Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from July 2007

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from July 2007

Only on M.E. magazine online.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... The June question of the month was: What is the best way to reduce the amount of gasoline consumed in the United States? The June Question of the Month was: What is the best way to reduce the amount of gasoline consumed in the United...

Counter intelligence.(editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... I'll confess. I like kitchen tools more than garden tools. And even though I enjoy watching This Old House on PBS, I'm fascinated by The Food Network's Good Eats, and its irreverent host, Alton Brown. During the past season, Alton hosted...

High-temp dialogue.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... To the Editor: Your April cover article ("Fahrenheit 3,600") certainly caught my attention. I would like to comment on a few issues. The Siemens SGT-8000H gas turbine depicted does not have an efficiency of 60 percent; that would be the...

Long-distance history.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... To the Editor: I read with interest the short article titled "The Urge to Explore" by Buzz Aldrin and Wyn Wachhorst (November 2004). One statement in that article was that the night launch of Apollo 17 was visible for 500 miles. James...

Incentives, incentives.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... To the Editor: Frank Kreith and Ron West's well-written article about future automobile development ("The Road Not Yet Taken," April, page 24) is thorough within its narrow confines, but portrays us engineers as self-centered gearheads. A...

Microturbine mystery.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... To the Editor: The article in the March issue about a gas turbine project at MIT ("The Little Engine," page 30) was fascinating, both for what it said and what it didn't say. A gas turbine engine, as I used to understand it, consists of a...

New super test in the grid.(news & notes)
July 1, 2007... A new formulation of superconductive wire is about to enter the electrical grid. National Grid, which has been operating two lengths of cable made from high-temperature superconductors in its electrical transmission system at Albany, N.Y.,...

Power services unit is sold by Baldor.(news & notes)(Baldor Electric Co.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Baldor Electric Co. has completed the sale of the Reliance Electric Co. power services business. The power services unit, which represented less than 4 percent of Baldor's annual revenues, provides diagnostic support, repair, maintenance,...

Company sells assets in reorganization.(news & notes)(Dana Corp.)(Orhan Holding A.S.)(Coupled Products Acquisition LLC)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... In the process of reorganizing under Chapter 11, Dana Corp. will sell its fluid products business that the company announced were for sale in late 2005. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which has...

Map on glass.(news & notes)(Northwestern University researchers developed transparent, high-performance transistors)
July 1, 2007... Imagine a car windshield that displays a map to your destination. Or military goggles with targets and instructions displayed right before a soldier's eyes. Or a window that doubles as a billboard. Northwestern University researchers report...

New safety code for elevators.(news & notes)
July 1, 2007... The safety code for elevators and escalators has taken a new turn, primarily to keep pace with rapid advances in technology. ASME and the Canadian Standards Association have jointly published a new performance-based standard. The new...

20 LNG trucks at two California ports.(news & notes)(liquefied natural gas)(South Coast Air Quality Management District of California)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Westport Innovations Inc., a developer of gaseous-fueled power technologies, said it is the supplier of engines for 20 trucks ordered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District of California. The district's board has approved $2.9...

Boeing to support four NASA aircraft.(news & notes)(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Boeing Co. has received a contract that could be worth as much as $28 million over five years for service and support of four research airplanes. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., will receive engineering and...

Stacking silicon.(news & notes)(methods of stacking silicon wafers)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Researchers in England are perfecting a technique that allows silicon wafers to be stacked accurately in 3-D structures. According to one of the researchers, Michael Kraft, a senior lecturer in MEMS at the University of Southampton School...

ASME has published its 2007 Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.(Briefly Noted)(ASME International )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... ASME has published its 2007 Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. ASME updates the code to reflect advancements in technology and issues a new edition every three years. The 2007 code includes a completely revised and updated Section VII, Division...

Sandia National Laboratories and Boeing are collaborating on a project looking at the feasibility of using a hydrogen-powered fuel cell for providing backup power in aircraft.(Briefly Noted)(United States. Department of Energy. Sandia National Laboratories)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Sandia National Laboratories and Boeing are collaborating on a project looking at the feasibility of using a hydrogen-powered fuel cell for providing backup power in aircraft. Sandia is leading research into electrical and environmental...

The Banner Engineering Racing Team.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Banner Engineering Racing Team scored its first win of the 2007 racing season in the Grand-Am GT Classic at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. Drivers Leighton Reese and Tim Lewis Jr. of Banner Engineering's Pontiac GXP.R took the lead on lap...

