Design Engineering articles from October 2000

Design Engineering archives from October 2000

Elephantine actuation.(continuum actuator)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... It may look like something from a 1970s sci-fi series, but this terrifying creation is in fact a demonstration of an amazingly simple and effective actuator design developed by Engineers at Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University. The gentle,...

AMETEK Acquires Rochester assets.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... Measurement instrumentation specialist AMETEK, has bought the assets of Rochester Instrument Systems for approximately $19 million. The company claims that the acquisition will complement its current product offering in the expanding market for...

DSM acquires moulding op.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... DSM Engineering Plastics has acquired the Torlon PAI compression moulding assets of BP Amoco's Amotech Performance Plastics Inc. According to Earl Wester, DSM's head of global market development, 'the Amotech manufacturing capabilities expand...

Invensys sells pneumatics to Parker.(Parker Hannifin Inc. acquired Invensys)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Invensys and Parker Hannifin have executed an agreement for Parker to acquire Invensys' pneumatics operations for $38 million. Invensys' pneumatics operations comprise Watts FluidAir in the US, Climax SA in France and Maxam Pneumatics...

Howzaat for image processing.(Siemens' new Hawk-Eye)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The LBW (leg before wicket) law confuses cricket enthusiasts, unenthusiasts, umpires, commentators and players alike, and like football's offside rule, attempted explanations often make this crucial component of the British summer even more...

A farewell to needles.(PowderJect Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Most of us remember the scenario, the mounting sense of dread as we queued outside the school matron's office, the terror-inducing tales of needles breaking off in arms, and finally the agony of the BCG jab: like a bee with a hammer. The...

Lotus Engineering.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... No, it's not a prop for a forthcoming Batman film, but Lotus Engineering's recently unveiled Extreme concept car. Designed and built by student Ted Mannerfelt, the vehicle brings together influences from aerospace, motorcycle and powerboat...

KTI and Theorem join forces.(Theorem Solutions Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... CAD data exchange expert, Theorem Solutions has embarked on a business relationship with knowledge-based engineering specialist KTI to combine the resources of the two companies. Theorem claims that the relationship will enable CAD designers to...

Pentagon selects Precise Biometrics.(Precise Biometrics and Spyrus together made computer security software)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The US Department of Defence in the Pentagon has purchased and installed a biometric security solution integrated by Precise Biometrics and Spyrus. The system, which will be used to provide security for mobile computers is based on a biometric...

The future of materials.(National Physics Laboratory and Quotec Ltd have been commissioned by the DTI to determine the UK's materials measurement research needs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The National Physics Laboratory and Quotec Ltd have been commissioned by the DTI to determine the UK's materials measurement research needs over the next five years. The five-year forward look will involve widespread consultation with industry...

BAAN wins contract.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... In its first major contract since being acquired by Invensys, software provider BAAN has won a major 3,000 user multimillion pound order from the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) - part of the UK MOD.

And then there was Serraglaze.(Redhus Serraglaze)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Electricity's fine, but as Northern Europe's sky-high suicide figures suggest, there's no substitute for natural daylight. Now, UK company Redhus Serraglaze promises to bring daylight to the gloomiest corners of offices and living rooms up...

Space-age solution to flight delays.(Aircraft Vortex Spacing System)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... The lot of the air-traffic controller is not a happy one. With thousands of lives depending on one person's interpretation of a seemingly random series of dots, half-hourly breaks are practically part of the job description. One of the...

A question of semantics.(Invention Machine's CoBrain knowledge capturing software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Invention Machine has developed software that takes the pain out of the information overload. We should all know by now what a great source of information the internet is. However, with an estimated 5 million new pages added every day,...

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE.(brain teaser)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Q This month's teaser will certainly challenge the spatial awareness of Design Engineering readers. First, to help you limber up, see if you can correctly identify the following shapes: Okay, we've had harder puzzles. Now for the...

www.mindpixel.com.(General Artificial Consciousness)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Chris McKinstry, computer scientist and artificial intelligence (Al) expert, has embarked on a project aimed at using the mind power of millions of Web surfers to teach a computer to think like a human. GAC, which stands for General...

www.cyc.com.(multi-contextual knowledge base and inference engine)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... In a different project, running since 1984, Al pioneer Doug Lenat and his texas-based company Cycorp, has been developing a similar software tool. Cyc is the name of a very large, multi-contextual knowledge base and inference engine, the...

www.globexplorer.com.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... If you're of a curious bent, here's an opportunity to see what your back garden, or indeed anyone else's, looks like from space. Globexplorer is the result of years of development and investment of millions of dollars into warehousing what is...

www.e4jobnet.com.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Finally, if you're looking for a new job, why not visit our new e4jobnet.com site. We will be bringing you all the latest jobs that appear in 'The Engineer' newspaper on a weekly basis as well as a host of jobs that advertisers in Centaur...

