Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from May 2006

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from May 2006

Only on M.E. Magazine Online: @ www.memagazine.org.
May 1, 2006... The April Question of the Month had two parts: Broadband 85% Dial-up 15% When accessing the Web, do you use a broadband or dial-up connection? Note: Table made from pie chart. Home 47% Work 28% Both...

Meeting of the minds.(Isambard Kingdom Brunel)(interdisciplinary engineering practice)(Editorial)
May 1, 2006... Happy birthday, Isambard Kingdom Brunel! You remain as important to your profession today, 200 years after your birth, as you did during your heyday. If you're familiar with Brunel's work, you might be one of those who believe he is one of...

Outsourcing opportunities.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: In 1949 I graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, and could only get a job in a test and service department. It was a fun job testing and installing systems on Navy ships. It was a valuable experience in relating to the...

Fellows on paper.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: Thank you for including "The 2004-2005 ASME Fellows" in the November 2005 issue. It was a joy to see the additions to the highest ASME membership grade of distinction in print, with photographs and citations. I have had the...

Engineering and nature.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: This is a rebuttal to the letter from Thomas Ask (January). Technology will be the answer to New Orleans' prayers. While technology cannot thwart Mother Nature in her every challenge, it can and will provide substantial...

School rules.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: I was pleasantly surprised to see the article on slide rules at Purdue University (December 2005). As a recent graduate (M.S., 2005), I always paused at the slide rule display each time I passed by on my way to the...

Word indeed.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: The problem described by Kirk Teska in "Does 4 Include 3?" (January), regarding the disconnect between word and object in formulating descriptions set forth in patent applications, is akin to that encountered with product...

Kicking a habit.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... To the Editor: President Bush says we're addicted to foreign oil and he wants to fund research to find a substitute. I have a suggestion: Use wind energy to create hydrogen. Wind energy provides relatively clean power, but it suffers the...

Face on file.(face recognition technology)
May 1, 2006... Each face in the crowd is as much a signature as the face-owner's fingerprints. Now computer scientists at Sheffield Hallam University in England have developed face recognition technology that they say could change security systems. The...

Solar in the retail club.(news & notes)(Costco Companies Inc., Renewable Energy Concepts Inc. )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The next advance in solar electrical power may be in availability, rather than technology. A major merchant, Costco Corp., is said to be negotiating with a system integrator to offer solar power systems through its stores, at least in...

Nano power.(news & notes)(innovation of nanotechnology for medical implants)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Compared to microelectromechanical machines and nanoscale devices, a watch battery is enormous. What's more, for many of the proposed uses of nanomachines--particularly as medical implants--the toxic compounds used in batteries severely limit...

Societies seek a harmony among control standards.(news & notes)
May 1, 2006... For years, it was easy to argue that the control and automation industry was out of control. Although industry pioneers delivered precision control over the nation's manufacturing facilities, each company installed its own proprietary hardware...

LNG diesel gets green light in California.(news & notes)(liquefied natural gas)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... California says that a heavy-duty diesel engine modified to burn natural gas is ready to hit the state's roads. Westport Innovations Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, has received California Air Resources Board certification for its...

German companies partner on fuel cells.(news & notes)(Vaillant GmbH, Webasto AG Fahrzeugtechnik)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... An automotive component supplier and a heating technology manufacturer, both of Germany, have agreed to jointly develop fuel cells for use in both cars and stationary applications. The automotive supplier, Webasto AG of Stockdorf, has been...

Vistagy Inc.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Vistagy Inc. of Waltham, Mass., has released FiberSIM 5.1, the latest version of its design software for composite products.

Lurgi AG.(to build bioethanol plant in Kansas and biodiesel plant in Austria)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Lurgi AG, an engineering firm in Frankfurt, Germany, says it has received orders for construction of two alternative fuel plants--a bioethanol plant for a client in Kansas and a biodiesel plant for a company in Austria--with a total value of 74...

UGS Corp.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... UGS Corp. of Piano, Texas, is shipping its NX 4 digital product development software for the Linux operating system.