National Technical Systems Inc., an engineering services company in Calabasas, Calif., has acquired TRA Certification of Elkhart, Ind., through a joint venture company, National Quality Assurance, USA.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... National Technical Systems Inc., an engineering services company in Calabasas, Calif., has acquired TRA Certification of Elkhart, Ind., through a joint venture company, National Quality Assurance, USA. Terms of the acquisition were not...

BlueCielo ECM Solutions Inc., a provider of engineering content management software formerly known as Cyco, has acquired DataCore Technology in an all-cash transaction.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... BlueCielo ECM Solutions Inc., a provider of engineering content management software formerly known as Cyco, has acquired DataCore Technology in an all-cash transaction. Data-Core, a specialist in implementing electronic data management systems,...

Pyramid Petroleum Inc. of Houston is acquiring Capco Energy of Calgary, Alberta.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Pyramid Petroleum Inc. of Houston is acquiring Capco Energy of Calgary, Alberta. Following the transaction, Pyramid expects to raise funds to expand the oil and gas production of the combined company, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Defense Energy Support Center.(Briefly Noted)(contract)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Defense Energy Support Center, based in Fort Belvoir, Va., awarded a $1.1 million contract for 315,000 gallons of synthetic jet fuel to Shell Oil Products of Houston. The fuel will go by tanker from Houston to several Air Force locations...

See the difference.(computing)
July 1, 2007... ARIZONA DECISION MAKERS are putting to good use the visualization, simulation, and modeling tools that are valued by engineers. The visualization center at Arizona State University in Tempe is helping policy makers essentially put all their...

Cute car.(computing)(electric cars from SolidWorks Corp.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... CERTAINLY, THEY'RE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, but let's face it: Electric cars can be a staid bunch. Can such a car ever be sexy? Yes, say the makers of Tango, an all-electric two-seater that rockets from zero to 60 miles per hour in four...

Heart's feel.(domination of three dimensional technology in computing)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... THE DYNAMICS OF A BEATING HEART, the turbulence surrounding the fuselage of an airplane, and the field of forces inside a molecule are all things that can be seen--and felt--with newly developed visualization technology developed at Linkoping...

Predicting fracture risk.(computing)
July 1, 2007... THE COMPUTATIONAL BIOMECHANICS group at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in Bologna, Italy, has married finite element analysis with a computer tomography image to predict how patients would experience mechanical stress to their bones. ...

Air pollution live.(computing)(Vanderbilt University engineers to develop mobile air quality monitoring system )
July 1, 2007... WHAT'S THE AIR POLLUTION LIKE in your city at any given moment? Engineers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., are working on a way for you to find out. Their system would give a real-time, online, detailed, and accurate report of...

Virtual time travel.(computing)(digital imaging systems for historical studies)(Viewpoint essay)
July 1, 2007... WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WALK through the Colosseum when the Roman Empire was at its height? Some scholars may have a good idea, but what about the rest of us? Someday soon, even the uninitiated may be able to see close up what life was like in...

Reaching out.(computing)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... OFTEN, THE BEST PRICE ISN'T from the company closest to home. But how can you find a better price? As with so many things, the Internet has made even small companies global. Because the engineering services company Electromechanica...

Photo finish.(computing)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... ALTHOUGH AN AUTO RACE MAY GO for hours and cover hundreds of miles, a few inches can separate the winner from the runner-up. Because races are so tight, race car engineers turn intense attention to chassis and suspension design and to tuning...

Moldflow Corp.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Moldflow Corp. of Framingham, Mass., which makes design analysis software for the plastics injection molding industry, has released Moldflow Structural Alliance, a plastics-analysis software for use with Abaqus and Ansys analysis software.

Oracle of Redwood Shores, Calif., will acquire Agile Software Corp.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Oracle of Redwood Shores, Calif., will acquire Agile Software Corp. of San Jose, Calif., a leading provider of product lifecycle management software for approximately $495 million.

Dassault Systemes.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Dassault Systemes of Paris has released Abaqus version 6.7 of its finite element analysis software suite.

Metris.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Metris of Leuven, Belgium, has released Focus Scan 5.0, a data acquisition and point cloud preprocessing program for the Metris CMM-based laser scanners.

Romer Inc.(Briefly Noted)(introduction of ScanShark)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Romer Inc. of North Kingstown, R.I., is now selling ScanShark, an inspection and reverse engineering system. The system is particularly effective for difficult-to-reach spots, such as inside an aircraft or underneath an automobile, according to...

think3.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... CAD maker think3 of Cincinnati said its suite of products fully supports the new Windows Vista operating system.