Collaboration culture shock.(Boeing)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
October 1, 2000... While talking to a recently recruited Boeing CAD designer, I asked what collaborative 3 software system Boeing uses. Being a fiercely competitive international corporation, I naively presumed it would assume every possible advantage, Well it...

The future's bright the future's organic.(organic electroluminescence)
October 1, 2000... The world of 'pervasive computing' will put a new emphasis on the importance of displays. JON EXCELL looks at what we'll be looking at in the not too distant future Wave goodbye to the grey plastic box, because in ten years time we will...

Ambient with Omega.(multlmeter/thermometer HHM29-IR)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Omega Engineering has introduced the HHM29-IR multlmeter/thermometer. Containing a built in infrared sensor and laser sighting for non-contact temperature measurement with variable emissivity. Priced at [pound]129, the multimeter is said to be...

Current trends.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... Schurter's FWF/FWT sub-miniature fuse link family is said to require 65% less board space than comparable 5x20 parts and are designed for protection against current overload. The FWF/FWT range has a breaking capacity of 100A/125 VAC and is...

Factory on call.(Schneider Electric gives its PLCs real-time access to outside)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Schneider Electric has put its internet-enabled PLCs and Ethernet together with WAP phone technology to give its PLCs real-time access to the outside world. This, theoretically, will give companies the freedom to manage plant and equipment...

Let there be Lumex light.(light emitting diodes and accesories)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Lumex has introduced its 'surfeeleds' family of light emitting diodes and accessories. Lumex says it is the largest line of surface mount technology LED chips, LEDs and light pipes. The range also boasts the industry's first SMT numeric...

Woodhead Connectivity.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Woodhead Connectivity has released the RJ-45 industrial connection system, said to include the world's only IP67-rated Ethernet connector capable of operating in harsh environments. The RJ-Lnxx IP67 connection system enables Ethernet and...

Data share and share alike.(Wellhead Equipment Division of FMC Corp.; CoCreate)(project collaboration; CAD-CAM software)
October 1, 2000... From the designer to the marketing staff Internet collaboration keeps everyone in the 'loop' without taking up too much time. For any given product design, there maybe hundreds of peripheral players who rely on the core product design to do...

Aluminium alloy has a cast of thousands.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... BFI OPTiLAS has announced the arrival of Beralcast, a range of lightweight, high-stiffness aluminium beryllium alloys that can be investment cast into 'near net shapes'. Said to be significantly lighter and stiffer than aluminium,...

What noise?(Hyperlas's Dynathane)(machinery vibration and damping)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Hyperlast believes it has come up with a solution to the many and varied vibration and noise problems with Dynathane, a new microcellular elastomer. Dynathane is said to offer superb wear resistance for components in contact with moving...

Quietly confident.(MSC Laminates and Composites Inc.; Quiet Steel)(motor vehicles)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... MSC Laminates and Composites INO has released Quiet Steel for use in motor vehicles. The material is a constrained layer comprising two skins of metal around a viscoelastic polymer core and is provided in coil from up to 72"W. Quiet...

Take the heat.(Aremco released new energy saving device)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Aremco has released Aremcolox[TM] 502-1400-FF, a high density, fully sintered, high purity alumina ceramic said to provide excellent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Its specifications include strength of 340,000 psi,...

Supertherm 2003.(diamond epoxy adhesive)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Diamonds prove that they can do more than look stunning in jewellery with Tra-Con's Supertherm 2003, a die-attached diamond epoxy adhesive. Supertherm 2003 is suitable for micro applications where high thermal conductivity and electrical...

Talking to the car.(use of digital networks in cars)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... Automotive networks are in the throws of change. GABRIEL LEEN and DONAL HEFFERMAN of PEI Technologies and the University of Limerick give a running commentary of the industry's movements Digital networks are revolutionising automotive...

Small and tough.(PEC cylinders)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2000... ASCO Joucomatic has released PEC cylinders, a new compact range said to meet the demands of modern machine design. Flat end caps and female piston rods reduce PEC cylinders size by 65% compared with equivalent standard cylinders. ASCO...

Pro's only for Inmoco.(MultiPro)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Inmoco claims its MultiPro[TM] range has been designed to integrate motion control, analogue and digital I/O and networking in a single package Inmoco adds that the MultiPro family of automation controllers will enable users to achieve high...

New strings for Banjo.(Banjo Flow Controls)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... A complete design rethink has led John Guest to extend its range of Banjo Flow Controls to include products in 4mm to 12mm sizes and in metric and BSP threads. The new flow controls can be assembled into cylinder ports and be twisted into...

MicroLogix.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Rockwell Automation has announced cost saving motion capabilities for the MicroLogix 1500, Allen-Bradley's micro PLC for applications up to 156 I/O points. MicroLogix 1500 with motion can be used for positioning applications with...

