Design News for Mechanical and Design Engineers

Electronics, software help cars cruise design crossroads

Future automobile designs announced at the Detroit Auto Show combine the technology of different platforms with futuristic design features to create a new driving experience

Anna Allen, Staff Editor

Among the concept introductions at the North American International Auto Show:

Visual interest. General Motors (GM) introduced five cars at the show, they include the Pontiac Aztek, Buick Cielo, Oldsmobile Recon, Cadillac Evoq, and Chevrolet Nomad. To design these cars, engineers are using Alias software's 2D digital sketching, paintbox, 3D digital modeling, and 3D visualization tools.

Each brand has its own design center that houses exhibits to inspire new automobile concepts. Kate Zak, a developer of brand center characters, comments that GM wants its engineers to know what the focus is, what it feels like.

Such exhibits include Speedforms, a generic sculpture of the individual brands' shape that helps engineers maintain the concept's focus and the model's theme. A glass case houses the brightest, boldest products, such as the latest Nike sneaker, which influence car design and keep engineers aware of consumer wants and needs.

Tom Peters, one member of the Pontiac Aztek design team, recalls going shopping with his kids and being captivated by a yellow/gray jacket. Products such as this gear, says Peters, stimulate a visual interest and incorporate materials to attract the consumers. He comments that sports bikes are another eye-catcher, especially those that feature exposed structural elements.

It's products and designs such as these that the design teams adopted for Pontiac Aztek, which combines the basic elements of an SUV, sedan, and van into one automobile. The Aztek, says design team member Phil Kuchera, is "in the hunk look, with a dual-port exhaust. Its profile is most dominant, a whole new animal, not a Clint Eastwood but rather an Arnold Schwarzenegger."

This four-door hatchback seats four passengers and features a 3.4l V6 200-hp engine with 225 lb ft of torque mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. This combination makes it possible to tow up to 3,500 lb--enough power to trailer not one, but two SeaDoo personal watercraft.

The car offers front-wheel drive with traction control and rack-and-pinion steering. Other features include MacPherson fully independent front struts, open-section twist-axles with integral stabilizer bar, and gas shocks with coil springs in the rear.

Inside, the titanium and textured-leather instrument panel features a fully exposed floating-instrument cluster pod with round analog gauges peer out of a titanium face plate.

The pod features Delphi Delco Electronic System's Ultra-Lite technology that uses a thin sheet of acrylic to efficiently channel light to the yellow primary display graphics. At night, the display takes on a 3D look.

The panel also features a driver information center with built-in heads-up display and multifunction LCD. The LCD screen delivers driver information center messages, time and radio-station readouts, and navigational information.

The main monitor also controls Pioneer's premium visual audio system. This system features a radio with CD changer control, two LCD displays, DVD, six-disc multi-CD changer, cordless remote control, and 10 speakers. The door speakers feature Pioneer's low-profile Kevlar® cone and neodynium-magnet circuit technology for loud, clear sound.

The Pontiac Aztec is is just one example of how GM is moving design. Another is a new spin on today's convertible.

"A no-compromise vehicle." That's how the Buick Cielo's design team described this concept, which they say provides the comfort of a sedan with the with the open-air enjoyment of a convertible.

This concept is designed from a primarily math-based process that involves extensive use of computers, 3D modeling, computer sketches, rendering, and production of a foam, not clay, model. This four-door convertible seats five and features a 3.8 liter supercharged V6 engine with four-speed auto transmission.

The Cielo features wide-opening doors, a dual head-up display, voice-activated systems (such as a retractable roof that is either voice or button operated), air bags (mounted in the roof rails), and a shift-by-wire roof (a sunroof that opens to varying degrees). The ignition is keyless.

Cielo's two roof rails run between the front of the passenger compartment and the rear end, strengthening the overall body and allowing use of three hard roof panels that slide into the trunk when the driver wants the top down. When the convertible top is up, the roof rails provide increased body stiffness and reduce noise and wind intrusion.

