Mechanical Engineering-CIME articles from September 2008

Mechanical Engineering-CIME archives from September 2008

The percentage of respondents who think times are tough.(www.memagazine.org)(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... 59% THE PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS WHO THINK TIMES ARE TOUGH FOR MANUFACTURING AND GETTING TOUGHER. QUESTION OF THE MONTH: American manufacturing is always in the news, and most times the news is not good. The typical manufacturing...

Question of the month results.(www.memagazine.org)(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Nearly 70 percent of the readers who participated in our survey agreed that times are indeed tough. One respondent said: "The company I work for is trying to do everything it can through various cost-cutting programs Like Six Sigma to reduce...

Issues of design.(Editorial)
September 1, 2008... SO YOU'VE THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT IT. Saved your money, and you finally decide to replace the old car with a new one. Now you're excited. You do research, choose a few makes you like, and visit a few dealerships. You reach a decision on a...

Second degree.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... To the Editor: It was interesting to read Mr. Kuznia's article "To a Higher Degree" in the March issue of Mechanical Engineering. He presents an either-or position regarding pursuing an M.S. in engineering or an M.B.A. I say why not both,...

Sustainable? Says who?(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... To the Editor: The U. S. National Academy of Engineering lists sustainability among its Grand Challenges (April), but it advocates goals that are clearly not sustainable. The definition of sustainability appears to be whatever an advocate...

Lapse in diction.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... To the Editor: I am disappointed in the editing of our magazine. For example, in the article "Wind in a Bottle" (May), the author refers to the storage of "l,000 MW of power." One stores energy, of course, not power. DONALD S. COLLINS ...

Graphene at 1,000 GPa: the strongest material ever tested.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 1, 2008... Visions of nanotubes and buckyballs have long been dancing in the heads of boosters of nanotechnology. But another form of carbon has begun receiving more attention of late. Called graphene, these flakes of carbon are one atom thick and can be...

Idaho and Argonne to study very high temp reactor.(NEWS & NOTES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... One of the designs being considered for the so-called Generation IV nuclear power program is the very high temperature gas-cooled reactor. The reactor would operate at such high temperatures that it could do more than just generate electricity....

ASME advises funding to meet energy demand.(NEWS & NOTES)(American Society Of Mechanical Engineers)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... ASME has asked the U.S. Congress to direct funds to programs that will enable the United States to develop the national energy infrastructure to meet the rising demand for transportation fuels and electricity. An ASME position statement...

In-home analysis.(NEWS & NOTES)
September 1, 2008... Lab-on-a-chip devices could one day be the brains behind in-home tests for illnesses, food contaminants, and toxic gases. But today these portable devices are stuck in the lab themselves. A lab-on-a-chip integrates multiple laboratory...

Siemens PLM Software.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Siemens PLM Software of Plano, Texas, has released version six of its CAM Express software. The application is the numerical control programming software component of the vendor's Velocity Series portfolio of engineering applications. As such,...

Popular television personality Nate Ball, host of the PBS program Design Squad, will host the 2008 ASME Innovation Showcase to be held Oct. 31, in Boston.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Popular television personality Nate Ball, host of the PBS program Design Squad, will host the 2008 ASME Innovation Showcase to be held Oct. 31, in Boston. ASME IShow, now in its second year, provides a forum for students to present their...

Coade.(briefly noted)(Coade Engineering Software Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Coade of Houston has released its CADWorx Plant Design Suite 2009, the Latest version of its CAD series for process plant design. This latest release includes valve top-works capabilities that allow users to place valve hand wheels, levers,...

A team led by Boeing Advanced Systems has been awarded a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to develop the plan for a demonstration version of a high-power generation subsystem for spacecraft.(briefly noted)
September 1, 2008... A team led by Boeing Advanced Systems has been awarded a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to develop the plan for a demonstration version of a high-power generation subsystem for spacecraft. Team members include DR...

Predicting a fracture.(COMPUTING)
September 1, 2008... Don't wait for the break. An assistant professor is now at work on mathematical models that would help engineers predict fractures within materials before they happen. Blaise Bourdin, an assistant mathematics professor at Louisiana State...