Tormach LLC.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Tormach LLC of Waunakee, Wis., which makes computer numerically controlled software, has updated its CNC Machine Control software.

nCode International.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... A durability-based software and instrumentation maker, nCode International of Southfield, Mich., has released its ICE-flow 4.1 product family. The software allows users to manage, process, and visualize channel counts of data.

Algor Inc.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Finite element analysis maker Algor Inc. of Pittsburgh has opened an office in Santa Clarita, Calif., to expand its West Coast sales and support network.

TransMagic Inc.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... TransMagic Inc. of Westminster, Colo., a developer of 3-D CAD translation and interoperability software, has upgraded its software to the TransMagic release seven product line.

nPower Software.(Briefly Noted)(introduction of Power SolidWorksToMax)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... nPower Software of San Diego, Calif., allows for translation of SolidWorks files directly into Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk VIZ with the release of its company's Power SolidWorksToMax.

Pathtrace.(Briefly Noted)
July 1, 2007... Pathtrace of Reading, England, now offers EdgeCAM 11.5, the latest release of its computer numerically controlled offline programming system.

Altair Engineering of Troy, Mich., which makes engineering technology, is collaborating with Mimos Berhad of Turin, Italy.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Altair Engineering of Troy, Mich., which makes engineering technology, is collaborating with Mimos Berhad of Turin, Italy. The two will jointly develop grid-enabled solutions for various applications, such as CAD, 3-D animation, visual effects,...

Between dimensions.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: With the three-dimensional CAD application Autodesk Inventor 2008, engineers are able to add 3-D design to existing 2-D processes. The upgrade allows users to read and write Autodesk's native drawing, or DWG, files without...

Time tracker.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: The time-logging utility for AutoCAD, Chronos, has been updated to version 2.0. Chronos supports AutoCAD-based products from release 14 forward. It gives CAD operators and managers a means to document time spent producing drawings....

Interactive Math.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: The technical computing program Mathematica 6 makes models, simulations, and computations interactive. The upgrade includes nearly 1,000 new computational and interface features, according to the developer. Hardware: PC running...

Manage Data.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: DIAdem 10.2 is the latest version of an interactive data management, analysis, and reporting software. It now supports Windows Vista. The application works with the developer's data mining software to simplify data sharing and...

Diagrams and flowcharts.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: MacDraft Professional and MacDraft Personal Edition have been upgraded to version 5.6. The professional edition is a two-dimensional design, drafting, and technical illustration application; the personal edition is a graphic design...

Photoshop 3-D.(software exchange)
July 1, 2007... Capability: Three-dimensional models can be imported into projects and manipulated inside Photoshop CS3 Extended with U3D content exporter, which is included in DAZ | Studio 1. Designers and artists working within that application can create...

In pursuit of new engine dynamics.(technology focus: POWER TRANSMISSION AND MOTION CONTROL)(Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition)(Report)
July 1, 2007... Transportation accounts for 65 percent of U.S. oil consumption. More efficient vehicle engine designs would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and help mitigate global climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions. And cleaner engines...

Variable-valve HCCI: a challenge of timing.(technology focus: POWER TRANSMISSION AND MOTION CONTROL)(Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition)(Report)
July 1, 2007... The phrase "homogeneous charge compression ignition" doesn't , exactly roll off the tongue, but the idea is a hot topic of research. HCCI, as it's usually called, describes an advanced low-temperature combustion process that combines features...

Piezo and picometers.(technology focus: POWER TRANSMISSION AND MOTION CONTROL)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Nanotechnology really is more than a buzzword. There are real people who experiment with buckminster fullerenes or explore the surface of matter with atomic force microscopes. What kind of motion control does that take? A manufacturer says...

Greenhorns green 'choices: take four grads, one winning business plan, and a scheme to make current run more evenly--it's all business.(engineering management)(Cover story)
July 1, 2007... The day after graduation exhausted and a bit hung over, four freshly minted engineers from Princeton University received a term sheet from Greg Olsen, a local businessman. Term sheets are formal agreements that define the details of an...

Are your people firefighters? If they are, it's probably wise to alter strategy when dealing with the Asian business community.(engineering management)(Report)
July 1, 2007... It happened again just this morning. I was working at my desk when the phone rang. It was a potential client, calling on a referral: "We're making a presentation to Toyota tomorrow; what do we need to know?" (Ahem, how long ago was this meeting...

