brain Teaser Heading.(metal versus wooden cricket bats)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Q Watching the England cricket team's dismal run in the recent one day internationals, a Bosch engineer wondered whether changing the material of the bats -- from wood to aluminium -- would improve the team's chances of hitting more sixes....

Right from the start.(improving the design cycle)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Quicker to market. Beat the competition. Faster design. This is the beat that designers must dance to, but there seems to be a myriad of opinions on how to achieve it. 'Shortening the design cycle means helping the client make better...

Good news for engineering graduates.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... According to figures just released by the DTI, today's engineering graduates can look forward to good jobs with rewarding salaries. The research also emphasizes that engineering students rank amongst those more likely to find permanent...

A perfect form.(modeling functionality in engineering)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... There's a big problem with current design processes. We start with some ideas, scribble on a napkin, sketch on a beermat, then define it in a CAD package. We deliberate for weeks, pouring our hearts over it, lose sleep, take it out on the...

What maketh a motor?(improving motor efficiency)
July 1, 2001... Although eff1 motors are 20 to 25% more expensive to produce, their enhanced design results in lower operating costs at any level of loading. Here CARILL SHARPE examines the design improvements that make a difference. With the Enhanced...

Got a new motor.(motor design innovation)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Why bother with transformers if it's possible to run motors straight off the electricity pylon. Nice idea if it was possible. Well it is possible and it's a motor called Motorformer from ABB Ever since Powerformer was introduced in 1998,...

How smart is a smart-camera?
July 1, 2001... Strong competition, rapidly advancing technology and booming demand have dramatically reduced the cost of entry-level vision systems. ROBERT JONES reports on the advantages and limitations of using 'smart camera' solutions Engineering...

Immaculate.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Cognex has introduced FiberInspect, a machine vision system that automatically detects and measures anomalies that form on fibres during the polishing process. The new system can be used in conjunction with existing manual inspection...

Cheap data.(National Instruments DAQCard-6024E data collection device)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... National Instruments has released its lowest cost E Series data acquisition (DAQ) device for PCMCIA. The DAQCard-6024E multifunction I/O device packs the functions and technologies of the E-Series DAQ devices into the PCMCIA form factor. ...

Compliance guaranteed.
July 1, 2001... EMC compliance is guaranteed at Bancroft's factory assembly facility for the production of wiring looms to customer drawings/specification as well as sub-assemblies of an electro/mechanical nature. Tested sub-assemblies supplied by...

Little point.(Diamond Electronics Piccold Point joystick)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... One of the world's smallest input devices the picold Paint MiniJoystick is now available from Diamond Electronics The Piccold Point as said to be the only pointing device suted to small wireless trandheld products as it has a smaller surface...

Bringing colour to life.(Clare MXED102 OLED column driver and Clare MXED2O2 OLED row driver)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Clare Inc. has announced the release of the MXED102 OLED column driver and the MXED2O2 OLED row driver. The products are said to be the first commercially available current-based driver IC solution for OLED displays. The MXED102 is a...

Bye-draulics?(electromagnetic actuator and linear motor development)
July 1, 2001... JON EXCELL looks at the ServoRam and asks could electromagnetic Actuators take the place of hydraulic cylinders in motion control? Over 2000 years ago, Archimedes jumped in the bath, jumped out again, and ran naked through the streets...

All terrain actuators.(IP65 rated programmable linear actuators from Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Division)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Division has launched a range of IP65 rated programmable linear actuators. The actuators, which have been designed for use in environmentally challenging environments, are said to be excellent...

MEGA control.(from Asco/Joucomatic)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Asco/Joucomatic has released MEGA, a new concept in valve design that it says offers users and OEMs flexibility in the construction, mounting and type of control that they perform. Reduced size, modularity, low weight and 900 1/min flow...

Resizing controls.(Hoerbiger-Origa electronically controlled poppet valve regulators)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Hoerbiger-Origa is developing and extending its Airfit Control technology with the launch of new sizes and new versions. The Airfit Tecno series combines piezoelectric technology and precision miniature component engineering, giving...

