As part of an engineering design class supported with research funding from Cambridge Consultants, the students met with residents and staff over a period of months at Brookhaven at Lexington , a life care facility in Lexington, MA, to find ways to make new healthcare technologies more user-friendly for older populations. With Baby Boomers turning 65 next year and the elderly population expected to double in the next twenty years, innovative connected health solutions could provide aging adults the tools to better manage their own health issues, which would in turn reduce hospital visits, decrease costs and increase patient health.

As part of the study, students developed and tested several user-friendly ‘health dashboard’ prototypes to help determine how elderly patients might best interact and potentially even embrace new technology. The students developed several prototypes based on their research work with the elderly participants, who collectively expressed sensitivities to privacy, a social stigma around cell phones and PDAs, nearly unanimous problems with eyesight and an unwillingness to mine through inessential data. Based on focus groups that tested potential technology prototypes, the students’ recommendation for a final design was a handheld device with a physical rotary dial and a larger dock that could sit on a counter or table.

The handheld device was designed to be used by seniors on the go. For example, users could enter the number of miles walked as part of a “diet and exercise” function, or record and receive reminders on when they need take their medication via a “medication” function. The dock interface was developed as a companion piece for the dial, and would be used as a long-term in-home storage and viewing center, where seniors could update vital sign readings using sensors, access an “interactive pillbox” for reference medical information, and quickly review overviews of current health data.

Building on its groundbreaking work in connected health and human factors, Cambridge Consultants advised the student project team during its work on the potential design prototypes on the “health dashboard” project. Cambridge Consultants has developed several wireless-based applications that are designed to connect patients and their treatment devices, such as inhalers, with healthcare support professionals and a range of online applications.  This connected health approach is exemplified in the company’s Vena-enabled solutions, which allow healthcare specialists to monitor medication adherence, reduce long-term treatment costs, and improve patient access to, and interaction with, healthcare providers.

Cambridge Consultants

www.CambridgeConsultants.com

Smart cameras, like PPT VISION’s powerful IMPACT®, automate visual inspections. PPT VISION reduces manufacturing costs by ensuring quality and improving throughput in today’s factories.

Machine Vision systems commonly use a series of edge or BLOB (Binary Large OBject) algorithms to locate and inspect parts. The functionality and benefits of edge and BLOB tools are surpassed with IMPACT’s powerful PinPoint Pattern Find. PinPoint Pattern Find delivers the simplicity of applying a single tool with the power to adjust for variable location, rotation, and reflectivity.

The same IMPACT software suite is included with all 21 PPT VISION smart camera models. The IMPACT software emulator runs on any Windows PC. PPT VISION’s IMPACT emulator software is useful for programming and adjusting IMPACT smart camera inspections off-line, without any camera hardware. The IMPACT software suite, including its emulator, is available as a free download at www.pptvision.com.

PPT Vision

www.pptvision.com

Baytubes®, the carbon nanotubes from Bayer MaterialScience, are now making waves in kayak design, marking a new chapter in the evolution of these popular boats, which were originally made by the Inuits using wood, bone and animal skin. Today’s kayaks are usually made from plastics and composite materials. Some new kayak prototypes have now been coated with an epoxy gelcoat modified with Baytubes® that has been developed by Norwegian research company Re-Turn AS, based in Gamle Fredrikstad. “We are confident that these prototypes outperform standard models in a number of areas,” explains Stein Dietrichson, General Manager of Re-Turn AS.

Reinforcing the outer skin of a kayak – the gel coat – with carbon nanotubes makes it far more resilient to abrasion from a shingle beach or contact with the edge of a river bank. In contrast, many conventional gel coats, especially those of particularly lightweight and sporty kayaks, are highly sensitive to external mechanical action. But that isn’t the only way that these tiny tubes in the solvent-free gel coat help to prolong enjoyment of the boat and therefore of the sport itself – they ensure that cracks appear less frequently over long-term use and reduce wear on the outer skin. They also absorb UV radiation, thereby minimizing the associated bleaching and embrittling effects.

Re-Turn AS modified the outer shell of one of the prototypes with Baytubes®. “This means that the kayak doesn’t get as dirty above or below the water line and is easier to clean,” states Dietrichson. And he hopes that this innovative combination will result in another effect: “The flow resistance of the hull should also be lower.” This will enable the kayak to glide through the water faster without its occupant having to paddle harder – a fantastic advantage for any aspiring kayaker. And there are further advantages to the use of Baytubes® in the epoxy base of the kayak, which the additive helps to make more stable and rigid. “This makes the boat easier to paddle and translates more of the kayaker’s muscle power into speed. The new gelcoat incorporates many experiences from the development of nanotubes reinforced marine paints which are already commercial,” comments Dietrichson.

