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Bespoke manual turntable set to improve art lovers’ view

April 4th, 2012

The starting point, according to Robert Hall, was being able to turn the bed for sightline, lighting, multiple aspect and seasonal purposes.

Following a visit by the Halls to the company’s headquarters in Bolton, Movetech UK designed a turntable with a 2.7m-diameter deck and a rotating frame measuring 2.65m in diameter, finished in silver gloss.

Felt has been fitted to the underside of the base frame to protect the floor surface.

A modular design was used for the turntable to allow it to be negotiated up domestic stairs for installation on the fourth floor.

Benefits of application

  • Bed now sits on a specially built manual turntable that can turn to face different artwork whenever required.
  • Movetech understood the project and handled the engineering spec with the right degree of robustness, according to the customer.
  • The Halls were able to add design features, such as semi-circular seating for the bed edge.

Read more here: http://source.theengineer.co.uk/motion-control/movetech-designs-bespoke-manual-turntable-to-improve-art-lovers-view/2009204.article?cmpid=TE13

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ES Technology offers laser cusing system for applications such as medical devices

March 21st, 2012

The laser cusing system enables users to build metal parts directly from 3D CAD designs, and is designed to operate unattended overnight.

It can build parts from stainless steel, cobalt chrome or precious metals, such as yellow gold and silver. Additional materials — such as bronze and titanium — are currently under development for the system.

Additionally, it features a pull-out drawer system that allows the construction chamber, dosing chamber and powder container — used for storing unused material — to be quickly removed

Concept Laser also produces the M1, M2 and M3 systems for the construction of parts of up to 300 x 350mm.

Read the full article here: http://source.theengineer.co.uk/production-and-automation/additive-manufacturing-and-prototyping/es-technology-offers-laser-cusing-system-for-applications-such-as-medical-devices/2009117.article?cmpid=TE15

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Scientists use world’s fastest 3D printer to create amazingly detailed F1 car (… that measures just 0.3MM)

March 14th, 2012

The attention to detail is exquisite – and the craftsmanship is even more impressive when you appreciate the scale of the endeavour.

This little Formula 1 car is just 0.028cm across – or to put it another way, less than a fifth of a millimetre.

So this tiny little motor could fit into the space of the full-stop at the end of the sentence.

If that isn’t impressive enough, the Vienna Institute of Technology created the 100-layer nano-structure in just four minutes – a huge increase on previous technology.

Tiny but perfectly formed: The F1 nano-car was created by the Vienna Institute of Technology in a record-breaking four minutesTiny detail: The F1 nano-car was created by the Vienna Institute of Technology in a record-breaking four minutes

The precision model uses a technique called two-photon lithography, which uses highly-focused light beams to manipulate then harden the resin molecules in exactly the right position.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2114497/Scientists-use-worlds-fastest-3D-printer-create-amazingly-detailed-F1-car.html#ixzz1p4ICuUes

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Medical diagnostic tool can analyse bitumen behaviour.

February 29th, 2012

A University of Toronto research team has developed a process to analyse the behaviour of bitumen in reservoirs using a microfluidic chip, a tool commonly associated with the field of medical diagnostics.

According to a statement, the process may reduce the cost and time of analysing bitumen-gas interaction in heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs.

Dr David Sinton, professor with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Toronto University, and postdoctoral researcher Dr Hossein Fadaei are using the chips to examine the way highly pressurised CO2 behaves when injected into bitumen.

The method, reported in the journal Energy & Fuels, could streamline the way fossil energy companies measure the diffusion of gases in heavier oils such as bitumen.

‘To my knowledge, this is the first application of microfluidics in the study of gas-bitumen diffusion,’ said Sinton.

Bitumen and heavy oil are difficult to extract from reservoirs because they are thick and do not flow easily. There are several methods of extraction, one of which uses CO2-rich gas injections that help liquefy the bitumen for easier extraction. This process can supplement the steam-injection method, which requires heavy inputs of energy and water, and it presents opportunities for the sequestration of CO2 in the reservoir.