Continual career change: a figure from ancient mythology could change at will to meet challenges. Tomorrow's engineers will need to be that adaptable, too.
July 1, 2007... You might not remember Proteus. He was a sea god in ancient Greek mythology. To most engineers, mythology of any kind is likely to be a distant memory--something we learned about in high school, with little perceived relevance or applicability...

Solid x-ray: advances in rapid prototyping give the technology new roles in medical treatments.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Want an exact likeness of your spinal cord? Need it fast? Need a reliable way to create a prosthetic that's a perfect fit? Maybe you don't need such a thing right now. But you might one day, and that's where advances in rapid prototyping...

Fellows in service to the nation.(American Society of Mechanical engineering )
July 1, 2007... Congress could have been blindsided by the energy crisis of 1973. There was an oil embargo. Gasoline prices soared. Fistfights broke out near filling stations. As lawmakers pondered what to do, they were able to call on a new resource for...

Tracing the Second Law: modern thermodynamics owes a debt to the contributions of a line of researchers extending back more than a century.
July 1, 2007... While man learned to control and use fire many thousands of years ago, only in the last 300 years has the nature of heat been given serious consideration. In this short time, it has been explained as phlogiston, a mysterious fluid created by...

The many and the few: in a parade of machines, a young engineer saw the principle that everything flows one way, from high to low.
July 1, 2007... ME101 is the number of the thermodynamics course in mechanical engineering at Duke University. I cannot think era better course for "ME101." It was put on the books by the old professors, the ones who had the vision to build Duke many decades...

Positioning and rate tables.(new products)
July 1, 2007... WUILFERT INC., BEVERLY, MASS. This manufacturer of rate tables and motion simulators now has the EVO Series to provide testing and calibration solutions that evolve as the user's needs change. These low-cost motion tables are designed for loads...

Environmental monitor.(new products)
July 1, 2007... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The company's iSE environmental monitor provides Web-based remote surveillance of conditions in critical HVAC applications, such as computer server rooms, clean rooms, laboratories, museums, and...

Stronger wheels.(new products)
July 1, 2007... HICKORY HARDWARE, NASHVILLE, TENN. The newly designed Eagle wheel can support heavier loads than conventional caster wheels, according to the company. Versatile and durable, the Eagle wheel is suited for a variety of industrial applications and...

Fitting/filter combo.(new products)
July 1, 2007... INDUSTRIAL SPECIALTIES MFG. INC., ENGLEWOOD, COLO. Fittings with integrated filters are useful for air, vacuum, or liquid service applications. These miniature fitting/filter combinations offer the engineer an option to select one miniature...

Strain sensors.(new products)
July 1, 2007... PCB PIEZOTRONICS INC., DEPEW, N.Y. Series M240 ICP strain sensors and the 410A01 ICP signal conditioner use piezoelectric sensing elements to indirectly measure dynamic and quasi-static stress forces on machinery structures. These strain...

Rotary air compressor.(new products)
July 1, 2007... HITACHI AMERICA LTD., INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DIV., TARRYTOWN. N.Y. The DSP oil-free rotary screw air compressor has PTFE--free coatings to ensure that high-quality air is provided to the user. It also uses stainless steel on both the first and...

Heavy-duty fasteners.(new products)
July 1, 2007... PENNENGINEERING, DANBORO, PA. Heavy-duty Atlas Max-Tite blind threaded inserts feature a thicker head and heavier wall than standard types to serve in demanding high-load applications. These fasteners provide permanent metal threads in "blind"...

Motion card.(new products)
July 1, 2007... PERFORMANCE MOTION DEVICES INC., LINCOLN. MASS. The Prodigy-PC/104 motion card is for multiaxis, multimotor control. Available in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-axis versions, the Prodigy card provides advanced motion control features, including trajectory...

Grease fitting.(new products)
July 1, 2007... AMACOIL INC., ASTON, PA. The company now offers a grease fitting option that attaches to the shaft wipers on Uhing rolling ring drive assemblies. When the drive is running, the grease fittings facilitate automatic shaft lubrication while the...

Compact gauge sensor.(new products)
July 1, 2007... ONO SOKKI TECHNOLOGY INC., ADDISON. ILL. The GS-7710 is a compact and lightweight digital linear gauge sensor that can be readily installed in production equipment and existing fixtures. Because of its slim 8 mm diameter body, it is suitable...

