Design Engineering

Flying Car Prototypes Grounded After Crash

May 17, 2013 12:47 pm | by The Canadian Press | News | Comments

The Transportation Safety Board says the U.S. manufacturer of flying cars has grounded all five of its prototypes until it can determine a cause for a recent crash in B.C. One of the Maverick flying cars crashed near a Vernon elementary school last week, leaving a pilot and a passenger with minor injuries.

Top 10 Coolest Things At AMUG 2013

May 16, 2013 8:01 am | by IMTSTV | Videos | Comments

iSpy Jake Ervin attended the AMUG (Additive Manufacturing Users Group) Conference in Jacksonville, Florida this year. Vendors displayed some very exciting parts manufacturing with additive technology. Jake shows us the top 10 coolest parts exhibited at the event.

Inside BMW's Design Lab

May 14, 2013 1:46 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | Comments

An inside look at BMW's North American design lab, where the company works on everything from cars to coffee makers. Designworks is an independent creative agency owned by BMW that is always working on the next generation of cars.

David Vs. Goliath – Stealing Innovation

May 10, 2013 4:06 pm | by Mike Collins, Author, Saving American Manufacturing | Blogs | Comments

The right thing to do is to enforce invention and innovation rights. These rights create jobs, economic benefits, and profits for our society, while our patent-piracy tolerance destroys the economic benefits we seek. If an American-made business model is destroyed by the cannibalistic capitalism of our marketplace, what products can survive to create jobs in our society?

Tesla Model S Gets Consumer Reports' Top Score

May 9, 2013 2:15 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | Comments

The Tesla Motors Inc. Model S electric car has tied an older Lexus for the highest score ever recorded in Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing. The Model S, which starts at $62,400 after a federal tax credit, scored 99 points on a scale of 100 in the magazine's battery of tests.

Flying Disc-Throwing Robots Teach Kids Tech

May 9, 2013 8:02 am | by The Associated Press | Videos | Comments

Thousands of high school students from around the world have put their engineering skills to the test at an international robotics contest. "FIRST" is compared to a "Superbowl of the Mind" mixing math, science, and technology with competition.

Why BMW Is Building A Bobsled

May 9, 2013 8:00 am | by CNN Money | Videos | Comments

The United States Olympic team has tapped the automaker to design and develop a two-man bobsled for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games. To the bobsled-making game, BMW brings its technical experience in functionality and aerodynamics.

An Opportunity For Intelligent Device Manufacturers

May 6, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy, Flexera Software | Articles | Comments

Opportunity beckons intelligent device manufacturers. They must evolve their products from fixed function and disconnected systems to flexible and seamlessly connected devices. Making products smarter will provide a wide array of benefits.

The Next Killer Manufacturing Technology App

May 1, 2013 11:57 am | by IMTSTV | Videos | Comments

Today, there is an extensive amount of data produced relative to the manufacturing process. However, this data is typically “trapped” in equipment used in the production of products or the operation of the facilities or it is recorded on paper where it cannot be easily analyzed. The purpose of MTConnect is to “unlock” this data and provide it in a format that can be used by software applications.

Silicon Valley Has Nothing On Manufacturing

April 22, 2013 8:05 am | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, Product Design & Development | Blogs | Comments

Manufacturing floors don’t have Lego stations and pool tables – and yes, OSHA may take issue with throwing empty cans from the mini bar into the same bin as the scrap metal from the lathe, but that doesn’t mean that the industry has any fewer engineers flocking to it.

Engineering Answers: Fail Faster

April 19, 2013 8:00 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | Articles | Comments

As the market gap between hobbyist makers and professional engineers continues to close, desktop 3D printing is emerging as the next golden nugget in prototyping and small-scale manufacturing. MakerBot has been at the cusp of this revolution.

The First Phase Of The MTConnect Challenge Opens

April 11, 2013 4:59 pm | by NCDMM | News | Comments

The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining and the MTConnect Institute announced the start of the first phase of the MTConnect Challenge: Creating Manufacturing Intelligence, a competition that seeks to engage and stimulate development of advanced manufacturing intelligence applications that utilize the MTConnect standard.

Toyota Taking On Rivals With Efficiency, New Designs

April 8, 2013 2:15 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Having drawn lessons from a series of predicaments since the 2008 global economic downturn, Toyota Motor Corp. is focusing on lowering its production costs worldwide and improving its competitiveness in product design as it faces intense competition from overseas rivals.