The four doors are power-operated and hinged at the front and rear pillars, opening at the center pillar. Articulating hinge mechanisms allow the doors to open wide. Recessed rockers and door sills improve access to the car. And, the rear seat folds down.

A hybrid hybrid. At Daimler-Chrysler, designer's are using Visio and CATIA to create their futuristic concoctions. And once again, commercial products are driving some of the design considerations.

Chrysler's concept cars also address the need to increase fuel efficiency or look at alternative operating methods. The Citadel blends a sport sedan with an SUV and mixes in a futuristic performance powertrain.

"The Citadel is a hybrid-hybrid, a new breed of crossover vehicle. It provides the driving passion of the Chrysler 300M with ample cargo room," says Neil Walling, vice president of advanced design and exterior large-car, small car, and minivan. While Citadel is a hybrid among market segments, it is also a hybrid of powertrains; that is, it draws from two different sources.

"It's a performance hybrid," explains Bernard Robertson, senior vice president, engineering technologies. "The Citadel gives you V-8 power with V-6 fuel economy." A gas engine propels the rear wheels and electricity drives the front wheels. "We use the hybrid concept to recover energy normally lost when braking, while providing all-wheel -drive."

The rear wheels move by way of a 3.5l V-6 and the front wheels receive additional power from Siemens Automotive electric motors, which have been used on electric vehicles, similar to the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager EPIC electric minivan. The V-6 generates 253 hp and the electric motors add another 70 hp.

Other highlights of the Citadel include dual-power sliding rear doors and a retracting cargo door that slides under the floor. The B pillar moves with the rear door as it opens to maximize accessibility.

The Citadel has 2 inches more ground clearance and is 3 inches taller than the Chrysler Concorde. It has 20 x 3 ft of storage room, as compared to the 18.7 x 3 ft. for the Concorde.

Instrument panel design is influenced by high-end sports watches such as Chronoswiss and Blancpain. Hand-sculpted chrome is used for the indices on the gauges face. Other features include handmade chrome bevels around the odometer and clock--which carries into the steering wheel, door-control modules, pedals, and the folding tray table on the backside of the front seats.

As we round the corner to the millenium, car design races full speed ahead. Today's roads are the track for a new breed of vehicles. Which concepts will move forward and what else will emerge? That is in the hands of the designers, the vendors, and the tools--we'll have to wait and see.

Also…

Here's some other concept cars introduced at the Detroit Auto Show:

• Ford: Thunderbird, Blackwood

• Daimler-Chrysler: Jeep Commander sport-utility vehicle and the Dodge Charger muscle car

• Mitsubishi: Mad Max sports car/sport- utility vehicle

• Nissan: Z sports car, SUT sport-utility truck

• Jaguar: XK180 classic roadster

This is just one example of how GM is moving design. Another is a new spin on today's convertible.

"A no-compromise vehicle." That's how the Buick Cielo's design team described this concept, which they say provides the comfort of a sedan with the with the open-air enjoyment of a convertible.

This concept is designed from a primarily math-based process that involves extensive use of computers, 3D modeling, computer sketches, rendering, and production of a foam, not clay, model.

This four-door convertible seats five and features a 3.8l supercharged V6 engine with four-speed auto transmission.

The Cielo features wide-opening doors, a dual head-up display, voice-activated systems (such as a retractable roof that is either voice or button operated), air bags (mounted in the roof rails), and a shift-by-wire roof (a sunroof that opens to varying degrees). The ignition is keyless.

Cielo's two roof rails run between the front of the passenger compartment and the rear end, strengthening the overall body and allowing use of three hard roof panels that slide into the trunk when the driver wants the top down. When the convertible top is up, the roof rails provide increased body stiffness and reduce noise and wind intrusion.

The four doors are power-operated and hinged at the front and rear pillars, opening at the center pillar. Articulating hinge mechanisms allow the doors to open wide. Recessed rockers and door sills improve access to the car. And, the rear seat folds down.

