Alexima's patent application US20140367552 "Image sensors, methods, and pixels with tri-level biased transfer gates" by Jaroslav Hynecek and Alexander Krymski proposes a global shutter "pixel with a transfer gate that is controllable among at least three biasing conditions, including a first biasing condition in which electrons are transferable from a photodiode to a pot...
On January 1, 2012, Turkey became the first country in the world to implement comprehensive legislation regarding traceability for 100% of the medicines sold in its territory. This article describes the installation of Antares Tracking System (ATS), an advanced traceability solution from Antares Vision, at the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plant and the biggest...
The longtime Miller Lite beer motto can be applied (with a slight stretch) to form-fill-seal (FFS) machines, as consumer preferences and demographics dictate smaller packages for retail. Consumers worried about their weight are choosing smaller portions, and portion-control packaging is an even better weapon in that battle. Plus, demographics in general are trending tow...
The new factory will be situated near junction 31 on the M62 motorway, which is close to Haribo's existing base at Pontefract in west Yorkshire. Building work is expected to be completed by April 2015, and the first two production lines could be fully operational by the end of 2015. It will provide employment to 286 people. Details of the Haribo confectionery facility ...
The new plant will be spread over an area of 70,000ft² and will represent the single largest investment by Hershey's in Asia. It is expected to be operational in 2015. Hershey's will employ local people for the plant's construction and use more than 80% local construction materials. Hershey's Johor plant details "Hershey's will employ local people for the plant's co...
Alcoa has a definitive agreement to acquire RTI International Metals in a $1.5-billion, all-stock deal that would continue its aggressive expansion into commercial and defense aerospace markets. Directors of both firms have approved the takeover, and Alcoa expects to complete the purchase by mid-year, pending approval by regulators and RTI shareholders. The buyer’s pr...
The terms of the agreement were not announced, but GKN indicated it has a total value of $200 million over the life of the contract. The 787 Dreamliner is a twin-engine long-range jet in commercial service since 2011, with 230 deliveries to date and nearly 1,100 orders. The Trent 1000 is one of two engine options Boeing selected for the design. GKN Aerospace is a Tie...
Factory-Assembled, Induced-Draft Cooling Tower Line The company offers both custom-build field-erect and packaged cooling tower designs. These projects might entail replacing an existing inefficient or inoperable cooling tower, or adding capacity to a site to meet demand. Field-erect towers include counterflow or crossflow designs; fiberglass, wood or concrete structu...
As leading companies in pervaporation and ceramics, Pervatech and Philips are perfectly positioned to offer membranes to the industry for in situ dehydration of condensation reactions, enabling yield improvement and efficiency of the process. “Studies have shown that it is really challenging to dehydrate in situ condensation reaction mixtures,” said Frans Velterop, m...
In their paper, Future outflows of toxic material from end-of-life computers in India, Neelu Jain and Pamela Chawla estimated the potential number of obsolete desktop and notebook computers and the quantity of various toxic components that will be generated from these devices over the next ten to fifteen years in India. The authors suggested that it will take three de...
Each month ISWA publishes a Waste Business Monitor developed by Acuccom Ltd of the UK. Here is the extract from the latest issue regarding November's data: "This issue analyses 109 waste projects worldwide with an estimated value of US$10.26 billion. Looking at the types of facilities, 31 (28%) of the projects were for waste incineration with energy recovery followed by...
According to St1, the Etanolix plant will produce ethanol for transport fuel, using feedstocks such as biowaste and process residue from local bakeries and bread from shops that is past its sell-by date. The plant, which is currently under construction at the refinery in Gothenburg, is expected to have an annual production capacity of 5 million litres of bioethanol. St...
Prevent failures from overload, manufacturing defect or damage; Reduce the frequency and cost of inspection during service; Provide real-time understanding of the fracture mechanics in composites and validation data for existing finite element models with a view also toward increasingly complex designs. SMARTFIBER is a 42-month project (Sept 2010 to April 2014) funded...
Using carbon fiber to achieve extreme weight savings while strengthening the vehicle structures and eliminating mechanical fastening for improved durability, the CR-1 will offer improved gas mileage when towing and a new level of luxury and connectivity for today’s consumers. The monocoque structure of the CR-1 was designed in collaboration with esteemed IndyCar manuf...
