Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from February 2005

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from February 2005

Major skills.(college graduate hiring on the rise)(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... For the second year in a row, employers predicted an increase in college-graduate hiring. And about 70 percent of them said they would increase starting salaries for new college graduates. Atop the list of employers' 10 most sought-after...

Offshore, out of mind.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: Alan Brown refers to "blue collar engineering" jobs ("Redefining the ME," September 2004). These may be the jobs that new graduates normally take. When I graduated in 1949, I took a job in a "test and service department." I...

Breeding hybrids.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: The brief article on hybrid vehicle testing (August 2004, "Hybrid Vehicles Take the Test of Their Lives" in News and Notes) reminded me how disappointing it is that American automobiles are once again following rather than...

Speed of foam: 2.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: The article "The Speed of Foam," in September 2004 pointed out the "surprising" conclusion that an apparently large difference in velocity between the shuttle Columbia and the piece of foam insulation broken off of the main fuel...

Power and water.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: I read with interest the article by Gayle Ehrenman titled "From Sea to Sink" (October 2004). In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Office of Saline Water (part of the U.S. Department of the Interior) authorized the construction...

Cost accounting.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... To the Editor: In response to the letter titled "Hydrogen and Gasoline" from Philip Manfredi, published in the April 2004 issue: Hydrogen production need not be polluting, as Mr. Manfredi states, if it is generated by renewable resources such...

LM6000 seeks ABS cert.(news & notes)(American Bureau of Shipping )
February 1, 2005... Continuing a long history of providing aeroderivative turbines to ships, General Electric Co. has begun its latest round of marine certification testing of the LM6000 engine. The engines have already logged some 290,000 hours of sea time on oil...

Deconstructing Eiffel.(news & notes)(Gustave Eiffel)
February 1, 2005... For decades, engineers and mathematicians have wondered what Gustave Eiffel was thinking when he designed his famous tower. A math professor at Michigan Technological University in Houghton and an engineering professor at the University of...

Missing objects.(computing)(Education for poor vision childrens)
February 1, 2005... WITH A COMMON LAPTOP COMPUTER linked to a head-mounted projection device, students at the University of Washington in Seattle have created a system to help people with poor vision navigate around stationary objects. The wearable low vision...

Step up the pace.(computing)
February 1, 2005... A COMPANY THAT MAKES OIL DRILL PIPES says it has streamlined order fulfillment and reduced manufacturing time with the help of software that automates certain repeatable engineering tasks. Houston-based Grant Prideco recently installed the...

Two phases to the moon.(computing)(two-phase systems)(services of researchers at Purdue University )
February 1, 2005... IN A BID TO DESIGN MORE EFFICIENT heating and cooling systems in spacecraft bound for Mars or the moon, researchers at Purdue University have worked out a mathematical method to predict how those systems will behave in reduced gravity. ...

Business savvy.(computing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... SEVENTEEN YEARS OF OWNING A successful product--and mold-analysis consulting firm and 39 years in the plastic molding field have helped Michael Bunch take advantage of new analysis software tools that complement his expertise. "A...

Orange juice at sea.(computing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CONVERTING A 25,000-TON CARGO SHIP into a vessel to transport orange juice is no easy task. It may sound simple to put a tank onboard and make sure it doesn't leak, but this tank was to stand free without being welded down. The...

Hundred-ply parts.(computing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... WHEN TURKISH AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES added composite parts to the list of metal components its engineers usually designed, the company complemented that addition with a new computeraided design program specifically created for composite parts. ...

Modeling for the track.(computing)(Virtual.Lab Motion)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... ENGINEERS AT TOYOTA RACING DEVELOPMENT USA have turned to a software program to model their racecars' suspension systems, to integrate them into models of the full vehicles, and to test-drive the vehicles virtually on digital tracks. The...

More than a crystal ball.(computing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... SOFTWARE IS CHANGING THE WAY engineers develop and test automotive designs, say two Stanford University professors. They're looking at how new software is changing the auto industry, and what it may spell for the future of automobile engineers....