Look both ways.(computing)
May 1, 2006... YOUR EXCEL AND YOUR WINDOWS programs aren't meant to support each other, but computer scientists say that they should. Database and text programs should be searchable by one software application that could comb through both text and...

3-D from the get-go.(computing)(Robbins GmbH)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... WHEN STEFAN KOLB, manager of research and design, joined a newly formed company, he had one stipulation: Product development must be based on three-dimensional computer-aided design. The company makes huge pieces of mining equipment and...

To the moon.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... THE SPACE SHUTTLE may soon meet its replacement. The Crew Exploration Vehicle is NASA's proposed manned spacecraft--essentially, the next-generation Space Shuttle. Engineers at work on the spacecraft use product lifecycle management...

Big math.(computing)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... LARGE MODELS NATURALLY make for complicated calculations. Take the case of Stork Fokker Aerospace. The aerospace company in Hoogeveen, The Netherlands, created the fiberglass and aluminum laminate called Glare for the Airbus A380's...

Now, fear this.(virtual reality to treat patients)
May 1, 2006... HERE'S A LITTLE SCENARIO: The turbulence grows worse; you tumble in your seat. You look out the plane's window at the dark storm clouds and fight nausea even as you hear someone else being sick. This is your worst nightmare. You want to...

Streamlined ship.(software for communication in ships)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... MAKING SOMETHING AS HUGE as a ship calls for a lot of internal business coordination. Engineers at New Century Shipbuilding in China are at work on the prototype of a container ship. They are using software that coordinates communication...

Doodle search engine.(computing)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CALL IT A VERY ADVANCED Etch A Sketch. Imaginestics of West Lafayette, Ind., has created 3D-Seek, a shape-search engine. With it, users can find items in an online catalog by making a doodle of the part they need. They don't have to...

CADDsoft Solutions Inc.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... CADDsoft Solutions Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, has released Concepts Unlimited, the third version of its CAD software.

VizUp Technology.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... VizUp Technology of Vancouver, British Columbia, has released VizUp 2.1.2, which can reduce models of as many as five million triangles.

Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., has purchased @Last; Software of Boulder, Colo.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., has purchased @Last; Software of Boulder, Colo, which makes the 3-D modeler SketchUp.

Agile Software Corp.(enhanced Agile PLM software to support linux operating system)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Agile Software Corp. of San Jose, Calif., will add the Linux open source operating system to the list of supported environments for its Agile PLM software.

Fluent Inc.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Fluent Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., has upgraded its FloWizard software to version 2.1. The software is for flow modeling and thermal analysis.

Daretech.(consumer spending on product lifecyle management software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... According to a recent estimate by market analysis firm Daretech, spending on PLM software topped $10.4 billion in 2005, up 13 percent over 2004. Daratch is located in Cambridge, Mass.

MachineWorks Ltd.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... MachineWorks Ltd. of Sheffield, England, which makes simulation and verification software for machine tool manufacturers, has released MachineWorks version 6.3.

Capvidia.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Capvidia of Leuven, Belgium, has upgraded its FormatWorks software, which is for SolidWorks users who need to translate Catia data into their CAD program.

Autodesk Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Autodesk Inc. of San Rafael, Calif., has released its Autodesk Manufacturing Supplier Content Center, an online portal that offers catalogs of models and parts through the Inventor desktop.

Pointwise.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Fort Worth, Texas-based developer Pointwise has upgraded its computational fluid dynamics meshing software to Gridgen version 15.09, which now includes solid modeling and solid meshing.

Cimatron Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(introduction of 5 axis production software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Cimatron Ltd. of Givat Shmuel, Israel, which makes CAD and computer-aided manufacturing software, has released 5-Axis Production, a five-axis numerically controlled package for production of complex parts.

Magsoft Corp.(Briefly Noted)
May 1, 2006... Magsoft Corp. of Ballston Spa, N.Y., is shipping Flux version 9.2 for the analysis and design of electromagnetic and electromechanical devices.