Fisker's 80 Percent Staff Cut May Send Luxury Co. Under

April 8, 2013 1:05 pm | by Bloomberg | Videos | Comments

Fisker Automotive, a maker of luxury plug-in cars seeking investors to fund operations, said it's firing about 80 percent of its workforce after failing to secure a deal with an automotive partner. Cory Johnson reports on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West.

Innovation Brings Jobs To WI

April 5, 2013 1:45 pm | by WISC-TV | Videos | Comments

An innovation in Rock County could lead to about 100 new manufacturing jobs. Monterey Mills in Janesville is rolling out a new product, and it has 14 patents protecting its new collapsible paint roller. The new product won a prestigious award from the American Brush Manufacturers Association and is being hailed as the greatest innovation in the industry since 1946, when the paint roller was invented.

Race To Build Driverless Cars Is In Full Throttle

April 5, 2013 9:44 am | by Rick Montgomery, The Kansas City Star | News | Comments

To call Tim Sylvester a road builder misses the point. The streets he intends to build are embedded with electronic sensors that may keep cars of the future from speeding, veering and crashing. A few blocks from Sylvester's Integrated Roadways office in Kansas City, doctoral candidate Amol Khedkar is toiling on his own prototype for a software system that would let cars talk to one other.

Solar Powered Everything!

April 2, 2013 8:05 am | by Chris Rendall, Mechanical Engineer, PCDworks | Blogs | Comments

I’ve heard for years that “soon we’ll have solar panels on everything.” To be honest, I’ve never paid much attention to the hype because these magical solar panels that can fit on and inside everything never seemed to materialize commercially. But researchers seem to have made a real breakthrough in solar technology: thin, sticky, flexible solar panels that can stick to just about any surface or object imaginable.

The Virtual Plant Seen Through Standardized 3D HMI

March 29, 2013 8:05 am | by Chris Parkinson, Senior Engineer, HMI Technology Lead | Articles | Comments

HMI or Human Machine Interface – everybody has them. From physical pushbutton stations to sophisticated graphical interfaces with 3D representations of equipment – HMIs are the visible part of a controls and/or manufacturing intelligence system.

Play With Smart Materials

March 28, 2013 9:12 am | by Ted | Videos | Comments

Ink that conducts electricity; a window that turns from clear to opaque at the flip of a switch; a jelly that makes music. All this stuff exists, and Catarina Mota says it's time to play with it. Mota leads us on a tour of surprising and cool new materials, and suggests that the way we'll figure out what they're good for is to experiment, tinker, and have fun.

Jeep Takes A Radical New Turn With Cherokee

March 27, 2013 10:12 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | Comments

The Jeep Cherokee is back, with a surprising design that could win some new buyers but lose some old fans. The 2014 Cherokee midsize SUV makes its debut Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show. The remake is so radical that observers might not realize it's a Jeep.

GM In Next Phase Of Hoped-For Buick Revival

March 26, 2013 9:46 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | Comments

General Motors Co. is making an attempt to shake up Buick's image as a car for older buyers with freshened up versions of its Regal midsize sports sedan and the LaCrosse large luxury car. GM unveils the pair Tuesday ahead of the New York auto show.

New Network Communication Technologies Enhance Motor Feedback Systems

March 22, 2013 9:08 am | by Vikram Phadke, SICK Product Specialist - Encoders | Articles | Comments

Over the past 25 years, improvements to motor feedback technology have allowed servo system manufacturers to reduce costs and provide products that are simpler, more reliable, and more accurate. New network communications technologies are now enabling the next set of breakthrough innovations in feedback device technology.

Better Aircraft Design For Lower Fuel And Maintenance Costs

March 22, 2013 9:00 am | by Andy Brown, Director of Corporate Sales, Knovel EMEA | Blogs | Comments

The air transport industry has been through many economic dips during the past four decades, yet it has always bounced back quickly with travel demand higher than ever. However, the increasing volatility of aviation fuel prices has a significant impact on airline operating costs and profitability.

Elon Musk: The Mind Behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity ...

March 20, 2013 5:09 pm | Videos | Comments

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is a man with many plans. The founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX sits down with TED curator Chris Anderson to share details about his visionary projects, which include a mass-marketed electric car, a solar energy leasing company, and a fully reusable rocket.

Kaeser Compressors Partners With Gas Monkey Garage

March 20, 2013 1:06 pm | News | Comments

Kaeser Compressors, Inc. is proud to announce its association with Gas Monkey Garage, the automotive fabrication and restoration shop featured on Discovery Channel's original series Fast N' Loud.Fast N' Loud features car fanatics Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman as they restore derelict classic cars to their full throttle glory.