During this summer, experienced kayakers will be putting the prototypes from Re-Turn AS through their paces. Meanwhile, experts from the Norwegian company are already working closely with Bayer MaterialScience to develop further nanotube-reinforced materials that could in future find their way into kayaks or, for example, into the rotor blades for wind turbines. “More and more innovative companies are beginning to recognize that Baytubes® have enormous potential to give established materials entirely new properties,” says Dr. Raul Pires, head of global activities for nanotubes and nanotechnology products at Bayer MaterialScience.

BayerMaterialScience

www.bayermaterialscience.com

Sumitomo Electric was the first company in the world to produce long bismuth-based superconducting wire, a material that has become an industry standard and is considered to be the major candidate for commercial HTS applications. Sumitomo’s bismuth-based superconducting wire – DI-BSSCO – is made of bismuth-strontium-calcium-copper-oxygen and operates at temperatures up to 110 K. Sumitomo’s BSSCO materials have been used in pioneering superconducting applications for almost 20 years, including the world’s first superconductor electric vehicle, the first underground in-grid cable, transformers for high speed trains, and windings for ship propulsion motors.

The QUENCH tool for modeling the superconducting “quenching” process – when a wire turns from a superconducting to resistive state – is available as part of Cobham’s Opera CAE software suite for low frequency electromagnetic simulation. QUENCH has become the standard simulation tool for superconducting equipment because of its sophisticated multi-physics modeling which couples the electromagnetic and thermal modeling processes. Results can be post-processed to provide users with clear views and analyses of the potentially damaging effects of quench propagation as the wire heats up and becomes resistive including displays of the voltages between coil layers, temperature gradients, and so on. This analysis helps users to find the optimal design and incorporate protection circuitry.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
www.global-sei.com

Cobham Technical Services
www.cobham.com

Line 6’s lead industrial designer, Dale Wagler, and the rest of the engineering team spend an average of five to six hours per day working in SolidWorks, each using a 3Dconnexion 3D mouse to design and test their products.  “When you’re working in a complex application hours on end each day, working as efficiently as possible has a tremendous impact on the design process,” says Wagler. Using his 3D mouse, “I move around models in assemblies so much, that not having to stop what I am doing and click and drag, and scroll the wheel, is the biggest benefit.”

For the past five years, Wagler and his team have been using 3Dconnexion 3D mice to design their products, from guitar and bass amps, to recording interfaces and stompbox pedals. Most recently, the team worked on the design of the Relay G-series digital guitar wireless system used by Steve Stevens with Billy Idol, Peter Stroud with Sheryl Crow, and Sarah McLaughlin on stages across the world, as well as the next generation of Variax modeling guitars – Variax designed by James Taylor. Wagler drives the conceptual stage of products and then works closely with the engineering team to finalize the working design. According to Wagler, 3Dconnexion’s 3D mice have had a positive impact on the quality of their designs and the team’s overall productivity. “You can do these things with a standard mouse, but they are not as sure-fire. With the SpacePilot PRO, I can move around a model and rotate an assembly with greater ease – as if I’m holding it in my hand.”

3Dconnexion
www.3dconnexion.com

Brookhaven Lab is the current home of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), one of the world’s most widely used scientific user research facilities. Each year, thousands of researchers use the facility’s bright beams of X-ray, ultraviolet and infrared light while conducting research in such diverse fields as biology, medicine, chemistry, environmental sciences, physics, and materials science.

Brookhaven Lab is building NSLS-II, an electron storage ring designed to produce X-rays more than 10,000 times brighter than the current NSLS. Nearly 900 feet in diameter, the NSLS-II will enable scientists to focus on important scientific challenges at the nanoscale level, such as generating new types of materials to harvest solar energy or developing high-temperature superconductors to transmit electricity more efficiently.

Brookhaven Lab mechanical designers, engineers, and scientists are relying on Autodesk Inventor software from authorized Autodesk system integrator Widom Associates to design and digitally prototype the complex NSLS-II equipment.

“There’s so much information we can get from a digital prototype created in Inventor software,” said Mike Loftus, supervisor of the mechanical design group for the NSLS-II project at Brookhaven Lab. “Inventor helps us select different materials, perform analysis and truly visualize our designs of the NSLS-II.”

Brookhaven Lab keeps track of its designs using Autodesk Vault Manufacturing software and uses Autodesk Navisworks software to share project models with Torcon, the general contractor charged with building the facility that will house the various NSLS-II components. The enhanced communication helps Brookhaven Lab and Torcon collaborate effectively while ensuring that construction of the NSLS-II remains on schedule.