Finishing tool.(new products)
July 1, 2007... ATI INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION. APEX, N.C. Flexfinish is an axially compliant finishing tool suitable for robotic and nonrobotic material finishing operations on aluminum, plastic, and steel. The low-speed, high-torque finishing tool has a...

Paper pulp pump.(new products)
July 1, 2007... GOULDS PUMPS, SENECA FALLS, N.Y. The 3500XD is a medium consistency paper pulp pump with X-Ducer technology and a patented air separation device. The X-Ducer agitates paper pulp to assist flow into the pump inlet while separating air from the...

Enclosed heaters.(new products)
July 1, 2007... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD. CONN. Intelligent construction makes Omega's enclosed heaters efficient and durable. This SREH Series features a serpentine wound heating element laminated between two layers of 15 mil fiberglass-reinforced...

Portable plasma cutting.(new products)
July 1, 2007... HYPERTHERM INC., HANOVER. N.H. A compact plasma cutting system, the Powermax30, combines low weight, minimal energy usage, and cutting power. It is designed for on-the-job use because of its operator--friendly features. They include a tapered...

Pressure transducer.(new products)
July 1, 2007... SETRA SYSTEMS INC., BOXBOROUGH. MASS. The compact 3100 Series pressure transducer provides a low-cost solution for OEM applications, such as hydraulic controls, HVAC systems, engine controls, industrial process, off-highway equipment,...

Metal core gears.(new products)
July 1, 2007... INTECH CORP., CLOSTER, N.J. Cast-in metal core gears use proprietary gear-life calculations in a high-performance, one-piece gear design. The core gears eliminate traditional flanged attachments and provide lubrication-free, high-torque...

Quick-change system.(new products)
July 1, 2007... JERGENS INC., CLEVELAND, OHIO. A Hydraulic Ball Lock quick-change fixture mounting system combines the company's Ball Lock mounting technology with hydraulic power to deliver the speed of hydraulic clamping with a positive mechanical lock....

Better bonding.(new products)
July 1, 2007... PERMABOND ENGINEERING ADHESIVES. SOMERSET, N.J. Two new toughened cyanoacrylate (instant) adhesives have added impact resistance and peel strength. Permabond 731 and 735 form excellent bonds rapidly to a variety of surfaces, including aluminum,...

Alloy steel.(new products)
July 1, 2007... BENEDICT-MILLER LLC. KENILWORTH. N.J. Shapes, indents, holes, precision graduated thicknesses, and specialty finishes are offered to parts manufacturers as a time and cost saving advantage by the company. The single-source ISO 9001:2000...

Plug-in PLC.(new products)
July 1, 2007... DIVELBISS CORP., FREDERICKTOWN, OHIO. Solves-It! is a plug-in programmable logic controller. Packaged in a standard relay-style housing with an 11-pin plug-in base, the Solves-It! is useful where a small, yet versatile, logic controller is...

Isolation valves.(new products)
July 1, 2007... BIO-CHEM VALVE INC. & OMNIFIT LTD., BOONTON, N.J. A series of five customizable miniature isolation valves features a flexible "mix and match" construction determined by solenoid shell size, manifold mountability, and flow configuration. Valve...

Linear actuators.(new products)
July 1, 2007... HAYDON SWITCH & INSTRUMENT INC., WATERBURY, CONN. Size 14 hybrid linear actuators are now available with a 0.9 degree step angle. Like the 1.8 degree version, this actuator is available in all four designs: captive, non-captive, external...

Strong sensor.(new products)
July 1, 2007... SPECTRUM SENSORS AND CONTROLS, ST. MARY'S, PA. A ruggedized sensor monitors temperature in high moisture environments where the sensor is subject to continuous freeze and thaw cycles. The sensor's thermistor element is isolated from not only...

Accelerometers.(new products)
July 1, 2007... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The Omegarometer Series of accelerometers is designed for industrial vibration measurements. Their hermetically sealed stainless steel case is corrosion resistant and suitable for harsh environments, like...

Linear slides.(new products)
July 1, 2007... FABCO-AIR INC., GAINESVILLE, FLA. Linear slides come in 12, 20 and 32 mm bores with strokes from 1/2 to 10 in. and guide shafts from 3/8- to 3/4-in. diameters. The anodized aluminum body has a built-in repairable air cylinder and a combination...

Motion control ICs.(new products)
July 1, 2007... PERFORMANCE MOTION DEVICES INC., LINCOLN, MASS. Magellan motion control ICs have seven-segment S-curve profile generation. Available in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-axis versions, these flexible, programmable chips provide additional control to eliminate...