Richard, first, welcome. Design News has a lot of good content. One are that is important to many design shops is Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) or simulation tools. This is very much in line with the idea behind 3D printing. The ability to anaylze a part before producing it is a key to improved design effieiecny. There are many tools out there and many interesting applications of them. That might be a good extension to the coverage in Design News as these tools are used extensively with CAD tools.
@Naperlou: Thanks for the reminder about simulation's importance, but don't you worry. It is right up there on our coverage plan. As you can see by all the Indy car coverage and much of the military projects DN has been covering as of late, simulation is playing a much greater role in product development than ever before and the only indications are that it will grow in usage and importance, not shrink.
One suggestion is fewer PR puff pieces where one lets salepeople tell all kinds of 'facts' that have little to do with reality and just doing better performance through advertising, rather than actual improvements.
Demand more numbers, specs and decent comparisions and more process details as we are here to learn and need accurate data or just wasting time.
More detail the the chemical fields like syn fuels, changing H, C into HC's cosr effectively.
And most important is cost details as something is great at 1 price and not worth using at another.
Also compare likely competition. The were recycled plastic CF combo touted here compared it's propduct to virgin CF when it's natural competitor is FG filled plastic at far lower cost and more strength is an example of bad data we don't need.
I am particularly interested in the simulation physics of COMSOL; do any of our folks have expertise in this particular genre, or is this a topic for a whole different blog? :-)
@notarboca: Design News covers simulation pretty regularly and COMSOL is definitely one of the important vendors in this space. What specific coverage are you looking for and what are your particular areas of interest/concerns as it relates to CAE software?
Beth, I'm interested in comparison/contrast of capabilities with other simulation vendors from a non-biased 3rd party. Thanks for your response to my inquiry!
We haven't done flat out reviews of different design tool packages, but we can certainly inject some guidance and detailed specification information into our coverage to help guide in decision making. There are also a number of simulation experts that might help, and I recently moderated a DN radio show on simulation with CIMdata's resident simulation expert Keith Meintjes. Check it out if you haven't already.
Welcome, Rich. It's a good time to join Design News. I believe when we look back in about 30 years, we'll identify this as a period of revolution in technology -- the auto industry is making its biggest change in 100 years, robots are leaving the factory and the process of design is changing in ways that no one ever imagined. We're lucky at Design News in that we get to cover these topics and a lot more.
Thanks everyone for your notes. Chuck, I agree that it's a great time to be part of the Design News team. The biggest question I seem to be faced with is what NOT to cover.
Jerry, your comments are noted and taken very seriously. I'm a firm believer in that our number one job is to simplfy the job of our reader. Providing puff pieces does just the opposite, and I'll do my bext to see that it doesn't happen on Design News. And please call me out if you see anything that doesn't belong.
Yes, welcome, Rich! It's a great time for materials & assembly, too. The amount of R&D dollars and consortia going into new metals and composites, bioplastics and other sustainable materials and fuels, and additive manufacturing processes and materials, to name only a few, is amazing.
@Ann: Thanks for mentioning metals. There is a lot more to materials than just plastics and composites. The lightweighting goals of the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program depend on increased use of magnesium, aluminum, and high strength steel more than plastics and composites, although plastics and composites play an important role. There is also a lot of important work going on in the world of corrosion resistant coatings, particularly with regard to replacing traditional coatings such as cadmium and hexavalent chromium with safer and more environmentally-friendly alternatives. (As I recall, you had a good article on multifunctional coatings a few months ago).
Thanks for that input, Dave. You may recall that I did an article recently on the DoE's renewal of funding for its vehicle lightweighting program http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=242652 And your columns on galvanic corrosion and failure analysis have been good reads.
Charles. You are so right and many have no idea for what is in store for us. Many present jobs, industries will disappear and new ones much smaller, more nimble serving closer to home most everything an area needs.
Most accounting, teaching, financing, banking, stock market, etc will all be done at little profit by computers reaching down to every level.
Transpotation will have many fuels other than oil based including many made in homes, small businesses which instead of buying energy/fuels, sells them taking down the oil/energy industry in 15-20 yrs as people have enough of high prices watching their neighbors get paid instead of paying.
Many more will work at home on their own businesses cutting office, transport, etc needs.
Health care will be univerial because it's the only way we can afford it cutting many insurance, medical accounting jobs. Another cost savings of UHC is far fewer lawsuits as no medical costs to sue for and far cheaper car, home, business insurance as no medical costs to sue for.
Changes like this will run through every industry for probably 20 yrs before we get off oil and fire all the parasites sucking our money away and things settle down. Going to be one wild ride!!
By refining topologies and using new fluid technology, Moog's new peak sine drive controller increases available power without increasing controller volume.
Lantronix Inc. has expanded its line of controllers for sensor networks with the release of a rugged controller that improves management of automation systems used in a number of industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, and chemicals.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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 ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
7 
