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Graphite Alloy Stops the Sparking and Arcing
A company making metal fasteners added an electrostatic paint line that gave managers grief almost as soon as it began operating.
Using a Fungus to Make Fuel
The same fungus that plagued soldiers in World War II as it ate their tents and uniforms is now leading engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory to a new method for turning plants into ethanol.
GaN transistor likes it hot
Move over silicon. A new gallium-nitride (GaN) transistor offers the promise of low-power consumption and high efficiency in high-power, high-temperature electronics such as motor drives for hybrid vehicles, appliances, and defense equipment.
AFS Castings of the Year
The metalcasting industry handed out top honors in its 2008 Engineered Casting Solutions and American Foundry Society Casting Competition.
Materials Engineering
Swedish prototyping and part-production service
bureau Prototal AB used RenShape SL 7810
photopolymer to build infrared camera prototypes.
Stator Stakes Claim to Top Powder-Metal Prize
A stator used for variable-valve timing in a 1.4-liter engine captured the 2008 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards Competition grand prize in the Automotive Engine category.
Materials EngineeringL Bumper-to-Bumper Looks That Last
Fiat set visual appeal as a top priority for designers working on both interior and exterior components of its new 500 model — launched last year to commemorate the car’s 50th anniversary.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off to the Mine We Go with Nylatron GS
Nylatron GS, a molybdenum-disulphide (MoS2) filled nylon, is now certified by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Dept. of Labor.
Metal-Filled Acetal is Easy to Find With Metal Sensors
Delrin 400MTD acetal from DuPont, Wilmington, Del., is made with a proprietary metal filler and can be detected by most metal sensors used on food-processing conveyors, in the unlikely event of a part’s entry into the process stream.
Ballistic Material for Brain Buckets
For the past two decades high-tenacity fibers such as S-glass, Aramid, and ultrahighmolecular- weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) have been the materials of choice for making lightweight armor.
High-Flow Nylon 66
A high-impact nylon 66 (PA66) flows easily into intricate and multicavity parts such as fasteners and automotive engine cradle nests.
Letters - 05/22/2008
After 31 years as an engineer, mostly at one large company, I urged my kids not to pursue engineering as a profession.
Latest Green Technology: Stronger Soft-Plastic Fishing Lures
Wisconsin entrepreneur Ben Hobbins worked with University of Wisconsin- Madison engineering and business school faculty and students to devise a fiber-reinforced fishing lure that may prevent millions of pounds of plastics from polluting waters nationwide.
Manufacturers See Upside to Weak U.S. Dollar
The U.S. is the new place to go for low-cost manufacturing. As unlikely as it might seem, companies overseas are starting to get that image as they begin sending work to U.S. job shops.
Scanning for ideas: Monorail Material handler Beams Power Through the Air
The electronic monorail from Sew-Eurodrive, Lyman, S.C. (seweurodrive.com), uses contactless power supplies, bar codes, drive-based controls, and wireless Ethernet to transfer data, power, control, and diagnostics over air gaps.
Backtalk - 5/22/08
An important part of engine maintenance is changing your car’s motor oil.
High-Tech Jobs Slowing But Still Growing
The U.S. gained 91,400 high-tech jobs last year, bringing the total to 5.9 million, according to a report by AeA, a high-tech trade association.
PM2008 World Congress
June 8-12 — The 2008 World Congress on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials (PM2008 World Congress) attracts powder metallurgists and industry leaders from more than 40 countries.
Easy Flow Polymer Steers a Winning Course
Steering-angle sensors from Bosch in Germany provide information about the position of the steering wheel for the electronic stability programs that help keep vehicles steerable during skids.
All Quiet on the . . . Motocross track?
Remember when motocross was a loud, dirty sport?
Assault and Batteries
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories must hate batteries: They heat them to extreme temperatures, overcharge them, drive nails into them, and generally do whatever they can to destroy them.
Will Hybrids Heat Up the Grid?
The growing number of plug-in hybrid electric cars and trucks may or may not require new electrical plants in the U.S., depending on when they’re charged.
Looking Back
10 YEARS AGO —
MAY 7, 1998
Virtual development for
aircraft: Lockheed Martin
will perfect the Joint Strike
Fighter and other advanced aircraft
with the help of visualization
software from Engineering
Automation Inc.
World Spends Over $100 Billion on Materialhandling Equipment
The global market for materialhandling
equipment will reach
$104 billion by 2010, according to a
report by market researcher Global Industry Analysts Inc.
Plastics Maker Opens New Korean Line
Sabic Innovative Plastics, Pittsfield,
Mass., has opened a major production
line at its Chung-Ju, Korea facility.