Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from May 2009

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from May 2009

55%: the percentage of respondents who think wind, solar, and other renewable energy are the best to technologies electric companies to invest in.
May 1, 2009... Question of the month: what is the best technology for electric utilities to invest in to meet demand over the next 10 years? QUESTION OF THE MONTH RESULTS COMBINED-CYCLE GAS TURBINES PLANTS 17% NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ...

Exclusive to Mechanical Engineering Magazine online.
May 1, 2009... In their feature article in this issue, "Renewable Sea Power," two ASME Fellows and experts in ocean engineering, Michael. E. McCormick of the U.S. Naval Academy and R. Cengiz Ertekin of the University of Hawaii, discuss the scale of energy...

Issues of conflict.(Editorial)
May 1, 2009... OMINOUS HEADLINES IN RECENT MONTHS forecasting doom to the global economy have replaced similarly dire headlines projecting desperate energy needs. We can quibble whether headlines reflect public sentiment or public sentiment is a...

Double meaning.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... To the Editor: I read the "Mechatronics Clarifications" letter in the October issue, as well as the article "Who Owns Mechatronics" in the June issue, with some interest. After reading, I can feel that the confusion is largely caused by the...

Space allocation.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... To the Editor: Regarding Mechanical Engineering December 2008: "Tech Focus" (page 21, column 1, paragraph 4) "... heating up to 50[degrees]C for only..." and "Tar on Tap" (page 31, paragraph 7) "... and heated to 80[degrees]C..." should...

Safe mass.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... To the Editor: A degree in engineering is not required to understand the concept that vehicle mass = vehicle safety (Editorial, February). The relationship is well documented in texts and papers on traffic safety. Would you prefer your wife and...

High-priced alternative.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... To the Editor: If President Obama and the Energy Department statisticians were metric, perhaps he and his advisors would have been able to make sense of the energy data in the U.S., and, using simple math, avoid falling into a trap. ...

Math and mechanics.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... To the Editor: I am amazed that anyone would presume to cite the "research" ("Signs of Future Engineers," News & Notes, December) that finds high scores in math at school an indicator of future success as a scientist or engineer. What it shows...

Study: women are putting family before mathematics.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2009... A new study suggests that twice as many women as men drop out of math-intensive careers, including engineering, and that the trend is more pronounced as women advance in their professions. The authors of the study believe that many women leave...

C[O.sub.2] scrubber to get a trial.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2009... Units of Alstom and Dow Chemical plan to build a pilot plant to test what they describe as an advanced amine-based technology for removing C[O.sub.2] from flue exhaust. Dow Oil and Gas developed the technology. Alstom Power will build and...

Fish inspiration.(NEWS & NOTES)
May 1, 2009... One of the species of blind fish that thrive in the waters of the world's deep caves has evolved a technique for sensing motion and inspired researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. They are at work to develop a new generation of...

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that National Nuclear Security Administration has certified the completion of the National Ignition Facility, which is the world's largest laser, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that National Nuclear Security Administration has certified the completion of the National Ignition Facility, which is the world's largest laser, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory....

Michigan Metrology.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Michigan Metrology will host a one-day class, "3D Surface MicroTexture Measurement, Analysis, and Inspection" on May ? at Radisson Hotel--Livonia in Livonia, Mich. Registration information can be requested online at www....

AutoForm Engineering GmbH.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... AutoForm Engineering GmbH of Zurich, Switzerland, a supplier of software for the sheet metal forming industry, is shipping a new product line called AutoFormplus, which the company says covers the entire process chain and brings together the...

ICONE 17, the 17th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, will be held July 12-16 at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel in Brussels, Belgium.(briefly noted)(Conference news)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... ICONE 17, the 17th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, will be hen July 12-16 at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel in Brussels, Belgium. The event is sponsored by ASME, the Chinese Nuclear Society, and the Japan Society of Mechanical...

Metris.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Metris of Leuven, Belgium, has launched Focus Scan 5.2, software that speeds up the preparation and execution of coordinate measuring machine laser scanning inspection.

Virtual Taste.(COMPUTING)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... While virtual reality technology has made great strides of late, wearing a headset and immersing oneself in a virtual environment still isn't the same as really being there. Now a group of English researchers is at work on a virtual reality...