Sinton said that before companies pump CO2 into reservoirs they need to first determine how the CO2 and oil will behave under specific pressures and in specific rock formations. Conventional methods of analysis are conducted using about 0.5L of bitumen and a process that can take hours or even days for a single test result.

Sinton and his colleagues used a small glass microchip to replicate a pore within a rock reservoir. The channels in the pore are 50 microns wide. The device is initially filled with CO2 at low pressure and a small sample of bitumen is injected into the centre of the chip. High-pressure CO2 is then injected at both ends of the chip and the swelling of the oil is measured over time.

‘This takes 10 minutes and uses a nanolitre plug of sample. If you can do a test in a few minutes and perform many tests in parallel, that’s a lot cheaper,’ he said. ‘The experimental set-up is also quite simple compared to existing methods.’

The method developed by Sinton shows potential as a rapid, reliable approach that could be used by both researchers and the oil and gas industry. Because it uses such small samples, the method could also be employed using hazardous solvents.

Next steps involve studying many types of oil or combinations of diffusion gases at one time in one chip; expanding temperature and pressure ranges of tests to match the variety of conditions found down-hole and in bitumen processing, and adapting the method to work with less viscous oils and other fluids such as brine. Diffusion of CO2 into brine at high pressures is of particular interest for carbon sequestration applications.
Read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/energy-and-environment/news/medical-diagnostic-tool-can-analyse-bitumen-behaviour/1011875.article#ixzz1nmUJgoLO

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Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first

February 7th, 2012

A 3D printer-created lower jaw has been fitted to an 83-year-old woman’s face in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.

The transplant was carried out in June in the Netherlands, but is only now being publicised.

The implant was made out of titanium powder – heated and fused together by a laser, one layer at a time.

Technicians say the operation’s success paves the way for the use of more 3D-printed patient-specific parts.

The surgery follows research carried out at the Biomedical Research Institute at Hasselt University in Belgium, and the implant was built by LayerWise – a specialised metal-parts manufacturer based in the same country.

Articulated joints

The patient involved had developed a chronic bone infection. Doctors believed reconstructive surgery would have been risky because of her age and so opted for the new technology.

The implant is a complex part – involving articulated joints, cavities to promote muscle attachment and grooves to direct the regrowth of nerves and veins.

However, once designed, it only took a few hours to print.

A 3D printer was used to make the synthetic jawbone – Courtesy of LayerWise

“Once we received the 3D digital design, the part was split up automatically into 2D layers and then we sent those cross sections to the printing machine,” Ruben Wauthle, LayerWise’s medical applications engineer, told the BBC.

“It used a laser beam to melt successive thin layers of titanium powder together to build the part.

“This was repeated with each cross section melted to the previous layer. It took 33 layers to build 1mm of height, so you can imagine there were many thousand layers necessary to build this jawbone.”

Once completed, the part was given a bioceramic coating. The team said the operation to attach it to the woman’s face took four hours, a fifth of the time required for traditional reconstructive surgery.

“Shortly after waking up from the anaesthetics the patient spoke a few words, and the day after the patient was able to swallow again,” said Dr Jules Poukens from Hasselt University, who led the surgical team.

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Are apprenticeships worth it?

February 3rd, 2012

National Apprenticeship Week is coming up, so it’s fitting that the National Audit Office has just had a good look at how well the Government is using the £500m it’s set aside to create apprenticeships. And the results are mixed: according to the report, the placements inject £18 into the economy for every £1 spent on them. But the NAO reckons the Government could get even more out of them, if it plays its cards right.

The good news is that the survey found the number of apprenticeships available has risen by 140% since 2006/7 – but the bad news is that over-25s account for more than two-thirds of that. And given high unemployment among the youngest members of the workforce – 16-24-year-olds – is the Government’s greatest challenge at the moment, that will have to change. Apparently, the biggest increases in apprenticeships have been in the health and social care, customer services, retail, and (interestingly) management sectors.

