Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from January 2008

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from January 2008

Only on M.E. Magazine online @ www.memagazine.org.
January 1, 2008... The December Question of the Month: All things being equal, would you be more likely to purchase products made in China, or those made in Mexico? (A related story, "Mexico Redux," appears in this issue.) One of the nearly two-thirds of...

The laws of nature.(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... A dramatic video taken in a South African national park last July broke all records for viewership on the popular Web site YouTube. The video was of a herd of Cape buffaloes fending off an attack by a pride of lions. The video shows the...

Curbing emissions.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: In reading the October issue, I came to the "Letters to the Editor" section where there were two submissions regarding global warming. It is great that both sides of the issue are presented. I believe we are missing a part that...

Truth or politics?(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: Anthropogenic global warming is popular speculation. Bur ice core data from Greenland and Antarctica along with other data have allowed scientists to determine the earth's temperature history for over 400,000 years. The...

Turn up the gas.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: In reference to the article "Wedge Factor" (October): The best method to curb greenhouse gas emissions is to identify the source of generation. All carbon dioxide emissions are attributed to the high-carbon fuels, such as coal...

Nuclear credibility.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: Kudos to Bridget Mintz Testa and you for the excellent article on the draconian licensing process required to build a nuclear power plant in the United States ("Licensing Renewed," October). The irony is that our political...

Composites in war.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: I read the November article "Detecting Wounds in Composites" with interest. I would like to clarify some points. First, the article states that a triaxial accelerometer was used to collect vibration data, which were then...

The elder reactor.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... To the Editor: The article "50 Years of Nuclear Power" (November) highlighting the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. nuclear power units fails to note that the world's first civil nuclear reactor--the Calder Hall gas-cooled Magnox reactor in...

Unmanned minespotter passes a key test.(news & notes)(Boeing Co.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... About a year after the program was restarted, the Boeing Co. says it has demonstrated that its experimental unmanned underwater reconnaissance vehicle can be sent out and retrieved by a submerged, moving submarine. The unmanned craft was...

Digital library opens.(news & notes)(ASME International )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The ASME Digital Library, an online database of the Society s journals, conference proceedings, and ASME Press E-Books, will officially open in January 2008. The site currently hosts ASME's journals dating back to 2000. Beginning in...

Power project set for Virginia.(news & notes)(Dominion Energy Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... One of the largest producers of energy in the United States, Dominion, has agreed to purchase a power station development project in central Virginia from Tenaska, one of the nation's largest independent power producers. The station will...

From show to court.(news & notes)(PennEngineering's case for patent infringement)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... A manufacturer of fasteners from Pennsylvania went to a trade show in Las Vegas and wound up filing a patent-infringement suit on the spot against six exhibitors. PennEngineering, based in Danboro, Pa., is charging that the companies were...

New Product Awards.(news & notes)(National Society of Professional Engineers)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The National Society of Professional Engineers says it is seeking innovative products and their inventors for consideration in the New Product Awards program. To be eligible, entries must be products, machines, processes, or materials...

Engine tax break.(news & notes)
January 1, 2008... A manufacturer of alternative fuel engines, Cummins Westport Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, says U.S. buyers of vehicles that carry its engines can get tax credits worth $20,000 or more from Uncle Sam. According to the U.S. Internal...

Fine proposed over reactor restart.(news & notes)(United States. Department of Energy)(Battelle Energy Alliance )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The U.S. Department of Energy has notified Battelle Energy Alliance that it intends to fine the company $123,750 for violations of nuclear safety requirements. BEA is the prime contractor for the operation of the Neutron Radiography...

Flomerics.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2008... A maker of flow-analysis software, Flomerics of Marlborough, Mass., has released version 8.1 of its Engineering Fluid Dynamics simulation software for thermal analysis of electronics.

Algor Inc.(Briefly Noted)(product enhancement)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Algor Inc. of Pittsburgh has released version 21 of its Algor finite element analysis software. The new release upgrades the entire FEA spectrum: modeling, results evaluation, and presentation, according to the developer.

Panda Energy Inc.(Briefly Noted)(construction of combined-cycle power plant )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Panda Energy Inc. of Dallas plans to build a 1,000-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Temple, Texas. The natural gas-fueled generating station will be able to supply the power needs of approximately 750,000 homes in central and north Texas....

LSI Computer Systems Inc.(Briefly Noted)(new integrated circuits)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... LSI Computer Systems Inc. of Melvilie, N.Y., has come out with a new high-performance stepper motor controller integrated circuit, called the LS7290. The new IC is capable of step sizes ranging between full and 1/32 step. The LS7290 is designed...

