Polling Question

Boston's Big Dig: A Materials Failure

Congress to Approve National Tunnel Inspection Program in Wake of Big Dig Ceiling Tunnel Collapse
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass a national highway tunnel inspection program to try to prevent tragedies like Boston’s Big Dig Tunnel Collapse. Full Story
2008-01-22 11:35:00
Big Dig Epoxy Provider Pleads Not Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter
Employees from Powers Fasteners, the company indicted last month on one count of involuntary manslaughter in last summer’s Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse, pled not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court today. Full Story
2007-09-05 10:01:00
Exclusive: Engineer Shot Down Faulty Big Dig Epoxy in 1999
A Massachusetts highway engineer denied approval to the fast-setting epoxy material that is blamed for a fatal ceiling collapse in Boston’s Big Dig tunnel project. Full Story
2007-07-30 06:01:00
Big Dig Concrete Supplier Aggregate to Pay $42 Million
Aggregate Industries NE Inc., the company suspected of supplying the substandard concrete used in Boston’s Big Dig, has agreed to pay $42 million to settle civil and criminal investigations. Full Story
2007-07-27 08:26:00
Boston’s Big Dig Materials Failure: It’s Got Engineers Talking
A year after the deadly Big Dig tunnel collapse, questions are finally being answered. While those at fault have been named, one thing has remained the same – engineers are still talking about it. Full Story
2007-07-12 13:18:00
Big Dig Epoxy: Who Blew It?
Incorrect use of epoxy is blamed for the Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse, but that is all that’s clear from the NTSB report, which finds fault with all the major contractors involved. Full Story
2007-07-11 09:45:00
'Epoxy Creep' Main Factor in Big Dig Ceiling Panel Collapse
The biggest factor in the collapse of Boston's Big Dig ceiling panel which killed a woman a year ago was "epoxy creep," according to the NTSB's findings. Full Story
2007-07-11 09:00:00
Update: Boston’s Big Dig Still Has Engineers Talking
More than a month after Boston’s Big Dig was determined to have faulty bolt and epoxy assemblies, investigations are still uncovering problems and work is continuing to fix pieces of the project’s faulty infrastructure. An engineering who-done-it, it’s still driving hundreds of conversations across the Internet by engineers who continue to offer up their two cents as to what happened and why. Full Story
2006-08-10 00:00:00
Boston's Big Dig- One of Engineering's Biggest Mistakes?
With more headlines emerging every day, Boston’s Big Dig/Central Artery Tunnel Project is certainly becoming a topic everyone is talking about. With forums and blogs popping up all over the Internet in recent weeks, many techies are eager to speculate on what happened, why it happened and what the next steps should be. Full Story
2006-07-28 00:00:00
Boston's Big Dig: Photos Show Appalling Negligence
The NTSB has released photos graphically depicting mind-boggling negligence in Boston's Big Dig. Poor engineering, incompetence and an utter lack of inspection over a known problem resulted in death, injury, runaway costs and endless inconvenience for drivers. Imagine driving over a bridge with visibly dangerous cracks in the girders – and doing nothing about them. Full Story
2007-07-12 09:59:00
Big Dig Blame Game: Which Engineering Elements are at Fault for the Big Dig Tragedy?
Investigators could spend months, if not years, trying to get to the bottom of what caused the Big Dig tunnel collapse that killed a Boston-area woman, but local experts say investigators should not forget the human factor, or the reality that there will probably be more than one "smoking gun" cause. Full Story
2006-09-21 00:00:00
New Medical Designs Power Metal Injection Molding
MIM is gaining ground because it combines functions in complex net shapes that require no finishing. A Parmatech part has tight tolerances and provides a 70-percent savings. Full Story
2008-08-25 08:35:57
Caterpillar Uses New Tool to Reduce Steel Costs
Soaring costs are putting a new emphasis on cost reduction at major OEMs such as Caterpillar in Peoria, IL, which is recording savings of 5-7 percent with new software. Full Story
2008-08-25 07:06:28
Powder Metal Parts Winners
Winners of the 2008 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards exhibit the cost savings and superior precision that can be attained through use of fine metal powders. Full Story
2008-08-11 00:00:00
Come Together
Sure there are several new products that in addition to improved performance, reduce waste, reduce cost and/or specifically meet regulations. But looking closely at many of the newest adhesives and joining products reveals an easy-does-it side. Full Story
2008-08-08 00:00:00
New Molding Systems Expand Options
There's an explosion in new materials and processing systems that expand the capability of engineers to design industrial products for demanding new applications. Full Story
2008-08-08 00:00:00
Prefabricated Architecture: Engineering the Modern Home
An exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art shows how prefab houses increasingly make use of design and manufacturing technologies from the industrial world. Full Story
2008-08-05 13:46:03