To be fair to the Government, Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, pointed out the Government’s apprenticeships programme is far better run than the Train to Gain scheme it replaced. But she added that to get the most out of it, ministers need to ‘target resources more effectively, confirm the training provided is in addition to what would have been provided without public support and make sure that the funding system is informed by robust information on the cost of delivery.’ In other words, keep a close eye on what’s being spent, by whom, on what. Seems fairly obvious…

What makes that even more meaningful is a separate report by City & Guilds (as in the qualifications), which has found that, if a million extra apprenticeships are created by next year, businesses could get an extra £4.4bn. Not bad. And it’s not just businesses that would be making some extra cash if investment in apprenticeships went up: apparently, Government coffers would get another £1.2bn in tax payments, too. When you put it that way, it seems rude not to…

Read the original article here: http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/bulletin/mtenterpriseweekly/article/1115130/are-apprenticeships-worth-it/

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Paper-thin graphene material is 10 times stronger than steel

April 27th, 2011

Scientists at the University of Technology, Sydney, have developed a composite material based on graphite that is as thin as paper and 10 times stronger than steel.

Supervised by Prof Guoxiu Wang, the researchers developed samples of the so-called Graphene Paper (GP), which they believe has the potential to revolutionise the automotive, aviation and electrical industries.

The GP itself comprises graphene nanosheet stacks of monolayer hexagonal carbon lattices that, when placed in perfectly arranged laminar structures, give them exceptional thermal, electrical and mechanical properties.

Compared with steel, the prepared GP is six times lighter, five to six times lower density, two times harder with 10 times higher tensile strength and 13 times higher bending rigidity.

Lead researcher Ali Reza Ranjbartoreh said GP could find use in the automotive and aviation industries, allowing the development of lighter and stronger cars and aircraft that use less fuel, generate less pollution and are cheaper to run.

He said large aerospace companies such as Boeing have already started to replace metals with carbon fibres and carbon-based materials, and GP, with its incomparable mechanical properties, would be the next material for them to explore.

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Debugging platform for engine emission control systems

April 18th, 2011

UltraSoC Technologies has been awarded a grant to help it develop technology that cuts carbon emissions from cars and other vehicles.

The grant, from the East of England Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund, will part-fund a £375,000 project that is intended to deliver a debugging platform for the electronic control systems needed to reduce the carbon emissions of car engines.

These control systems will become increasingly important in the future owing to European Union emissions legislation that requires new cars to emit no more than 130g/km by 2015.

The Cambridge-based company is developing UltraDebug to debug the application software in the multiple processor systems that deliver the functionality and performance in embedded electronic systems.

Dr Karl Heeks, chief executive officer at UltraSoC, said the funding will help the company to develop silicon intellectual property for application debugging in next-generation engine systems.

‘This project will enable us to build on our leading-edge debugging platform to address some very important issues at the heart of real-time electronic systems,’ added Prof Klaus D McDonald-Maier, UltraSoC’s chief technical officer.

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Exeter College plans £8.5million technology centre on edge of city

April 5th, 2011

Plans have been unveiled for a world-class centre for engineering, aerospace and automotive training on the edge of the city.

Exeter College has applied for planning permission to build an £8.5 million technology centre just off the Monkerton link road.

It is hoped the facility – featuring workshops, laboratories and teaching spaces for around 300 students – will be ready to open by September next year.

Business leaders say the scheme will help secure Exeter’s future prosperity by ensuring a supply of skilled workers.

The centre will be a base for teaching students ranging from 14 to 16-year-olds through to those on university-level courses, as well as providing training for local employers. The college’s expanding technology faculty is currently housed in separate facilities across the city. Deputy principal Rebecca King said: “It is essential we continue to invest in training for these essential and popular industries despite the current gloom about the economy. We have seen an increase in the demand for industry-standard training from young people as well as employees and employers who are keen to improve their skills and keep ahead of the global technological advances.

“We are excited about creating this purpose-built centre of excellence for our long-standing automotive and engineering provision as well as our new aerospace activity, which has grown rapidly through our partnership with Flybe.”

She added: “The location is perfect for local, county and regional interest since it already has excellent transport links with new public transport links planned, and is sited close to Exeter’s new Science Park as well as the new M5 junction developments.”

