Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from January 2004

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from January 2004

Keeping an open mind.(editorial)
January 1, 2004... Back in grad school, we all made fun of The New, York Times Magazine. I'm still not sure why we did, other than because we were snobs and thought we ought to be reading something more intellectually stimulating, like The Atlantic Monthly or...

Between a rock and a Harley.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... To the Editor: I had the pleasure of reading the history, of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in "Between the Horse and Car," by Frank Wicks in the July issue, and I have a correction to make in an otherwise excellent article. The article...

Revenge of the Pump Monkey.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... To the Editor: I would like to applaud Paul Sharke for his article "So Long, Pump Monkey" in the August issue, with its focus on natural gas-fueled vehicles but I wish he had made mention of propane gas-fueled vehicles, as well. Years ago,...

The man who sent lindy flying.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... To the Editor: The article "Between the Horse and Car" in your July issue really caught my eye when you highlighted, "Lindbergh would leave engineering school to explore the country on a Harley-Davidson before learning to fly." Lindbergh's...

Correction.(letters)(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2004... The entries for two new Fellows appeared incorrectly in the November issue. This is the corrected text: George H. Sehi From welfare-to-work efforts to information technology initiatives, George H. Sehi has an understanding of the...

Fast and smart.(news & notes)
January 1, 2004... Is this good-bye to screws? Textron Fastening Systems of Troy, Mich., recently introduced a line of intelligent Fasteners, which the company says rely on embedded microprocessors that actuate under the direction of an electronic tool. Textron...

Engineering in the 21st century.(news & notes)
January 1, 2004... A new study is attempting "to understand what it means to be an engineer in the 21st century global economy." The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is conducting the study, calls it the E2010 Project. According to associate...

Only on M.E. magazine online: @ www.memagazine.org.(news & notes)
January 1, 2004... Responses to the December Question of the Month: Could renewable energy sources--solar, wind--greatly reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports? Yes 61% No 31% Not Sure 8% Note: Table made from pie chart....

Arsenic study in New Hampshire.(news & notes)
January 1, 2004... A study by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that an estimated 41,000 people in three southeast New Hampshire counties are using private wells that contain arsenic in concentrations that exceed federal safety standards for public water supplies....

A diminutive LNG plant.(news & notes)
January 1, 2004... Researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island and the Gas Technology Institute in Des Haines, Ill., recently filled 20 liquid natural gas street sweepers in a demonstration of their small-scale natural gas liquefier. The...

ZF in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and Fawer Automotive Parts Co. Ltd. of Changchun, China, formed a joint venture.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... ZF in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and Fawer Automotive Parts Co. Ltd. of Changchun, China, formed a joint venture, ZF Fawer Chassis Technology Co. Ltd., to manufacture auto chassis components in China.

Curtias-Wright Corp. of Roseland, N.J., has acquired Novatronics Inc.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Curtias-Wright Corp. of Roseland, N.J., has acquired Novatronics Inc., a Stratford, Ontario, supplier of electric motors and position sensors for aerospace and industrial markets.

Engineered Support Systems Inc, in St. Louis has acquired Pivotal Power Inc. of Bedford.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Engineered Support Systems Inc, in St. Louis has acquired Pivotal Power Inc. of Bedford, Nova Scotia, a supplier of static power conversion equipment to the defense industry.

Packaging Dynamics Corp. in Chicago has bought Ormet Corp.'s laminating division in luka, Miss.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Packaging Dynamics Corp. in Chicago has bought Ormet Corp.'s laminating division in luka, Miss., which makes laminated foil products for insulation and food packaging.

Danaher Corp. in Washington acquired AccuSort Systems of Telford, Pa.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Danaher Corp. in Washington acquired AccuSort Systems of Telford, Pa., a maker of scanners used in manufacturing, distribution, and sorting.

Pushing diesel power.(computing)
January 1, 2004... ENGINEERS AT ADIABATICS INC. in Columbus, Ind., are working on a cylinder head that will give the Army a diesel engine with less heat rejection and more power density than other diesels. The engine will also need to have good fuel economy and a...

Intern adds a dimension.(computing)
January 1, 2004... A SUMMER ENGINEERING INTERN at Zero Zone, which makes display coolers and freezers, convinced the company's engineering team to make the switch from two-dimensional to three-dimensional design. Because he was familiar with the 3-D design...

