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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Custom Motion Control
September 17, 2009 6:21 am | Product Releases | CommentsLowell Corporation (Worcester, MA) has expended its capacity for designing custom motion control components, and can now provide customized solutions for a variety of applications: paper and metal processing machinery, conveyors, chain binders, and more. If a customer requires a non-standard motion control device, Lowell can typically fill the need by modifying an existing product in its line, by altering the shape or size of the drive, adding or removing teeth on a gear, or changing the configuration of a handle.
Congress Approves Green Vehicle Funding
September 16, 2009 12:07 pm | by Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — Targeting more federal money to support the auto industry, the House on Wednesday approved an expansion of U.S. government-led research into making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient. The House plan would allow the Energy Department to spend up to $200 million more each year on research and development for advanced-technology vehicles and auto parts.
Biofuel Production From Algae
September 16, 2009 9:41 am | by David Rausen, Solix Biofuels | Articles | CommentsSeptember 17, 2009 The world’s dependence on finite, nonrenewable petroleum is at the heart of many of the environmental and energy challenges we face today. Additionally, transportation fuel use is a major contributor to global warming: more than 30 percent of the CO2 emissions in the United States come from the burning of petroleum fuel for transportation.
Virtual Forklifts To Clean Up Computer Screens
September 16, 2009 7:25 am | Articles | CommentsVia TirexiHD . Do you get home from work just wishing you could spend more time in a forklift? Now there's a way. Forklift Simulator 2009 allows users to take control of their own forklift after an extensive training session, allowing them to move around the plant floor and move the targeted pallets onto eagerly waiting semis.
Sushi-Loving Robots With Opposable Thumbs
September 16, 2009 6:55 am | Articles | CommentsVia DigInfo News . These robots from Squse, a Japaese robotics company, are built using air-injected actuators that mimick the motion and sensitivity of a human hand, namely through a swift, delicate touch unheard of in robotics. The actuators, even when filled, release pressure only according to the form of an object, which allows the robot to pick up soft objects such as sushi and strawberries without destroying them.
Hungry FDA Official Orders Massive Pot Pie Recall
September 16, 2009 6:42 am | Articles | CommentsHungry FDA Official Orders Massive Pot Pie Recall Via The Onion . The Onion, America's most trusted fake news source, offers breaking news: The FDA is issuing a massive recall of all pot pies, which should be sent "piping hot" to the FDA headquarters in Maryland. Don't forget the forks and napkins, which will be aptly used in the inspection process.
Dynamic Fan Balancing With Balmac
September 16, 2009 6:31 am | Articles | CommentsThis video provides step-by-step directions on how to balance a small fan using the Balmac Model 216-D Analyzer/Balancer. Useful for those new to the practice, or who have recently purchased a Balmac product, the video walks viewers through finding aplitude, using a strobe to read the fan's phase, placing weights to vary balance, and calculating vectors.
'Mystery At The Factory' — In Lego
September 16, 2009 6:22 am | Articles | CommentsHow often does this happen at your facility? You know, when flowers and zombies start coming down your conveyors? Well, in the hyper-colored world of Lego, it happens all too often. This riveting film chronicles the plight of a plant worker as he attempts to sort out the mysteries of his conveyor belt under the supervision of a unique manager.
Congress Considers $550m/Year Green Car Funding
September 16, 2009 5:00 am | by Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — Targeting more funding for the auto industry, the House is considering an expansion into government-led research of fuel-efficient vehicle technology and making research dollars more available to auto parts suppliers. The House was expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that could allow the Energy Department to spend up to $550 million a year to conduct advanced technology vehicle and component part research and development.
Chrysler-Fiat Boldly Predict 6 Million Car Production
September 16, 2009 4:52 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 FRANKFURT (AP) — Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said Wednesday that the new auto alliance can reach a production of 5.5 million to 6 million cars a year on its own once the economy and car markets stabilze. "We will arrive alone at 6 million units. Between us and Chrysler, we will get there," Marchionne said on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Auto Show.
Illegally Dumped Chemicals Kill 3 In China
September 16, 2009 4:41 am | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 SHANGHAI (AP) -- Three people have died and an additional 17 required medical treatment after they were exposed to bags of a toxic chemical illegally dumped by a factory in eastern China, the local government said Wednesday. Four of the people sickened were children who played near the chemical, 2,4-dinitrophenol -- a poison used in scientific research and in manufacturing various chemicals, explosives and pesticides, according to a statement by the government in Dongyang, a city 250 kilometers (160 miles) southwest of Shanghai.
China's Industrial Growth Could Strangle Planet
September 16, 2009 4:30 am | by Henry Sanderson, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 BEIJING (AP) — If China's economy continues to expand rapidly and rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels until the middle of the century, its power demands could exceed what the entire planet can withstand, according to a study by government think tanks released Wednesday.
Current Account Deficit Slumps To $98.8b, Lowest In 18 Years
September 16, 2009 4:21 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — The deficit in the broadest measure of foreign trade shrank in the spring to the lowest level in relation to the total economy in 18 years, another dramatic sign of how much the recession had reduced America's appetite for foreign goods. The Commerce Department said Wednesday the deficit in the current account dropped to $98.
Return-To-Moon Program Gets Small Boost
September 16, 2009 4:10 am | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 16, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA's weakened return-to-the-moon program got a lift Tuesday on Capitol Hill. The head of a special expert panel conceded to Congress that the moon program could work if given enough money. That would mean another $3 billion a year for the program proposed by President George W.
Obama: His Administration 'Stopped Economic Free Fall'
September 15, 2009 11:11 am | by Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsSeptember 15, 2009 PITTSBURGH (AP) — President Barack Obama told the AFL-CIO Tuesday his administration has "stopped our economic free fall" and is determined to seal a recovery while revitalizing America's middle class. Shoring up a key part of his political base, Obama told the labor federation's convention that the administration is a fierce supporter of workers' rights and defender of unions.
