Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from May 2005

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from May 2005

Innovation and growth.(editorial)
May 1, 2005... Our cover story this month ("The End of the M.E?"), by Peter Huber and Mark Mills, tells us that, like it or not, we're in a world where the convergence of mechanical and electrical engineering isn't an expected occurrence, but a fait accompli....

A call to activism.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: I am a retired engineer with more than 40 years of experience, now working as a volunteer. It saddens me to see the talents and experience of engineers going to waste. If you look around anywhere on this beautiful planet of...

Cold facts.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: Your article, "Split Decision," in the Technology Focus section of the December 2004 issue was very informative and, for the most part, accurate. However, the discussion of the materials properties of the subject valve is...

Flight speed.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: Douglas L. Marriott, in the May 2004 issue, and Joshua Coaplen, in the November issue, argue about the impact of 1.5 pounds of carbon fiber insulation on the Space Shuttle. When the insulation came off the booster, it too was...

Earth-shakers.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: I couldn't help but notice the comment by Sandia National Laboratories' Tom Hinkebein about studying the environmental impact of the disposal of brine concentrate in deep wells in land-locked regions ("From Sea to Sink," October...

High contrast.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: Congratulations for producing a magazine that you do not have to be in bright light to read. The January 2005 issue is great. There was no dark printing on dark pictures making it difficult to read. The only places that have not...

Stats and baseball.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: Now I am caught up on reading issues of Mechanical Engineering, but just days after the Boston Red Sox won the World Series on October 27, I was reading the May 2004 issue. I was immediately struck by the irony in John Falcioni's...

Beyond the diesel.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... To the Editor: John DeGaspari's article "A New Dawn for Diesel," published in January, did a fine job of telling us why diesels will become an increasing, and refreshingly efficient, part of the automotive future in America. I would like...

From pins to nuts.(news & notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ASME is preparing to publish a revision of the part identifying number standard for industrial fasteners, modified for compatibility with CAD systems and replacing previous versions of the code. The standard, known as B18.24, codifies 788...

Cleaner fuel economy.(news & notes)
May 1, 2005... The folks behind the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's hydraulic hybrid vehicle development program have been hard at work developing engines to pair up with their hydraulic hybrid transmission. The EPA has been testing two hydraulic...

Only on M.E. Magazine online.(news & notes)
May 1, 2005... @www.memagazine.org. Responses to the April Question of the Month: When do you expect nanoscale material to have a significant impact on your business? In three to 29% five years It is important ...

One-stop shop.(news & notes)(Michigan Custom Machines Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... In automotive and powertrain manufacturing, different companies and integrators typically supply assembly lines to manufacture parts and the machines used to test components and assemblies. The responsibility of orchestrating the various...

Bodine Electric Co.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2005... A manufacturer of fractional-horsepower motors, Bodine Electric Co. of Chicago, is marking its 100th anniversary by offering free samples. A registration form is posted at www.bodine-electric. com/freemotor. The offer expires June 30.

ProAero Technology LLC.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Matthew Tremmel, an ASME member and former engineer with Siemens Power Generation, has formed a new company, ProAero Technology LLC in Indialantic, Fla., offering consulting and turnkey CFD services for the aerospace, turbomachinery, and...

General Motors Corp. concluded the sale of its LaGrange, Ill.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... General Motors Corp. concluded the sale of its LaGrange, Ill., Electro-Motive division to an investor group led by Greenbriar Equity LLC of Rye, N.Y., and Berkshire Partners LLC in Boston.

GE Transportation.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... GE Transportation has delivered an LM500 aeroderivative turbine-generator set to the Navy's next-generation destroyer test center in Philadelphia, The Navy has selected the engine and generator to power the future ship's propulsion motor.

William Kramer & Associates.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... William Kramer& Associates, a property and casualty claims adjustment specialist based in Avon, Conn., reported seven new energy-related clients--five power plants and two LNG receiving terminals--with a total insured value of $5.23 billion.

Kuka Robotics Corp.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Kuka Robotics Corp. of Clinton Township, Minn., has released a robotic prototyping technology called CAMRob software, for robotic milling of complex prototypes.

Fakespace Systems Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Fakespace Systems Inc. of Marshalltown, Iowa, has released its WorkZ Visualization System, a computing and active stereoscopic projection system that creates an immersive display.

