Engineering TV : Modeling

SPECK.CHECK For First Article Inspection

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:44:00 GMT

CGI's Spec.Check inspection software, for use with any digitizing system, is designed for first article inspection or mold qualification and can save users time in performing dimension measurements - up to 75 percent, according to the developer. In one instance, a company needed to measure an eight cavity mold with 93 dimensions per cavity -- normally an 80-hour task. With Spec.Check, the job was completed in less than six hours. For more information, visit CGI Inspection.

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CGI Cross Sectional Scanning

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:04:00 GMT
First article inspection is an essential and crucial step in product development and in proving a new mold. But when the part geometry is complex – and especially when the internal geometry is complex – the measuring and qualifying process can take days, if not weeks. This is unacceptable in terms “time to market” as well as in terms of “cost.” The CGI System and Spec.Check solves these problems by providing complete measured results in one to two days instead of the weeks that others processes require. For more information, visit CGI Inspection.

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EOS Laser Sintering Systems

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:19:00 GMT
EOS systems enable a wide variety of e-Manufacturing applications for producing metal or plastic parts. e-Manufacturing with EOS technologies is a method of manufacturing by which parts for consumer goods, industrial components and tools are laser-sintered directly from electronic data. A laser selectively melts and fuses together plastic or metal in powder form layer by layer until, after the final layer has been applied, the completed product is removed from the machine. For more information, visit EOS Electro Optical Systems.

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EOS Laser Sintering Technology

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Laser sintering is a generative layer manufacturing technology. Any three-dimensional geometry can be built effectively and flexibly, without any tools or laborious milling path programming. During production, the 3D CAD model is sliced into layers. EOS's innovative laser-sintering technology then builds the required geometry layer by layer. The energy of a laser solidifies powder-based materials, for example plastic, metal or foundry sand. The laser-sintering process allows for the production of several different parts in one single build job. For more information, visit EOS Electro Optical Systems.

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Designing for the 5-Axis Router

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Designing for a 5-Axis Router can be a complex process - Ken Netzel, Senior Engineer - Body Design and Fabrication at Lightning Hybrids, describes his work on the LH4 vehicle and the LH3 they are designing for the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE challenge. Lightning Hybrids has developed a unique and ultra-fast design to prototype process that allows for ultra fast design iteration, and the ability to develop a variety of options and configurations, with a relatively small investment. Also watch these episodes on Lightning Hybrids: Lightning Hybrids on Engineering TV. For more information, go to: Lightning Hybrids and Diversified Machine Systems.

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Lightning Hybrids Body Mold Fabrication

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT
CEO Dan Johnson describes the various plugs and molds they've created for fabricating the carbon fiber bodies on the LH4 and LH3 vehicles. They have partnered with EBS Carbon in Boulder, CO, to create their unique composite car bodies. Lightning Hybrids creates the part plugs in-house using a 5-axis router from DMS, and then send them to EBS Carbon to be made into molds and then actual carbon fiber body parts. Also watch these episodes on Lightning Hybrids: Lightning Hybrids on Engineering TV. For more information, go to: Lightning Hybrids.

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Lightning Hybrids Design Process

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Jude Hueber reveals the process at Lightning Hybrids for designing and fabricating their LH4 and LH3 vehicles in-house, from the drivetrain and the body panels, to their own custom designed circuitry. Lightning Hybrids is an automotive research and manufacturing company that has designed a hydraulic hybrid retrofit system and two 100 MPG hydraulic-biodiesel hybrid cars. Also watch these episodes on Lightning Hybrids: Lightning Hybrids on Engineering TV. For more information, go to: Lightning Hybrids.

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uPrint Personal 3D Printer

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMT
As a personal 3D printer, uPrint makes 3D printing immediate and convenient through every design iteration. Designed for the desktop, uPrint requires only a 25 x 26 in. footprint and features an 8 x 6 x 6 in. build envelope. Using Dimension’s proven FDM technology, uPrint builds models with Stratasys ABSplus — a material on average 40 percent stronger than the company’s standard ABS material, making it ideally suited for testing the form, fit and function of models and prototypes. uPrint also features a soluble support removal system, allowing for hands-free removal of the model support material. For more information, go to: Dimension uPrint.

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Minitech CNC Mini-Mill 3 Pro

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMT
You don't have to be a fortune 500 company or a computer wiz to reap the benefits of CAD/CAM. Minitech makes a full line of CNC machines, along with software and accessories allowing you to become more productive in making the parts you need. The CNC Mini-Mill 3 Pro is Minitech's most advanced desktop, PC-based CNC Mini-Mill featuring THK linear slides and ball-screws on all axes. Make amazingly accurate parts using Minitech's complete desktop manufacturing system. For more information, go to: Minitech Machinery.

