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| The latest information on engineering materials
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February 7, 2008
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2008 MACHINE DESIGN salary survey
Find out how you stack up against your peers' income and workload.
Your response, and the replies of other readers, will show where you fit
in among other design professionals. The results will be highlighted in
our salary survey article in the April 24 issue. Responding to the
survey automatically enters you into a drawing for a prize. To qualify
for the drawing, please fill out the survey by Friday, Feb 15.
To begin the survey, click here
Linear Motion Components Survey
Complete the questionnaire from MACHINE DESIGN's market research team
for a chance to win a $500 gift card
Get
started
Jean M. Hoffman
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Kramer Rack Plus is a truck ladder rack that's rugged enough for
hauling ladders, piping, scaffolding, and lumber. Yet can take styling
cues from logos or from graphics outfitting surfboards, kayaks, canoes,
and bikes. The combination of rugged durability and good looks comes
from encapsulating the rack's 10-ft-long steel tube frame with Bayflex
XGT-16 Black elastomeric polyurethane system from Bayer
MaterialScience LLC (BMS).
Read the full story
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FREE FRICTION CD FROM GENERAL
MAGNAPLATE
 Reduce
production downtime and minimize replacement costs by solving wear,
corrosion, and release problems on metal parts with a FREE CD-ROM from
General Magnaplate. The easy-to-use CD assists design engineers in
selecting
permanent coatings that prevent wear, friction, corrosion, sticking,
galling, and chemical attack on ferrous and nonferrous metals. The CD is
useful for comparing the static and kinetic coefficient of friction
(COF) of
numerous metals with 20 Magnaplate-applied 'synergistic'
coatings.
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Energy absorbing springs used in seal and backup rings for the oil
and gas industry were historically made from ferrous metals. Problem is,
over time the metals not only corrode but also score the backup ring
shaft as the seal wears away. A new line of non-metallic PEEK polymer
energy absorbing springs from Clifford Spring Co. in England
overcomes these problems.
Read the full story
Read the full story
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Quadrant Creative Moulding & Systems (Quadrant CMS) in
Belgium and Swedish Tier-1 automotive supplier Autoliv have
developed a polymer airbag housing for the Fiat 500 - launched last year
to commemorate the car's 50th anniversary. The housing is molded from
impact-modified, 40% glass-fiber reinforced Akulon polyamide 6 from
DSM Engineering Plastics.
Read the full story
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Brighter OLEDs on the
horizon
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Transparent white organic light-emitting diode (OLED) tile
prototypes developed by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH in Germany
have reportedly delivered luminous efficiencies of more than 20 lm/W at
a brightness of 1,000 cd/m2. The large-scale OLED tile with
color coordinates 0.396/0.404 (CIEx/y main emissive side) lights up an
area of nearly 90 cm2. The OLED is transparent whether
powered on or off, and its transparency is currently rated at 55%.
Further development is expected to boost this value to 75%. The results
come from BMBF project OPAL2008 (Germany Ministry for Education and
Research, organic light emitting diodes for illumination applications).
OSRAM Opto
Semiconductors GmbH
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Fast filtering with polymeric
nanofibers
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Meltblowing dies let synthetic fiber maker Hills Inc. create
high-strength 300 to 400-nm (0.3 to 0.4 µm) fibers from Celanex
JKX-1158. Hills wasn't able to go below one micron with standard
polybutylene terephthalates (PBTs). But melt blowing dies —
special thin-plate extrusion dies with hole densities on the order of
100 holes/in. (~4,000 holes/m) — let the firm produce nanofibers
that can reportedly filter gas and liquids with better efficiency
without increasing pressure drop. The technique uses high back pressure
at low throughput speeds and the Celanex JKX 1158 polyester from
Ticona.
Hills Inc.
Ticona, the
engineering polymers business of Celanese Corp.
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Micro-venting and micro-filtration
membranes
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Aspire micro-venting and micro-filtration membranes are made from
expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). The ePTFE membrane is a 3D
web-like structure with billions of microscopic pores. They protect
sensitive equipment and packaging from liquids, dust, and other
contaminants as small as 0.1 µm while allowing the free flow of
gases/vapors to equalize pressures on both sides of the membrane. The
membranes provide a balance of high filtration efficiency and low
pressure drop for a diverse range of applications in the pharmaceutical
and microelectronics industries.
GE
Energy
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Introducing Engineering TV, an innovative online video
program by engineers for engineers. Twice a week, each 5-8 minute
episode shows cutting-edge technology in
action and looks behind the scenes as today's engineers shape tomorrow's
breakthroughs. Brought to you by the Penton Media Design and Electronics
Engineering groups.