Hold that thought.(computing)
May 1, 2005... HAVE YOU EVER OPENED A computer-aided design file from another engineer or grabbed a file from company archives, only to ask yourself: Why did they design it this way? Now there's a way to tell. Engineers at the Boeing division in...

Reach out and touch.(computing)(Eaton-Holec of Hengelo uses product data management system from Co-Create of Fort Collins)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... STAYING IN TOUCH is no easy task--especially with coworkers halfway around the world. Energy distributor Eaton-Holec of Hengelo, the Netherlands, finds more and more of its projects to be global. To keep up with workers worldwide, the...

The end of wireless?(computing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ALTHOUGH WIRELESS NETWORKS seem capable of shuttling vast amounts of information back and forth, they have their limits. And a group of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin wants to find out exactly what those limits are. ...

For the hull of it.(computing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ENGINEERS AT A WATER SPORT tow-boat manufacturer quickly caught on to their new CAD system. Within the first two weeks of using it, engineers at Tige Boats of Abilene, Texas, had designed two new fuel tanks, new instrument gauges, and a...

Not running so hot.(computing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ENGINEERS AT WORK ON THE iU22 ultrasound system from Philips Medical Systems of Andover, Mass., found that behind the system's sleek exterior, electronic components ran too hot. To uncover the reason, engineer Kurt Werner decided to run...

Airborne viruses.(computing)(computer viruses)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... FOLLOWING THE APPEARANCE OF viruses that infect cell phones from a distance, security experts wonder if computers running home digital television sets, burglar alarms, or even global positioning systems could be similarly infected and disabled,...

A model community.(computing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... L'ETOILE DIRECTICE IS A CITY on an artificial barrier island off the Louisiana coast. Only it doesn't really exist. A group of students made it up, complete with power-generation and transportation systems. The city, designed by a team of...

And data for all.(computing)(Lattice Technology USA Inc)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... QUALITY ASSURANCE PERSONNEL using software from Lattice Technology USA Inc. of Los Altos, Calif., can quickly compare the as-built with the as-designed states of a product, according to business development manager Jeff Durst. Lattice3D...

Informatix Software International Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A software application for 3-D digital painting, Piranesi from Informatix Software International Ltd. of Cambridge, England, is now available for the Macintosh operating system X.

Cimatron Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Cimatron Ltd. of Givat Shmuel, Israel, which makes CAD and computer-aided manufacturing software, has released MoldQuote and DieQuote, which generate price quotes for new jobs.

Gerber Technology.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Gerber Technology of South Windsor, Conn., has released WebPDM version 5.0, a Web-based product development management application.

Abaqus Inc. of Providence, R.I., says its finite element analysis software is available for the CAD system Catia, version 5.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Abaqus Inc. of Providence, R.I., says its finite element analysis software is available for the CAD system Catia, version 5, from Dassault Systemes of Paris.

Concurrent Systems Inc. Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Concurrent Systems Inc. Ltd. of Newbury, England, which makes design data and document management software, has released DesignDataManager 2005.

Fluent Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CFD software developer Fluent Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., has released student education software for FlowLab 1.2, fluids laboratory software.

A maker of engineering calculation management software, Mathsoft of Cambridge, Mass., will integrate its software with Ansys of Canonsburg, Pa.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A maker of engineering calculation management software, Mathsoft of Cambridge, Mass., will integrate its software with Ansys of Canonsburg, Pa., which makes engineering analysis software, and with the SolidWorks CAD software from SolidWorks of...

Analysis software maker Algor of Pittsburgh and CAD software maker Kubotek Inc. of Marlborough, Mass., have formed a technology partnership.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Analysis software maker Algor of Pittsburgh and CAD software maker Kubotek Inc. of Marlborough, Mass., have formed a technology partnership. Data exchange between the two applications is now possible.

UGS Corp. of Plano, Texas, which makes product lifecycle management software, has acquired Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. of Herzlia, Israel.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2005... UGS Corp. of Plano, Texas, which makes product lifecycle management software, has acquired Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. of Herzlia, Israel, which makes manufacturing process management software.

TransMagic Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A maker of CAD translation software, TransMagic Inc. of Denver, has issued the fourth update to TransMagic 2005.