The 3.16 acre site at Cumberland Way has been earmarked for education and training within the Monkerton and Hill Barton masterplan, which aims to build a “new sustainable community on the eastern edge of Exeter”. The plan was commissioned jointly by Exeter and Devon councils, the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point team and landowner representatives in 2009. The planned technology centre will also house an MOT testing bay, an IT suite, a motor vehicle and motorbike diagnostic testing lab and a three-storey learning and IT centre.

Welcoming the plans, Derek Phillips, vice-president of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said: “This fits in very well with the Flybe academy so we will have two state-of-the-art training facilities for school and college leavers to help produce the skilled workforce we all believe is necessary for future prosperity as we move out of the recession.”

Ian Fitzpatrick, the college’s head of engineering, aerospace and automotive studies, said: “Our two automotive centres in Marsh Barton will benefit from being consolidated and will maintain their links with the motor franchises that are such a focus of Exeter’s industrial estates, while our engineering and aerospace training will move from their city centre sites.

“Since we are able to expand into a purpose-built site there will be no disruption to our students’ and trainees’ progress while we build.”

Once the new centre opens, one of the college’s bases on Marsh Barton will be sold and the lease will not be renewed on the other. Its construction training centre on the Sowton Industrial Estate will be unaffected.

Principal Richard Atkins added: “Due to our outstanding student success rates and prudent financial management, Exeter College is one of the very few in the country that is facing the current economic gloom with cautious optimism.

“We certainly have the confidence to continue to invest in providing modern industry-standard training facilities, particularly in those sectors which have been identified as local and national priorities.”

King Sturge’s project management and planning team and Strides Treglown Architects have been appointed to deliver the £8.5 million project.

The development is being funded by Exeter College using its reserves and new borrowings. It has agreed to buy the site from Devon County Council if planning permission is granted.

No date has yet been set for Exeter City Council’s planning committee to determine the application.

Read the article here:  http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/news/College-plans-163-8m-technology-centre/article-3403997-detail/article.html

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BCI allows paralysis patient to compose music using thoughts

March 29th, 2011

A brain-computer interface (BCI) has allowed an almost completely paralysed person to compose music with thoughts alone.

The system was developed by musicians at Plymouth University and electronic engineers at Essex University and then tested on a patient with locked-in syndrome — a severe form of paralysis.

‘We’re talking about patients who are completely locked in,’ Ramaswamy Palaniappan of Essex University told The Engineer. ’The brain is active but the rest of the body is practically dead, so the only form of communication is by using their thoughts, and what we’re trying to do is tap into this.’

While BCI systems have in the past allowed patients to ‘play’ music, the current system is claimed to take it to new level by varying the amplitude of the signal to string together different combinations of notes. In addition, Palaniappan said this was the first time in the UK such a system was trialled on an actual patient rather than laboratory volunteers.

The research team used a method called steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), which combines electroencephalography (EEG) analysis with what the team terms a music engine module.

Participants sit in front of a computer screen that displays several ‘buttons’ that flash at different frequencies (normally between 8Hz and 16Hz).

The participant is asked to focus his or her attention on a particular button and the EEG device he or she is wearing captures that frequency — a phenomenon known as the field frequency-following effect. This frequency-tagged EEG signal is then matched to pre-specified note, or series of notes, played by the computer.

But where the current system differs from previous offerings is that it builds in a secondary level of control, where participants can control the intensity of their focus on the button to vary the composition.

For example, a sequence of five musical notes was stored in an array, and the patient could play the notes in sequence going up or down the scale by varying their level of attention. There is also helpful feedback for the participant, so as he or she focuses harder the flashing buttons get larger and visa versa.

The researchers trialled their system on a female patient at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London, who has locked-in syndrome, a form of almost total paralysis caused by brain lesions.

With practice, the patient was able to achieve quite a sophisticated level of musical control — and with a greater level of dexterity than the researchers themselves, according to Palaniappan.

‘The patient was able to use it for about two hours,’ he said. ’She was so excited and didn’t want to give it up. For me, it was like a lifetime achievement. To see an actual person using it and applying the technology that I’ve been trying for several years now was a real big thing.’

The team are now trying to improve the ergonomics and aesthetics of the system — for example, the EEG electrodes require a gel on the scalp to get a clear signal. It is also hoped the researchers will make the interface look more like a musical instrument.

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