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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
In the traditional design world , engineers design the product, but the material is simply selected from a catalog of available material properties. In the next material world, engineers will design both the product and the materials. Concurrent design will be the key to competing in tomorrow's manufacturing world, researchers say. Traditionally, the performance of materials is quantified in terms of simple sets of properties. Product designers have historically used catalogs of material properties either online or in books and they interface with the material supplier in what is called the material selection process. They simply select materials which meet performance requirements.
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Wednesday 15 October, 2008 03:12 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan
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And another thing – I've got nothing against the accountants and financial officers, other than they do everything they can to prevent me from doing my job. As an Engineer, the company employs me to spend money. Design and install new plant and equipment or improve existing plant and equipment. The financial guys do everything they can to put barriers in the way and stop me from doing my job. As an Engineer, I want to do the best job I can and that means using the best available contractors and components. From my point of view, money should not come into the equation. Get it right the first time, walk away and don't have a need to come back. I think it was Sir Henry Royce, of Rolls Royce motor cars who said, “The quality will be remembered long after the price has been forgotten”
But I have a constant battle with accountants – get 3 prices, why aren't you using the cheapest quote, you are over budget, make it cheaper, you need to cut costs. Click the heading to read more
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Wednesday 15 October, 2008 10:37 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Bob Smith
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Mustang Engineering ("Mustang"), part of international energy services company John Wood Group PLC ("Wood Group"), has been awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the topsides facilities on Hess Corporation's ("Hess", NYSE:HSE) Pony Deepwater Development. The Pony field is located in the Green Canyon area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, offshore Louisiana in approximately 3,500 feet of water. The current development plan includes subsea wells tied back to a floating processing facility. Mustang has been working with Hess over the past year, studying various field development configurations to develop this challenging reservoir. The FEED study is expected to be completed by year-end.
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Wednesday 15 October, 2008 09:10 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
The Audi R8 has been hailed as one of the best supercars ever made since hitting the streets in 2007, which is most likely why someone wanted to have a custom racing boat designed around it. The best part? The company may put the design into limited production.
First off, whoever thought of this is a genius. That being said, the design came from a Swedish design and engineering firm called Vizualtech. They were contacted by an enthusiast from Dubai who requested they design a boat that was loosely based around the body of an Audi R8. The result was a catamaran that is, to say the least, visually stunning.
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Wednesday 15 October, 2008 02:42 AM |
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Environmental and Life Cycle
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Alternative fuels and electric drivetrains are likely to become common features in our diversifying vehicle landscape over the next decade.
But many experts, within and outside the automotive industry, believe these technologies are nothing more than stop-gap measures.
The ultimate Holy Grail of automotive propulsion, they believe, is the hydrogen-powered fuel cell.
In concept, a fuel cell is very much like a battery, except that it generates electricity electrochemically rather than just storing it. To do so, it must be replenished with fuel.
In the case of automotive fuel cells, that fuel is hydrogen. Within the fuel cell it reacts with oxygen pumped through the system to create electricity and water.
The electricity is used to power the vehicle and there are no other by-products except heat. No smog-forming emissions, no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
That is why the fuel cell is so attractive. From an emissions perspective, "it has the potential to remove the automobile from the environmental equation," says Larry Burns, General Motors' vice-president responsible for research and development and strategic planning, and one of the fuel cell's strongest proponents.
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 08:40 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by jackson Browne
THE ADVENT OF TECHNOLOGY and digital lifestyles , increased globalisation, a boom in worldwide infrastructure and the impact on climate change and the environment are shaping the need for capacity and resources to accommodate rapid population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation.
Taking the architecture, engineering and construction sector as an example, a report released by BCI Asia in January 2008 highlights new building projects in Malaysia are expected to develop strongly in 2008. Statistics have shown that the development size of hotels and industrial projects is expected to boom over 50% by end of this year. On the other hand, the recreational projects are set to increase by a whopping 137%.
Such growth fueled by profound global trends has raised the stakes for success, requiring the nation to innovate in order to remain competitive and profitable. Today, design plays a fundamental role in driving successful innovation in many parts of the world, unlike the past when it was being seen as merely an aesthetic value- add. The evolution of the design field, which unleashes the integration of visualisation and intelligence into the design process, amplifies the function of design as a strategic tool for driving and delivering concrete innovation.