Across the universities.(COMPUTING)
September 1, 2008... Nearly all countries have research and education networks, which are separate from their commercial telecommunications networks. Problem is, most of these independent networks are based on a mishmash of different technologies, network...

Supercomputer seeks software.(COMPUTING)
September 1, 2008... The newest breed of supercomputers has hardware set up not just for speed, but also to better tackle large networks of seemingly random data. But old software won't run on the new hardware any more than a PC program will run on a Mac. Now,...

Mine mesh.(COMPUTING)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Finite element analysis is going below ground. Although they are not traditional users of the analysis method, many mining companies have been relying on FEA of late to improve design, planning, and operations at a number of mines around...

A font for you.(COMPUTING)(automobile design)
September 1, 2008... Insert your key in the ignition of your luxury car, and the seat and steering wheel can automatically adjust to a programmed position that fits your body proportions. Stroll through the rooms of your mansion, and each room can adjust its...

Spatial. Corp.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Spatial. Corp. of Broomfield, Colo., which makes 3-D software components for technical applications, is now shipping its 3D Springback Component. This product facilitates a one-step method for Springback correction of 3-D models within...

Geometric Ltd.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Geometric Ltd. of Mumbai, India, which develops product lifecycle management solutions, has released version 2.2 of GeomCaliper for Carla version 5 and GeomCaliper for Pro/Engineer. Upgraded features relate mainly to performance improvement.

Laser Design Inc.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Laser Design Inc. of Minneapolis, a provider of 3-D laser scanners, has released an updated version of its Surveyor Scan Control software, which scans operations and collects 3-D point cloud data using the Laser Design Surveyor 3-D scanning...

Open Design Alliance.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Open Design Alliance of Phoenix has Launched Education and the ODA, a program aimed to stimulate research by educational organizations in CAD, CAM, and other engineering software applications.

Autodesk.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The tutorials section of the AutoCAD LT site, created by Autodesk of San Rafael, Calif., now has several tutorials with sample files available for download. Topics include annotation scaling, multileaders, and tables.

Clarizen.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Version 2.1 of the project management software Clarizen is now available from Clarizen of Mountain View, Calif. The software allows project managers across manufacturing, design, and services industries to integrate this project management...

Blue Ridge Numerics.(briefly noted)
September 1, 2008... Blue Ridge Numerics of Charlottesville, Va., has released CFdesign version 10, an upgrade to the company's computational fluid dynamics software.

Roland DG Corp.(briefly noted)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Roland DG Corp. of Hamamatsu, Japan, has released SRP Player Pro, a surface-based CAM program for product design, including prototyping, production engineering, jig creation, and customized part and mold production. The software is designed for...

Concurrent Systems Inc. Ltd.(briefly noted)
September 1, 2008... A developer of multi-CAD design data, project, and document management applications, Concurrent Systems Inc. Ltd. of Newbury, England, has released DesignDataManager 2008.1.

Managing data.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
September 1, 2008... Capability: DIAdem 11 is used to manage, analyze, and report on information collected during data acquisition or generated during simulations. The upgrade adds sensor data mapping for 3-D CAD models to simplify the visualization of...

Open many files.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
September 1, 2008... Capability: CSView Base is a free application similar to the vendor's standard CSView, although it doesn't include the markup and measurement function featured in that program. With it, users can open many kinds of documents and file formats,...

Automated control systems.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
September 1, 2008... Capability: Think & Do version 8.0 is used to develop automated control systems for material handling and manufacturing. The open-architecture environment integrates with hardware and software components from major suppliers. Software...

Test computer performance.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
September 1, 2008... Capability: The computer-measurement software SPEC CPU2006 has been upgraded to version 1.1. It evaluates system performance by representing typical user operation. Updated features include new code that makes it easier to move the benchmarking...

