Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from November 2004

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from November 2004

Shining among teammates.(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... I'm lucky enough to have a job in which every day I'm able to read, write, and learn about the accomplishments of engineers from all over the world. Occasionally, I get to visit their workplaces and hear about what took them to the careers they...

Creating room for more.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: A letter writer, Russell Koelsch, managed to slip into our Mechanical Engineering, magazine a plaintive. "Is it not clear that there is a limit to how many people can occupy and live on this planet?" (August). The answer, of...

And your point is?(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: We all face the realities of outsourcing (Editorial, April). I am a contract engineer; my client has out sourced work to me. Yet I have the same concerns that the clients' engineers have--job continuity. And you are...

Crossing fingers.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: I have watched with great interest the movement by American corporations to outsource jobs and manufacturing. Corporations seeking survival, with the most profit, create a short-term view. Consumers demand cheap prices, high...

Where you hang your Jersey.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: As an engineer I found the April spinning ball article, "How Does Beckham Bend It?" interesting. My sister is an avid fan and player of the game so I looked up the article on the Web site and linked it to her. She commented that...

Sudden impact.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: In the May issue, Douglas Marriott wrote a scathing letter about NASA performing tests to determine if a foam block could be responsible for the most recent shuttle disaster. He implies that the conclusion should be obvious since...

Doctor, lawyer.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: While reading "Is There a Doctor in the House" (News & Notes, April), I had to recall a recent discussion with the chair of engineering at a state university who mentioned that students are questioning why they should pursue...

Costly language.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: I can't recall ever reading anything in an engineering journal that made me as furious as the article " 'Control' Means What?" (July). No rational person with a grasp of the English language could examine the facts in this...

Short of space.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: I think that sending people to explore Mars would be an outstanding thing to do; however, I know it won't happen any time soon. The money--actually, the political mandate from the people to spend the money--for such a venture...

Wind sock.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... To the Editor: In his June article, "Another Approach to Wind," Steven Peace describes an interesting rotating machine with limited isolated applications. His final statement that wind power will rep]ace smokestacks (fossil power) is...

Sweetness and light.(news & notes)(SulphCo Inc. develops new technology)
November 1, 2004... Taking the sulfur and other contaminants out of crude oil requires expensive treatment at high temperatures and high pressures. The heavier or more sour the crude, the greater the refining costs. One company, SulphCo Inc. in Sparks, Nev.,...

The power behind green energy.(news & notes)
November 1, 2004... There are about 30 million vehicles on the road running on gasoline and diesel fuel in the United Kingdom, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea, England. A new study out of the University of Warwick estimates that...

Only on M.E. magazine online @ www.memagazine.org.(news & notes)
November 1, 2004... Results of the October Question of the Month: Does your job reflect the course of engineering studies you pursued in school? This month's Question of the Month will appear on www.memagazine.org, Nov. 1-10. The November Question of the Month...

Low mood, high output.(news & notes)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A professor of management and psychology at Rice University in Houston has found that employee mood affects creative output. That's obvious, you say? Actually, negative moods can foster creativity better than positive moods do, according...

Engineers honored.(news & notes)(2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Six engineers--three of them ASME members--are among the 57 recipients of the 2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award recognizes researchers who have displayed leadership in their field at early stages of...

Designer desal.(news & notes)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Desalinated seawater has gone decidedly upscale in Japan, where it's being sold as pure, nutrient rich bottled water. Deep seawater is being pumped from a pipeline that extends 2,000 feet below the surface of the ocean, off the coast of Kona,...

SUEZ Environnement.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... SUEZ Environnement, in a private-public partnership, will construct and operate a new Chinese water treatment plant in the city of Qingdao.

Cray Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Cray Inc. of Seattle is targeting computer-aided engineering as a primary market for its Cray XD1 Opteron- and Linux-based supercomputer. The supercomputer will sell for under $100,000 as a starting price.

Actify Inc.(Briefly Noted)
November 1, 2004... The maker of visualization software, Actify Inc. of San Francisco, has released SpinFire Professional 2004 version 2, a software application for visualizing and passing back and forth digital designs.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership of Sacramento will make available to its members a pair of trailer-mounted 5,000-psi hydrogen tanks for testing compatibility between filling stations and storage vessels.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The California Fuel Cell Partnership of Sacramento will make available to its members a pair of trailer-mounted 5,000-psi hydrogen tanks for testing compatibility between filling stations and storage vessels. Built by the Gas Technology...

