Design Engineering articles from May 2001

Design Engineering archives from May 2001

Full line piezoelectric printer.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In the race to produce ever-faster and more efficient printers, this method could have an edge. Conventional inkjet printers have a printing head which is passed backwards and forwards across a page to form lines, which make up an image. This...

Ultra-fast phosistor.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Computers could run with clock speeds a hundred times faster than current high-speed machines using this device (WO200120379). A phosistor, or photon transistor, is used for switching and logic circuits, and has two waveguides (light pathways)...

Green rocket launcher.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Space rockets are fossil fuel guzzlers -- a huge volume of fuel is needed to provide the initial acceleration to enter space. This launcher (US6170404) suggests the use of a pressurised, non-magnetic tube to accelerate a piston with a magnetic...

Wheel meet again.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... While the dust settles in side London's doomed dome, a project which is the dome's antithesis is nearing completion. At a cost of around [pound]17 million (the dome cost [pound]750 Million) and with an expected lifetime of 120 years, the...

'Tractor beam' developed at St Andrews.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... It may not be able to drag the millennium falcon into the death star, but scientists from the University of St Andrews have developed laser technology that can pick up and spin around delicate microscopic objects. The technique uses a...

Easy conversion to 4WD.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... UK Automotive expert Pro Drive has developed a transmission system that it says will make it easier to convert vehicles to four wheel drive. Most front-wheel drive vehicles use a transverse engine with an end-on gearbox. The efficient...

Petrol powered computer.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... While most researchers are trying to replace combustion engines in cars with electrical ones, a group of scientists at the University of California in Berkeley are attempting to create tiny combustion engines to power computers. While the...

Now we can all go to MIT.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) President Charles M. Vest has announced that MIT will make the materials for nearly all of its courses freely available on the Internet over the next ten years. According to President Vest, the...

Brush stokes.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Researchers in China have developed a paint that cools your home in the summer and warms it up in the winter, reports the New Scientist. The coating, developed by scientists at Tongji University in Shanghai, absorbs heat from the Sun when...

Gas powered movies at Hannover.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The Fraunhofer Institute used the Hannover fair to demonstrate a fuel-cell powered camcorder. The Fraunhofer-Initiative "Miniature fuel cells" is working on innovative energy concepts for portable electronic devices, and the camcorder was...

Red skin for little green men.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Intelligent nanostructures that report on their environment by changing colour from blue to fluorescent red under mechanical, chemical, or thermal stress have been created by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New...

What lies beneath.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Researchers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have invented a sub-surface radar (SSR) to detect objects that cannot be found by other means. The SSR works by transmitting high frequency...

Windfall for steerable phone.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... It's not all doom and gloom for people working in the telecomms sector. Cambridge-based Antenova has just secured [pound]3.4m of venture capital to fund its 'smart' directional antenna technology for mobile communications from the...

Set phasers to stun goats.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... As if farm animals weren't having a bad enough time of it, it's now been announced that a people 'Zapper' developed by the US military is to be tested on our poor old goats. The technology developed by 2 Air Force Research Laboratory teams...

Candle trick.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Brain Teaser Q: Newton's laws are every engineer's mantra but one of the most common utilities puts Newton to the test - if every force produces opposite reactive force, why are people thrown such a distance by electric shocks? Answer...

Inventors beware.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Promoting your idea can be difficult when you're an inexperienced inventor. Geoff Sargant of the Patent Office has some useful tips on how to avoid being ripped off 'If you think you've come up with a fantastic idea guaranteed to be a big...

Tyre standard spells end for blow-outs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A 90mph blowout on a wet motorway can be catastrophic. And even if you survive you've still got to change a tyre while juggernauts rattle past your nose and drench you with water. This could soon be a thing of the past if a group of the world's...

Starting fire with water.(Junkers and Bosch Thermo Technology introduce a new water heater)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Anew water heater introduced by Junkers and Bosch Thermo Technology dispenses with the need for a pilot light and instead uses water power to ignite the burner. When a tap is opened, the water running through the boiler drives the turbine...

Reinertsen on design.(Don Reinertsen's )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Those of you in the UK who recently completed a census form may have taken a certain amount of pride in writing 'designer' in the box marked Occupation. But what exactly does the title 'designer' denote? Don Reinertsen's recent keynote...

www.netcomposites.com.
May 1, 2001... This new information service on composite materials claims to give the very latest composites news, events information and career opportunities alongside a forum for discussion on composites and a comprehensive 60-page guide to composites for...

www.boltup.com.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... This new site from Hydratight Sweeney offers help for critical bolting applications. The visitor simply fills in a questionnaire and then a technical recommendation is given. The site offers step-by step guides for those using specialist...

www.analysis-online.co.uk.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... This site, recently unveiled by Exeter Advanced Technologies is basically an on-line materials testing facility designed to help customers test materials cost-effectively from the comfort of their own premises. The website uses universal...

www.mepax.com.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... This site selects and determines the best suppliers for specific projects. This free service is designed to help the R&D department by either analysing the problems in order to find a solution, or by identifying a selected supplier's ability to...