Virtual navy.(computing)
January 1, 2004... THE U.S. NAVY HAS OPENED a Center for Concept Visualization in West Bethesda, Md. Collaborating scientists, engineers, and managers can use it to view complex physical phenomena, such as a flail ship model, in three dimensions, according to...

No scrimping on analysis.(computing)
January 1, 2004... LESS THAN TEN YEARS OLD, Wild West Motor Co. of Poway, Calif., was a small company, but when engineers found that they couldn't make a go of it without analysis software, it couldn't scrimp on the purchase, according to its president, Paul...

Map of manufacturing.(computing)
January 1, 2004... A GERMAN AUTOMAKER has implemented software that keeps track of manufacturing costs, including external and internal transportation, and space requirements, and also tracks and times the manufacturing process. Before putting the new system...

Clustering for speed.(computing)
January 1, 2004... DEERE & CO. OF MOLINE, ILL., is using a supercomputer cluster for product development. The cluster is designed to provide the best and quickest performance for advanced engineering design, said David Wolak, Deere & Co. project manager. ...

Stepping up from long distance e-mail.(computing)
January 1, 2004... LINDSAY MANUFACTURING, a maker of irrigation equipment, has grown mightily in the past three years, acquiring companies in Europe, South America, and South Africa. At the same time, the manufacturer, located in Lindsay, Neb., developed a new...

Going with the flow to set a faster pace.(computing)
January 1, 2004... DALE EARNHARDT INC, OF MOORESVILLE, N.C., has signed a sponsorship agreement with Fluent Inc. of Lebanon, N.H. DEI's engineers use the CFD software to simulate the performance of racing vehicle components. The technology simulates fluid flow,...

Shipbuilder starts networking.(computing)
January 1, 2004... GENERAL DYNAMICS ELECTRIC BOAT of Groton, Conn., has awarded IBM a contract to help build a completely Internet-based supply chain network. Electric Boat makes submarines for the U.S. Navy. IBM of Armonk, N.Y., will provide a computing...

Taking a good look inside a control valve.(computing)
January 1, 2004... ENGINEERS AT VALVE-MAKER Masoneilan Dresser of Avon, Mass., found that computational fluid dynamics simulation played a key role in the design of a control valve with a throttling capacity almost 15 percent higher than conventional valves of...

Raindrop Geomagic.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Raindrop Geomagic of Research Triangle Park, N.C., has been awarded $2 million in grant research funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program. The award will fund research to develop, validate,...

Coade of Houston.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Coade of Houston, a manufacturer of engineering and design software, has released CADWor'x 2004, an enhanced version of the company's AutoCAD-based software for plant design. The enhancements include a new equipment module, and productivity and...

PTC.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... PTC of Needham, Mass., a maker of CAD software, has released Pro/Engineer Routed Systems Designer 4.0. The diagramming software allows users to create routed system schematic diagrams.

Theorem Solutions.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Theorem Solutions, of Staffordshire, England, a manufacturer of product data software, has added an extension to its CADverter range of products. It will allow users of the CAD software Catia version 5 to exchange CAD data with Unigraphics 18...

Lantek Systems.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... Lantek Systems of Minano, Spain, now includes a nesting module within its Lantek Expert machine grid software. The software enables users to design a machine grid of a part. The grid will be used when the part is being machined. The system uses...

ESI Group.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2004... ESI Group of Shelby Township, Mich., has released Pam-Crash 2G, which is what the developer calls the second generation of its crash simulation software. The new software allows for model preparation and analysis.

CAD with product design overview.(software exchange)
January 1, 2004... Capability: Solid Edge, the three-dimensional computer-aided design system, has been upgraded to version 15. A feature called Insight manages product information and provides users throughout the organization with design intent. The upgrade...

Aerodynamic trajectory computation.(software exchange)
January 1, 2004... Capability: Aero Trajectory can be used to compute the trajectory of objects subjected to aerodynamic forces during flight. The software can be used as a laboratory tool for the grammar school, high school, and undergraduate levels. But the...

Educational CFD.(software exchange)
January 1, 2004... Capability: The educational program FlowLab 1.1 teaches students about basic fluid flow principles. Flow is visualized via computational fluid dynamics software, which runs the developer's general-purpose CFD code, Fluent 6.1, and the...

