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Green Design Engineering

Ever wonder how companies keep up with the global effort to save the environment? Our Green Designs content package features stories, podcasts and photos highlighting the latest green innovations in packaging, electronics, materials and design tools.

Newark's 2008 Global Environmental Challenge Call for Entries
Electronics distributor Premier Farnell and its U.S subsidiary Newark announced entries are now being accepted for the 2008 Live EDGE Competition. Full Story
2008-10-08 13:07:06
Hannover Fair Highlights Energy-Saving Strategies
A growing energy awareness was on display throughout this week’s Hannover Fair, where major suppliers and users of motion control and automation equipment showcased their energy-reduction strategies and technologies. Full Story
2008-04-23 12:05:00
Engineering the Electric Car
Visit our coverage page on the battery, materials, hydraulics and design technologies working to meet the challenges of electric vehicle programs. Video included. Full Story
2008-04-18 11:02:00
Range Change in Store for Chevy Volt
General Motors (GM) said yesterday its engineers are scaling down the gas tank of the Chevy Volt and reducing its planned range by more than 200 miles. Full Story
2008-04-04 07:26:00
Chrysler, DaimlerLeadThe Way WithLittle Electric Vehicles
Chrysler and Daimler are testing the market for little electric vehicles. Leading the parade of tried-and-true technologies in the vehicles are lead-acid batteries and brush-type motors. Full Story
2008-03-05 08:28:00
Auto Expert: Details Will Determine If New Energy Bill Harms Automakers
One of Detroit’s foremost automotive experts says it’s too early to tell if automakers will be harmed by a new energy bill calling for vehicles to reach 35 mpg by 2020 - but they key may be in how trucks will be treated. Full Story
2007-12-19 13:55:00
M2E Delivers Power through Motion at Greener Gadgets Show
M2E Power's new motion-based battery cell creates electricity through kinetic movement and stores it to power mobile devices. Full Story
2008-02-04 13:23:00
Pixel Qi Presents Sunlight-Readable Screen at Greener Gadgets
Pixel Qi's Mary Lou Jepsen touted the company's sunlight-readable screen technology at last week's Greener Gadgets conference. Full Story
2008-02-04 13:19:00
HYmini Power Bank: A Green Solution for Charging Portable Electronics
The HYmini power bank, on display at this year's Greener Gadgets conference, offers a green solution to powering portable electronic devices. Full Story
2008-02-04 12:54:00
Material Connexion Offers Materials Library, Consultation for Green Design
Last week's Greener Gadgets conference focused on which materials, new or traditional, are best for green electronics products and applications. Material Connexion offers designers a library of materials solutions to choose from. Full Story
2008-02-04 12:14:00
Engineering Green Packaging
The move toward ‘green’ or sustainable packaging will usher in biopolymers as well as other material and package design changes. Engineers will have to develop packaging machines that can keep pace. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Powering Up Green Design
Companies are pushing their engineering teams to factor in environmental concerns when designing products just like they would any design objective. PLM and CAD tools can help companies make better decisions around alternative materials and design for disassembly and recycleability earlier in the development cycle. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Power Polymers Fuel Solar Cell Advances
Money is pouring into development of advanced solar cells that use proprietary polymers to replace costly silicon. New encapsulation systems promise production efficiencies. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Fuel Economy Debate Heats Up
Automakers say they’ll go out of business if they’re forced to comply with some of the proposed fuel economy legislation. Much of the public believes they’re lying. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
SGI Blade Server Goes Green
SGI’s Altix ICE 8200 blade server uses a four-coil heat exchanger that could save data centers tens of thousands of dollars in annual electrical costs. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Green Engineering Repellent: Cheap Energy
With $100 a barrel oil more a likelihood in the next 12 months than just a distinct possibility, green engineering and design have taken center stage. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Battery Makers Ratchet Up for New Electric Vehicle Effort
A123 Systems, Compact Power, Continental Automotive and others are building lithium-ion batteries for future electric vehicles. Full Story
2007-09-03 00:00:00
White LED Applications Benefit from Highly Integrated IC Drivers
Advanced LED drivers simplify designing high brightness LEDs into new products. Full Story
2007-10-22 00:00:00
The Engineering Behind the Chevy Volt Concept Car
Consumers hunger for the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, but the technology challenges are no slam dunk. Read about the engineering behind the hybrid car including the first-ever use of thermoplastics as structural body parts. Full Story
2007-02-08 08:37:00
Bosch Advances Diesel Racing Engine
Clean-diesel engines are matching even surpassing the performance of conventional auto engines. The Bosch Group of Farmington Hills, MI, is running race cars powered by clean diesel engines and they're winning. Bosch supplies high-pressure pumps and piezo-inline injectors for the diesel common rail injection system on the Audi R10 TDI racing car. Full Story
2007-10-08 00:00:00
Teamwork is the Key to Innovation, Author tells NIWeek Attendees
Andrew Hargadon talks about green initiatives during keynote address at NIWeek 2008. Full Story
2008-08-08 10:54:35
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
Lego, NI Team up on Robotic Toy
Lego Education and National Instruments teamed up to create WeDo, a toy that teaches software programming to kids aged 7-11. Full Story
2008-08-06 07:48:11
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
National Instruments Prepares for 'Green Engineering' Era
Dr. James Truchard, founder of National Instruments, told attendees at NIWeek new graphical programming software will serve as the foundation for the next generation of green engineering projects. Full Story
2008-08-05 13:12:09
Graphical Software Adds More Multi-Core Capabilities
National Instruments rolled out LabView 8.6 at NIWeek 2008, adding a better math engine and optimized software algorithms to deal with complex multi-processor problems. Full Story
2008-08-04 14:47:11

Green Designs Gallery

Goodwin Turns Gas Guzzlers Green
I finally had a chance to catch up with Jonathan Goodwin, the auto conversion phenom who likes to tinker with Hummers and Lincolns and make them behave downright green. His current project is conve... View Blog Post
2007-11-26 07:20:06
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

Design News' Green Scene
Look for the Green Scene section with each online DN issue for the latest environmental news from engineers. Full Story

Lead-Free Zone Blog
Green regulations have produced waves of industry confusion, and Design News Contributing Editor Rob Spiegel doesn't expect things to clear up quickly. Visit his blog to discuss RoHS and other environmental issues. Visit the Lead-Free Zone

EcoGeek Environmental Blog
EcoGeek.org, dedicated to exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology, publishes up to ten stories daily about environmental innovations. Visit EcoGeek

Design News Partner Zones

CAD/CAE Model Clean-Up: Reduce Iterative Cycles
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

Design Engineers' Portal for Sensing and Machine Safety
Whatever industry you're in, or whatever product you manufacture, the right sensors to automate your plant, and to improve your overall efficiency, quality and safety are a must. You'll find Banner Engineering to be an amazing resource of products, training and people with expertise.