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Microlution 3-Axis CNC Micromilling Machine

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Design, prototype and manufacture high-precision small parts with Microlution's 363-S 3-Axis CNC Micromilling Machine. Unique features include a 36-pocket automatic tool changer system that is capable of supporting tools ranging from 0.002" - 0.125" in diameter. The tools are held in a rotating carousel with a robotic arm moving tools between the spindle and the carousel. With a trend of miniaturization across industries, Microlution's revolutionary micro-machine tool technology is versatile in its application and can be leveraged in various industries and as a possible alternative to the manufacturing processes currently being utilized in these industries. For more information, go to: Microlution.

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Seismic Protection System

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:13:00 GMT
While woodframe structures have historically performed well with regard to life safety in regions of moderate to high seismicity, these types of low-rise structures have sustained significant structural and non-structural damage in recent earthquakes. This NEESWood project, funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks to take on the challenge of developing a seismic design philosophy that will provide the necessary mechanisms to safely increase the height of woodframe structures in active seismic zones of the U.S. as well as mitigating damage to low-rise woodframe structures. This project incorporates the use of economical seismic protection systems such as supplemental dampers and base isolation systems in order to further increase energy dissipation capacity and/or increase the natural period of the woodframe buildings. In Part 2 of this Engineering TV interview at Colorado State University, Prof. van de Lindt digs deeper into the Friction Pendulum Sliders used to remove ground acceleration away from the structures to minimize damage.

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Friction Pendulum Sliders

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:42:00 GMT
At Colorado State University, Prof. John van de Lindt has applied a base isolation system to a light-frame wood building for shake-table testing. The test structure is supported on a base isolation system consisting of four sliding bearings. The bearings are friction pendulum system (FPS) bearings that isolate the building from the earthquake ground motion by allowing the building to “slide” laterally and vertically on a concave surface. In Part 1 of this Engineering TV interview, Prof. van de Lindt discusses the "Friction Pendulum Sliders" and how they could allow homebuilders across earthquake-prone areas to significantly reduce the damage to homes from large earthquakes.

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Earthquake Shake Table

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:52:00 GMT
At Colorado State University, civil engineering professor Dr. John van de Lindt conducted a series of earthquake shake table tests of a half-scale two-story residential building with an integrated one car garage as part of a National Science Foundation funded NEESWood project task related to seismic protection systems. The overall goal of that task is to enable applications of protective systems to woodframe buildings by integrating them into the performance-based seismic design philosophy developed within the project as a whole. The tests consisted of three 2% in 50-year ground motions from three different California earthquakes. In this Engineering TV interview, Prof. van de Lindt discusses the engineering behind the CSU earthquake shake table as well as others around the world involved in the NEESWood program, including the world's largest in Miki City, Japan.

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FPGA-Based Engine Control System

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:21:00 GMT
The Challenge: Building a full-authority, FPGA-based engine control system for a high-performance motorcycle engine. The Solution: Using National Instruments CompactRIO and LabVIEW environment to focus directly on engine control software and I/O board development. Drivven, an automotive control and data acquisition solutions provider, needed reliable, high-performance hardware to prototype an engine control system for a 2004 Yamaha YZF-R6 motorcycle. Engine control requires deterministic loop times on the order of milliseconds and precise fuel and spark timing on the order of microseconds. In addition, the target engine revs to 15,500 RPM. At this speed, there is less than 4 ms per crankshaft rotation, and the system must precisely control fuel and spark events in the angle domain to less than 1 degree. For this project, Drivven chose a four-slot NI CompactRIO embedded system because of its flexibility, small size, and rugged form factor. With this system, they could easily add sensors and actuators while quickly and easily visualizing the data. In addition, they could mount the controller in the extremely limited space available in a super-sport motorcycle.

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BEAR: Berkeley Aerobot Team

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:26:00 GMT
The Berkeley Aerobot (BEAR) project is a collective, interdisciplinary research effort at UC Berkeley that encompasses the disciplines of hybrid systems theory, navigation, control, computer vision, communication, and multi-agent coordination, since 1996. They currently operate six fully instrumented helicopters, in addition to many fixed- and rotary wing vehicles under development, equipped with GPS/INS, camera, and other sensors on board, which they have been using to validate their control systems design algorithms for UAVs. In addition, they also have four mobile ground-based robots for pursuit-evasion games between the ground based robots and UAVs.

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