MD_Machine Design Tech Insider_: Operating manual? Who needs that!

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For design engineers and engineering management

January 29, 2009

What's hot
1. Operating manual? Who needs that!
2. Management loses some luster
3. More surefootedness for climbing robots
4. Basic drive mechanics
5. Featured video: Inside a 225-mph Jaguar
6. New products

Articles

Operating manual? Who needs that!
Manufacturers have written owner’s manuals, put warning labels on rolling stock, and distributed additional literature that contributes to rolling-stock safety. These documents emphasize the importance of proper lockout/tagout procedures. But, workers don’t always follow those procedures. Three years ago, I was called in on an asphalt-laying machine accident in which lockout/ tagout was not performed. In the course of the investigation, I reviewed the owner’s manual for the machine involved. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the manual discussed safety beyond operating and maintaining the machine. It extended to the vigilance needed to protect children.

Management loses some luster
Writers in the Machine Design letters column have been voicing their opinions about the shortsightedness of company management, Chinese shadow factories, and misuse of the patent system to squelch innovation. You can read the most recent comments here.

More sure-footedness for climbing robots
When you happen upon a suspicious package sitting on the side of an Iraqi road, a remotely operated tracked vehicle can come in handy. That’s one reason these devices have captured the imagination of defense contractors and robotics students alike. But it’s tricky to design robots able to ascend and descend stairs and slopes, cross ditches, and generally operate over rough terrain, all while moving. On this score, the state-of-the-art for mobile robot mechanics is still advancing. The latest improvement comes from Andrew Goldenberg, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of the University’s Robotics and Automation Lab.

Basic drive mechanics
It can be difficult to specify drive components that transform power from a motor into a form that is useful for the load. The overall design may dictate use of basic drive mechanisms such as spindles, gearing, or belts. But the motor or motor/gearing combination determines the parameters that are optimum. These parameters can include spindle pitch, gear reduction ratios, and other factors. Drive-system components, in turn, influence the dynamic response, control quality, and positioning accuracy.

Featured Content

Featured video: Inside a 225-mph Jaguar
In this exclusive Engineering TV interview, John Gentilozzi, Director of Engineering Operations at Rocketsports Racing, takes us through the aerodynamic and safety modifications made to the prototype Jaguar XFR the team ran on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The XFR recorded a stunning top speed of 225.675 mph (363.188km/h), making it the fastest Jaguar ever. The 225-mph top speed was achieved with additional horsepower liberated by a remapped ECU, a modified air intake and exhaust system, and revised supercharger settings.

New Products

Laser-machining platforms

The LaserTurn 1 integrated linear-rotary-motion subsystem combines automated material handling with high-performance direct-drive linear and rotary motion. The system’s automated, pneumatically actuated Type-D collet closer has a clear aperture for product feed-through and supports 0.1 to 7.9-mm tubing diameters in dry-cutting and up to 3 mm for wet-cutting operations.
The closer is designed to minimize axial tube motion during clamping by keeping the collet stationary and moving the tapered mating surface during collet open/close operation.
LaserTurn 1 uses direct-drive noncontact motor and encoder technology for both the linear and rotary axes. Direct-drive motors have higher throughput and maintenance-free operation compared to gear and screw-driven technologies.
More Information:
Aerotech Inc.

Transparent Covers added to ARCA^® Line!

Fibox expands its ARCA^® enclosure product line with the addition of transparent screw covers and transparent hinged covers. Stylish ARCA enclosures, manufactured using injection molded polycarbonate, a high performance plastic, offer ease of customization, robustness, superior chemical resistance, and wide temperature range. ARCA features include UL listing, NEMA 4X and IP66 / IP67 rating, and CE certification. Available in 10 JIC industry standard sizes from 6 x 6 x 4" D to 18 x 16 x 10" D.

More information: Fibox Enclosures

Trim seal products

Eight new designs have been added to the Push-On Trim Seal line. Over 40 different designs and sizes give users a quick and efficient way to seal and trim many applications.
More Information:
StanPro, div. of Cooper-Standard Automotive

News from MD

IT'S SALARY SURVEY TIME!!

Find out how you stack up against your peers when it comes to income and workload by taking a few minutes to fill out the 2009 Machine Design salary survey. Your confidential response, and the replies of other readers, will show where you fit in among other design professionals. Results will be highlighted in our salary survey article in the April 23 issue. Respond to the survey at http://www.zoomerang.com by Friday, Feb 13 and you're automatically entered into a prize drawing for a $100 American Express gift card.

Machine Design Video Spotlight

	IAI's Energy Efficient Solution: Green Automation
	IAI America's Derrick Ellerman discusses the Green Automation aspect of factory automation that is becoming increasingly an important part in choosing a complete motion control system. The electro-mechanical ROBO Cylinder is energy efficient, which dramatically reduces running costs and offers complete motion control solutions that have many advantages over pneumatic systems.

Check Out the New Machinedesign.com

Our newly redesigned web site still features the best content and information for engineers provided by engineers but with these new great features.

Multiple Path Navigation
Find content your way. Improved site navigation creates multiple ways to find the content you are looking for.

Supercharged Search
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Highlighted Resources
Looking for CAD drawings? Find them in our CAD Library. Download whitepapers in the Whitepaper Library. Valuable educational content is featured in the eBook section. Check out the latest in editorial and sponsored video in the Video section.

UPCOMING WEBCASTS

Burton Snowboards Brings th eBest Designs to Market with the Help of 3D Printing
Sponsored by Objet
DATE: February 5th, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT

Design and manufacturing companies are faced with ever increasing competition. More innovative product designs and technology are essential to successfully compete in today’s market.

Burton Snowboards has been the world’s leading snowboard company since 1977 and continues to set itself apart by quickly adapting to snowboarding’s continuous progression. Burton’s latest bindings innovation, Extra Sensory Technology is an example of this adaptation. Fully developed, tested and delivered in 18 months, EST shattered previous timelines by 6 months with the aid of in-house Rapid Prototyping.

Join us as Burton Snowboard Senior Prototyping Specialist Ryan Larson and Objet Senior Applications Engineer Neil Ranney team up for a webinar that explores how Burton Snowboards uses rapid prototyping and 3D printing to cut time and costs off new designs.

Click here to learn more and register!

ARCHIVED WEBCASTS AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING

Click Here for a list of archived Machine Design webcasts.