The Leading Source for Design Engineering News & Insight
Flying Car Prototypes Grounded After Crash
May 17, 2013 10:05 am | by The Canadian Press | News | CommentsThe 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.
EDS President: You Can’t Miss EDS If You’re In the Electronics Industry
May 17, 2013 9:59 am | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | News | CommentsJim Bruorton wore two hats at EDS 2013 this year, the first as a manufacturer and his role as vice president of global distribution sales and business development with KEMET Corporation; and the second as a board member and president of EDS 2013.
Stacking 2D Materials
May 17, 2013 9:52 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsGraphene has dazzled scientists, ever since its discovery more than a decade ago, with its unequalled electronic properties, its strength and its light weight. But one long-sought goal has proved elusive: how to engineer into graphene a property called a band gap, which would be necessary to use the material to make transistors and other electronic devices.
Can Math Models of Gaming Strategies be Used to Detect Terrorism Networks?
May 17, 2013 9:48 am | by The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics | News | CommentsThe answer is yes, according to a paper in the SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics. In a paper published in the journal last month, authors Anthony Bonato, Dieter Mitsche, and Pawel Pralat describe a mathematical model to disrupt flow of information in a complex real-world network, such as a terrorist organization, using minimal resources.
Young Computer Hackers Jailed
May 17, 2013 9:39 am | by Sylvia Hui, Associated Press | News | CommentsFour young computer hackers who masterminded cyberattacks on targets from the CIA to Sony Pictures and Rupert Murdoch's News International were sentenced to up to 32 months in prison on Thursday. The hackers, who were affiliated with the group Lulz Security, had all pleaded guilty to hacking charges.
Tech, Labor Spar on Immigration
May 17, 2013 9:36 am | by Anne Flaherty, Associated Press | News | CommentsTo the U.S. technology industry, there's a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business. To unions and some Democrats, it's more sinister: The push by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to expand the number of visas for high-tech foreign workers is an attempt to dilute a lucrative job market with cheap, indentured labor.
Is It Possible to Bring Manufacturing Back to the U.S.?
May 17, 2013 9:33 am | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | News | CommentsSeveral factors come into play when manufacturers make the decision to move or reshore (see chart). The wage gap is never the only reason, but in all cases, the move makes business sense – it’s not simply a feel good story. While reshoring has found its way into a lot of headlines, Young says that it is primarily a U.S. phenomenon.
Printing Guns
May 17, 2013 9:26 am | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | Blogs | CommentsSomebody was going to do it sooner or later. And we have Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas at Austin, to thank for the fact that, when it was finally done for the first time, the news media learned about it right away. All the same, now that somebody has used a 3-D printer to make a functional gun, we face a whole array of questions that up till now were hypothetical ones.
Top 5 Design Tools of the Week
May 17, 2013 9:05 am | by Melissa Fassbender, Associate Editor, PD&D | Articles | CommentsYour Top 5 Design Tools of the Week include a new add on for your Raspberry Pi, a DIY USB device, and an activity board that allows you to do more with 8 cores.
Cadillac Recalling SUVs to Fix Wheel Nuts
May 17, 2013 7:27 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina's product safety agency says General Motors Co.'s main Chinese joint venture is recalling Cadillac SUVs to correct a problem with nuts that hold their wheels in place. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said Friday that Shanghai GM will recall 2,653 imported Cadillac SRXs.
Glass-Faced Infrared Panel Heaters
May 16, 2013 5:24 pm | by PD&D Staff | Omega Engineering, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsOmega (Stamford, CT) has announced the OMEGALUX QG Series heaters use a solid black Ceran glass as the emitter face. An optional thermowell from the back of the heater allows for a spring-loaded thermocouple to measure face temperature. This is the best way to use direct temperature control.
The Lexium MDrive
May 16, 2013 5:21 pm | by PD&D Staff | Schneider Electric | Product Releases | CommentsSchneider Electric Motion (Marlborough, CT), the manufacturers of the premium brand MDrive integrated motors and drives, has introduced the Lexium MDrive. Lexium MDrive products will benefit a wide range of motion applications with its compact all-in-one design saving space, reducing wiring and improving machine reliability.
Loctite SI 5640 Seals Plastic Electrical Components
May 16, 2013 5:18 pm | by PD&D Staff | Henkel Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsHenkel Corporation (Rocky Hill, CT) has introduced Loctite SI 5640, a two-part, self-leveling silicone potting compound designed for electrical and electronic potting applications that require UL 94 VO compliance. Designed to ensure the integrity of electrical components by sealing against corrosion and outdoor contaminants, this low viscosity silicone offers strong adhesion to plastics and resists 85C/85% RH aging conditions.
Microchip Technology Delivers 12 Billionth PIC Microcontroller
May 16, 2013 3:08 pm | by Microchip | News | CommentsMicrochip Technology has announced the shipment of its 12 billionth PIC microcontroller (MCU) to the Nidec Corporation—a preeminent global supplier of precision motors, based in Japan. Microchip delivered this 12 billionth MCU approximately 10 months after delivering its 11 billionth.
The Overall Patent Landscape Is Pretty Young
May 16, 2013 2:41 pm | by Yole Development | News | CommentsYole Développement announces its 2.5D, 3DIC and TSV Interconnect Patent Investigation report. Yole Développement’s investigation aims at providing statistical analysis of existing IP to give a landscape overview together with an in-depth investigation on 5 player portfolios selected by the analyst. Also, don’t miss the patent ranking and detailed analysis of the key patents.