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 04:38 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
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Structures of contemporary high-rise buildings, though often limited by material capacities, dynamic lateral forces, and legal constraints, have recently undergone a renaissance of investigation. The list of known structural types such as moment frames, braced frames, trussed tubes, and shear wall systems has been expanded to include new morphologies and materials including non-metric cellular formations, exoskeletal lattices, and next-generation carbon fiber composite networks.
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 02:08 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Yan Chu
Researchers at the Institute of Photonics, University of Strathclyde, have started work on a 3.5 year project to develop a novel solid-state laser design incorporating CVD (chemical vapour deposition) diamond manufactured by Element Six Ltd. Element Six leads the world in the field of CVD diamond synthesis and its application
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 12:37 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
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ATA Engineering, Inc ., (ATA), a nationwide provider of innovative, high-value test- and analysis-driven mechanical engineering design solutions, was recognized today as one of the Top Small Workplaces in the United States by the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces, a nonprofit organization that works with small and midsize companies to create better work environments.
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 08:35 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Rheinmetall Defence , one of Europe's largest suppliers of land forces technology, recently moved the headquarters of its Weapon and Munitions division and plans to continue its global reach.
The new headquarters moved from Ratingen in western Germany to Unterlüss in northwestern Germany. The division was formerly associated with Rheinmetall's traditional products - large- and medium-caliber artillery and ammunition - but has been reshaped to take on additional work: the development and production of advanced protection systems and pyrotechnics.
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Tuesday 14 October, 2008 01:26 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ali Hamoud
MEED reported that Saudi Arabia local Najm al Jazeera Contracting Company a subsidiary of Al-Arrab Contracting Company has won a SAR 1 billion (USD 266 million) contract for the construction of a 300MW power plant in Tabuk in the northwest of the kingdom.
The project duration is two years and the plant is expected to be operational by October 2010, after which it will provide power to Tabuk and its neighboring areas.
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Monday 13 October, 2008 08:24 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Sean
The Government is moving full speed ahead with its billion-dollar plans to construct a man-made island off the Oropouche coast in the Gulf of Paria, to accommodate heavy, gas-based industries.
The National Energy Corporation (NEC) hired an Italian engineering firm, Technital, in July, to conduct the preliminary design work for the man-made industrial island.
It is proposed that the project, which is being called the Oropouche Bank Reclamation, will be be an estimated 1,400 hectares (about 3,500 acres).
The island will be located five kilometres offshore and directly opposite the Mosquito Creek cremation site.
The NEC’s intention to construct the offshore island, which is also called Otaheite Bank, was publicised when Prime Minister Patrick Manning, in a televised Christmas Day address to the nation in 2006, announced that the Government was discontinuing all plans to establish an Alcoa aluminium smelter at Chatham in Cedros.
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Monday 13 October, 2008 04:22 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
After a difficult period of civil unrest, Algeria has begun a programme of modernisation and development. Apart from establishing new industries and launching a range of new projects, the programme envisages expansion and modernisation of the national transport infrastructure.
The state railway SNTF has for some time been examining plans to develop new lines in the area south of the Atlas mountains. Known as the High Plateau region because it lies around 1 000 m above sea level, this sparsely-populated area stretches from the Atlas foothills to the edge of the Sahara desert. Its western fringe lies on the Moroccan border, and from there it extends eastwards for around 500 km.
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Monday 13 October, 2008 12:19 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan
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I'm guessing that there must have been several million words written about the current economic meltdown, with several more million coming very soon from experts and pseudo experts
So why do I think that my thoughts will be of any value to anyone? click the top heading to read more
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Monday 13 October, 2008 08:12 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Did You Know Trivia - After making successful inroads into states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, TVS Motor Company, on 9th October'08, has launched its 'TVS King' autorickshaw in Gujarat, but this time with the CNG version. India's third largest bikemaker had earlier forayed into the three-wheeler market in the country with the LPG and petrol versions of the aforesaid model in a number of states. TVS King comes with 200cc two-stroke low friction engine, electric start or hand start, twin headlamps, futuristic design with combination of power mileage, as claimed by sources.