Parker Hannifin Corp.(Briefly Noted)(Sporland Valve Co)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Parker Hannifin Corp. of Cleveland has acquired Sporland Valve Co., a supplier of refrigeration and air conditioning components and controls based in Washington, Mo.

Graham Packaging Co.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Graham Packaging Co. of York, Pa., acquired the blow-molded plastic container business of Owens-Illinois of Toledo, Ohio.

Virtual everyday reality.(computing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... IT'S TEMPTING TO THINK OF virtual reality technology as a fancy-pants, cut ting-edge technology that companies should implement only in small increments, said John Martin, a consulting engineer at BAE Systems Submarines in Bristol, England. ...

Queer Eye for CAD.(computing)(computer aided design)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... IT'S NOT EASY FOR THE DESIGN team from tilt." television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to arrange all that fancy new furniture in a messy straight guy's cramped apartment. For help, they turn to a CAD program where they simulate the...

Locating accidents at sea.(computing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ACCIDENTS AT SEA HAPPEN in uncertain territory. Predicting the probable location of people and vessels adrift in a large body of water means taking into account many factors and performing complex calculations. Drifting objects move constantly...

Bringing London to your living room.(computing)
November 1, 2004... IF YOU LIVE IN LONDON and don't want a skyscraper built in your backyard (or even if you do), you may one day consult a computerized model of the city to see how proposed neighborhood changes might look. Researchers at the Centre for...

Stable and 2-D bound.(computing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ALTHOUGH THE CAD MARKET hasn't grown significantly in the past Four years, it hasn't fallen, either, according to a report issued by Research and Markets, a market research firm in Dublin, Ireland. About 20 million users worldwide have...

It's not your grandfather's icebox.(computing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A REFRIGERATOR HAS TO BE more than just a white box that sits in your kitchen. It needs decorative appeal. For instance, some refrigerator components made by Matsushita Refrigeration Co. of Kusatsu, Japan, incorporate complex surfaces that...

One for the show.(computing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... WHEN YOU STROLL THROUGH a trade show musing on your company's specific needs, you're generally not thinking about each booth's colorful design. Still, those bright colors and dynamic booth designs are meant to catch the eye. To that end,...

Meeting the future at a younger age.(education grants)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN technology education courses will start thinking 1note like engineers if a new $10 million National Science Foundation grant has the desired effect. High school vocational education programs aren't doing what they...

Applied Search Technology Ltd.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Applied Search Technology Ltd. at Aston University in Birmingham, England, has released CADFind Sketch and Search, a design-retrieval software system that can find 2-D engineering drawings by searching a sketch of the drawing.

Moldflow Corp.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Moldflow Corp. of Wayland, Mass., released MoldflowWorks, mold analysis software for the CAD system SolidWorks 2005. Users analyze plastic parts created within the CAD system.

Nvidia Corp.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A maker of graphics and digital processors, Nvidia Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., has released add-in boards based on Nvidia GeForce 6600 graphics processing units.

LightWork Design.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A supplier of rendering software LightWork Design of Sheffield, England, has made available LightWorks HDRI Starter Collection. The collection is a set of high-dynamic-range image files for use with the developer's rendering engine.

ColumbiaSoft Corp.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CeoumbiaSoft Corp. of Portland, Ore., is shipping Document Locater 3.0, the new release of its integrated document management software.

GlobalCAD.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GlobalCAD of Surrey, England, a design software company, has released GlobalCAD Schedule 2005, an upgrade to its scheduling and bill-of-materials tool for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Analysis and simulation software maker Alger of Pittsburgh has formed a partnership with MatWeb, a division of Automation Creations Inc. of Blacksburg, Va.(Briefly Noted)(Automation Creations Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Analysis and simulation software maker Alger of Pittsburgh has formed a partnership with MatWeb, a division of Automation Creations Inc. of Blacksburg, Va. MatWeb makes technical material data sheets. The partnership provides expanded material...

