April 24, 2008

Creative Office Engineering

Thanks to machine vision, a sophisticated control algorithm, and 14 high-torque servomotors from MicroMo Electronics Inc., Clearwater, Fla., the wait for a self-collapsing, self-assembling chair is over.

Recruiters say many parts of the engineering job market remain steady. But “green” skills are in high demand.

I didn’t know the Saturn Vue had been redesigned this year.

Ph.D.s don’t make sense

10 YEARS AGO —APRIL 16, 1998

Who could have guessed that building machine tools on-the-fly would make for a good business model?

Exhibitors and attendees of the Vision East Show taking place May 4 to 6 at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Mass., should be encouraged about the health of the machine-vision (MV) industry, according to a study by the Automated Imaging Association (AIA).

The MT 130-50-DC manipulator stage from Steinmeyer Inc., Burlington, Mass. (www.steinmeyer.com), has its encoders and cabling hidden inside the table’s housing.

The Diamond Seal technology found in several faucets from the Delta Faucet Co., Indianapolis (www.deltafaucet.com) is said to eliminate leaks, simplify installation, meet California regulations on lead content, and last 5 million cycles or about 100 years of average use.

The HPLA and HLE belt-driven actuators from Parker Hannifin Corp.’s Electromechanical Automation Div., Irwin, Pa. (www.parker.com), can now have belt tension adjusted at the idler end.

According to Moore’s Law, computing power (or the number of transistors on a processor) doubles about every two years.

The University of Calgary can boast that it’s got the first surgical robot able to operate in the 1.5 to 3-Tesla fields of magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) machines.

The International Space Station will soon be getting a pair of robotic arms called the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator.

Rabbits wearing electronic contact lenses are helping researchers develop devices that could one day let vision-impaired people see or let those with normal vision surf the Web on the go.

An innovative new automatic cell for manufacturing tubular automotive parts exploits an articulated robotic arm to manage intervening movements and transfers.