Dassault Systemes.(3-D graphics program for kids is released)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Dassault Systemes of Paris has released Cosmic Blobs, a 3-D graphics program for kids. Children ages seven to 14 can design 3-D creations on par with leading computer-generated movies and cartoons, according to the developer.

Delcam.(PS-Electrode)(Delcam Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Delcam of Birmingham, England, has released an upgraded version of its automated electrode design system, PS-Electrode.

Intergraph Corp.(SmartPlant 3D 5.0)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Intergraph Corp. of Huntsville, Ala., is shipping SmartPlant 3D 5.0, used to design and maintain process, power, and marine facilities and keep them as-built throughout the life cycle. The new version includes enhancements for structural...

General CADD Products Inc.(software product)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... General CADD Products Inc. of Cherry Valley, N.Y., has released General CADD Pro Version 3.1, the company's computer-aided drafting and design software product.

3D Systems Corp.(PRODUCT ENHANCEMENT)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... A maker of rapid 3-D printing, prototyping, and manufacturing devices, 3D Systems Corp. of Valencia, Calif., has enhanced its InVision HR 3-D printer with the capability of accepting .SLC file format.

Fluent Inc.(released Gambit 2.2)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Fluent Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., has released Gambit 2.2, an upgrade to the developer's geometry and mesh generation software.

ICEM Ltd.(software product )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... ICEM Ltd. of Southampton, England, says its new stand-alone software product for reverse engineering applications, ICEM RevEng, is shipping to customers.

MSC.Software Corp.(MSC.Dynamic Designer )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... A maker of virtual product development software, MSC.Software Corp. of Santa Ana, Calif., has released MSC.Dynamic Designer for Autodesk Inventor 9 and Solid Edge 16.

Adobe Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has acquired OKYZ S.A. of Paris, makers of 3-D collaboration software.
February 1, 2005... Adobe Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has acquired OKYZ S.A. of Paris, makers of 3-D collaboration software. The acquisition adds 3-D technology and expertise to the Adobe Intelligent Document Platform.

Cyon Research Corp.
February 1, 2005... Cyon Research Corp. of Bethesda, Md., says its A-E-C Automation Newsletter is now AECnews.com, a Web-based news service for those in architecture, engineering, and construction.

Alias.(Alias (Toronto, Canada))(educational software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Alias of Toronto has released much of its software for the educational market. The company is introducing eight new learning bundles that combine, in different ways, the vendor's Maya and Studio Tools software with self-paced learning tools.

Static and transient analysis.(software exchange)
February 1, 2005... Capability: Fem2X.4 performs three-dimensional static and transient analyses, including structural, heat-transfer, electrical, and fluid-flow analyses. The element library comprises springs, beams, plates, and solids with such multidisciplinary...

Graphing and analyzing.(software exchange)
February 1, 2005... Capability: The OriginPro 7.5 student version is based on the developer's scientific-graphing and analysis software. The application combines point-and-click interfaces for scientific graphing and analysis with a programming environment. The...

Multiphysics modeling.(software exchange)
February 1, 2005... Capability: The updated multiphysics modeling program Femlab 3.1 now has an earth science module, a heat-transfer module, and a MEMS module. Software includes equation setups and prewritten models to simulate and analyze complex systems like...

Molding drafting, designing.(software exchange)
February 1, 2005... Capability: The three-dimensional computer-aided design package Alibre Design has been upgraded to version eight. The software includes parametric solid modeling features, associative two-dimensional drafting and detailing features, and the...

Keeping water clean.(Instrumentation And Control)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... A water and wastewater treatment company in Swindon, England, RWE Thames Water, operates a large sewage treatment plant in Hogsmill, in southwest London. The plant needed tighter control of the large fans that aerate the settled sewage, part of...

