Recent developments in technology have made electronic devices more compact. Consequently, the market for faster, smaller components is hot. In fact, the IEEE 1394 trade committee has adopted a new standard for connector and transceiver interconnect systems. The Molex SMI is a complete duplex plastic optical fiber (POF) data link solution that offers flexible mounting…
New Standards For Point-Of-Load DC-DC Converters
The Distributed-power Open Standards Alliance (DOSA) has responded to industry demands for high-density POL modules. It recently announced a 2nd generation standard footprint and pin out design for 12 and 20 A non-isolated point-of-load (POL) dc-dc converters. The new standard establishes the location of pins, recommended pad layout on boards, input and output voltage ranges,…
Drive Assembly Run By Robotics
Yaskawa Electric America (YEA) is changing the way in which it manufactures its drives. The company is beginning with a new assembly process for the V1000-series ac micro drives. Production equipment being installed this fall will contain more automation, including MOTOMAN robotics. The drives will be manufactured by robotics cell production, a process capable of…
Misalignment Meets Its Match
Proper alignment is universally accepted as critical to the life of machinery. Misalignment can be disastrous, leading to bearing failure, bent rotors or crankshafts, bearing housing damage, and decreased motor efficiency. A lot of time and money is spent performing precision alignment of rotating machinery, but achieving satisfactory alignment is sometimes out of the user’s…
Occupant Safety And Biomechanics
Pam-crash 2G is virtual testing software that comprises three main components: a solver offering physics-based models for crash and other impact problems; a visual environment portfolio, a suite of CAE process automation products; and finally, validated compute models. According to Lars Greve, CAE Methods, Volkswagon Research Group, when his team used the software for front…
Simulation tool for composite parts manufacturing
New materials and processes have made a big impact on the way engineers design composite parts for the aeronautics, automotive, and shipbuilding industries. Today’s parts are thicker, larger, and more elaborate, so while the traditional trial-and-error approach of tooling manufacturing may still have its niche, it can lead to high tooling costs, long development lead…
Quick and simple management of workflow
Lincoln Industrial, a global operation headquartered in St. Louis Missouri, saves a lot of time with Adept Explorer. Users in Germany, China, and India can search and view prints in record time. That’s why it is the company’s international standard for searching, downloading, and printing of AutoCAD drawings. Adept Explorer is a thin, web-based client…
A “Drop-In” Network for Wireless Devices
Global Tier, a Division of Restaurant Technologies, needed a non-intrusive way to network devices and sensors within restaurants and convenience stores. “Our customers wanted us to monitor assets like freezers, fryers, coffee equipment, building control systems, and heating bins to enhance visibility and measurement of store performance,” said Dave Barczak, General Manager of Global Tier.…
First ready-to-use carbon nanotube textile gets re
Scientists have long known of the remarkable electro-mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. They are 100 times stronger than steel, one-third the weight of aluminum, and extremely conductive of both heat and electricity. This makes them attractive for broad-based use, with the potential to augment or replace many current materials in end-user products. Yet nanotubes are…
Enhanced IP protection in distributed networks
As outsourcing expands to include core design and development work, LiveCycle Rights Management ES software will help protect intellectual property throughout global product development environments. As part of this initiative, Adobe Systems Inc., has expanded its existing relationship with PTC to integrate the Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management ES software with PTC Pro/ENGINEER. Together, the products…
Round Surface Testing Made Easy
A connector tests rounded surfaces, such as regulators, bowl filters, and tanks, with greater accuracy and efficiency. FasTest, a manufacturer of tools for pressure and vacuum testing, introduced its MITC Series Twistmate. With its chamfered seal design and sleek outer body shape, it seals and tests threaded ports on rounded parts. The design also minimizes…
Software Tool for Hobo Data Loggers
The Alarm and Readout Tool, a plug-in software module for use with HOBOware Pro® software, automatically notifies users via cell phone, text messages, or E-mail when temperature, humidity, and other conditions exceed user-defined limits. Data can be sent from networked HOBO data loggers and stored onto a centralized computer. This is particularly useful in applications…
CAD data drives automotive marketing efforts
The Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler Corp. uses the Autodesk Creative Bridge consulting software to leverage existing 3D digital assets and CAD data for the production of product brochures, television commercials, interactive Web content, and branded market materials. With Creative Bridge solution, DaimlerChrysler relies less on physical products and prototypes for research and art, creating marketing…
Eliminate elastomer wear-and-tear
Elastomers are lightweight and flexible. They also retain their original properties in extremely hot and cold environments, making them popular in demanding automotive and appliance assembly applications. Typically, manufacturers use FKM elastomers coated with conventional lubricating waxes to reduce the excessive friction these applications can produce, but the high processing temperatures volatize the waxes. A…
Ultra-Low Harmonic Drives Prevent "Hammer Time"
July 2007 Design Notes With 450 miles of sanitary sewer-collection lines and 33 lift stations that feed into a central wastewater treatment plant, the City of Lawrence, Kansas wastewater management system is extensive. Gravity drives wastewater distribution to the treatment plant, except where vertical elevation changes the topography. In these circumstances, lift stations– structures that…
A visible LED lab makes evaluating LED assemblies easy
Converting an existing halogen lamp into an LED assembly is not simple. However, for Richard Saffa, vice president of Optek Technology’s Visible LED Business Unit, it is. His in-house visible LED laboratory has a variety of equipment to assess products from single LEDs to complex power LED assemblies. Thus, when a customer came with these…
New polyurethane grades meet FDA modified regulation
Bayer MaterialScience LLC developed Texin thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) grades to meet the FDA-modified ISO 10993 Part 1, “Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices‚” tests with human tissue contact time of 30 days or less. Properties of these grades include: excellent clarity for visual observation; chemical and lipid resistance, high abrasion, wear, tear, and stain resistance; mold,…
Power-over-Ethernet moves to Gigabit speed
Committees are working on the Gigabit version of the Power-over-Ethernet specification, but engineers can already build hardware compliant to the standard’s requirements. When implemented, IEEE 802.3at (PoEPlus) will allow PoE in Gigabit systems and enable at least 30 W of power and potentially up to 60 W to attached devices. Phihong USA has already developed…
Locking collar keeps bearing secure
Marathon Composite Mounted Bearing Units added a locking collar that increases the contact area between the bearing and the shaft, ensuring a strong, secure, slip-resistant fit. The new units are suited for applications that have constant direction of rotation or experience frequent starts and stops, including machinery used in the vegetable, fruit, and food processing…
Flexible circuit material cools components on curved surfaces
When MH&W International developed a new way to mount LEDs and other hot components onto surfaces, it pulled them off the printed circuit board. Traditionally, LEDs attach to FR4s and MCPCBs, which mount only onto linear surfaces because of their rigidity. The company’s engineers added a twist to traditional mounting technology when they developed Keratherm…
3D security no longer a worry
Adobe PDF and XVL compression on CAD models have changed today’s CAD environment. 3D data are now so accessible, the entire team can view files at any time during the design process. Not surprisingly, though, the broader use of design documentation brings a new set of concerns about security. XVLstaff, developed by Lattice Technology, Inc.,…
Oil and gas industry benefits from CAD partnership
A partnership between Kubotek USA and Fitiri of Houston, TX will bring advanced CAD/CAM software to the oil and gas industry. Kubotek USA makes the geometry-based CAD/CAM software, KeyCreator, and Fitiri specializes in the worldwide and wireless management of rig operations. Fitiri is the newest authorized reseller of the program. KeyCreator’s real geometry approach offers…
No More Hoses and Valves
Electric actuators are quickly replacing hydraulic cylinders in mobile off-highway vehicles. They eliminate bulky hydraulic pumps, cumbersome hoses and valves, and minimize environmental damage from unavoidable fluid leaks. Electric actuators also increase operator safety and reduce fatigue with simple, easy-to-use controls. They can push and pull heavy loads and do not depend on ancillary brakes,…
Motor Gearbox Assembly Makes Waves in Las Vegas
A piano that operates in and out of water is making waves in “O” by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. “The show’s technical team needed a robust, motorized, battery-powered, submersible motion control system for the piano to give precise, reliable operation show after show, year after year,” said Richard Halstead,…
Enclosure Cooling
The Vortex A/CTM cooling system comes in three models that produce 900, 1500, or 2500 BTUH of refrigeration in environments to 175 degrees F (79 degrees C). It has a UL-listed, integrated thermostat to maintain enclosure temperatures within 80 to 90 degrees F (27 to 32 degrees C) and operates at about 62 dBA. ITW…