It s a wrap for Package Tool.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... PPT vision has announced the Package Tool; a machine vision software tool designed to increase the precision, speed and flexibility of automated package inspection. The package tool is said to be ideal for the inspection of the integrity,...

Best of both worlds.(Festo Corp. combines pneumatic and hydraulic machinery)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Roger Brownile unearths a hybrid fluid power technique, offering the best qualities of hydraulics and pneumatics Festo has been involved in the simulation of natural movement for large fairground creatures. To obtain this smooth controlled...

THAP to ease the pressure.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... SKF has made mounting and dismounting large pressure joints easier with its latest THAP series of air driven hydraulic pumps. The pumps have been designed for use with OK-couplings, bearings, flywheels, railway wheels and a broad variety of...

Instrument is ABLE.(ABLE Instruments & Controls relised new testing device)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... ABLE Instruments & Controls has introduced the System 1010AP Hydraulic System Tester, said to be the ultimate tool for aircraft hydraulic system testing and analysis. System 1010AP has been designed for rapid hydraulic line monitoring and...

Soft landing in store with Rexroth Mecman.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Production times; noise levels and vibration in high-speed applications may be significantly reduced with Rexroth Mecmans VDMA/ISO advanced cushioning concept. Rexroth Mecman says the ISO/VDMA cylinder range is available with the option of...

Cylinders get SMART.(IMI Norgren Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... IMI Norgren has developed a 63mm ISO/VDMA cylinder with sensors to monitor the position of the piston rod. The SMART cylinder and built-in 5/2 or 5/3 valve are monitored and controlled by an integrated AS-I bus and has a stroke of between 200mm...

Free to move.(Tom Parker Ltd.; Hydraulic Hose; hydraulic couplings)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Hydraulic Hose, an innovation from Tom Parker Ltd, has been designed to connect and disconnect through a new hydraulic coupling. The couplings plug-in to connect and are self-locking. The design is said to allow the coupling to swivel...

Parker Filtration.(Finite AQT-4 Air Quality Analyser)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Parker Filtration is treading where no filtration company has trodden before with the release of its four-in-one Finite AQT-4 Air Quality Analyser. Parker Filtration says the AQT-4 incorporates a capacitance hydrometer to measure the...

Chicken Runs on Wormgears.(new revolving camera by Eimeldingen)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Holroyd worm and wheel sets are key essentials in the 'heart' of a revolving camera mount made by Eimeldingen UK Ltd. of Bath, for Aardman Animations' film Chicken Run. Eimeldingen's main product is a range of high precision rotary tables...

Groovy.(Dura-Belt's groove sleeves )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... A new groove sleeve from Dura-Belt uses a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for traction and performance to increase the load bearing capacity of industrial conveyors by up to 50%. The sleeve, a flat loop made from Stevens Urethane, slips into...

Grease enlightening.(NSK bearings; xerography)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Xerography in both printers and copiers consists of seven interrelated processes: Charging, Imaging, Exposing, Developing, Transferring, Fusing and Cleaning, all of which occur simultaneously and centre around a piece of equipment called the...

Disk drive.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... One of the more elegant power transmission innovations recently developed comes from GKN Technology in Wolverhampton. The Light Composite Disk (LCD) is a breakthrough in shaft couplings. The disk satisfies applications demanding high speed,...

HP source on show.(Glacier Industrial Bearings)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Glacier Industrial Bearings on stand 1400 has its new HP bearings available for inspection. These multi-material injection moulded polymer bearings can incorporate features such as moulded-in sealing elements, bore grooving and grease...

Heavy duty sliding.(Hepco Slide Systems Ltd.; Heavy Duty Driven Linear System)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Hepco believes that with the introduction of its Heavy Duty Driven Linear System (HDLS), it offers designers of automation systems the best of both worlds: a belt driven system suitable for arduous applications. An inherent quality of the HDLS...

A pump to write home about.(Sinter Metal's planetary rotor pump)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... A 'revolutionary' self-sealing planetary rotor pump can be seen at GKN Sinter Metal's stand (1849). Aimed at pump applications in automotive and commercial vehicle engines and transmissions, the rotor pump handles high pressure with high...

12mm all the way.(Electro Mechanical Systems)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Stand 1651 belongs to Electro Mechanical Systems (EMS) which is launching a complete 12mm systems. This includes motor, planetary, gearhead, backlash free gearhead, plus a new 44mm planetary gearhead. EMS is a supplier of precision small DC...

Who needs a key way?(BTL Specialty Resins Corp. introduced Trantorque GT)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... BTL's Trantorque GT has been designed to eliminate reverse torque problems by allowing components to be accurately and securely mounted without a key way. Advantages of a lack of key way include the elimination of weak spots in the shaft, which...