View
Videos
Rev up your interdisciplinary design skills
What happens when a microcontroller turns on a power FET, sending a
current pulse to a motor coil that develops a magnetic field which turns
the rotor shaft, advancing a timing belt that drives a pair of nip rolls
suspended on bearings in a web-processing operation on a form, fill, and
seal machine installed on a potato chip line at a Frito Lay plant in
central California? And how can you be sure that the encoders, prox
sensors, and other feedback devices you plan to use will accurately see
and report every relevant motion, machine state, and process condition?
And will the signals get through the networks fast enough, without being
corrupted, giving the controllers time to execute their algorithms as
intended? It's a lot to think about, and it only scratches the surface
of what many engineers grapple with today. If you happen to be one of
them, then the place for you — where you can find answers and meet
others with similar concerns — is www.Mechatronic-Design.com.
Backed by some of engineering's top information sources including
Machine Design, Electronic Design, Motion System Design, and Power
Electronics, Mechatronic-Design.com is the interdisciplinary engineer's
desktop, toolbox, library, and lifeline in one easily accessible
place.
Find. Learn. Apply.
Mechatronic-Design.com.
Experience National Instruments Technologies From
the Comfort of Your Own Computer!
 With more
than 200 on-demand webcasts, videos, interactive
tutorials and demos available for users of any experience level, it is
easier than ever to learn about the newest products and features
available from National Instruments.
Begin your search here with a collection of
webcasts specifically chosen for design and automation engineers.
CAD Library offers advanced CAD Resources
The Machine Design CAD
Library, includes millions of configurable 2D and 3D CAD models
of
components and assemblies downloadable for easy use in new and existing
designs. Our models are in native CAD formats. No translation
required!
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 2008 MACHINE DESIGN salary survey.
Your response, and the replies of other readers, will show where you fit
in among other design professionals, as well as help MACHINE DESIGN
magazine better serve you as an information source. The results will be
highlighted in our salary survey article in the April 24 issue.
Responding to the survey automatically enters you into a drawing for a
prize. To qualify for the drawing, please fill out the survey by Friday,
Feb 15.
Linear Motion Components Survey
We need your input. Simply complete our brief survey
and you can WIN a $500 American Express gift card.
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Sponsored
by:
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UPCOMING IN-PERSON EVENTS
Design-2-Part Shows are America's longest running and most trusted
events for sourcing custom parts and services.
Ten shows covering the country offer OEMs, engineers and purchasing
personnel the opportunity to meet job shops and
contract manufacturers face-to-face.
Linear Analysis Training Class
February 11-15, 2008
Students will be shown demonstrations of how to set up, analyze, and
investigate typical structures. Workshops let students put this new
knowledge into practice. The important features of the FEMAP GUI are
introduced and, at the same time the essentials of Nastran are explored.
Emphasis during the class is on the construction of proper analysis
models, and the effective use of the various solution types. Additional
troubleshooting techniques are discussed, as well as the various types
of common error messages generated by NEiNastran. The objective of this
class is to give a solid grounding in FEA basics and good practice to
enable the student to carry out real world linear static analysis.
UPCOMING WEBCASTS
Power Transmission Technologies:
The Advantages and Applications of Belt Drive Solutions
Sponsored by Gates Corporation
DATE: February 19th, 2008
TIME: 2:00pm ET
Today's designers choose from a variety of technologies for
transmitting power in mechanical systems. With increasing demands to
optimize systems for efficiency, noise, package size and low
maintenance, choosing the right power transmission technology for the
job is a challenge. Brent Oman with Gates Corporation will share his
knowledge about selecting power transmission solutions. The presentation
will review the pros and cons of different technologies and demonstrate
the various capabilities of belt drive systems in particular.
Click here to register!
 Customization for the Competitive
Edge
Sponsored by PTC
DATE: March 5th, 2008
TIME: 2:00pm ET
As customers shun the "take it or leave it" mentality of mass production
in favor of customized product development, industrial manufacturers
respond by offering more and more product options and variants.
Launching a product that can be configured to customer needs may add a
competitive edge and improve customer satisfaction, but it can also lead
to lower profits, increased costs, and strained engineering resources.
For many manufacturers, the solution is modular product design. This
webinar reviews the benefits of modular design - both for your customer
and your internal organization. We also walk the viewer through
important organizational challenges of implementing modular product
architecture, which should be considered when deciding whether or not it
is the solution for you.
Click here to register!
ARCHIVED WEBCASTS AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING
Click Here for a list of archived Machine Design
webcasts.