Devices on demand.(COMPUTING)(University of Pittsburgh)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Imagine an Etch a Sketch for nanodevices. A University of Pittsburgh team has has published a paper that describes a technique for writing nanoscale electronic devices. Devices can be erased and created anew, mimicking the Etch A Sketch...

Nice seat.(COMPUTING)(General Motors Corp.)(Vistagy Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... You may not think much about the trim that decorates your car seats, but automobile designers do. General Motors has purchased software designed to cut the time it takes to develop seat trim and to offer feedback on how much a seat would cost,...

Lifelike run-in.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Computer games are being developed at an ever-more rapid pace. But even today when computerized characters run into each other, they don't exactly do so in a realistic way, according to Thomas Larsson, whose Ph.D. dissertation describes a way...

Facebook for patents.(COMPUTING)
May 1, 2009... Facebook is useful for finding old high school friends and keeping up with new ones, but does it have a role to play in speeding patent applications? Yes, say a group of researchers at the Center for Technology Assessment. Online social...

First playground.(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... First daughters Malia and Sasha Obama are climbing, swinging, and sliding on a specially designed playground delivered to the White House in early March. Rainbow Play Systems of Brookings, S.D., used SolidWorks CAD software to develop...

Warp speed wireless.(COMPUTING)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Imagine hammering out a few cooking pots and cooking utensils every time you wanted to test a new recipe. Until just a couple of years ago, many electronics researchers testing new high-speed wireless technologies such as wireless networks,...

Missler Software.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Missler Software of Evry, France, has Launched TopSoLid'Cam 2009, which manages machining processes.

DotSoft.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... DotSoft of Flemingsburg, Ky., has released PdfImport 2.0 for AutoCAD, which includes faster preview capabilities and better support for embedded images.

Open Design Alliance.
May 1, 2009... The Open Design Alliance of Phoenix says the beta release of DWGdirect.NET, the platform component built for use with the Microsoft.NET framework, is available for download to the alliance's members.

Lambda Research Corp.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Lambda Research Corp. of Littleton, Mass., has released an upgrade to its optomechanical design software, to TracePro 5.0.

Geometric Ltd.(DFMPro version 2.0)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Geometric Ltd. of Mumbai, India, has released DFMPro version 2.0 for SolidWorks, a design-for-manufacturability analysis tool. The upgrade includes enhancements for sheet metal fabrication including assembly support and pre-programmed rules.

SolidWorks.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Presentations made at SolidWorks World 2009, which was hew in January in Orlando, Fla., are available on the Web at www. solidworks.com.

CEI.(version 9.0 EnSight Lite)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... CEI of Apex, N.C., has released an upgrade to its visualization product, to EnSight Lite, version 9.0. The software is aimed at small and medium-size companies.

Acusim Software Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., maker of computational fluid dynamics products, and Intelligent Light of Rutherford, N.J., which makes CFD post-processing software, are now shipping AcuFieldView.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Acusim Software Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., maker of computational fluid dynamics products, and Intelligent Light of Rutherford, N.J., which makes CFD post-processing software, are now shipping AcuFieldView, a new OEM-bundled version of...

ITI TranscenData.(briefly noted)(introduction of cadiq version 6.0)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... ITI TranscenData of Milford, Ohio, is shipping Cadiq version 6.0, an analytical software application that verifies the manufacturability of 3-D CAD models throughout the Lifecycle of a product.

Ford Motor Co., has signed a new agreement with MSC.Software of Santa Ana, Calif.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Ford Motor Co., has signed a new agreement with MSC.Software of Santa Ana, Calif. Under the new agreement Ford engineers will continue to use both MSC Nastran and Adams as their standard simulation tools.

Autodesk.(briefly noted)
May 1, 2009... Autodesk of San Rafael, Calif., has retired its 2006 product line. Upgrades for those products are no Longer available and Autodesk will no longer provide technical support, except for existing maintenance patches that are downloadable from...

Sketchup exchange.(Google SketchUp)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Capability: Google SketchUp, available for free, is a popular 3-D CAD system. Data exchange between SketchUp and other CAD software, however, lags as not all CAD software packages include read or write support for SketchUp. A number of...