Parker Hannifin of Cleveland has acquired the Texas Thermowell Industries business of Bravura Ltd., a leader in temperature sensing protection equipment.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Parker Hannifin of Cleveland has acquired the Texas Thermowell Industries business of Bravura Ltd., a leader in temperature sensing protection equipment. Parker purchased the Texas Thermowell business based in Beaumont, Texas, for ah...

Track down a table.(computing)(new search engine)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... SCIENTISTS LOOKING TO TRACK DOWN a particular table within a mass of journals and documents will soon have a specialized search engine to aid in the hunt. The search engine, developed by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University in...

What virtual worlds can accomplish.(computing)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... DIGITIZED VIRTUAL WORLDS have blossomed in recent years, what with the wide variety of games, shared digital media, and social networks available now. And with that growth comes a spate of academic interest and studies. "The fusion of...

Cost and design.(computing)
January 1, 2008... AFTER APPLYING DESIGN for manufacture and assembly techniques to their supply chains, 68 percent of a survey group measured an increase in production throughput and 47 percent measured an increase in profit per specific unit of factory floor...

Tiny power sources.(computing)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT NANOSCALE devices, says a researcher at Georgia Tech, and so his team is at work on a method to power them. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have prototyped a nanometer-scale generator, which...

Buying the valve.(computing)(General Signal Corp. New York Air Brake Co.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... PURCHASING THE PARTS that will eventually join to make a complex product can be just that--complex. But now a number of new applications are helping to streamline the ordering process. Just ask David Griffiths, an engineer at New York Air...

Autodesk.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Autodesk of San Rafael, Calif., has released its frame generator customization tool for use with the Autodesk Inventor 2008 family of software products. The tool lets users add custom structural profiles to Inventor's frame generator tool.

Objet Geometries Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(PolyJet Matrix Technology)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... A maker of jetting photopolymer, Objet Geometries Ltd. of Rehovot, Israel, has released PolyJet Matrix Technology, which allows the simultaneous jetting of different types of model materials. The material is used to create 3-D prototypes from...

Synergis Software.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2008... Synergis Software of Quakertown, Pa., is shipping its Adept 7 document management software, which is integrated with SolidWorks and Autodesk applications and supports Windows Vista.

The Open Design Alliance.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The Open Design Alliance of Phoenix has made its DWGdirect 2.5 Beta available to all members. This application gives members an early look at DWGdirect libraries. New features include annotation scaling, drawing-file underlay, and partial...

Wolfram Research.(Briefly Noted)
January 1, 2008... Wolfram Research of Champaign, Ill., has a series of add-ons for Mathematica 6. The add-ons, from third-party developers, extend Mathematica's usefulness, according to the developer.

SolidWorks training.(software exchange)
January 1, 2008... Capability: A multimedia training company has released a line of bundled training products for SolidWorks 2008, including six new courses for the CAD program. Training is offered in a self-paced multimedia format via the Web. Courses include...

Physics modeling.(software exchange)
January 1, 2008... Capability: Comsol Multiphysics 3.4 can model and simulate most physics-based systems. This release includes multicore processor support. Meshing, assembly, and solving are now executed in parallel. This new version also includes fluid dynamic...

Transfer geometry.(software exchange)
January 1, 2008... Capability: The OpenNURBS 4.0 toolkit for .NET is part of the open source initiative that gives engineering and computer graphics software developers the tools to transfer 3-D geometry between applications. The toolkit eliminates the need to...

Share project data.(software exchange)
January 1, 2008... Capability: Manufacturers can share drawings and project data via the Internet with ShareCAD for AutoCAD. They can also share requests for proposals and--for productivity and management overview--integrate workflows into the system. The...

Raster to vector.(software exchange)
January 1, 2008... Capability: The success of Adobe's PDF file format among CAD users has led to ah increase in the number of technical drawings and documents stored and distributed in the PDF file format, according to the developer of an application that loads...

A welding of plasma and MIG.(technology focus: MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)
January 1, 2008... Developers of a new commercial hybrid technology say it could double the speed of some of the most common industrial welding systems, even while it produces deeper welds and reduces splatter and heat distortion. Developed by former researchers...

Metal or plastic? Take both.(technology focus: MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co's partnership with Integran Technologies Inc.)
January 1, 2008... To introduce a new type of composite based on nanocrystalline metal cladding over a plastic core, DuPont Co. is partnering with Toronto-based Integran Technologies Inc. Potential uses range from under-hood and powertrain automotive parts to...

