Imagine as a designer being able to integrate human bodies into your designs. As customers increasingly demand highly customized products, the ability to test real products out on virtual 3D bodies holds tremendous potential in the new era of mass customization. A company called Body Labs has created a platform–now in beta–that enables users to […]
AutomationDirect offers additional fittings and tubing
AutomationDirect’s NITRA line of pneumatics products now offers additional straight, branch, union, Y, reducer, elbow and bulkhead fittings in 1/8 in. and 5/16 in. tube connection sizes. Designed…
GrabCAD Workbench Now Free For All Users
GrabCAD announced yesterday that starting immediately GrabCAD Workbench will be free for all users. This announcement means that engineering teams of all sizes will be able to share and manage CAD files effortlessly, accelerating the product development process. What is Workbench? For those of you that aren’t familiar with the product, GrabCAD Workbench is a […]
GrabCAD Workbench Now Free For All Users
GrabCAD announced yesterday that starting immediately GrabCAD Workbench will be free for all users. This announcement means that engineering teams of all sizes will be able to share and manage CAD files effortlessly, accelerating the product development process. What is Workbench? For those of you that aren’t familiar with the product, GrabCAD Workbench is a […]
Q&A: Jon Hirschtick on the Future of CAD: Part II
We continue our discussion with Jon Hirschtick, founder of SolidWorks and now CEO and founder of OnShape, a startup pioneering the introduction of true cloud-based CAD. Though the product has not yet been introduced, we had the unique opportunity to talk to Jon about the future of the cloud, web and mobile and how those […]
Q&A: Jon Hirschtick on the Future of CAD: Part II
We continue our discussion with Jon Hirschtick, founder of SolidWorks and now Chairman and founder of Onshape, a startup pioneering the introduction of true cloud-based CAD. Though the product has not yet been introduced, we had the unique opportunity to talk to Jon about the future of the cloud, web and mobile and how those […]
Stainless steel pneumatic cylinders resist caustic enviornments
Designed for use in a broad range of applications including those in washdown and caustic environments, these quality cylinders are constructed of durable 303 and 304 stainless steel….
PTC Introduces PTC PLM Cloud for SMB Market
One of the last holdouts in cloud deployment, PTC, announced yesterday that it’s porting its Windchill PLM software to the cloud. The goal it appears is to address the needs of the small- to mid-sized (SMB) business market, a demographic that’s been largely left out of the PLM market. These companies often didn’t have the […]
Sharing CAD Files Across Systems Remains a Pain Point
Many of you remember the early years of CAD when a simple design change could be a day destroyer; forcing you to have to recreate the model or go back and update multiple views of a drawing. Parametric or feature-based CAD systems changed all of that. With these powerfully automated 3D CAD systems, the task […]
Reversible drum vacs are now CE compliant
EXAIR’s Reversible Drum Vac and High Lift Reversible Drum Vac are ideal for the recovery of fluids like: coolant, hydraulic oils, sludge and chips, waste water, and liquid…
Commentary: Glib advice — To earn more money, work for an exporter
Leland Teschler Executive Editor There is a lot of hand wringing right now about a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau. It says that median household income is 8% below what it was before the recent economic recession, not what you want to see in a healthy economy. As a result, much internet bandwidth…
Remotely control your 3D printer
The capability to print a model without hooking up a computer or laptop to a 3D printer as well as remotely monitoring the print status is high on…
Integrated measuring system with accuracy that rivals glass
IMS-I Integrated Measuring System From Rexroth: Precise, Robust, and Compact Fully integrated with accuracy that rivals a glass scale The newly enhanced IMS-I integrated measuring system from Rexroth…
Sunstone Circuits is recognized as one of the Healthiest Employers of Oregon
For the second year in a row, Sunstone Circuits® has been named one of the Healthiest Employers of Oregon. The awards are given annually to companies that promote the value of workplace wellness and demonstrate innovation and leadership in their wellness programs. Sunstone again placed in the top ten for the “medium sized employers” category…
CCEFP’s annual conference opens in Nashville
The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) opened its annual Fluid Power Innovation & Research Conference (FPIRC) at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University today (Vanderbilt’s own Professor Eric…
SPIROL achieves gold level status in SQEP recertification
SPIROL International Corporation is pleased to announce the recent achievement of gold level status in the Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process (SQEP) Recertification. SQEP (Supplier Quality Excellence Process) is Caterpillar’s operational excellence initiative that recognizes a supplier’s commitment to meet and sustain high quality standards. SQEP incorporates industry proven quality tools and system requirements (ISO,…
Commentary: Management lessons from China?
I am old enough to remember a time when U.S. business schools lionized Japanese management practices. Back in the 1980s, for example, it was hard to pick up a copy of the Harvard Business Review that didn’t have an article extolling the virtues of Japanese inventory control systems. One HBR article published in 1981 quoted…
NFPA launches giving society to support education, research
In more exciting news this week, The National Fluid Power Association’s Education and Technology Foundation announced that it has launched a new annual giving society to increase support for…
The simple but necessary pressure gauge
By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor A pressure gauge is a fluid intensity measurement device, without which, the amplitude of hydraulic or pneumatic energy would be guesswork. Pressure gauges…
Efficiency & easy installation in a neat format
Piab, a supplier of industrial vacuum technology, offers its patented COAX® technology in a new small sized ejector called piPUMP™ MICRO. COAX® is the most energy efficient ejector…
Coupling-hose combination handles high pressure
Designing for off-highway applications that encounter high hydraulic pressure and a wide temperature range is easier with this line of 6W Couplings. The couplings come with high pressure braided hose for applications that encounter pressures to 6000 psi, and temperature ranges from –40° F to 250° F. These couplings are a one-piece, bite-the-wire crimp coupling…
Looking ahead to Aventics’ next moves
I recently had the chance to chat with Kjell Lyngstad, the Director-North American Sales, Marketing & Engineering for Aventics, the former Bosch Rexroth Pneumatics. Aventics has its U.S….
Norgren offers Express Service for emergency parts
Downtime means lost profit, so it is important for engineers to keep machinery and equipment up and running. To do this, they need to be able to get…
CCEFP update: Pneumatics that’s made for walking
The lowest power test bed of the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) is directed towards developing technologies for human assist devices. The platform for this…
IFPS plans “Fluid power professionals day” for June
The International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) has dedicated June 19 as “Fluid Power Professionals’ Day”—a day of recognition for everyone who works in the fluid power field. Fluid…