Flex ring rinses out washer abuses

Newton, IA--Maytag Corp.'s washing machines are noted for their reliability and maintenance-free performance. Therefore, it seemed only natural for the quality-conscious engineers at Maytag to team up with a product development group at a major producer of elastomers for ideas on how to make its washers even better.

The project: Build a new multi-cavity tool for a flex ring that makes up part of the torque-sensitive mechanism in the agitator of the vertical washer. The previous material did not provide the high stiffness characteristics needed to adjust the amount of agitation for varying load sizes. However, no standard-grade thermoplastic polyurethanes Maytag tested fulfilled the need.

Maytag engineers conferred with personnel from Pella Plastics (Pella, IA), the part's producer, and with BF Goodrich (Cleveland) development engineers to come up with a solution. The team quickly identified the properties needed to meet both process and performance objectives of the new flex-ring design. Then product development engineers at BFGoodrich's IDEA Center turned these requirements into reality by developing Estane® 58151, a high-stiffness, durable, 70 Shore D thermoplastic polyurethane that offered excellent hydrolytic stability. 

System cools off computer processor

West Columbia, SC--Fast processor speeds generate heat, which means something's got to cool everything off. That's why Compaq turned to KryoTech Inc. to provide the cooling system for the KryoTech/Digital 767 Personal Supercomputer^TM, which runs at 767 MHz.

KryoTech's patented -40C cooling system was developed specifically for use with the Alpha Workstation, according to Scott Spears, product marketing manager for KryoTech. "Each cooling system is specifically designed for use with the specific processor," he says.

The Alpha Workstation works with mechanical, CAD, or CAE applications. It also has been used in research and in custom design applications. "People use it when they need as much number-crunching power as they can get out of one processor," Spears notes.

The cooling system is a standard vapor-phase refrigeration one. It uses a freon alternative coolant, which is environmentally friendly. The system pumps liquid coolant to the evaporator, which is in contact with the workstation CPU inside the KryoCavity.

The KryoCavity is a hermetically sealed and specially insulated device that holds the CPU and maintains the electrical connection with the motherboard. A pressure decrease inside the evaporator causes the liquid coolant to change into a gas, and this phase change pulls the heat off the CPU, Spears says.

KryoTech came to Compaq, which was then Digital, with the idea for a thermal cooling solution. "We work on the premise that as chip technology progresses, chip size doesn't change, but chip power does, and they produce more and more heat," Spears says.

"Active cooling systems like we promote not only dissipate the heat but help the user get more power out of the chip."

The cooling system goes to -40C, and at that temperature, the system provides a 30% increase in processor speed. KryoTech is working on a system that gets colder than that. "At -120C, you double the speed of the processor," Spears says.

People at home sometimes also overclock their computers, tuning their motherboards and turning up the speed of their processors. This gives the user extra power and speed, but generates high heat, which can cause damage to the machine. "They use any and every means they can to cool them off, including putting their entire computer in the refrigerator," Spears says. "We've heard about all sorts of strange methods." 

Elastomer prevents process contamination

Fremont, CA--HTM Technology Corp. believes staying ahead in the computer industry demands only the best manufacturing techniques and technology. That's why, as a leading provider of thin-film disks for high-capacity disk drives in PCs, network servers, and workstations, the company must control contamination during processing. It's also a major reason why HMT recently replaced fitted fluorocarbon-coated elastomer seals with perfluoroelastomer parts in its electro-less nickel plating production equipment.

Perfluoroelas-tomer seals helped computer disk maker save more than $700,000 a year in production costs.

Supplied by Pan Pacific Supply Co. (Concord, CA), the parts, made by DuPont Dow Elastomers (Wilmington, DE) from Kalrez®, have saved HMT an estimated $770,000 per year in reduced downtime, while improving safety on the production line.

Kalrez combines the sealing force and resilience of an elastomer with the chemical inertness and thermal stability of Teflon® fluorocarbon resin to create an extremely durable seal that can survive under severe caustic conditions. It contains no active hydrogen atoms in its polymer backbone, giving it the ability to withstand a wide range of chemicals, yet remain thermally stable at temperatures as high as 600F.