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Monday 13 October, 2008 04:23 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by David Singh
Defence minister AK Antony has urged the country's defence shipyards to expedite the process of modernization and reduce the build period of warships. Speaking on the occasion of receiving dividend cheques from Mumbai-located Mazgaon Docks Limited, (MDL), Kolkata-located Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) the minister said that warship building process in the country was poised for a quantum jump over the next few years.
According to Antony, the quantum jump would be made on the back of increased design capabilities matched with global level infrastructure at all the three defence shipyards. He said all the three defence shipyards were poised to become state-of-the-art shipbuilders over the next few years.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 11:51 PM |
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Environmental and Life Cycle
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Dave Ellery
"It's time we design cities for the human , not for the automobile," said Roberts, president of Connect Ithaca, a group of planning and building professionals, activists and students committed to making this upstate New York college town the first podcar community in the United States.
"In the podcar . . . it creates the perfect blend between the privacy and autonomy of the automobile with the public transportation aspect and, of course, it uses clean energy," Roberts said.
With the oil crisis reaching a zenith and federal lawmakers ready to begin fashioning a national transportation bill for 2010, Roberts and his colleagues think the future is now for podcars -- electric, automated, lightweight vehicles that ride on their own network separate from other traffic.
Unlike mass transit, podcars carry two to 10 passengers, giving travelers the freedom and privacy of their own car while reducing the use of fossil fuels, lessening traffic congestion and freeing up space now monopolized by parking.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 08:20 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
Did You Know Trivia - Fried foods are not usually considered healthy, but a Purdue professor's invention could reduce their fat content with an inventive cooking method.
Kevin Keener, an associate professor in the department of food sciences, is working on the development of a radiant oven. The oven, also referred to as a radiant fryer, eliminates excess calories and fat by taking the place of the oil bath fried foods typically receive.
"The foods that you traditionally would find in fast food restaurants are already cooked once in a factory," said Keener. "At the restaurant, they want it already cooked and they throw it in the hot oil basically to recreate that finished product that they have at the factory."
The new technology replaces the second frying, which Keener says would cut in half the amount of oil used.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 04:18 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Rose Shah
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in a two-day meeting that concluded on Saturday approved 47 different development projects worth Rs 50.1 billion including foreign exchange component (FEC) worth Rs 5.8 billion.
This was the second meeting of the CDWP in the current fiscal year 2008-09 and the projects approved will be financed from three-eight years.
Of the total 47 projects, the infrastructure sector has 25 projects while the social sector has 18 projects, besides four other projects.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman M Salman Faruqui chaired the CDWP meeting.
In the transport and communication sector, 18 projects were approved by the CDWP mainly to provide modern and safe travel to the general public.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 12:16 PM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
This is a special car that tickles the five senses like few others. But it's actually not technically Italian. Around a decade ago, Germany's Audi AG took over the struggling carmaker, effectively saving it from ruin. For many Lamborghini- loving Italians, it was a mind-numbing shock. They worried that the essence of their beloved company would be watered down, lost in translation.
You see, up until that time, no Italian-German coproduction had ever really succeeded.
So when Audi, which actually operates under the Volkswagen Group, bought out Lamborghini in 1998, the automotive world held its breath in anticipation. It was kind of like trying to blend German sauerkraut with Italian gelato. They both taste good, but they don't quite go together. The end result, however, was a resounding success.
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Sunday 12 October, 2008 08:12 AM |
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Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator
The secrets in the title of Brad Matsen's new book are those of greed and deceit — "Titanic's Last Secrets" concludes that owners and builders of the ocean liner Titanic made decisions that saved them huge amounts of money and sacrificed more than 1,500 lives.
"Titanic's Last Secrets: the Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler" (Twelve, 322 pp., $27.99) is a tribute to the passion and obsession of those Matsen calls "Titaniacs," who devote their lives to increasing the world's sum of knowledge about the sinking of the world's greatest luxury ship.
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Saturday 11 October, 2008 06:07 AM |
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