Bluebeam Software.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Bluebeam Software of Pasadena, Calif., which makes file-sharing solutions for CAD, has launched the Bluebeam Conversion Server for CAD-to-PDF conversion.

Data sharing.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: JT2Go is a set of three-dimensional viewing products that lets companies pass detailed 3-D product and manufacturing data among locations using the lightweight JT format. That format is a 3-D data standard for product visualization...

Stack design.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: Stackdes performs structural analysis for self-supported and guy-wire-supported steel stacks. Baseplate and breech analysis can be executed directly within the software program. It includes many codes used within the industry,...

From part to model.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: This software development kit gives three-dimensional scanning manufacturers the tools to add capabilities to their laser-line and hard-probe devices, allowing scanner users to turn a physical part into a digital model. It features...

Designs into photos.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: The computer-aided design software TurboCAD Professional, version 11, includes a photorealistic rendering engine as well as upgraded modeling, rendering, and design capabilities. Designers can now extrude complex two-dimensional...

No-mesh analysis.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: The nonmesh field solver FieldMagic simulates and analyzes geometrically complex, two-dimensional engineering problems, including heat transfer, electrostatics, magnetostatics, plate natural vibrations, plate bending, plane stress...

Property management.(software exchange)
May 1, 2005... Capability: PropertyWorks lets you record custom properties--part number, description, material, and supplier--directly within a SolidWorks part, assembly, and drawing file, making it easier to adhere to your company's documentation standards...

Bacteria be gone.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(research on bio contamination of glass surface)
May 1, 2005... Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University in Middletown, Pa., have demonstrated that a combination of ultraviolet light and metal-oxide coatings can deliver an environmentally friendly approach to keeping glass surfaces clean of...

Going for the ring.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(Vertex Fasteners Inc. introduces VA0277 D-ring tool )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The same metal rings that seal a bag of potatoes at the supermarket have other uses, too. They fasten the parts of bedsprings together, for instance. No matter what they are used for, though, they require a special tool to set them in place....

Peel polymers.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Plastics are a modern miracle, but they don't come without their own headaches. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, which means that not only are their prices subject to the volatility of the spot oil market, but also the end products...

Complexity in miniature.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(BioSense Corp. introduces FertiliTrac)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A medical device entering its final stage of clinical trials contains 23 components and fits most of them into a housing about the size of a cellular phone. The device, called FertiliTrac, was developed by BioSense Corp. of Doylestown, Pa. It...

Strong light.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(Novo Foam Products LLC )
May 1, 2005... Shipping pallets have a tougher job than your garage floor. A pallet with a footprint smaller than a sedan's sometimes has to hold up under a weight equivalent to not one, but two pickup trucks. To make it more interesting, while the garage...

Fight corrosion safely.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)(nontoxic, corrosion-resistant polymers developed)
May 1, 2005... In 2000, Erin Brockovich embarked on a legal campaign to demonstrate the dangers of chromates, which have been used commercially for about 50 years as the anticorrosive constituent of many paints and coatings. As the Hollywood film starring...

A comeback for nuclear power?(washington window)
May 1, 2005... Once reviled as a dangerous and unnecessary form of power generation that was going to melt us into oblivion or, at the very least, make our hair fall out, nuclear power appears on the cusp of a resurgence in the United States. Abroad, the...

The end of the M.E.? They call this "convergence." Old lines are changing, or disappearing altogether. What it's doing under the hood is downright electrifying.(Mechanical engineers)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... The turf still divides up quite neatly. The electrical engineers move the light stuff--electrons, power, bits, and logic. The mechanical engineers do the heavy lifting; they move atoms. And, like it or not, the MEs still control most of the...

Ports look outward: seaports, shippers, and the government are linking their efforts to maintain a critical infrastructure.(FEATURE FOCUS: OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGIES)
May 1, 2005... The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, shocked everyone, but they conveyed a special message to those charged with protecting United States ports. One of the stated goals of Al Qaeda is the destruction of the U.S....

Gas on the water: LNG makes its move.(liquefied natural gas)
May 1, 2005... The race to bring liquefied natural is onto America's continental shelf and from there to an energy-hungry nation met its first finisher this March. The new LNG tanker Excelsior moored to the underwater buoy of Excelerate Energy's Energy Bridge...