In the electro-less nickel plating process, nitric acid (40% at 125F) removes nickel build-up on the side of the plating tank. For HMT, the harsh chemical environment disintegrated previously installed fluorocarbon O-rings used in various valves and fittings. Result: The company had to manually change the seals at least once a month.

HMT replaced the fluorocarbon O-rings with Kalrez in one of its seven plating tanks in December 1995. After a successful two-year trial-and-error campaign, the company fitted the six remaining tanks with the material.

"Degrading of the fluorocarbon O-rings would begin almost immediately, resulting in equipment contamination, acid leaks, and production loss," says Brian McIntyre, HMT's equipment engineering manager. "Since the switch to Kalrez seals, we're replacing seals about once every two years." 

Mobile phones withstand tough environments

Nashville, TN--Given survey results showing that people at work spend at least two and a half hours a day away from their desks--costing businesses over $3 billion a year--Northern Telecom (Nortel) decided to develop a more-durable, less-costly wireless phone. The result: the Companion C3050 phone with a tough phone-covering accessory made of thermoplastic rubber.

The companion phone series enables mobile, wireless communications within the workplace, increasing worker productivity, improving customer service, and reducing costs. Whether a person is climbing a ladder or just in an office down the hall, the phone's custom-designed Rugged Protector accessory allows the user to clip the phone on for greater comfort and freedom of movement.

Design Workshop (Ottawa, Canada) was the industrial designer for the holster of Nortel's earlier Companion C3020 series of phones, designed primarily for office use. The new phone series needed to withstand the tougher conditions of an industrial environment, so Nortel asked Design Workshop to incorporate the Rugged Protector in the new models.

In turn, Design Workshop contracted the molding process to ITW Plastiglide (Toronto, Canada), which had the insert molding and tooling expertise needed for the accessory's design. The application presented both companies with a challenge: Make an intricate, yet protective and durable cover that allows the user to operate the phone while still in its holster.

"The C3050 was more advanced and contained more delicate parts than the earlier series," notes John Tutton, partner, Design Workshop. "We needed to make sure we selected the right grade of material that would meet critical performance and visual requirements."

Tutton used Santoprene® rubber, supplied by Advanced Elastomer Systems L.P. (AES, Akron, OH) as the base material for testing and comparing other potential material candidates. The material they sought had to have the ability to form the phone's intricate features, resist abrasion, and still provide adequate impact protection.

"We went through a long list of thermoplastic elastomers when trying to come up with the right material, beginning with Santoprene, since its properties made it the top contender from the start," Tutton recalls. "After conducting the tests, we ended up choosing a standard 75 shore A grade of Santoprene as the best material." 

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National Manufacturing Week showcases diverse products

Chicago--From March 15 through 18, engineers will have the chance to experience "America's #1 Source for Today's Industrial Solutions" at National Manufacturing Week. The show, which drew more than 60,000 attendees last year, is sponsored by the National Assn. of Manufacturers.

Manufacturing Week consists of the National Enterprise IT, National Industrial Automation, National Plant Engineering MRO and Management, and the National Design Engineering shows and conferences.

A new development this year in the National Design Engineering part of National Manufacturing Week is the Motion Hall, which is an entire hall devoted to motion-control products.

Last year, 2,100 exhibitors were on the show floor. Two companies who are returning this year are Cutler-Hammer (Cleveland, OH) and Intergraph Computer Systems (Huntsville, AL).

Cutler-Hammer will be celebrating its five-year anniversary as a company, and will be showing "best-in-class solutions, and how we will be taking them into the future and impacting manufacturing processes," says Paul Handle, marketing communications manager. The stage show, which featured music and dancers that transitioned into a speaker last year, will return, and will be "bigger and better, informational and entertaining," Handle adds.

"We're going to blow everyone away," he says. "The show is important to us, and we feel lucky to be a part of it. You'll have to see it to believe it."