See in 3-D.(SOFTWARE EXCHANGE)
September 1, 2008... Capability: XVL Player version 9 is a free 3-D viewer that allows users to view parts and assemblies created in the compressed XVL format. That format is sold by the developer. The application allows non-CAD manufacturing operators to view 3-D...

Sintering goes airborne.(TECH FOCUS: materials and assembly)
September 1, 2008... Direct manufacturing, the use of sintering and other additive processes to manufacture production parts, has established itself as a method for making products such as dental implants or molds. Now Electro Optical Systems GmbH would like to add...

Composites for hybrids.(TECH FOCUS: materials and assembly)
September 1, 2008... With automakers across the globe scrambling to react to record-high oil prices, it would be natural to assume that car designers would use every tool available to increase fuel efficiency. But designers have yet to fully embrace composite...

Sensors take inventory.(TECH FOCUS: materials and assembly)(Loadstar Sensors Inc.)
September 1, 2008... Inventory management has not changed much since the cuneiform incisions of Mesopotamia detailed the state of the royal stockrooms. Sure, there are carousel shelves, computerized pick lists, and robotic pickers. Still, someone eventually has to...

Resin improves fit and finish.(TECH FOCUS: materials and assembly)(GE Plastics)
September 1, 2008... Before it became SABIC Innovative Plastics, GE Plastics introduced Noryl GTX resins for fenders and other vertical car body parts in 1985. At the time, the thermoplastic had a coefficient of thermal expansion much higher than automakers wanted....

Small lathes.(TECH FOCUS: materials and assembly)(Haas Automation Inc.)
September 1, 2008... A machinery company in Oxnard, Calif., has found that smaller shops increasingly do shorter product runs that include multiple operations. It wants to help them out, so it is offering two small-footprint lathes priced at under $30,000. The...

Design futures: will you sketch with a 3-D pen? Or crowdsource as an independent from home? Research today aims to make it easy tomorrow.(FOCUS ON DESIGN)(Cover story)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A decade from now, if we were to observe engineers at work (ignoring the privacy issues involved), we could expect to see designers interacting in very different ways with their computers. They may also be...

Interdisciplinary by design: a discussion: who will create the products of our future? Everyone from the engineer to the psychologist.(FOCUS ON DESIGN)
September 1, 2008... Design is ubiquitous. Engineers, architects, and industrial designers all practice it, but who studies design--the verb, not just the noun? Many speculate on the outcomes of design but how many consider the process by which designs are...

Rethinking design theory: a concept borrowed from psychology gives new perspectives on product development.(FOCUS ON DESIGN)
September 1, 2008... Pick an ME design textbook off the shelf, and if it was published before the 1980s or '90s, you re likely to see a heavy focus on analysis methods, literally the nuts and bolts of mechanical engineering. For much of engineering's history, such...

The route that forces take: visualizing the load path in a design can uncover areas open to improvement.(FOCUS ON DESIGN)
September 1, 2008... Gazing at a vintage 1920 kerosene-burning John Deere tractor called the Waterloo Boy, which recently fetched $162,500 at a Wisconsin auction, the engineer in me sees not the extravagant price tag, but the unusual path of forces in the...

Developed to be unique: marketability isn't the whole story. Without exclusivity, a product may yield small profits in a field crowded by competitors.(FOCUS ON DESIGN)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In engineering school, a "successful" design optimally balances typical constraints, such as strength, weight, impedance, flow, thermal capacitance, etc. After engineering school, these constraints tend to become...

Strength in numbers: the U.S. is still a manufacturing powerhouse, but just how powerful depends on how you do the math.
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When the media talk about American manufacturing, the news is usually bad. Most stories involve brutal global competition, rising imports, ob losses, factory closings, or a combination of them all. Stories like...

Custom motor? Give us two weeks. A U.S. motor manufacturer focuses on practices that keep its products out of the commodities competition.(Baldor Electric Co.)(Company overview)
September 1, 2008... At first glance, the end of the assembly line in Baldor Electric Co. s industrial motor plant looks like any other factory. A second glance shows one very big difference: None of the motors coming off the line is like another. Nor have any of...