The profit kings.(of design engineering industry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In its latest report on the UK design engineering industry, Plimsoll Publishing has identified 68 companies which, over the last 4 years have maintained consistently high profits. According to Plimsoll, these 68 companies, an elite 15% of...

The end is nigh.(for television, says George Gilder)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Well, the end of television is nigh. This isn't my claim but the prediction of George Gilder, that soothsayer of silicon: 'The new era of storewidth will banish television from our lives the average customer will have 5 terabytes of storage...

What goes around....
May 1, 2001... Omron's MICHAEL JUNIPER explores the evolution of remote I/O in system design, and sees fieldbus as the crucial enabling technology to drive distributed control There's a cyclical nature to development in the automation industry. Look at...

Fieldbus with Ethernet?
May 1, 2001... Fieldbus has been promoted by many over the past few years, yet its adoption has been slow, writes Dr. Richard Piggin of ARC. 'The UK lags behind the rest of Europe in their enthusiasm to implement it. Those acting quickly have a...

Bright idea.(Pacer Components and Integrated Photomatrix Ltd. release)(HI-LYTE Low Profile Illuminator)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Pacer Components and Integrated Photomatrix Ltd have released the HI-LYTE Low Profile Illuminator. The product consists of a fixed array of LEDs that offer a defined angle of emission. This removes the need for extensive positioning...

New relay is protected species.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Matsushita Electric Works has released the AQY210KS PhotoMOS Relay with a built-in short circuit protection function. When load current exceeds specifications the AQY210KS goes into an open state and terminates the current within 50...

Get on the case.(Ratiopac Pro equipment case)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Schroff has launched Ratiopac PRO, a new equipment case series designed to give a high degree of technical sophistication at an economical price. The case, which is an enclosed subrack, is said to be suited to measurement, instrumentation...

Disk stepper.(Disk Stepper Motor)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Astrosyn's E401 Disk Stepper Motor is based on a bipolar-wound stator and hybrid rotor. The 80 g motor delivers over 200g/cm torque, can run over 1kHz input frequency and has shielded ball bearings at both ends. The disk motor also offers...

Will bearings get better?
May 1, 2001... While bearing R&D continues to find room for improvement in product lines, SKF and NSK's emphasis is on providing solutions rather than products Today, in all types of industries, designers seek to reduce the size and weight of their...

Diesel be better than the other ones.(Rotating Liner Engine (RLE))(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A 100 year old engine design that saves fuel and lasts longer is reborn in Austin, Texas. Dimitrios Dardalis, a mechanical engineer at the University of Texas in Austin has patented a design that could mean massive fuel savings for diesel...

Living colour.(colored plastic cap secures panel fasteners)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... A range of metal and plastic fasteners in a choice of seven coloured caps is now available from Arconix UK. These patented self clinching panel fasteners are complete assemblies designed for permanent installation in metal sheets as thin as...

Not only a clip.(retaining ring)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The concept of the retaining ring as a commodity is one that Rotor Clip has long fought against. 'It's a revelation when people become aware of the [pound]50 million operation which produces our 2 penny retaining ring,' says MD Jonathan Slass,...

In-line protection for the weakest link.(in-line torque limiter couplings)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Motion control specialist Micromech has introduced a range of in-line torque limiter couplings for use with stepper motor, servo motor, and gearbox transmission applications. Micromech's technical director Stirling Morley warns that...

Torque too much.(retrofit torque measuring system)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Industrial Measurements has met a requirement for a retrofit torque measuring system, which doesn't need straingauging skills for its installation. This is especially useful for awkward on-site or environmentally challenged applications....

Only a quarter.(fasteners)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The Fasteners Centre (TFC) has introduced a low profile, one piece quarter turn captive panel fastener from ITW Fastex that can be used again and again. The new fastener offers an alternative to metal latch designs. The fastener is installed by...

Book to the future.(electronic books)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Newspapers and books that wirelessly typeset themselves on command. What on earth's happening to paper? JON EXCELL finds out Technologists have been predicting the end of the paper product for some time. Lightweight computing and wireless...

Connected.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... EaseON a range of Din standard cable connectors from Burkert provide a fast and safe interconnection for up to three wires To use you simply strip the outer core of the cable push the

Safer chips.(encapsulant)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Tra-Bond 933-1 from Tra-Con is a one component highly filled electrically insulating epoxy encapsulant designed specifically for chip encapsulation. Tra-Con says that Tra-Bond 933-1 offers a longer work life and lower moisture sensitivity than...

Glass heart.(co-polyester small bottle cap)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Eastman Chemical Company's Eaststar co-polyester is a material with many talents Recently employed as a decorative cap for perfume bottle, it demonstrated high dimensional control achieving a large fiat surface on a 32-mm thick part without...

Twin Peeks.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Green, Tweed & Co has used its expertise in thermoplastic mater ial innovation to develop two new, carbon fibre reinforced materials said to increase both mean time between failures and efficiency of pumps. WR-300 is a carbon fibre...

Long term protection.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Anochrome Group has developed Galvaplex; a protective coating designed to meet the demands of fastener coating performances for on-shore and offshore industries. The galvanised zinc and organic topcoat are said to create a high...