PCB Design.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
May 1, 2009... Capability: A printed circuit board design application, CADStar, has been updated to version 11. New features include pin-management functions that support high pin count devices, new library management wizards, expanded capabilities for the...

Insert drawings in documents.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Capability: A free download from Adobe updates 3-D CAD translators for Acrobat 9 Pro Extended. As a result, the product now supports the latest version of many of the major 3-D CAD formats. The product is used to create presentations, review...

Expanded options.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
May 1, 2009... Capability: The three-dimensional computer-aided design package Alibre Design has been upgraded to version 11. New features reduce the time it takes to perform common modeling tasks, and expanded customization options give the user control over...

Plotting in Excel.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
May 1, 2009... Capability: EZplot has been updated for Excel 2000-2007. The software application creates and updates more than 50 plots in Excel. Plots and calculations are defined by parameter names rather than by cell locations. The application provides...

+ Long fiber's, large structures.(TECH FOCUS: Materials & Assembly)(Camoplast Inc.)
May 1, 2009... AFTER SEVEN YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT, CANADA'S CAMOPLAST INC. HAS UNVEILED WHAT IT SAYS IS A LESS EXPENSIVE WAY TO MAKE LARGE COMPOSITE PARTS. The company has developed an automated, closed-mold technique to make long-fiber-reinforced structures....

+ Robot fills hole in the donut.(Epson Robots)
May 1, 2009... SCARA ROBOTS ARE THE COMMON ROBOTIC ARMS USED TO MOVE AND ASSEMBLE PARTS IN FACTORIES. Yet SCARA robots share one big weakness: their work area resembles a donut, with nothing in the middle but dead space. Now Epson Robots says it has developed...

Renewable-source plastics.(TECH FOCUS: Materials & Assembly)
May 1, 2009... For more than a decade, DuPont has sought to source more high-end engineering polymers from corn, castor beans, and other renewable resources. Now, the results of this effort have begun to reach the market. Consider, for example, Salomon...

Sound levitates solar cells.(TECH FOCUS)
May 1, 2009... IMAGINE PICKING UP GLASS WAFERS THAT ARE 300 MILLIMETERS IN DIAMETER BUT ONLY 0.6. TO 0.8 MILLIMETER THICK. One false step and the glass will chip or fracture. That is the challenge facing companies that seek to automate solar cell processing....

Amazing analyses: FEA software is capable of more than ever, except engineering judgment.(finite element method)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] January saw the death of British mathematician Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz, an early pioneer of the finite element method who pushed for its computerization and who recognized the potential for using the method to...

Mightiest win: engineers in the U.S. are looking to construct wind turbines twice as powerful, as any yet built. The key is a motor that relies on superconducting windings.(POWER & energy)
May 1, 2009... Wind turbines are obvious. A coal-fired power plant has its smokestack and many nuclear power plants use giant cooling towers, but depending on the weather conditions, one cant count on seeing them at work. Gas turbines are even more discrete;...

Hydrogen horizon: with petroleum production on the cusp of decline, the world must find a new fuel to power its transportation system. What role will hydrogen technologies play in that transition?(POWER & energy)
May 1, 2009... It is hard to imagine a world without oil Beginning with the flight of the Wright brothers ill 1903 and the production of the Ford Model T in 1908, petroleum came to influence almost every aspect of life, from transportation to agriculture,...

Renewable sea power: waves, tides, and thermals--new research funding seeks to put them to work for us.(POWER & energy)
May 1, 2009... For the first time in more than a decade and a half, on September 18, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the funding of projects dealing with renewable marine energy technologies. The program will address one of the great sustaining...

Plowing new ground: as the gas turbine becomes steadily more advanced, the industry reaps the benefits.(GAS TURBINE INDUSTRY: OVERVIEW 2008)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CAN YOU BE TOO EFFICIENT? There has been, over the years, a tendency on the part of some companies and government research funding agencies to declare that gas turbine performance has reached a plateau. I remember...

Power window: up to the challenge.(POWER & energy)
May 1, 2009... It's remarkable that a fuel that has powered industry since the beginning of the Steam Age has become, for some, Public Enemy Number One--the role being foisted on it by an assortment of activists. To some, it's the mining of coal that's...