Magnetic-field solver.(software exchange)
January 1, 2004... Capability: Magneto is a two-dimensional magnetic-field solver for designers of magnetic equipment and components that incorporate linear, nonlinear, and permanent magnet materials. The software lets the designers experiment with and optimize...

Ready to roll.(Materials And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... Tires for hand trucks, wheelbarrows, and beach carts are soft and fat, giving them the flexibility to negotiate soft sand, muddy turf, and uneven terrain. Roleez Wheels Inc. of Benicia, Calif., used to make those kinds of inflatable...

Glass can take a hit.(Materials And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... Winds from a category 3 hurricane can turn gravel into missiles that travel 60 miles an hour, and the flying debris can shatter glass window panels. Sanjeev Khanna, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the...

Open wide.(Materials And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... Anyone who has been X-rayed at the dentist's office knows the routine: Hold perfectly still with the edges of the film packet pressed tightly to your gums as the technician clicks the button of the camera in the next room. Eastman Kodak...

Powder does it better.(Materials And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... A contractor in Kansas City, Mo., working for the National Nuclear Security Administration, was seeking ways to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds from the paint it used. The company, Kansas City Plant, believes it has found an...

Boosting seal life.(Material And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... A chemical plant in Drusenheim, France, was spending a half-hour every day just to change O-rings on its filling machines. The plant, operated by Dow Agro-Sciences, processes aggressive solvent, surfactants, and concentrated herbicides at...

Bikes get a grip.(Materials And Assembly)
January 1, 2004... a Michigan company manufactures two- and four-bike racks that mount on cars and trailers, and give access to any bike on the rack without having to remove the others. The bicycles' wheels rest on pairs of trays. Molded plastic clamps, tightened...

Fire and survival.(Washington window)
January 1, 2004... The site has long since been cleaned up, the debris removed, the search for remains and personal effects completed. While the pain of the tremendous loss will weigh forever on the very soul of America, the investigation into the collapse of...

Hot case: a national lab is revisiting the past to find new methods of putting uranium into reactors.(Feature focus: nuclear power)
January 1, 2004... OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY is one of the crown jewels of the national nuclear infrastructure. It is here, some 60 years ago, that the world's first continuously operated reactor went critical. Enriched uranium processed at the lab fueled an...

Nuclear navy: a half-century ago this month, the Nautillus set a new course for the Atomic Age.(Feature focus: nuclear power)
January 1, 2004... It was a new era. Fifty years ago this month, a nuclear submarine named the SSN 571 Nautillus was launched at the Electric Boat Co. on the Thames River in Groton, Conn. It was the world's most complicated machine. A crowd of 20,000 shipyard...

One for the little guy: small to midsize enterprises are linking their manufacturing and engineering departments with technology formerly reserved for the largest.
January 1, 2004... engineers at an organization may rely on its product lifecycle management software to speed a product to market. The system gives engineers a way to talk among themselves over a network as they work out product details and hash over design...

Running on air: consider a fuel cell car stuck in heavy traffic. Will it choke to death?
January 1, 2004... three years ago, Eivind Stenersen attended a meeting of the Fuel Cell Standards Committee of" the Society of Automotive Engineers. Stenersen, an engineer at Donaldson Co., was working on air filters for fuel cells. When Stenersen...

Rough water: the navy designed a virtual ship--but was it tough enough?
January 1, 2004... WHEN THE U.S. NAVY officially named the San Antonio this past summer, it was honoring the city of the Alamo and introducing the first in a new class of amphibious transport dock ships. The Navy said that the San Antonio, also known as LPD 17,...

Neatness doesn't count: the design for a fuel cell confronts the fickleness of the real world.
January 1, 2004... It started like a lot of projects, with a few coincidences. A fuel cell developer in Latham, N.Y. needed to know that its latest product could tolerate the randomness of commercial manufacturing. A couple of its engineers went to a technical...

Low-friction actuator assemblies.(new products)
January 1, 2004... KERK MOTION PRODUCTS INC., HOLLIS, N.H. This manufacturer of non-hall lead screws offers lead screw; linear rail, spline shaft, and ScrewRail actuator assemblies with its Kerkote TFE coating. Kerkote reduces friction and extends the life of...

