Chuck Peden wants to keep our air clean and free from nitrogen oxide (NOx) that comes from diesel engines. Peden is the principle investigator for a Pacific Northwest National Lab project that cuts NOx emissions by at least half. The project involves combining electrically charged gas with a catalyst. Peden helped develop a small reactor to house the plasma reaction. The plasma reactor portion of the device will have to use some electrical power from the automobile alternator. "The need to provide electrical power for the plasma device will reduce the fuel economy somewhat," says Peden. "Our very first engine test, conducted over a year ago, showed 50% NOx reduction with a total 5% fuel penalty from both the need for electrical energy to power the plasma device and added fuel," he adds. Peden discovered that the packing material used in the reactor affected the chemical reaction. A patent is now pending on a class of materials used. Delphi and other companies are also developing the plasma/catalyst technology for use on light-duty diesel powered vehicles. Work done to improve fuel efficiency and reduce NOx emissions is part of the United States Council for Automotive Research's Low Emissions Technology Research and Development Partnership.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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