Harvest of motion: a small-scale generator uses a catch-and-release strategy that can turn a casual stroll into useful electric energy.
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Throughout its existence, mankind has found ingenious ways to harness natural motion and put it to work, wind 'and water being classic examples. The earliest engineers built rafts and water wheels that took advantage...

Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology. F. Mary Williams and Carolyn J. Emerson. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990. 2008. Softcover, spiral-bound. 200 pages. ASME members,...

Financial Management for Design Professionals.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR DESIGN PROFESSIONALS. Steve L. Wintner, AIA, and Michael Tardif, Assoc. AIA. Kaplan Publishing, 30 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606. 2006. Softcover. 196 pages. $49.95. ISBN 978-1-4195-8331-5. Subtitled...

Engineering Analysis of Smart Material Systems.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF SMART MATERIAL SYSTEMS. Donald J. Leo. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., 4th Floor, Hoboken, NJ 07030. 2007. 562 pages. $150. ISBN 978-0-471-68477-0. Smart materials have the inherent ability to sense and react...

Space Exploration and Astronaut Safety.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... SPACE EXPLORATION AND ASTRONAUT SAFETY. Joseph N. Pelton, with Peter Marshall. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344. 2006. 404 pages. Members, $34.95; list, $49.95. ISBN...

Advanced Fluid Mechanics.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... ADVANCED FLUID MECHANICS. W.P. Graebel. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. 2007. 368 pages. $89.95. ISBN 978-0-12-370885-4. Fluid mechanics is the study of how fluids behave and...

Computational Methods in Multiphase Flow IV.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN MULTIPHASE FLOW IV. Editors: A.A. Mammoli and C.A. Brebbia. WIT Press, Southampton, England, c/o Computational Mechanics, 25 Bridge St., Billerica, MA 01821. 416 pages. 2007. $265. ISBN 978-1-84564-079-8. This...

Risk Management for Design Professionals.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2008... RISK MANAGEMENT FOR DESIGN PROFESSIONALS. William G. Ramroth Jr., AIA. Kaplan Publishing, 1 Liberty Plaza, 24th floor, New York, NY 10006. 2007. Softcover. 304 pages. $39.95. ISBN 978-1-4277-5476-9. Running a design firm, designing a...

ASME codes & standards.
September 1, 2008... ASME International, Codes & Standards, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990 (212) 591-8500 Fax: (212) 571-8501 e-mail: cs@asme.org We invite you to visit our Web site: www. asme.org/codes. If you are looking for...

Power modules.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... LAMBDA AMERICAS INC., SAN DIEGO, CALIF. The PFE500F power module has more features than its predecessors, including active current-share and remote on/off. Like the existing models, the new PFE500F versions provide a convenient ac-dc...

Noise dosimeters.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SCANTEK INC., COLUMBIA, MD. A pair of noise dosimeters from CESVA, the DC-112a and DC-112k, both comply with the American standard ANSI S1.25-1991 class 2 and enable the health and safety protection measures of...

Epoxy adhesive.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... MASTER BOND INC., HACKENSACK, N.J. EP29LPSP is a two-component epoxy adhesive/sealant for cryogenic applications. This compound is able to withstand temperatures as low as 4K. It is also able to resist cryogenic shocks (i.e., room temperature...

Inductive encoders.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HEIDENHAIN CORP., SCHAUMBURG, ILL. Due to improvements on the ECI/EQI 1300 Series of inductive rotary encoders, a 19-bit single-turn resolution version is now offered, providing better machine control performance...

Strain gauge amplifier.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... RDP ELECTROSENSE, POTTSTOWN, PA. The DR7DC strain gauge amplifier was developed for simple integration into industrial systems. Fully isolated, the DR7DC is designed to avoid potential ground loop noise problems and is EMC compliant. Operating...

Lifting pins.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... JERGENS INC., CLEVELAND, OHIO. Kwik-Lok lifting pins provide convenience, speed, and safety in challenging applications and environments. When quick-change connections are required for material handling, construction, utilities, rigging or...