Press production unit.(new products)
January 1, 2004... ENGINEERED PRESSURE SYSTEMS INC., HAVERHILL. MASS. EPSI's Hot Isostatic Press production unit, or HIP, is designed to uniformly apply accurate pressure at elevated temperatures to all surfaces. The unit is suitable for the castings, ceramics,...

Portable IR thermometer.(new products)
January 1, 2004... E INSTRUMENTS GROUP LLC. TRENTON. N.J. The Miniray 100 is a portable infrared thermometer for numerous applications and uses in different industries. Useful for process monitoring and maintenance to measure temperature easily and quickly, it is...

Gravity-based inclinometer.(new products)
January 1, 2004... CELESCO TRANSDUCER PRODUCTS INC., CHATSWORTH, CALIF. This gravity-based inclinometer is said by the manufacturer to be suitable for dancer position feedback in web-tension applications. The IT9420 inclinometer is easy to install and begin...

Dual-axis alignment.(new products)
January 1, 2004... PINPOINT LASER SYSTEMS, NEWBURYPORT, MASS. The two axis microgage, known as the Microgage 2D, is capable of measuring horizontally and vertically at the same time. This innovation allows maintenance and plant engineers to align production...

Fill-and-bleed valve.(new products)
January 1, 2004... CLIPPARD INSTRUMENT LABORATORY INC.. CINCINNATI, OHIO. The company's FBV-3 is a "fill and bleed" toggle valve that has two poppet valves connected to a single outlet. The operation is similar to a three way, three-position center-blocked valve....

Steppers and drivers.(new products)
January 1, 2004... SOURCE ENGINEERING INC., SANTA CLARA. CALIF. Hybrid steppers and drivers from NEMA 14 to NEMA 42 can be used in robotics, toys, consumer products, graphics equipment, scanners, mirror positioning, semiconductor manufacturing and testing, pick...

Servo-positioning system.(new products)
January 1, 2004... FAULHABER GROUP. MICROMO ELECTRONICS INC.. CLEARWATER, FLA. The Faulhaber 0622 brushless dc servo motor provides a stall torque of up to 1.35 mNm (0.19 oz.-in.) and continuous speeds of up to 44,400 rpm. The available continuous torque of up to...

Proximity sensors.(new products)
January 1, 2004... CHERRY ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS, PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WIS. The new MP1014 Series Hall effect magnetic proximity sensors provide sold state sensing in a 3.3mm-high package, making them suitable for space-limited applications. The sensors are also usable...

Linear drives.(new products)
January 1, 2004... AMACOIL INC., ASTON. PA. An extra bearing option for the company's rolling ring linear drives doubles the axial thrust capacity without forcing users to redesign for a larger size drive. Model RG linear drives come with 3- or 4-ring bearing...

Thermocouple tube.(new products)
January 1, 2004... NANMAC CORP., FRAMINGHAM, MASS. The company's new thermocouple protection tube can operate in oxidizing environments up to 3,600[degrees]F The new sheath is a hard, high-temperature ceramic with strong thermal shock resistance and high strength...

Multimeters.(new products)
January 1, 2004... EXTECH INSTRUMENTS CORP., WALTHAM. MASS. The ergonomically designed 400 Series MultiMeters include five models, all rated CAT III-600M The 410 is a basic manual ranging DMM and otters Type K temperature measurements. The 411 adds True RMS...

Ring seal assemblies.(new products)
January 1, 2004... PARKER HANNIFIN CORP., SEAL GROUP. IRVINE, CALIF. a new series of KF-type centering ring seal assemblies provides improved sealing performance on semiconductor KF and ISO plant vacuum systems and vacuum testing equipment. The seal assemblies...

Choosing the right adhesive.(product information)
January 1, 2004... CONPROTEC INC., SALEM, N.H. The company's Mixpac Adhesive Selection Guide is on CD-ROM. This 254 page guide contains hundreds of acrylic, epoxy, silicone, and urethane adhesives, all organized by manufacturer and adhesive type. The adhesive...

Linear motion products.(product information)
January 1, 2004... QUALITY BEARINGS & COMPONENTS. GARDEN CITY PARK. N.Y. This 64-page brochure provides information on selecting the right linear motion systems and components, which include slideways, guideways, double raceway rails, recirculating ball bearings,...