See the CAD file.(software exchange)
May 1, 2006... Capability: Engineers and others who don't own the VectorWorks CAD application can view and print projects created in that application with VectorWorks Viewer. The viewer lets you individually open a VectorWorks file and make use of the viewing...

Beyond PDF reader.(software exchange)
May 1, 2006... Capability: Using Acrobat 3D, engineers and designers transform their 3-D designs from CAD into Adobe portable document files--even if the engineers and designers themselves don't have access to the CAD software. The application supports a...

BOM manager.(software exchange)
May 1, 2006... Capability: ToolWorks Bill-of-Material Manager, version six, for the CAD system SolidWorks helps engineers manage CAD properties as it draws up a bill of materials for CAD parts. This BOM manager opens within the design window. Lists can be...

Find material properties.(software exchange)
May 1, 2006... Capability: Variational Asymptotical Method for Unit Cell Homogenization (VAMUCH) is a finite element-based code to perform homogenization of heterogeneous anisotropic materials based on the variational asymptotic method. It can be used to...

What statistics say.(software exchange)
May 1, 2006... Capability: This software application add-on builds and analyzes complex statistical models in Mathematica. Users can create models quickly to gain insight into their data. The add-on gives engineers and scientists a tool for likelihood-based...

Plastics push offshore.(plastics' use at offshore oil platform)
May 1, 2006... It costs about $250,000 a day to lease an offshore oil platform, so oil companies are justifiably hesitant about embracing new technologies that might fail. Yet plastics continue to work their way into demanding downhole drilling applications,...

Welcome back, cotter.(cotter pins developed by Pivot Point Inc.)
May 1, 2006... Cotter pins or their antecedents have probably been around since someone first hammered a wooden peg through an axle to keep a wheel from falling off. So what could possibly be new about cotter pins? Plenty, it turns out. In fact, Pivot...

After robots run amok.(new sensor to prevent robot collisions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Collisions between robots are not common, but they can happen when the machines cross paths with unplanned obstructions or even with other robots during line setup. Such crashes can damage tooling. They may also twist and turn the robot so...

Worked up about workbenches.(MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY)
May 1, 2006... Workbenches usually merit no more than an afterthought in assembly line design. Yet when contract electronic manufacturer Cirtronics Corp. of Milford, N.H., decided to move to lean manufacturing, it spent up to eight months evaluating four...

Liquid armor stiffens when threatened.(bulletproff vests)
May 1, 2006... Personal armor may stop bullets and bombs, but its protection comes at a cost. Today's bulletproof vests are made of Kevlar aramid or other high-strength fabrics. Adequate protection takes multiple layers of fabric, which makes armor bulky and...

One step back, one giant leap forward: for NASA engineers planning to send humans back to the moon. The best mission design was staring them right in the face.
May 1, 2006... the Apollo project ended a long time ago. About half of all Americans were not yet born when Gene Cernan closed the hatch on lunar module Challenger and the astronauts of Apollo 17 left the moon. Aud fewer than one in six were adults when, 45...

No hurry to recycle: some advocates believe no new nuclear power plants will be ordered until the question of long-term storage of waste has been addressed. But one proposed answer--fuel reprocessing--is too costly and complicated to embrace.(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... this spring the U.S. Department of Energy has been promoting a Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a strategy for dealing with the accumulation of radioactive waste from power plants by reprocessing some of the spent fuel. The primary...

Wild blue yonder: after more than 50 years of intense research, designers are still pushing the gas turbine to new heights of performance.
May 1, 2006... The first time ASME sponsored a conference featuring gas turbine technical papers, only two papers were submitted. It was understandable. The gas turbine had been invented only five years earlier and, thanks to wartime restrictions, travel to...

Beginning the transformation: when will efficient, high-temperature fuel cells finally emerge as the best choice for electrical generation?
May 1, 2006... fuel cells are a technology that has sat on the cusp of mainstream applications for some time. It hasn't yet reached the point of cliche, as has nuclear fusion, but it is wearisome nonetheless. But while it has been slow, progress is being...