CSi.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CSi of Fort Worth, Texas, has released CSi-Concepts Unlimited 2, service pack 1, the sixth release of the developer's product for conceptual CAD.

Mathsoft.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Mathsoft of Cambridge, Mass., is shipping a new version of its math calculation software, Mathcad 12.

Vistagy Inc.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vistagy Inc. of Waltham, Mass., has released EnCapta 3.0 software. The application enables engineers working with CAD systems to transform the geometric digital model into a digital product that includes nongeometric information.

CFD post processing.(software exchange)
November 1, 2004... Capability: The post-processor CFD Analyzer version 4.0 is an add-on for the data visualization product Tecplot. It processes computational fluid dynamics results and offers more advanced CFD post-processing capabilities than Tecplot alone....

Tracking engineering data.(software exchange)
November 1, 2004... Capability: The Matbsoft Calculation Management Suite helps engineering companies manage and track the engineering methods and values behind their engineering designs. It resides on top of any Web repository or database and lets engineers...

Conversion from PDF to DXF.(software exchange)
November 1, 2004... Capability: Engineers can repurpose and redesign technical drawings, such as product designs, with pdf2vector, version 5.4. The designs are archived and exchanged in the portable document format, although the upgrade now extends support to DXE...

Friction calculation.(software exchange)
November 1, 2004... Capability: This materials friction-factor program automatically calculates the friction factor of viscoelastic materials, such as fibers, textiles, polymers, and leathers. The smaller the frictional forces, the smoother a fabric's surface,...

Create computational databases.(software exchange)
November 1, 2004... Capability: Application developers can use the development environment GUIKit to create computation-rich interfaces or databases, or to generate interactive graphics, presentations, and simulations. The software is also useful in constructing...

The right kind of tight.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A company in Charlotte, N.C., builds aeromechanical conveyors that use plastic discs strung on a loop of wire rope to move cereal and similar products through a tube. The conveyors propel products in a stream of air and can move them...

Absolute counter measures.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The retrofit of a welding machine's motion control system has given a major aerospace manufacturer new flexibility for materials research and development, according to Texas Machine Tool International LLC, the Waco-based company that did the...

Belt drives a timeline.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)
November 1, 2004... The American Museum of Natural History in New York wanted a number of interactive exhibits, including one that demonstrated Einstein's principle of time dilation, which says that clocks in motion run slower than those that are standing still....

Clutch quickens stops.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A wrap spring clutch, replacing the resistive loads and Belleville washer stacks on earlier Bosch electric hedge trimmers, now stops the reciprocating blade almost instantly once a gardener's hand has let go of the grip. Actually, the clutch...

Give 'em no break.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)
November 1, 2004... When a maker of egg handling equipment asked Plymouth, Mich.-based Molded Materials Inc. to review its machines for possible parts simplifications, the pivot block assemblies were among several areas that warranted a closer look. According to...

Not together forever.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Meat packers and other food processors routinely sanitize their processing equipment with a high-pressure hosing of caustic spray-. Fluid can sometimes seep into the seams of coupled machines and corrode their adjoining faces. If a mechanic...

Harsh-duty encoders.(Power Transmission And Motion Control)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... By switching from optical to magnetic encoders, steel plants are able to extend the time that motor speed sensors hold up under a mill's constant barrage of heat, grime, and humidity, according to David Robin son. He is president of encoder...

Washington window: a public agenda: technology and politics.
November 1, 2004... Every two years, at the start of a new Congress, ASME issues its Public Policy Agenda, a compendium of public policy issue priorities developed through a survey of the ASME membership. The next agenda will he released at the meeting of the...

Space calls: needed: the technological expertise that will invent a new age of exploration.(Feature focus: space age engineering)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Spacecraft have traveled to almost every planet in our solar system. The first planetary mission, a flyby of Venus, dates to 1962. Since then, people have walked on Earth's moon, and robotic probes have gone much farther. Missions have included...

The urge to explore: it brought the first creatures from the sea onto the land; it sent us to the moon. Where shall we go next?
November 1, 2004... Poised on the launch pad and towering 36 stories against the stars, the Apollo-Saturn rocket seemed unearthly in the wash of floodlight, glowing icy silver-white, like the moon above it. A half-million pilgrims had made their way to the...