Turbo expo 2009 in Orlando: meeting complex global challenges.
May 1, 2009... Join more than 3500 gas turbine professionals from over 50 countries for ASME Turbo Expo 2009--a premier 5-day Technical Congress and a 3-day, premium exhibition of gas turbine products and services supported by leading companies in the...

ASME GTUS: for all turbomachinery users--a two for one bargain.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
May 1, 2009... In this challenging economy, get the most for your training/education/conference budget by getting two for one--the ASME Gas Turbine Users Symposium and the 38th Turbomachinery Symposium. The ASME Gas Turbine Users Symposium (GTUS) offers a...

Calendar of events.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(Calendar)
May 1, 2009... JUNE 6, 2009 Basic Gas Turbine Metallurgy & Repair Technology Worhshop World Center Marriott Resort Orlando, FL USA Held in conjunction with Turbo Expo and instructed by Lloyd Cooke and Doug Nagy, Liburdi Turbine Services and Warren...

IGTI Board meets with thought leaders.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(International Gas Turbine Institute)(Conference news)
May 1, 2009... The International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) Board of Directors met February, 8-12, 2009 in Zurich, Switzerland to discuss a wide range of strategic topics critical for the future of IGTI, including expanding the scope of IGTI to include more...

ASME Turbo Sxpo 2010 set for Glasgow, Scotland.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(American Society of Mechanical Engineers )
May 1, 2009... Plan now to join 3,000 gas turbine colleagues from around the world at TURBO EXPO, ASME's premier gas turbine technical congress and exposition, set for June 14-18, 2010, in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre. ...

Professional development: IGTI is hosting four training programs preceding the opening of "Turbo Expo 2009" in Orlando, Florida. Don't miss this unique opportunity for career advancement by attending one or multiple courses at one great location!(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(International Gas Turbine Institute)
May 1, 2009... Saturday, June 6, 2009: Basic Gas Turbine Metallurgy and Repair Technology Overview and Objective This workshop will explain super-alloy materials, component damage experienced from service exposure, techniques used to analyze the...

ISROMAC-13 to be Co-Sponsored by IGTI.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery)(International Gas Turbine Institute)(Conference news)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The Thirteenth International Symposium on Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery (ISROMAC13) will be held April 4-9, 2010, in the historic Monana Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. ISROMAC is held biennially in Hawaii...

Turbo expo will have steam turbine paper sessions.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)(Conference news)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... TURBO EXPO will be held June 8-12, 2009 in Orlando, Florida, USA and one interesting aspect of this year's conference will be the increased number of papers related to steam turbines. While the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) has...

The compressor operating range: surge, stall and choke.(GLOBAL Gas Turbine News)
May 1, 2009... The operating range of any compressor is limited on e high flow side by the choke region and on the low flow side by surge. Sometimes a phenomenon called rotating stall (or diffusor stall) further limits the operating range of the compressor....

Pressure builds for user-friendliness: both new technology and major format changes modernize an old pressure vessel code.
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Standards organizations historically use a consensus approach to develop new technologies. But in the modernization of a key pressure vessel code, the objective of consensus-building took on an expanded scope. ...

Process Piping: The Complete Guide to ASME B31.3. Third Edition.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... Process Piping: The Complete Guide to ASME B31.3. Third Edition. Charles Becht IV. ASME Press, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990. 2009. 282 pages. Hardcover. ASME members, $72; list, $90. ISBN-13: 978-0-7918-0286-1. [ILLUSTRATION...

Polymer Melt Processing: Foundations in Fluid Mechanics And Heat Transfer.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... POLYMER MELT PROCESSING: FOUNDATIONS IN FLUID MECHANICS AND HEAT TRANSFER. Morton M. Denn. Cambridge University Press, 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013. 2008. 256 pages. $99. ISBN 978-0-521-89969-7. Most of the shaping in the...

Design Relationships: Integrating User Information Into Product Development.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... DESIGN RELATIONSHIPS: INTEGRATING USER INFORMATION INTO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. Adriano Galvao. VDM Verlag Dr. Muller e.K., Dudweiler Landstr. 125 a, D-66123 Saarbrucken. 2007. Softcover. 200 pages. $76. ISBN 978-3-8364-2634-3. Design...