Thermocouple and probe.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The company's new wireless industrial probes are available in type J, K, T, E, R, S, B, C, or N thermocouple or PT100 RTD models. Each complete unit features an industrial probe and head assembly with a...

Compression lug.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... AMPHENOL INDUSTRIAL, SIDNEY, N.Y. The SurLok is a Radsok-based, field-installable compression lug that offers higher ampacity, lower insertion force, higher cycle durability, and increased reliability, according to the company. The product is...

Frequency converter.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... ABB, NEW BERLIN, WIS. The company's new drive for wind turbines combines advanced technology with enclosed cabinet construction. The active and passive power-converting components and controlling electronics are liquid-cooled and enclosed by...

Pressure transducers.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... AUTOMATION PRODUCTS GROUP INC., LOGAN, UTAH. PT-400 amplified output pressure transducers provide a minimum of 10 million operating cycles with high accuracy of [+ or -] 0.25% F.S., in operating temperatures from -40 to 180[degrees]F....

Stud welding.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... DONCASTERS GROUP LTD., MELBOURNE, U.K. The Nelweld N1500i is a full power, portable, and lightweight stud welder manufactured at Nelson Stud Welding, a Doncasters North American facility. The inverter stud welder offers robustness, reliability,...

High-strength fasteners.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... SPS TECHNOLOGIES INC., JENKINTOWN, PA. SPS now has fasteners made of Aerex 350, a proprietary super-alloy originally developed for bolting applications in gas-turbine engines. These fasteners offer high-strength and corrosion resistance, and...

Backflow protection.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... TIDEFLEX TECHNOLOGIES, CARNEGIE, PA. The Waterflex check valve has a wafer design to provide low headloss in high-pressure potable water applications. It operates solely on line pressure and backpressure, with no outside energy required....

Process pumps.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... KNF NEUBERGER INC., TRENTON, N.J. Corrosion-resistant process pumps incorporating explosion-proof ac motors offer safe solutions for gas and liquid handling in potentially hazardous locations. These specialty pumps provide strong performance...

Local operator interface.(NEW PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... BROOKS INSTRUMENT, HATFIELD, PA. The company offers a local operator interface option for its 4800 Series devices. The 4800 Series LOI provides a convenient user interface to view, control, and configure the 4800 Series devices. The LOI has a...

Force sensors.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PCB PIEZOTRONICS, DEPEW, N.Y. A brochure entitled Three-Component Dynamic Force Sensors highlights specific sensors and instrumentation for force limited vibration testing. The publication also covers measuring input...

Flow and level handbook.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... OMEGA ENGINEERING INC., STAMFORD, CONN. The 8th Edition Flow, Level and Environmental Handbook and Encyclopedia contains more than 1,400 pages of information on flow, level, and environmental products. Top-selling products include the new...

Sensing applications.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BANNER ENGINEERING, MINNEAPOLIS. MINN. The 2008-2009 Sensor Products Catalog features new sensing products and applications. The full-color publication showcases the company's industrial product line, which includes...

Vibration mounts.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... ADVANCED ANTIVIBRATION COMPONENTS, NEW HYDE PARK. N.Y. Finding the right vibration mounts for an application can become easier with the use of the company's 136-page catalog, No. V110. Among the 831 components in the publication are seismic...

Polymer and film.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VICTREX USA INC., WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. A technical brochure highlights the performance and reliability of FDA compliant Victrex PEEK polymer, Vicote coatings, and Aptiv films for use in food and beverage processing...

Press system.(PRODUCT INFO)
September 1, 2008... PENN ENGINEERING, DANBORO, PA. A series of six two-page specification sheets covers the line of Pemserter presses for installing self-clinching fasteners. Each sheet provides an overview, features and benefits, and specs for a particular press...

Sub stratum--back to the races.(INPUT OUTPUT)
September 1, 2008... That a bunch of high school kids from New Jersey went to the submarine races doesn't sound like big news. But wait--when someone explains that it's real submarines, with water, it gets more interesting. When the high school kids trump a field...