Soaring twenties: the rise of cities, and of the machines that built them, set a trend that has outlasted the 20th century.(ASME: THE FIRST 125 YEARS)
May 1, 2005... The 1920s was one of the booming decades in the history of America. The '20s were a time of energy and vitality, as people drove about in cars and swung their hips to a new genre of music called jazz. The country's military success in World War...

Go-between: shop floor software taps into CAD systems to get vital manufacturing information.(Computer aided design)
May 1, 2005... Manufacturing and mechanical engineers find themselves linked by more than just the words in their job titles. Although they might inhabit different parts of the plant or work at separate companies, the engineers have always worked together to...

You know the drill: magnetic sensors in a bone implant give trauma surgeons the green light.
May 1, 2005... Not only do bones provide the body's scaffolding, but they are natural healers as well. When we suffer a fracture, blood vessels, cartilage, and bone-building cells begin the work of knitting broken parts back together. Trauma surgeons help the...

Electronic descalers.(new products)
May 1, 2005... CLEARWATER ENVIRO TECHNOLOGIES INC., CLEARWATER, FLA. The company has introduced a cost-saving, maintenance-free, and nonpolluting alternative to chemical descaling of large-diameter pipelines and all downstream pipelines and equipment, such as...

4-in-1 air velocity meter.(new products)
May 1, 2005... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD. CONN. The HHF81 anemometer can measure airflow, humidity, temperature, and light. The built-in microprocessor circuit assures strong performance and high accuracy. The HHF81 can track the maximum and minimum...

Injector pump.(new products)
May 1, 2005... OIL-RITE CORP., MANITOWOC. WIS. This new air-operated injector pump has ultra-micro output. The company claims that the patented 1/8-in. version will help preserve oil supplies, dispense high-cost synthetic lubricants more efficiently, and aid...

Enhanced PLC.(new products)
May 1, 2005... DIVELBISS CORP., FREDERICKTOWN. OHIO. The Enhanced Baby Bear programmable logic controller offers capabilities for the industrial control user in a small and cost-effective package. The PLC is programmed using the Divelbiss EZ Ladder software,...

Plastic fasteners.(new products)
May 1, 2005... PERFORMANCE PLASTIC FASTENERS, DOWNINGTOWN, PA. Perpl-CP custom plastic fasteners are used in chemical processing and plating applications. They are designed from advanced polymer materials to provide electrically insulative properties while...

Linear transmission unit.(new products)
May 1, 2005... BISHOP-WISECARVER CORP., PITTSBURG, CALIF. The HepcoMotion DLS5 belt driven linear transmission unit is produced with a large 50 mm wide belt that increases load-carrying capacity beyond the previous HepcoMotion DLS range. This compact driven...

Corrosion-resistant gearbox.(new products)
May 1, 2005... TOL-O-MATIC INC., HAMEL, MINN. The corrosion-resistant version of the company's Slide-Rite is a universal right-angle gearbox designed to meet the demands of harsh, potentially corrosive industrial environments. It extends the life and improves...

Modular instrument system.(new products)
May 1, 2005... SWAGELOK CO., SOLON, OHIO. The Kenmac Series 85 is a modular instrumentation interface and mounting system. The system includes all the components needed to put a transmitter into service. They are: manifolds, instrument monoflanges,...

Linear guide system.(new products)
May 1, 2005... BISHOP-WISECARVER, PITTSBURG, CALIF. The QuickTrak linear guide with proven DualVee Motion Technology has been added to the company's guided motion systems and components. QuickTrak is an off-the-shelf solution that reduces design and...

Motor mounting system.(new products)
May 1, 2005... DANAHER MOTION, WOOD DALE, ILL. The Micron Gearhead RediMount motor mounting system has a three-step mounting procedure. This allows all Micron gearheads to be mounted in any available motor, regardless of manufacturer, according to the...

System combination.(new products)
May 1, 2005... TRANSDUCER TECHNIQUES INC., TEMECULA, CALIF. This system combination comprises the TH Series (Thru-Hole load cell) and the TM0-1 (a 12 V dc powered amplifier/conditioner module). This system is suitable for a variety of industrial and OEM force...

Control valve.(new products)
May 1, 2005... FLOWSERVE CORP., DALLAS, TEXAS. The urea letdown valve is a custom-built control valve specifically designed to tolerate the high-pressure drops and crystallization associated with the letdown process in urea production. Urea is a common...