Unmanned fire spies.(Instrumentation And Control)
February 1, 2005... Wildfires can move fast, threatening life as well as huge tracts of land, and they are dangerously unpredictable. According to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, 64,807 wildfires destroyed nearly 1.45 million acres in the...

Clues to cleaner diesels.(Instrumentation and Control)
February 1, 2005... Diesel engine manufacturers have come a long way in trapping potentially harmful exhaust particulates before they leave the tailpipe. Still, there is always room for improvement. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois say they...

Exploring the main.(Instrumentation And Control)(robotic cameras)
February 1, 2005... Inspection of gas mains is labor-intensive work, requiring excavations every few hundred feet and looking for flaws by using pushrod cameras. Hagen Schempf, a principal systems scientist at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University...

Easier needling.(Instrumentation and Control)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Children and adults alike wince at the sharp jab of pain that accompanies the injection of needles and IVs. Robert Langer, a professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, thought...

Minding your beeswax. (Instrumentation and Control).
February 1, 2005... Bees are a valuable commodity in California, not only for the production of honey but also as a source of pollination for almonds and other crops. And while beekeepers have enjoyed a lucrative business, they have also experienced a rash of...

Funding ups and downs.(Washington window)
February 1, 2005... Continuing a pattern of recent years, Congress did not complete its budget before the start of the 2005 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2004, and had to return after the election to pass a catch-all spending bill, called an omnibus bill. ...

Mining what others miss: highlighting the subtleties in [10.sup.12] bytes of data, technology tries to clear up its own complex mess.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2005... Simulating natural phenomena, mapping the human genome, and discovering ways to improve product quality all have one thing in common: They generate tremendous amounts of data. Having terabytes of data at your disposal greatly increases the...

Cheaper watches: research looks at wireless networks to lower the cost of monitoring plant machinery.(Electric Motors)
February 1, 2005... Last spring, the U.S. Department of Energy earmarked $18 million in energy conservation funding to be split among General Electric, Eaton, and Honeywell for developing distributed wireless multisensor technologies. The three projects are...

Best intentions: the tools of improvement don't always fit the hand in need.(using photoelectric systems to provide electricity)
February 1, 2005... The idea seemed to offer something for everyone involved. Volunteer work and charitable money would put photoelectric systems into communities that power lines don't reach. With a bank of batteries to store the energy, residents would be able...

Managing across cultures: how do you design food-processing equipment if you know next to nothing about the culture in which it will be used?
February 1, 2005... Bright, motivated engineers are uniquely easy to manage. Just ask Bruce Humphrys, the executive director of Compatible Technology International in St. Paul, Minn. CTI's engineers design simple food-processing equipment for people in Third World...

The age of ingenuity: by the late 19th century, as the prestige of engineers grew, their inventiveness gave rise to unprecedented industrial advancement.(Asme: the first 125 years)
February 1, 2005... In 1888, George Westinghouse was investigating a motor for his alternating current electrical system. He had developed ac power two years earlier, and it offered a transmission advantage over the direct current system of Thomas Edison: The...

Pressure transmitter.(new products)
February 1, 2005... SENSORTECHNICS INC., WALPOLE. MASS. A submersible pressure transmitter, the HYD, offers high-precision hydrostatic level measurement for various pressure ranges. The HYD level probe features a compact stainless steel housing, incorporating a...

Tiny tubes.(new products)
February 1, 2005... SMC CORP. OF AMERICA, TUSTIN. CALIF. Twenty-meter roils of polyurethane tubing--2 mm outside diameter (1.2 mm ID) in size--are available in seven standard colors: black, blue, white, red, yellow, green, and clear. The tubing, with a minimum...

Illuminated switches.(new products)
February 1, 2005... EAO SWITCH CORP., MILFORD, CONN. Series 04 sealed, illuminated switches offer utility and industrial durability. They have a choice of possible combinations, including square and round indicators and pushbuttons, rotary switches, emergency...