Cooler in full swing.(Multi-Wing's new impeller)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Multi-Wing has launched a new impeller believed to maximise engine cooling in industrial applications where wide tip clearance is inevitable. The impeller has an adjustable pitch setting with slots that lock the blades into six pitch...

Colourful modelling.(Z-Corp Z402C)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... UMAK has introduced Z-Corp Z402C, said to be the world's first commercially available 3-D solid colour modelling package. Developed by the Z-Corporation of America and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, the Z402C is said to be...

BOA is far from boring.(Boring with Optimal Accuracy)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Lamb Technicon Machining Systems has demonstrated a machine tool developed specifically to solve the challenges of production machining parts with consecutive bores, such as crankshaft bores and camshaft bores. Called 'BOA'--Boring with...

FAG/Barden.(martenistic through-hardened steel)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Cronidur 30, a new steel said to be capable of withstanding up to 40% higher dynamic loads, is being used by FAG/Barden for the production of their spindle bearings. The new martenistic through-hardened steel, which has been successfully...

The moving sound of magnetostriction.(Terfenol)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... As well as revolutionise audio equipment design, a phenomenon first observed by Joule in 1842 could also offer a cheap solution to London's first white knuckle bridge. Since Joule's discovery, magnetostriction has been widely researched,...

Thermally enhanced Icepak.(Fluent Inc.'s Pro/Engineer-Icepak interface)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Fluent Incorporated, producer of thermal modelling software, has launched version 2.0 of its Pro/Engineer-Icepak interface. 'Virtual prototyping of a design's thermal, electromagnetic, and mechanical performance has proven to be an effective...

Inventive Heron.(Heron Technologies' WATT v 0.7)(mechanisms)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... A handy tool from Heron Technologies has been launched for the conceptual design of mechanisms and linkages. WATT v 0.7, claims Heron, puts the engineer in charge, and invents mechanisms on command with its behavioural modelling technology. ...

Update for PVEIite.(COADE PVElite Version 4.00)(Software Review)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... COADE is releasing PVElite Version 4.00, an enhanced edition of its popular Windows (95/98/NT) integrated vessel design and stress analysis software. PVElite Version 4.00 features a new 3D model viewer, DXF (data interchange file) file...

Artesyn starts online PDF library.(Artesyn Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Artesyn Technologies, the power supplies specialist, has posted the first four modules of a new PDF-based power applications library onto its website. The company plans to build this library into an indispensable source of reference data for...

Free grabs.(Data Translation Inc. offers free CD software)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Data Translation is now giving away a CD software bundle with all deliveries of its PCI frame grabber boards. Included in the CD are the tools needed to set up a Data Translation frame grabber, to develop imaging applications, and tools to...

Fibre flow.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Plastics solutions specialist Moldflow has released Moldflow Plastics Insight 2.0, the latest verssion of its flagship software. MPI 2.0 is a suit of analysis software tools that enable plastic parts design, mould design, and machine processing...

Good news for developers.(Actrix Technical OEM 2000)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Autodesk is expanding its OEM component licensing program, for developers with the introduction of Actrix Technical OEM 2000, an 'intelligent' and cost effective drawing and engineering platform. Through the OEM program, corporate and...

BAD CAD.(Professional Engineering; BADCAD.com)(diagnostics)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Professional Engineering has launched BADCAD.com, an online hospital for diagnosing and curing common but subtle ailments in CAD models that can play havoc with downstream applications like CAM. Such problems arise from a lack of awareness of...

Improving your blade design.(AEA Technology's CFX-BladeGen)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... AEA Technology has announced an improvement in blade design software with its CFX-BladeGen 3D software tool. This easy to use tool for the rapid design of rotating machinery components; has a 'plus' module which enables. rapid 3D viscous flow...

OPERAational.(Vector Fields Ltd's; OPERA 2d and 3d)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Software for electromagnetic design and analysis has been released by Vector Fields. In the latest OPERA 2d and 3d software, a well-proven software package, changes have been made reflecting the advances in software engineering and numerical...

Thermal simulation on the web.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Flopack, a time saving, web-based application to expedite thermal simulations in Flomerics' Flotherm thermal analysis software is now available. Using a simple web browser to access and run Flopack, you can quickly and easily build detailed 3D...

FiberSIM stops time wasting.(Software Review)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2000... Massachusetts-based Composite Design Technologies has announced the release of FiberSIM 3.3, a new version of its software suite that provides major enhancements in productivity and part pertormance while increasing its support of a range of...

Seeing carrots in the dark.(researching light emitting pickles)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2000... Years ago, scientists at Digital's Semiconductor Engineering Group plugged a pickle into the wall and were delighted to discover that it glowed. Soon after this discovery, researcher's at Digital's Western Research Laboratories published a...