Autodesk
www.autodesk.com

- Pixar RenderMan Integration: Provides the flexibility to switch between or combine fast high-fidelity MachStudio Pro GPU-based rendering and industry-standard Academy Award®-winning Pixar RenderMan CPU-based ray tracing rendering software on-the-fly to create beauty shots and/or specific render passes.

- MetaSL and mental ray Support: Allows 3D artists to quickly and easily build MetaSL-based custom procedural shaders using an intuitive mental mill® node graph user interface for rendering out to both the mental ray and MachStudio Pro renderer.

- Improved Pipeline Rendering Functionality: Offers a new Unified Pass Renderer (UPR), which breaks out all passes for the final render, and an EXR Sandwich Tool that combines all EXR files into one layered file for compositing.

- DirectX 11-Based Workflow: Offers more efficient rendering, tessellation, and multi-threading capabilities for improved performance throughout the pipeline.

- Volumetric and Screen Space Global Illumination (GI): Takes into account the bouncing of light from surfaces, allowing for more realistic renderings.

- Spot and Directional Lights: Allows for greater freedom towards achieving perfect lighting conditions.

- FBX Output: Exports models and baked textures in the FBX file format for compatibility with all leading 3D modeling and animation software programs.

- Increased Python Support: Allows for the creation of custom properties, parenting objects, and spot and directional lights.

- Workflow Improvements: Eases organization and viewing of everything in a scene, including groups, hierarchies, context menus, light sets, influencers and render pass isolation.

Award-winning MachStudio Pro supports Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista operating systems on most professional graphic accelerator cards.

StudioGPU
www.studiogpu.com

Working with 100’s of millions of laser points Rhino users can now use different point shading settings in each view port to optimize each view. Rapid view port sections allow you to make any orthographic view into a section view, choose its thickness, and dynamically update its position by grabbing the section in another view port. The Pointools plug also enables the construction plane to be linked to the section view so you are always drawing in the right place. Also included are region tools for selection and manipulation of the data providing a fast way to view only the data required.

Pointools is an independent technology company focused on developing state of the art software solutions to maximize the potential of point cloud data – the millions of 3D measurements usually collected by laser scanning devices. With applications in a wide range of markets including design, manufacturing, construction, engineering, and surveying, the Pointools software portfolio includes the market leading manufacturer independent point cloud visualization and presentation solution.

The Pointools product suite includes Pointools Edit, Pointools View Pro, Pointools 4 Rhino, Pointools Model and Pointools Vortex API – recently selected by Bentley as the engine for their portfolio of solutions including Bentley MicroStation.

Pointools
www.pointools.com

VISI Mold enhancements include improved integration CADENAS PartSolutions V9, faster interference checking between bodies, and improvements to user elements with a new family option and a new loading option with smart positioning.

VISI Progress enhancements include a new animation of the forming process, an automated method to apply blend radii to sharp edges, a re-development of ribs and bosses, and the introduction of suspenders managements within the strip.

CAM enhancements focus on improving the overall usability and consolidating the existing functionality with improvements on performance, Compass Technology, and the kinematic simulation.

VISI Flow analysis and simulation can be calculated and validated directly inside VISI.

Finally, a collaboration of Vero and Camtek technologies make up VISI PEPS-Wire. It introduces automated 2 and 4-axis feature recognition, improved geometry tools, and a platform for combined milling and wire EDM cutting strategies.

Vero Software
www.vero-software.com

You may then ask why not a set of very small chordal tolerance? In theory you can but this does effect the data size and also produces extra CNC code when it may not be necessary. You also have to be aware that on older machines without high speed controllers, the extra movements could choke the machine if the feed rates are not reduced. Dropping the feed rate is non-productive and reducing the accuracy means more time polishing and a less accurate part.

Okay, with the problem explained, the following tip shows how it is possible to improve this situation by defining a different set of chordal parameters based on face type.

When defining the piece parameters, the general chordal tolerance and angular tolerance is applied to the complete model. However, there is a face classification box that open an additional set of parameters that separates the tolerances for planar and radiused faces.

If the face classification box is NOT active, the general tolerances are applied to the complete model.

If the face classification box IS active, additional tolerance parameters become active. This allows the operator to separate the model into 3 tolerance bands – planar faces, radiused faces, and the general faces.

The major advantage of the mesh optimization is that it allows the operator to be more creative with the machining tolerances and still retain a sensible model size.

If you use the face classification option within the piece definition, it is then possible to graphically display and sort by face type when displaying the mesh within the piece manager. Even at this point within the tree structure, it is possible to select an individual face and define a different chordal and angular tolerance. If individual face parameters are applied, the face will be displayed with a different icon within the tree.

Vero Software
www.vero-software.com