The return of the ancient mariner.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Using ANSYS/Mechanical, marine archeologists have successfully recovered a crude submarine that has been tying on the ocean floor since the American civil war Mention the American Civil War to most people and it conjures up images of...

A 20 robot salute.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... When machine builder Concept Automated systems was designing an auto mated rotary production machine for a telecommunications client, it turned to Milton Keynes-based IKO Nippon Thomson for help. The machine replaces a manual production...

Robots reap benefits.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Wittmann UK has helped IMI Yorkshire fitting reduce assembly time on its plumbing and heating fittings. Normally associated with plastics processing, Wittmann has diversified, in this case, to offer supply and co-ordination of three...

The impeller dilemma.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In the constant battle to keep industrial engines cool, which kind of impeller fan delivers maximum efficiency steel of thermoplastic? According to Colin Child Senior Applications Engineer at Finner UK Ltd the application determines the...

An Inverter for all motors.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Siemens has just launched a new range of frequency inverters that are designed to work with virtually any make of motor. Micromaster 4, the fourth generation of drives to be developed and built by Siemens Automation and Drives, covers a...

It's the ER series, but where's Clooney?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... BSL Engineering has now introduced Parker Hannifin's ER Series of stepper and servo driven rodless actuators. The ER Series actuators are said to provide an ideal solution for users seeking a low-cost means of implementing programmable...

Tough motor.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Launched at the recent Hannover Fair Hagglunds Compact CB range of hydraulic motors are said to have an extremely high power to weight ratio. With a maximum torque of 290,000 Nm, a maximum speed of 58rpm and displacements from 15 to 52 liters...

Tiny drives from Italy.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Italian drive specialist SIEI has introduced a range of small AC drives which, although designed for rapid programming, are packed with all the functionality that is needed for the majority of applications. The Quix Drive range encompasses...

Mini motors.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Linear Drives Ltd, manufacturer of the ThrustTube range of tubular linear motors, has introduced ThrustTube Micro, a product that it claims will open up new horizons for linear motion actuation. Constructed from advanced polymer and epoxy,...

Design with Adept.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Diffpack from Numerical Objects and Multisim 2001 from Electronics Workbench are available from Adept Scientific. Diffpack is an object oriented numerical problem-solving environment for partial differential equations (PDEs), with...

Electric eyes.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... StereoEyes Wired Stereoscopic Visualisation system is now available from the StereoGraphics Corporation. StereoEyes Wired enables cost-effective stereoscopic viewing of non-stereo OpenGL software applications regardless of the capabilities...

Milling around.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Camtek has launched PEPS Solidcut, a 3D milling package based upon the Parasolid geometry kernel. PEPS Solidcut modelling provides tools for 2D/3D Wire, NURBS-Surface and Solid modelled geometry to be created for the CNC programming process....

Multi-axis machining.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The latest release of Delcam's PowerMILL machining software, PowerMILL 3.1, includes a range of enhancements but priority has been given to additional features for high-speed and 5-axis machining. Delcam anticipates that PowerMILL 3.1 will...

Detailed design.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... ANSYS has released DesignSpace Version 6.0, a package created to provide simulation ability and guidance to technical professionals lacking experience in traditional finite element analysis. DesignSpace 6.0 includes parametric simulation,...

From lab to screen.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Structural Research & Analysis Corp has announced the release of COSMOS/Nonlinear, a mainstream nonlinear design analysis program developed for Windows. COSMOS/Nonlinear is said to provide designers with an integrated tool to simulate...

3D surface design just got smoother.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... NC Graphics is working on ToolMaker Version 11 to enable enhanced functionality for 3D surface design. Other anticipated improvements include the provision of a full set of NURB capabilities and enhanced multi-surface intersections and...

Leading Edge 2D.
May 1, 2001... Simple 2D is perfectly adequate for many kinds of technical drawings such as schematics, layouts and circuits. The current crop of 2D drawing tools from Autodesk, Microsoft and Intergraph are easy-to-use and smart. There's also enough...

Weight loss.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Software from Altair Engineering can be used to simplify frame structures and help them lose the pounds. In the above example, a solid model of a motorcycle frame is generated. Four loading conditions are placed on model, simulating passenger...

Blowing hot and cold.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Savings in both time and money have been reported by design engineers at Advanced Fibre Communications (AFC), a global telecommunications vendor. Flotherm thermal management software from Flomerics was used to model its FibreMAX enclosure for...

When work won't go away.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The world of work continues to be devolved. No longer must you be 'attached' to your desk. This new CAD viewer is both wireless and pocket-size or those who find they can never get away from their desk, things are only going to get worse....

Romulus.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The evolutionary trail takes us to the early 1980s, a time when minicomputers ruled the CAD arena and winning strains of CAD systems began to surface Computers in the early 1980's provided just enough power to deliver working applications...

Flash harry.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... National Semiconductor has released an 8-bit COP8FLASH microcontroller with multiple power save operating modes. With two on-chip oscillators and six operating modes the COP8CBR can monitor a system's environment, including temperature,...