Processing plastic.(product information)
January 1, 2004... WALL COLMONOY CORP., MADISON HTS., WIS. A two page data sheet details Colmonoy 57 PTA, a nickel-base, hard-surfacing alloy specifically formulated for application to extrusion or injection molding screws used in processing plastics. The sheet...

Roller bearings.(product information)
January 1, 2004... REXNORD BEARING GROUP, INDIANAPOLIS, IND. A new catalog covers the latest improvements in the full line of Rex self-aligning roller bearings, including pillow blocks, flange blocks, flange cartridge blocks, cartridge blocks and duplex units, as...

Laminated shim capabilities.(product information)
January 1, 2004... SPIROL INTERNATIONAL CORP., DANIELSON. CONN. The company's publication discusses the function of a shim, dimensional adjustments such as tolerance compensation, precision alignment, and wear compensation. It also highlights the features of...

Steel fasteners.(product information)
January 1, 2004... COOPER B-LINE. HIGHLAND. ILL. A 176-page catalog covers Cooper B-Line's lineup of spring steel fasteners, including metal stud, beam, acoustical tee, communications and low voltage, conduit, and cable fasteners, along with hangers. There is an...

A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... George Constable and Bob Somerville. Joseph Henry Press, 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. 248 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-309-08908-5. $45. With a foreword by Nell Armstrong and an afterword by Arthur C. Clarke, this stunning coffee table...

Laser in Environmental and Life Sciences.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Peter Hering, Jan Peter Lay, and Sandra Stry, Editors. Springer-Verlag New York Inc., 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. 343 pages. 2004. ISBN 3-540-40260-8. $109. This comprehensive reference work illustrates the state of the art of...

Hoop-Wrapped, Composite, Internally Pressurized Cylinders.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... John A. Walters. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. 140 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-7918-0201-9. ASME members, $64; retail, $80. Despite a title that's almost longer than the book, dais guide offers a comprehensive theoretical...

Laser in Environmental and Life Fundamentals of Rail Vehicle Dynamics: Guidance and Stability.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... A.H. Wickens. Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers, Heereweg 347 B, 2161 CA Lisse, The Netherlands. 288 pages. 2003. ISBN 90-265-1946-X. $109. The railway vehicle is one of the most complex dynamical systems in engineering. There are many degrees...

AIAA Aerospace Design Engineers Guide. Fifth Edition.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Edited by the Design Guide Subcommittee of the AIAA Design Engineering Technical Committee. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc., 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston, VA 20191-4344. 441 pages. 2003. ISBN 1-56247-590-1. members,...

Generalized Riemann Problems in Computational Fluid Dynamics.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Matania Ben-Artzi and Joseph Falcovitz. Cambridge University Press, 40 W. 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211. 349 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-521-77296-6. $75. Numerical simulation of compressible, inviscid, time-dependent flow is a major branch of...

Experimentation Matters.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Stefan H. Thomke. Harvard Business ,School Press, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163. 307 pages. 2003. ISBN 1-57851-750-8. $35. In a difficult economy, companies seek new solutions to gain a competitive advantage and cut costs. Author Stefan...

Thermal Stresses. Second Edition.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Naotake Noda, Richard B. Hetnarski, and Yashinobu Tanigawa. Taylor & Francis Publishing Inc., 29 W. 35th St., New York, NY 10001-2299. 49.3 pages. 2002. ISBN 1-56032-971-8. $115. This is a revision of the first extensive textbook on thermal...

Flow Around Circular Cylinders. Volume 2: Applications.
January 1, 2004... M.M. Zdravkovich. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. 1,264 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-19-856561-5. $165. The unique feature of this book, according to the author, is that it deals exclusively with a single class of...

Linear Position Sensors: Theory and Application.
January 1, 2004... David S. Nye. John Wiley and Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. 170 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-471-23326-9. $79.95. Sensor technology is an increasingly important area of research, as position sensors are being applied more and more to...

The sky's no limit.(input output)
January 1, 2004... Homo sapiens have wanted to fly like birds for millennia. And they've been killing themselves trying for just as long. For instance, hobbyist lore holds that, between 1930 and 1961, as many as 75 "birdmen" may have leapt from planes wearing...