Plate Heat Exchangers: Design. Applications And Performance.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS: DESIGN. APPLICATIONS AND PERFORMANCE. L. Wang, B. Sunden, and R.M. Manglik. WIT Press, c/o Computational Mechanics Inc., 25 Bridge St., Billerica, MA 01821. 2007. 288 pages. $190. ISBN 978-1-85312-737-3. Heat...

W.T. Koiter's Elastic Stability of Solids and Structures.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... W.T. KOITER'S ELASTIC STABILITY OF SOLIDS AND STRUCTURES. Arnold M.A. van der Heijden. Cambridge University Press, 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013. 2008. 234 pages. $85. ISBN 978-0-521-51528-3. This book deals with the...

Hybrid Vehicles and the Future of Personal Transportation.(ASME BOOK SHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2009... HYBRID VEHICLES AND THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION. Allen E. Fults. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742. 2009. Softcover. 502 pages. $79.95. ISBN 978-1-4200-7534-2. Some day...

ASME codes & standards.
May 1, 2009... 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...

Incremental encoders.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SICK STEGMANN INC., DAYTON, OHIO. DFS 60 incremental encoders come in fully programmable versions to accommodate any value from 1 to 65,536 pulses per revolution--something no other encoder in the market today can...

General-purpose ac motor.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... AUTOMATIONDIRECT, CUMMING, GA. The IronHorse general-purpose ac motor line now includes the industrial-duty cast-iron C-face style. Available in 1 to 100 hp, all motors have a base speed of 1,800 rpm and are electrically reversible. The TC...

Knife gate valve.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... RED VALVE CO. INC., CARNEGIE, PA. The Series DX slurry knife gate valve is designed especially for heavy slurry applications in the power and mining industries. When the Series DX valve opens, the reinforced elastomer sleeves seal against each...

Force and torque sensor.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... ATI INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION, APEX, N.C. The Network Force/ Torque (Net F/T) sensor system measures six components of force and torque ([F.sub.x], [F.sub.y], [F.sub.z], [F.sub.x], [F.sub.y], [F.sub.z]). It has an EtherNet/IP and CAN bus...

Smart network switch.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT, AUSTIN, TEXAS. The company's new line of smart network switches is specifically designed to plug and play within a DeltaV digital system network. These switches come completely preconfigured to work within the DeltaV...

Touch-safe small, heater.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The CSK060 Series small touch-safe heater features a heating capacity of 10 to 20 watts, double insulated plastic housing, and a wide temperature range. This CE-compliant product is used in enclosures...

Locating and locking.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... JERGENS INC., CLEVELAND, OHIO. The Ball Lock mounting system is a quick-change system for metalworking and metal-forming operations, and works in horizontal or vertical machining centers. With the current trend toward smaller production runs,...

Mechatronic toolkit.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... DANAHER MOTION, SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. According to the company, MechaWare 3.0 is the industry's only mechatronic toolkit that seamlessly integrates mechanical systems and control software design. This results in faster design cycles, superior...

Round rail, 3-D models.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... THOMSON LINEAR BEARINGS, WOOD DALE, ILL. Thomson, a Danaher Motion company, has available new 3-D models for its Linear Ball Bushing bearing and linear specialty bearing products. These configurable 3-D CAD models are available for immediate...

Motor-mounted speed control.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... BISON GEAR, ST. CHARLES, ILL. The new TightDrive is a speed control for permanent magnet dc motors that puts the control directly onto the motor. According to Bison Gear, most PMDC gearmotors and motors used in industry require speed controls,...

Plastic barbed fittings.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... NEWAGE INDUSTRIES INC., SOUTHAMPTON, PA. Thermobarb plastic barbed fittings are available in nylon, polyethylene, PVDF, and polypropylene for multi-use or single-use applications. NewAge says they are used by laboratories and by chemical, food...

An Icon for the MEs.(INPUT OUTPUT)(Editorial)
May 1, 2009... Over the last few months, I have met with several parents who are not engineers but want to send their children to engineering programs. Many of them have a very good idea about the jobs performed by civil, aerospace, biomedical, and computer...