Silent night.(Univer compact cylinders)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Univer has launched two new ranges of compact cylinders for applications requiring higher working speeds and reduced noise. The first has inter-axis centring diameters and rods that conform to ISO/VDMA standards. The second conforms with...

Self starter.(Electro Pneumatic Innovations S Series)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Electro Pneumatic Innovations (EPI) has developed the S Series new two-position twin-cylinder internally powered, linear motion slide. The S Series features extruded tubular construction of the saddle which allows for longer strokes, and...

Conveying a faster chain.(Tsubaki Double Plus free flow conveyor chain)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Tsubaki has introduced the Double Plus free flow conveyor chain, which conveys objects 2.5 times faster than the actual chain speed. Consequently, motor speeds up to 60% slower can be used, leading to improved system reliability and...

Pulling in cost savings.(Cross and Morse Avante pulleys)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Avante range of pulleys from Cross & Morse eliminate the expense of keyway machining and finish boring when fitting timing belt pulleys, says the company. Each Avante pulley is installed in conjunction with an expanding bush shaft...

Ace range extension.(Ace Controls international FYN-N1rotary damper)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Ace Controls international has extended its range of rotary dampers. The FYN-N1 damper is made from black polycarbonate and has a damping torque of 300Ncm whilst the GRX. A1 is a nylon damper with a 200Ncm damping torque. All Ace rotary...

Cerebral control.
July 1, 2001... Intelligent Motion Control is extending the output torques of servo and stepper motors with the introduction of the new fit-and-forget UltraTRUE 22 from Thomson Micron. The in-line UltraTRUE 22 combines True Planetary gearing, face gear...

Age of chance.(Lenze Ruland K-Coupling)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Lenze's new Ruland K-Coupling is a product born of serendipitous origins. Lenze was asked to produce a flexible coupling for a washing device but the customer found the product to have a variety of uses. 'This is a general duty...

Healing power.(VX CAD/CAM 5.0 CAD/CAM software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... VX Corporation has launched CAD/CAM Version 5, a high end package aimed at ease-of-use at a lower price. According to the company formerly known as Varimetrix, the latest version 'bridges the gap between artistry and precision'. ...

Key to CAD.(Cadkey Translator for Pro/E and Cadkey Translator for Catia CAD software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Cadkey Corporation, a developer of Windows-based mechanical design and drafting software, has announced two new translator products and an enhanced version of its translator for UG. The translator for Pro/E enables Cadkey users to import...

View everything.(Cimmetry Systems and SmarTeam licensing agreement)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Cimmetry Systems has done a deal with SmarTeam where SmarTeam licenses Cimmetry's Autovue visualisation technology for use in its collaborative product commerce solution. SmarTeam users can now visually access over 200 formats directly...

A neat plan.(Rittal's Eplan electrical schematic drawing package)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Eplan compact, an entry level electrical schematic drawing package, has been released by Rittal. For engineering projects consisting of up to 40 A3 pages that need automatic cable schedules, terminal diagrams and bills of materials, then...

Succession.(Theorem Solutions licensing agreement with PlanetCAD)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Theorem Solutions will be powering PlanetCAD translation services from now on. Until recently, Theorem s CADverter.com and PlanetCAD were in competition to provide online data translation services but this tie-up suggests PlanetCAD's...

Watching the URLs go by.(Directory)
July 1, 2001... With an estimated 5 million pages added every day the web, great resource that it is, can be a tad frustrating. At every turn, the inquisitive surfer is beset by Delightful distractions and tantalising tangents. So, to help you find the...

Dawn of the heavyweights.(CAD software compamies)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Conditions in the late '80s were ideal for a new kind of CAD to emerge that would change the burgeoning industry forever: Engineering workstations began to mature, solids became a reality, and parametrics appeared for the first time. ...