Power window: two paths.(POWER & energy)(the future of petroleum usage)
May 1, 2006... It really seems that we have entered a new paradigm for world energy supplies. The spot price for oil at press time has again reached more than $69 per barrel, and this without the intervention of a series of category 5 storms. The short-term...

No mesh, no fuss: a mechanical engineering researcher says that by doing away with the finite-element mesh, he has the answer to simultaneous design and analysis.
May 1, 2006... With many of today's analysis systems, design engineers can essentially analyze as they design. Yet, one step in the modern-day design-analysis process can be done away with to make everything work together even quicker than it does already,...

Peristaltic pumps.(new products)
May 1, 2006... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The company's new FPU2000 series of peristaltic pumps is self-priming, with fixed pumps fed by an analog fixed 60-second timer. The pump can be on for 1 to 60 seconds. All models have fixed speed...

Pneumatic valves.(new products)
May 1, 2006... CLIPPARD INSTRUMENT LABORATORY INC., CINCINNATI. OHIO. The new Maximatic line of pneumatic valves, filter regulator lubricators, and components provides maximum performance and value, according to the company. Maximatic three-way, four-way,...

Collet chucks.(new products)
May 1, 2006... COMMAND TOOLING SYSTEMS, RAMSEY. MINN. A new line of DR (ER) 32 "Shorty" collet chucks is for tool shank diameters from 0.079 to 0.787 in. The chucks have an extremely short projection, so users can maximize workpiece size. According to the...

Lift table.(new products)
May 1, 2006... PENTALIFT EQUIPMENT CORP., BUFFALO. N.Y. Pentalift's new lift table is equipped with a powered deck extension that moves laterally. The 3,000-lb.-capacity table has a 60 x 84 in. platform with a 50-in. vertical lift. A 48 x 22 in. deck, stored...

Pressure transducer.(new products)
May 1, 2006... SETRA SYSTEMS INC., BOXBOROUGH. MASS. Setra's Model 595 is a digitally compensated submersible pressure transducer. Its integral specific gravity compensation gives a true level reading even when subjected to media temperature changes over the...

Linear actuator.(new products)
May 1, 2006... EXLAR CORP., CHANHASSEN. MINN. The I Series electromechanical actuator with roller screw technology offers reliability, motor flexibility, and a longer operating life for less cost than a ball screw actuator, according to the company. With the...

General-purpose transducers.(new products)
May 1, 2006... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD. CONN. Economically priced but with many features, the new IP211/EP211 Series from Omega consists of electropneumatic transducers that decrease supply pressure, converting it to regulated output pressure in...

Single-turn ring.(new products)
May 1, 2006... SMALLEY STEEL RING CO., LAKE ZURICH, ILL. A new single turn series of spiral retaining rings is available for both internal and external grooves. More than 400 rings come in carbon and stainless steel from stock, with diameters ranging from 6...

Linear actuators.(new products)
May 1, 2006... WARNER ELECTRIC, SOUTH BELOIT, ILL. A--Track Series linear actuators incorporates many new design features, including a round, ground ball nut, a motor shaft supported by bearings rather than bushings, and limit switch and potentiometer...

Vibration switch.(new products)
May 1, 2006... HARDY INSTRUMENTS, SAN DIEGO, CALIF. The Hardy vibration switch provides reliable machine production in a compact package. This low-cost, self-contained monitoring system can be mounted to any location on rotating or reciprocating equipment,...

Integrated monitoring system.(new products)
May 1, 2006... EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT, CHANHASSEN, MINN. The Rosemount 753R with iTraX is a Web-based monitoring system for inventory management that integrates smart sensors, communications, and self-contained power into a single packaged solution. The...

Temperature transmitter.(new products)
May 1, 2006... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC.. STAMFORD, CONN. The OM-CP-RFTC4000A is an easy-to-use, portable, compact, battery-powered, stand-alone thermocouple-based temperature transmitter device. According to the company, it is a step forward in both size and...