You gotta pay to play: as top dogs, automakers set the rules that their suppliers must follow.
November 1, 2004... An automobile is born in a rough sketch and finally hits the road years later, after a rigorous round of tests. Between those points lie myriad steps, and the journey is shared by numerous parts suppliers and by suppliers to suppliers. In a...

Tutankhamen's tribology: mechanical problem had to be solved even back in the days of wooden chariots and leather bindings.
November 1, 2004... An all-too-familiar sight today is that of military vehicles operating in the Middle Eastern deserts. However, long before the tank, the Humvee, or the jeep, wheeled war machines were no novelty in that region. They, have appeared there on and...

Brake motors.(new products)
November 1, 2004... BALDOR ELECTRIC CO., FORT SMITH, ARK. Super-E brake motors have been designed to handle the rugged service of conveyor use, while providing NEMA Premium efficiencies, which will use less energy and save electricity. The brake motors have ISR...

Solenoid valves.(new products)
November 1, 2004... PARKER FLUID CONTROL DIVISION, NEW BRITAIN, CONN. A new Valve Actuation Series of solenoid valves is especially suited for applications in which solenoid valves must predictably and reliably actuate the movement of larger process valves to...

Miniature encoder.(new products)
November 1, 2004... GURLEY PRECISION INSTRUMENTS, TROY, N.Y. The Model A37 miniature encoder is a 12-bit, single-turn, absolute rotary encoder with optoelectronic technology. The encoder is used in a wide variety of position-sensing applications for the measuring...

Double wall tanks.(new products)
November 1, 2004... ASSMANN CORP., GARRETT, IND. The company is expanding its overall line of double wall tanks, containment vessels that provide primary and secondary containment in one integral space-saving unit. The expanded line now includes even smaller tanks...

Hole-drilling system.(new products)
November 1, 2004... AUTODRILL, MILLINGTON, N.J. An AutoDrill-designed system helps door and cabinet manufacturers increase their production. By drilling all the holes on a hinge or door at once using multiple spindle drill heads, manufacturers can now perform a...

Vibration-resistant cabinets.(new products)
November 1, 2004... SCHROFF PRODUCTS, WARWICK, R.I. This subsidiary of Pentair Inc. offers customizable seismic Zone 4 cabinets that are said to provide exceptional protection against shock and vibration. Composed of a rugged, cold roll steel frame with reinforced...

Serial configuration cable.(new products)
November 1, 2004... ANIMATICS CORP., SANTA CLARA, CALIF. With the Add-A-Motor serial configuration cable, the user can have an entire "off the shelf" servo system solution, including the cables, that is ready to plug and play. The fully molded Add-A-Motor cable...

Hose it down.(new products)
November 1, 2004... PARKER HANNIFIN CORP., WICKLIFFE, OHIO. Parker 781 hose is designed for high-pressure, high-impulse applications and accommodates petroleum-based hydraulic fluids and lubricating oils, water/oil emulsion and water/ glycol hydraulic fluids....

Stall detection without encoder.(new products)
November 1, 2004... LIN ENGINEERING, SANTA CLARA, CALIF. In conjunction with German-based Trinamic Microchips GmbH, Lin is making available the StallGuard. This new technology, capable of sensorless stall detection without the need for an encoder, is for the...

Noncontact, infrared thermometer.(new products)
November 1, 2004... E INSTRUMENTS. LANGHORNE, PA. The MicroRay Pro is a portable infrared thermometer for numerous applications and uses in different industries. It is a suitable tool for HVAC monitoring and maintenance to measure temperature easily and quickly....

Roll 'em.(new products)
November 1, 2004... JAMMES INDUSTRIE, RIVERSIDE, CALIF. The type T-180 plate-bending machine can roll sheet metal into small diameters over long lengths to produce tubes, pipes, and missile bodies. The specifying diameter requires that no tooling machine can be...

Brushless motor.(new products)
November 1, 2004... MICROMO ELECTRONICS, CLEARWATER, FLA. The company's Faulhaber 4490 brushless motor comes in both the original delta wound version and the new star wound version. The number "4490" means that the motor is 44 mm in diameter and 90 mm long. The...