Step motor.(new products)
February 1, 2005... LIN ENGINEERING, SANTA CLARA. CALIF. The 3509V is a 0.9-degree, size 14 step motor. According to the company, the step accuracy of the modular stepper is [+ or -] 1.5 arc minutes at 1/64 microstepping. The 3509V is 0.82 in. thick. This bipolar...

Bipolar driver.(new products)
February 1, 2005... NYDEN CORP., SAN JOSE, CALIF. The high-performance IMS51 Series is an ac bipolar driver that is compliant with worldwide safety protocols when powering high-torque step motors. The IMS51 is more exceptional than a smart integrated driver,...

Hogging the spotlight.(new products)
February 1, 2005... VIBRALIGN INC., RICHMOND, VA. The Shaft Hog laser alignment system is for measurement and alignment of coupled rotating machines. The system features a "laser line" instead of the traditional laser dot. According to the company, this makes...

Inspection lamp.(new products)
February 1, 2005... SPECTRONICS CORP., WESTBURY. N.Y. The AP-800 UltraWand UV inspection lamp delivers long-wave UV (365 nm) illumination in restricted areas that make accurate NDT inspections virtually impossible for conventional lamps. It is useful for detecting...

Multichannel isolators.(new products)
February 1, 2005... ACROMAG INC., WIXOM, MICH. The 630T Series of multichannel isolators provide an economical and space-efficient solution to eliminate ground loops, filter signal noise, and block high-voltage surges. These inch-wide single/dual-channel isolators...

Signal strength analyzer.(new products)
February 1, 2005... PROTEK TEST AND MEASUREMENT, ALLENDALE, N.J. The newest generation of handheld, RF signal strength analyzer features 2.9 GHz bandwidth, 117 db per meter maximum sensitivity, and a scan rate of 125 channels per second. The extended frequency...

Pulper drive.(new products)
February 1, 2005... FALK CORP., MILWAUKEE, WIS. A severe-duty pulper drive is designed to prevent water from entering to extend its operating life. Falk's standard water exclusion features include an external shaft slinger, V-ring seal, and tandem lip seal...

Canister system.(new products)
February 1, 2005... CAMFIL FARR, RIVERDALE, N.J. The Camsorb canister system removes high gas and vapor loads in HVAC systems. The new sorbent system, which uses cylindrical canisters, contains more sorbent in a given space than standard flat-tray designs,...

Epoxy adhesive.(new products)
February 1, 2005... MASTER BOND INC., HACKENSACK, N.J. The company's two-component epoxy adhesive and sealant is for cryogenic applications. Called EP29LPSP, this compound is able to withstand temperatures as low as 4K. In addition, it is able to resist cryogenic...

Temporary-function fittings.(new products)
February 1, 2005... CLIPPARD INSTRUMENT LABORATORY INC., CINCINNATI, OHIO. New fittings provide a connection point for a temporary function or circuitry connection. They can be used for airflow or pressure testing, valve dumping or venting, or for a quick...

Measurement devices.(product information )
February 1, 2005... MEASUREMENT COMPUTING CORP., MIDDLEBORO, MASS. A 16-page catalog, USB-based DAQ, features the company's personal measurement device and measurement advantage lines of USB-based acquisition and control modules. The products are designed for...

Taking tiny measurements.(product information)
February 1, 2005... GEI INTERNATIONAL INC., SYRACUSE, N.Y. Magnifiers, measuring magnifiers, microscopes, and other optical devices that measure dimensions of less than one one-thousandth of an inch are featured in a color catalog. Technical specifications and...

Prevent falls.(product information)
February 1, 2005... TRUSTY-STEP INTERNATIONAL, LYNN, MASS. Slip-resistant products help to make any type of floor--tile, granite, terrazzo, cement, wood, or vinyl--slip resistant when wet. The catalog features products that can be used indoors or outdoors; the...