Cutler-Hammer will also be showcasing several new products, including the SM Series photoelectric sensors. The series uses a microprocessor-controlled system called TargetLock^TM to help users speed up the installation process and improve sensor reliability, the company says.

Another product Cutler-Hammer will be showing in its booth at National Manufacturing Week is the SV9000 line of drives, which are available from 0.75 to 1,100 hp and 200 to 690V. The drives are consistent across all frame sizes, Handle says.

In the Intergraph Computer Systems booth, watch for the latest Intel/Windows NT-based TDZ-2000 visual workstations targeted at MCAD professionals. Intergraph will also show a variety of mechanical CAD applications, including Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks, according to Marla Robinson, media relations manager for Intergraph. The TDZ-2000 workstations feature Intense® 3D Wildcat graphics, which, Robinson adds, are the fastest graphics on Windows NT.

In the Design News booth, be on the lookout for web site demonstrations and several innovative products that have appeared in the magazine's pages last year.

FOR DAILY UPDATES on all show activities during National Manufacturing Week, check out www.manufacturing.net/nmw99 

Unix workstation breaks memory bottleneck

Palo Alto, CA--Hewlett-Packard has broken a memory bottleneck with its HP Visualize Model C360 workstation, which it touts as the world's fastest desktop workstation. Based on HP's new 367-MHz PA-8500 64-bit microprocessor, the C360 achieves performance specs of 26.0 SPECint95 and 28.1 SPECfp95, as measured by HP.

Its performance numbers are significantly better than those of its predecessors, the C200 and C240, which use previous versions of the PA-8000 family. Performance on mechanical design applications is up to 77% faster, says Barry Crume, product marketing manager for HP's workstation division. But the only hardware difference is that the C360 has its primary (or first-level) cache memory integrated on the PA-8500, and the C200 and C240 primary caches are the motherboard. Other than that, the three machines are practically identical.

HP engineers were able to integrate 1.5 Mbytes of primary cache on the PA-8500 chip by using a 0.25-micron manufacturing process instead of 0.33 micron. (The smaller geometry also increased the chip's frequency.)

Other advantages of on-chip primary cache include:

• Bus between on-chip primary cache and CPU runs at CPU clock rate (367 MHz for PA-8500), which is much faster than for off-chip cache.

• Cache data/instruction access in fewer clock cycles.

• Motherboard real estate saved because on-board primary-cache RAM chips are eliminated.

• Fewer microprocessor pins because cache I/O pins aren't needed.

The C360 was designed for engineers doing computationally intensive work. A C360 with VISUALIZE-fx2 graphics, 256 Mbytes of RAM, a 4-Gbyte hard disk, and 21-inch monitor costs $24,500.

Earlier detection, easier cure

Rick DeMeis Associate Editor

Skaneateles Falls, NY--A direct result of medical equipment supplier Welch Allyn's ongoing education atmosphere is the technology in its frequency-doubling Visual Field Analyzer (see DN 1/18/98). Here, a Medical Products Operation advanced technology manager attended a conference and met the Australian researcher who formulated the concept. The company brought the technology in house for development in conjunction with university and industry design partners. Extensive, targeted training in electromagnetic interference (EMI) and susceptibility brought one engineer up to speed for his portion of the design. Finally the product was implemented and introduced via the company's cross-functional teams.

The Visual Field Analyzer looks at eye function for advanced warning of glaucoma. It is more sensitive and provides fewer false positives and negatives than the common methods of eye-pressure measurement, such as the "air puff." Previously, high accuracy was possible only using equipment costing four times as much (up to $25,000), the company asserts. Testing would take 15 min/eye as opposed to 45 sec now.

The patient looks at a series of bars that vary sinusoidally between light and dark. Between 25-28 Hz, a set of retinal nerve cells, that happen to be the first degraded by glaucoma, produce an optical illusion of twice as many bars. Determining the contrast level where the bars are just barely visible correlates to a variety of eye diseases for earlier detection and easier cures.