Boiler tuning unit.(new products)
May 1, 2005... E INSTRUMENTS GROUP, LANGHORNE, PA. The BTU 1000 basic portable gas analyzer is a portable, multifunctional unit suitable for servicing and maintenance purposes of HVAC professionals, including boilers, heaters, and other domestic and...

Pump controller.(new products)
May 1, 2005... SYMCOM INC., RAPID CITY, S.D. The ISS-105 IS Super Cell is a "smart" five-channel, intrinsically safe, multiple pump controller. Microcontroller-based, the IS Super Cell is capable of performing multiple duties. It can operate as a pump...

High-performance photodiodes.(new products)
May 1, 2005... OPTO DIODE CORP., NEWBURY PARK, CALIF. U.S.-manufactured photodiodes, specifically designed to provide high-quality, high-reliability performance at prices previously available only with lower-end product, are now available from the company....

Laser regulator.(new products)
May 1, 2005... CONCOA, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. A new easy-to-use laser gas delivery system regulator is designed to eliminate atmospheric contamination during gas cylinder exchange. The 601 Series incorporates [M.sup.2] technology to minimize contamination caused...

Fittings and couplings.(new products)
May 1, 2005... DIXON VALVE & COUPLING CO., CHESTERTOWN. MD. Agri-Lock fittings and couplings provide an economical quick-disconnect capability for nonhazardous agricultural water applications. These fittings are suitable for agricultural suction and discharge...

Alignment system.(new products)
May 1, 2005... LUDECA INC., MIAMI, FLA. The Rotalign Ultra shaft/coupling alignment system features a large, scratchproof backlit color screen and backlit keyboard for any working condition, day or night, indoors or out. Intuitive navigation guides the user...

Vertical lift module.(new products)
May 1, 2005... FKI LOGISTEX, KENILWORTH, N.J. The Power Column 2 vertical lift module now has new control and hardware capabilities. The vertical lift module makes use of unused overhead vertical space to deliver a high-density, small-footprint storage and...

Compact encoder.(new products)
May 1, 2005... GURLEY PRECISION INSTRUMENTS, TROY, N.Y. According to the manufacturer, the A58 is the highest resolution compact encoder available for applications requiring precise measurements of distances and angles in a relatively small package. The low...

Piping system.(new products)
May 1, 2005... ASAHI/AMERICA INC., MALDEN, MASS. The Pro-Lock is a piping system for double contained sodium hypochlorite and bleach systems. Now users can select the system, the material, and the joining technique that matches their application requirements....

Air compressor.(new products)
May 1, 2005... CURTIS-TOLEDO, ST. LOUIS, MO. The CA Series line of air compressors is for heavy-duty automotive and industrial applications. Models include the Simplex tank mounted electric two-stage (3-15 hp, 145-175 psi); Simplex tank mounted electric...

Circuit breaker panels.(new products)
May 1, 2005... BLUE SEA SYSTEMS, BELLINGHAM, WASH. A new series of 120/240 V ac circuit breaker panels is designed to meet the power management needs of cruising yachts, sportfishers, sailboats, and commercial vessels. The company offers four new panels to...

Getting a grip.(product information)
May 1, 2005... TRIM-LOK INC., BUENA PARK, CALIF. Grip-Tek's catalog introduces a wide variety of foam grips, plastic grips, foam tubing, and vinyl caps. The company provides expertise in design engineering, prototyping, tooling, and custom color capabilities....

Motion solutions.(product information)
May 1, 2005... DANAHER MOTION, WOOD DALE, ILL. The Portescap Motion Solutions Catalog includes complete product features and benefits, specifications, and characteristics for the company's family of Portescap-branded technologies. These include ironless rotor...

Control valves.(product information)
May 1, 2005... CLIPPARD INSTRUMENT LABORATORY, CINCINNATI, OHIO. An introductory CD highlights the features and specifications of EVP proportional control valves. The EVP Series valve provides control of air or gas flow, and varies the output flow based on...

Small inductors.(product information)
May 1, 2005... RENCO ELECTRONICS INC., ROCKLEDGE, FLA. Renco's first Surface Mount Inductor Catalog is a 108-page publication highlighting more than 50 products and over 1,000 specific values to select from. Among them is what the company calls "the world's...