In a snap.(product information)
February 1, 2005... PENN ENGINEERING FASTENING TECHNOLOGIES, DANBORO, PA. All-metal standoffs are designed to attach and space printed circuit boards and subassemblies without screws. A six-page catalog features Snap-Top fasteners that use a spring action for...

Cut to the chase.(product information)
February 1, 2005... BEHRINGER SAWS INC., MORGANTOWN, PA. State-of-the-Art Engineering in Dual Columns is an eight-page brochure demonstrating how the features built into a quality bandsaw can help increase production output and quality. Drive and control systems,...

Airless cylinders.(product information)
February 1, 2005... IMI NORGREN INC., LITTLETON, COLO. Motion and fluid control company Norgren has published brochure about the multiposition airless cylinder. The device can be included in projects that require multiple program positions. A features and benefits...

Applying force.(product information)
February 1, 2005... KISTLER INSTRUMENT CORP., AMHERST, N.Y. Load sensors, force links, load cells, dynamometers, force sensors, accessories, and cables are featured in a full-color 86-page catalog. Paper and electronic versions are available. Force instrumentation...

The ME resource file.
February 1, 2005... Instrumentation & Control Temperature Handbook and Encyclopedia Volume MMV[TM] 5th Edition Omega is pleased to announce the release of Volume MMV[TM] Temperature Handbook 5th Edition. It offers detailed information and specifications...

Nanometer Structures: Theory, Modeling, and Simulation.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Editor. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. Co-published with SPIE Press and Professional Engineering Publishing, U.K. 575 pages. 2004, ASME members, $70; list, $88. ISBN 0-7918-0215-9. Part of The Handbook...

ATC-45 Field Manual: Safety Evaluation of Buildings After Wind Storms and Floods.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Applied Technology Council, 201 Redwood Shores Pkwy., Suite 240, Redwood City, CA 94065. 132 pages. 2004. Soft-cover. $27. ISBN 0-9753739-2-7. Given the extent of hurricane damage the southeastern United States suffered last year, this...

Masterworks of Technology: The Story of Creative Engineering, Architecture, and Design.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... E.E. Lewis. Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Dr., Amherst, NY 14228-2197. 328 pages. 2004. $28. ISBN 159102-243-6. In this exploration of technological creativity throughout the ages, E.E. Lewis, a professor of mechanical engineering at...

Blazing the Trail: The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Mike Gruntman, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc., 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston, VA 20191-4344. 505 pages. 2004. $59.95. ISBN 1-56347-705-X. The achievements of space exploration that began in the late 1950s are...

Handbook of Exact Solutions for Ordinary Differential Equations. Second Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Andrei D. Polyanin and Valentin F. Zaitsev. Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2000 N. HA Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431. 787 pages. 2003. $119.95. ISBN 158488-297-2. This book contains nearly 6,200 ordinary differential equations and their...

Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Carl Selinger. Wiley-IEEE Press, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. 178 pages. 2004. $32.95. ISBN 0-471-65576-7. To succeed in your engineering career, you will need more than just great technical skills, according...

Energy-Efficient Electric Motors, Third Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Ali Emadi. Marcel Dekker Inc., 270 Madison Ave., New Yark, NY 10016-0602. 406 pages. 2005. $150. ISBN 0-8247-5735-1. This detailed reference work provides guidelines for the selection and use of electric motors for improved reliability,...

Building Better Products with Finite Element Analysis.(ME bookshelf)(Book Review)
February 1, 2005... Vince Adams and Abraham Askenazi. Onward Press, 1999. Available through Noran Engineering Inc., 5555 Garden Grove Blvd., Westminster, CA 9268.3. Tel: (714) 899-1220. E-mail: info @noraneng.com. Paperback. 587 pages. $65. ISBN: 156690-160-X. ...

They fly!(input output)(interview)(Interview)
February 1, 2005... Two of the three X-43A research aircraft broke air-breathing engine speed records last year, first in March and then on November 16, when one flew at Mach 9.8. Knowing that scramjet secrets need to stay boxed up in the "sensitive" file,...