Laser measurement without the setup.(technology focus: MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)
January 1, 2008... Looking for a way to measure both the gross dimensions and the nooks and crannies of large objects? Faro Technologies Inc. of Lake Mary, Fla., has developed a system that combines laser trackers and probe arms--without the arduous setup such...

Tape that trailer to take the shocks.(technology focus: MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(3M Co.)
January 1, 2008... An acrylic foam structural tape from 3M Co., with high-strength adhesive on both sides, has been around for 25 years. The tape, called VHB, is used to join everything from signs, appliance panels, and electronics housings to architectural...

Mexico redux: formerly America's top low-cost manufacturer, the neighbor to the south is repositioning itself to be an advanced industrial player.(FEATURE FOCUS: GLOBALIZATION)(Cover story)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... The idea seems almost quaint. Only seven years ago, Mexico was what Steve Colantuoni describes as "the big-box store for low-cost manufacturing." The nation's border factories, known as macluiladoras, were turning out high-volume, low-tech, and...

Building trust: the essentials of doing business with--and in--China can be developed only over the long haul.(FEATURE FOCUS: GLOBALIZATION)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Embassy in Beijing publishes on its Web site the information that, on average, 20 percent of the consumer products in China are counterfeit. The site is an embassy service called the "IPR Toolkit," a...

In-school analysis: introducing undergrads to CFD and FEA software isn't a straightforward affair.(ENGINEERING: THE NEXT GENERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... Mechanical engineering students have a lot to learn and only a few short years to do it. First, they'll need to be versed in engineering concepts and the mathematics behind them. Then, they'll have to learn a slew of mathematical formulas and...

Widening the pipeline: a foundation is establishing a program to bring engineering prep to often-overlooked high school students.(ENGINEERING: THE NEXT GENERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's not an argument, just a statement: Engineers in America come overwhelmingly from one demographic category--white males. The reason for this isn't that high school girls and minorities aren't engineering...

Putting the cool in school: one young engineer's mission is to turn kids on to science.(ENGINEERING: THE NEXT GENERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "You know what's fun?" asked Aurora Lipper, a 30-something mechanical engineer from San Luis Obispo. Calif. "Unwrap a bar of Ivory soap, put it on a plate, and stick it in a microwave for two minutes. It's more fun...

Pedaling against the tide: a high school wins against major universities in human-powered submarine races.(ENGINEERING: THE NEXT GENERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... No kidding. There really are submarine races. And when the winners were announced for the 9th International Submarine Races last summer, there was an upset. In the field of competing engineering universities from the United States, Canada,...

Starting young: a kids' reality show keeps on designing.(ENGINEERING: THE NEXT GENERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... A U.S. TV show designed to raise the image of engineering among children was an experiment when it first aired a year ago. Its backers say it's working, and the series is going into its second season. The show, Design Squad, pits two teams...

Environmentally Conscious Mechanical Design.(ME bookshelf)(Design Representation)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Environmentally Conscious Mechanical Design. Myer Kutz. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. 2007. 408 pages. $120. ISBN 978-0-741-72636-4. The first volume in a new series from the publisher on environmentally...

Career Success in Engineering: A Guide for Students and New Professionals.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Career Success in Engineering: A Guide for Students and New Professionals. Bernard R. Berson and Douglas E. Benner. Kaplan Publishing, 30 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606-7481. 2007. Softcover. 304 pages. $22.95. ISBN 1-4195-8439-1....

Profibus: A Pocket Guide.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Profibus: A Pocket Guide. Ronald 147. Mitchell. ISA--The Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society, 67 Alexander Dr., P.O. Box 12277, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. 2004. Softcover. 192 pages. $49. ISBN 1-55617-862-X. This compact...

Heat Transfer and Hydraulic Resistance at Supercritical Pressures in Power Engineering Applications.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Heat Transfer and Hydraulic Resistance at Supercritical Pressures in Power Engineering Applications. Igor L. Pioro and Romney B. Duffey. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New, York, NY 10016-5990. 2007. 334 pages. Includes CD-ROM. ASME members,...

ASME codes & standards.
January 1, 2008... ASME International, Codes & Standards, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990 (212) 591-8500 Fax: (212) 591-8501 e-mail: cs@asme.org We invite you to visit our Web site: www.asme.org/codes. If you are looking for...

Sustainability by design.(input output)
January 1, 2008... When it achieved independence in the 1950s, Ghana was seen by experts as a potential emerging power. It had abundant natural resources and a population that was well educated by West African standards. Fifty years later, however, much of...