Get in gear.(new products)
November 1, 2004... MERKLE-KORFF, DES PLAINES, ILL. The GF gear motor provides up to 300 lb.-in. of output torque over a speed range of 1 to 30 rpm. Optional features of the 2.25-in. double ball bearing brushless motor include customized output shaft, integral...

Linear actuator.(new products)
November 1, 2004... EXLAR CORP., CHANHASSEN, MINN. A new 5-in. frame GSX Series unit is now available with T-LAM, the company's efficient segmented motor stator design. This design has 50 percent more force in a smaller package than any competitors and will...

Gauge isolator improves seal accuracy.(new products)
November 1, 2004... DRESSER INSTRUMENTS, STRATFORD, CONN. Liquid fill error that occurs between a digital gauge and diaphragm seal can result in a loss of 0.5 percent accuracy. A sensor diaphragm in the Ashcroft AccuSeal gauge isolator that is almost flush with...

Ship-maneuvering simulator.(new products)
November 1, 2004... DYNAFLOW INC., JESSUP, MD. DynaSim is a ship maneuvering simulator that incorporates state-of-the-art models of ship maneuvering and is said to achieve capabilities not found on stand-alone full-mission simulators. It runs Windows-based PCs and...

System combinations.(new products)
November 1, 2004... TRANSDUCER TECHNIQUES INC., TEMECULA, CALIF. Three new system combinations are available, suitable for industrial and OEM force measurement and weighing applications. System GSO/Dpm-3 combines an analog output panel mount meter that can be...

On the dot.(new products)
November 1, 2004... ACTI CM, MOIRANS, FRANCE. Actiris, a coordinate measuring machine, uses photogrammetry and digital image processing to determine coordinates of points on a workpiece surface. The 37.5-lb. system comprises an optical head, probe, tripod, and...

Constant-torque hinges.(new products)
November 1, 2004... REELL PRECISION MANUFACTURING CORP., ST. PAUL, MINN. The MH Series constant torque hinges are designed to control motion through 360 degrees of rotation. The hinges deliver 20,000 cycles with no backlash and a springback of less than one...

Measurement machines.(new products)
November 1, 2004... FARO TECHNOLOGIES, LAKE MARY, FLA. The Gage and Gage-Plus portable coordinate measurement machines are intended to offer small machine shops 3-D measurement capabilities not currently available with less-advanced quality control methods. The...

Air filter.(new products)
November 1, 2004... UNIVERSAL AIR FILTER CO., SAUGET, ILL. Tough Air Filters are designed to protect electronic components that depend on forced-air thermal management to maintain temperature and operation. According to the company, the filters can withstand high...

Cordset components and more.(product information)
November 1, 2004... HEYCO PRODUCTS INC., TOMS RIVER, N.J. A 64-page catalog of cordset components and precision metal stampings describes the company's product design, engineering, and prototype capabilities. Schematic illustrations, measurements, and...

Ball bearings.(product information)
November 1, 2004... EMERSON POWER TRANSMISSION, ITHACA, N.Y. Solutions to common contamination and failure problems in ball bearings are presented in a six-page brochure. The catalog features seven product lines of Sealmaster and Browning corrosion-resistant...

Electric motors and drives.(product information)
November 1, 2004... BALDOR ELECTRIC CO., FORT SMITH, ARK. Baldor is now offering Version 9.0 of its interactive electronic catalog on CD-ROM. Users are able to instantly access a wide variety of technical information on more than 6,500 different Baldor motors,...

Be happy!(editorial)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In the 1980s there was a song that, if you heard it once on the radio in the morning--and there was little chance that you wouldn't--would stick with you for the rest of the day. The tune, sung a cappella by Bobby McFerrin, was "Don't Worry, Be...

Formula for job satisfaction.(editorial)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... What does it take to make someone happy? When it comes to keeping your top engineers satisfied with their jobs, the answer may surprise you. It's not the money. In fact, salary enters only minimally into the contented employee equation. Good...

Showing up happy: how can you keep your employees content and productive? Some successful managers share their tips.
November 1, 2004... WHAT MAKES ONE ENGINEERING COMPAny a great place to work, but another only passable way to pull in a paycheck? Surprisingly, the answer is not all that intangible; and it doesn't much depend on the individual employee. Yes, everyone's work...