Boston's Big Dig: Photos Show Appalling Negligence

Big Dig Firm Pleads Guilty to Supplying Substandard Concrete
A federal judge has accepted a guilty plea this morning from Aggregate Industries NE Inc. for supplying 5,700 truckloads of substandard concrete used in Boston’s Big Dig project. The plea, accor... View Blog Post
2007-08-27 09:24:22
Big Dig Epoxy Indictment: The Silly Season Starts
There’s no question in my mind that there was significant professional sloppiness involved in the supply of epoxy materials for the turnpike connector tunnel that experienced a catastrophic failu... View Blog Post
2007-08-08 14:46:07
Boston’s Tobin Bridge is Falling to Pieces
A 57-year-old span of bridge in Boston is giving boaters a reason to panic. Over the past two weeks, debris falling from the Tobin Bridge has broken windshields and caused other damages to the bo... View Blog Post
2007-08-09 07:52:37
Mini Mechatronics at MDM West
Maxon Motor USA continues to shrink the size of its integrated motors and feedback devices. Here at the Medical Design and Manufacturing Show West in Anaheim, CA, the company showed off a new 6-mm ... View Blog Post
2007-02-15 12:00:03
Big Dig Epoxy Provider Facing Manslaughter Charge
Powers Fasterners Inc. of Brewster, NY is being charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 38-year-old Boston woman. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley ann... View Blog Post
2007-08-08 12:27:18
Big Dig Indictments Expected Today Against Powers Fasteners Inc. in Tunnel Collapse Tragedy
The Boston Globe is reporting that Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is expected to announce the indictment this afternoon of one of the companies involved with last summer’s Boston ... View Blog Post
2007-08-08 12:14:08
Big Dig Tunnel Ceiling Collapse Could Have Been Avoided
National Transportation Safety Board officials agreed today that the death of a 39-year-old woman in Boston’s I-90 Connector tunnel could have been avoided if routine inspections had taken place... View Blog Post
2007-07-10 12:05:10
Was Epoxy Used Appropriate for Loads
As the hearing continues the focus is on the type of epoxy used in the ceiling panels that collapsed in the Big Dig tunnel last summer. Following a presentation outlining the fundamentals of epox... View Blog Post
2007-07-10 08:43:13
Big Dig Investigators Being Questioned by NTSB
Members of the NTSB are now questioning investigators about their report of the tunnel collapse. Questions are currently focused on the epoxy and anchors used to secure the ceiling panels that fell... View Blog Post
2007-07-10 07:54:48
Epoxy Used to Secure Ceiling Allowed Bolts to Slip
Investigators are now saying the Big Dig tunnel collapsed because the epoxy used to secure the ceiling allowed bolts to slip or "creep" over time. The Boston Globe is reporting that Bruce Magla... View Blog Post
2007-07-10 07:30:03
Epoxy Faulted in Big Dig Collapse
A criminal investigation in Boston is focusing on inappropriate use of quick-setting epoxy as the explanation for a ceiling collapse in a Big Dig connector tunnel that resulted in a fatality last s... View Blog Post
2007-05-03 04:03:01
Boston's Big Dig leaking like a sieve
The four-year-old $14.8 billion Big Dig in Boston is up to its old tricks of behaving like a 70-year-old tunnel. The problem this time around are leaks, which are up 18% over last year after Mas... View Blog Post
2007-07-02 07:04:11
Big Dig Materials Failure
Across the Internet, engineers are discussing the situation with Boston's Big Dig/Central Artery Tunnel project and the materials failure which led to the death of a 39-year-old woman and the closi... View Blog Post
2006-07-26 13:14:40
Boron-Rich HDPE Can Replace Concrete in Nukes
I’ve heard of several new plastics that make excellent metal replacements. But concrete? That’s a first for me. A hydrogen-rich polymer loaded with boron actually can replace concrete as neutro... View Blog Post
2008-08-15 10:39:06
Dreamliner Uses Metal Matrix Composite
Increasingly novel materials applications are emerging to provide lightweight thermal management functions in aircraft (such as the Boeing Dreamliner) and oher applications. One example is a metal ... View Blog Post
2008-08-13 14:54:15

Powder Metal Parts Winners
Winners of the 2008 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards exhibit the cost savings and superior precision that can be attained through use of fine metal powders. Full Review
2008-08-11 00:00:00

Design News Partner Zones

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This webinar featured research and survey results related to problems associated with preparing CAD geometry for CAE applications. We discussed how Recipe-Based Automation can help create "just-in-time" CAE-ready geometry each time a cad model is updated. Watch the Presentation

Light Matters: Systems Level Approach to HBLED illumination applications
Its good practice to apply a systems-level approach to high-brightness LED (HBLED) illumination applications. Minimally, the system includes the optical, thermal and electrical characteristics of the of the HBLED, the lens (if any) which is built-in to its package, secondary optics such as external plastic lenses/reflectors to direct the light as your application requires and power driver electronics. Read More

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