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The International Conference on Powder Injection Molding of Metals,
Ceramics, and Carbides will play host to engineers, product designers,
manufacturers, consumers, researchers, educators, and students
interested in the science, technology, and applications of powder
injection molding (PIM). The conference objective is to explore PIM
advances, assist in the transfer of technology, and investigate new
developments in the field of powder injection molding of metals,
ceramics, and carbides. It will be held March 10 to 12, 2008, at the
Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif. The conference is
coorganized by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF),
Princeton N.J. and APMI International, in cooperation with the
Metal Injection Molding Assoc.
For technical program details go to www.mpif.org.
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Sustainable design
e-seminar
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Sabic Innovative Plastics (formerly GE
Plastics, Pittsfield Mass.) will host a free Sustainable design of
durable products e-seminar Tuesday, February 12th (12 pm EST/ 9 am
PDT). It will give an overview of market dynamics and trends behind the
rising awareness and demand for considering a product's life cycle
impacts beyond performance and cost. The featured speaker is Robert
McKay Sustainable Polymers Project Manager for Sabic. He will briefly
discuss tools such as LCA, EPEAT, and LEED and introduce Sabic's
up-cycled Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ PBT along with concepts in natural fiber
reinforcement & biobased materials.
Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ, made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) bottles, replace several metal parts in Ford Motor Co.'s new
Lincoln MKT luxury concept car, showcased at the recent North American
International Auto Show in Detroit. Xenoy iQ is a candidate for front
and rear bumper energy absorbers, the center console, and liftgate inner
structure. ValoxiQ is for use in engine covers, connectors, power
distribution loads, and composite hoods. According Sabic, more than
2,000 PET bottles go into the MKT.
Register
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Make an energy video, win a
prize
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Westinghouse Electric Co. will sponsor a science video
contest for middle and high school students focusing on energy. The
contest's aim is to encourage students to think about energy in the
context of worldwide political, economic, and environmental realities.
The contest is open to all middle and high schools where Westinghouse
has a presence. To be eligible, each video must outline three key
advantages of nuclear power and two other forms of energy. The video can
be staged as a short play, commercial, news broadcast, talk show, music
video, documentary, etc. Videos must be in by May 9, 2008.
Winning videos from both middle and high school entries will receive
$3,000 for the school science department. Each student taking part will
get $100 for school supplies.
For contest guidelines and application click here
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The 2008 World Congress on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials
will host powder metallurgists and industry leaders from more than 40
countries. Held once every six years in North America, the congress will
take place June 8 to 12 in Washington, D.C. The event's technical
program will feature up to 400 presentations covering the latest trends
and technological breakthroughs in metal powders, powder metallurgy (PM)
forming processes, and applications. Topics will include design and
modeling of PM materials, components, and processes; production of metal
powders and particulates; powder injection molding; sintering; secondary
operations; PM materials; advanced particulate materials and processes;
material properties; and testing and evaluation. Special interest
programs will feature high-performance materials, PM gears, fatigue
design, challenges in additive manufacturing and repair, light metals
and alloys, and quantitative metallography. The 2008 International
Conference on Tungsten, Refractory & Hardmaterials VII will run
concurrently with the Congress at the same location. The PM2008 World
Congress is sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation
(MPIF) and APMI International. It is held in cooperation with
the European Powder Metallurgy Association and the Japan
Powder Metallurgy Association.
For a preview of what's in store and to register on line Click here
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Introduce a girl to engineering day
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Girls are ready for engineering if engineers are ready to share,
says the National Engineers Week Foundation. The Foundation claims women
are severely underrepresented in the engineering profession and is
calling on engineers to invite a girl to work Thursday, February 21, as
part of Engineers Week 2008, February 17 to 23. Dubbed "Girl Day," the
event, in its 8th year, is the only outreach of its kind aimed at and
organized by a single profession. Other Foundation programs throughout
the year will reach as many as one million girls with workshops, tours,
on-line discussions, and a host of hands-on activities that showcase
engineering as an important career option for everyone.
For more information on Girl Day and Women in engineering click here
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Boker's 2008 Washer Catalog
Boker's, Inc.'s FREE 2008 Washer Catalog has over 22,000 non-standard
sizes
available with no tooling charges. A wide range of ODs, IDs and
thicknesses,
plus 2,000 material variations provide millions of possibilities.
www.bokers.com/mde
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Big 6 Dos and Don'ts Booklet from UFE
UFE's FREE Parts SmartsTM booklet "The
Big 6 Design Dos and Don'ts" addresses fundamental considerations for
engineers who design, specify, or purchase injection molded parts.
Download your copy today!
Big6PR.ufeinc.com
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Contact Information
Editorial questions: Jean Hoffman
303-998-9227
Advertising/sponsorship opportunities: Virginia Goulding
216-931-9893
Machine Design
1300 E. 9th St.
Cleveland, OH 44114
©2008 Penton Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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