Removing exit burrs.(new products)
May 1, 2006... REX-CUT PRODUCTS, FALL RIVER, MASS. A double-cut carbide burr that removes exit burrs from drilled holes fast on stainless steel, high nickel alloys, common steel tubing, and cast iron pipe is now available from the company. The burr grinds...

Step motor.(new products)
May 1, 2006... LIN ENGINEERING, SANTA CLARA, CALIF. The newest addition to the company's Nema 17 Super Torque Series motors is the 4118C. It is a 1.8 degree, NEMA size 17 step motor that has a maximum body length of 2.34 in. The motor is capable of a holding...

Hydraulic systems test analyzer.(new products)
May 1, 2006... LAKE MONITORS INC., MILWAUKEE, WIS. The company's Style K hydraulic system test analyzer is specifically designed to indicate flow and pressure. Lake Monitors will continue to offer its Style T test analyzer that provides flow, pressure, and...

Chemical fastener adhesives.(new products)
May 1, 2006... NYLOK CORP., MACOMB, MICH. Because they have longer shelf life and high structural strength, fast-curing pre-applied Precote chemical fastener adhesives offer vibration-resistant locking and sealing properties for a range of applications,...

Portable combustion monitoring.(new products)
May 1, 2006... E INSTRUMENTS GROUP LLC, LANGHORNE, PA. The GreenLine 8000 portable gas analyzer is the company's latest innovation. This portable and multifunctional unit is a useful tool for most environmental monitoring needs, according to the company. It...

Gun drilling system.(new products)
May 1, 2006... TECHNIDRILL SYSTEMS INC., KENT, OHIO. The company's new gun drilling systems can drill highly accurate 0.03-in.-diameter holes in surgical stainless steel, it says. Designed for fast and accurate drilling in medical product applications, this...

Applied mechanics reviews articles.(ASME publications)(Bibliography)
May 1, 2006... Review of the Governing Equations, Computational Algorithms, and Other Components of the Models-3 Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System. D. Byun and K.L. Schere. Vol. 59, No. 2, March 2006, pp. 51-77. Particle-Turbulence...

The Portal to Lean Production: Principles and practices for doing more with less.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... The Portal to Lean Production: Principles and practices for doing more with less. John Nicholas and Avi Soni. Auerbach Publications, Taylor & Francis Group LLC, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742. 2006. 341...

Guidebook for the Design of ASME Section VIII Pressure Vessels. Third Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Guidebook for the Design of ASME Section VIII Pressure Vessels. Third Edition. James R. Farr and Maan H. Jawad. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990. 2006. 312 pages. ASME members, $64; list, $80. ISBN 0-7918-0239-6. This...

Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery. Fifth Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery. Fifth Edition. S.L. Dixon. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite 400, Burlington. MA 01803. 2005. 390 pages. $49.95. ISBN 0-7506-7870-4. The theory and technology of...

Mathematical Modeling in Continuum Mechanics. Second Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Mathematical Modeling in Continuum Mechanics. Second Edition. Roger M. Temam and Alain M. Miranville. Cambridge University Press, 40 W. 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211. 2005. 342 pages. Softcover. $50. ISBN 0-521-61723-5. In this book,...

Boundary Methods: Elements, Contours, and Nodes.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Boundary Methods: Elements, Contours, and Nodes. Subrata Mukherjee and Yu Xie Mukherjee. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group LLC, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742. 2005. 220 pages. $139.95. ISBN 0-8247-2599-9....

Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials. Second Edition.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials. Second Edition. Isaac M. Daniel and Ori Ishai. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016-4314. 2005. 411 pages. $89.95. ISBN 0-19-515097-X. The use of composite...

Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them.(ME bookshelf)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them. Michael Abrams. Harmony/Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. 2006. 320 pages. $23.95. ISBN 1-4000-5491-5. ...

ASME codes & standards.
May 1, 2006... 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...

Sphere of heights.(input output)(sphere shaped houses)
May 1, 2006... Beginning with Pythagoras and Plato, many of the world's i greatest thinkers have considered the sphere the finest shape in nature. And yet when in nature lesser minds have tended to commune with their surroundings in odd polygonal tents, from...