Flax Technic (business through which flax producer DEHONDT Group has diversified into composites) is one of the 17 members of the FIMALIN flax industry association in France which has launched the FIBALIN project to develop prototypes using flax fibers for automotive, aerospace, marine and building/construction applications. As part of this 5-year, € 18 million pro...
Leveraging the computing industry’s Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technologies, PLCopen and other open standards organizations (including the OPC Foundation) developed an open standards ecosystem that simplifies the communications between packaging machines and other plant systems as well as the business enterprise. PLCopen OPC UA function blocks are defined fo...
High-speed rotating shafts present challenges for engineers, particularly in heavy equipment that draws many megawatts of power. Examples include pumps and compressors for oil-and-gas operations, industrial spindles, and aerospace subsystems. Such machines, which can have shafts that weigh several tons and run at 10,000 rpm or more, are prone to extreme vibrations, exces...
The coating lets the company’s HuckBolts and collars sustain up to 1,000 hr of salt-spray testing — with no painting — while those only coated with zinc handle only 100 hr. While HuckBolts have always had a zinc coating, the fastener collars have always been the weak point because of the swaging process. Swaging creates sheer force on the collar, and can erode corrosion-...
The Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production (AZL) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany,announces the launch of their new department for Joining Technology, as of beginning of 2015. AZL, the worldwide unique competence network for Integrative Lightweight Production Technology, represents already nine research institutes on the Campus of RWTH Aachen Universit...
The tool was installed in a Netstal PET-LINE 6000 system and has subsequently produced some 3 billion preforms. Now, the tool has been reconditioned by MHT. The original preform design is being superseded with a new lightweight design. The new 22 gram preform has a lightweight PCO 1881 thread finish, and MHT has built complete new cold halves incorporating the latest ...
Composites based on carbon fibers exhibit exceptional strength and toughness. Adhesion of carbon fibers to the matrix is an important criterion in this regard. If the surface of the fibers loosens its attachment to the matrix resin in response to application of a force, the absorption of force is concentrated in the fibers alone and material failure can result. Until ...
In August 2005, as part of a global expansion / modernisation plan and relocation agreement, Campbell's announced its intention to build a culinary campus in the US dedicated to its fast-growing line of StockPot refrigerated natural soups. StockPot was one of the brands acquired by Campbell's in August 1998 as part of its new Away From Home division, which includes Camp...
The 1.5 million-square foot plant was constructed on a fast-track schedule and was operational by September 2007. In February 2010, PepsiCo announced its decision to shut down the plant due to weak production rates. PepsiCo will wind up operations at the plant in the next few months and maintain the equipment at the facility until a new employer takes over. The plant h...
It owns and operates a number of production plants in Jeddah and Egypt. As part of growth strategy, the company has started expanding its operations and manufacturing base in Jeddah in 2008. It has ordered an industrial unit consisting of integrated food processing and packaging facilities in the Jeddah Industrial Complex in 2009. Construction on the facility began in ...
According to the company the facility is among the first operational cellulosic biorefineries in the world, and showcases the scalability of its process as well as serving as a key stepping stone toward large-scale commercial production. Products and markets ZeaChem explained that in a similar fashion to the way a petrochemical refinery that makes multiple fuels and ...
Construction work at the new biorefinery was completed back in mid-August, with cellulosic ethanol production starting up at the end of September. Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B/P SM /NASDAQ: ABGB)explained that the plant utilises only ‘second generation’ biomass feedstocks for ethanol production, meaning non-edible agricultural crop residues (such as stalks and leaves) that do ...
China is facing large challenges in the air, water and energy storage arenas that require new and innovative solutions. As a result of these unprecedented market needs, China has established itself as a world leader in implementing new technologies to address challenges regarding sustainability. The Chinese market, under the leadership of its new government, provides su...
The curing cycle is a 2-step process requiring (2) separate dwell times in the oven, but both at the same temperature. Instead of a traditional (2) oven system, LEWCO engineers developed an oven with (2) independent conveyors passing through the same workspace. Operators can adjust the speed of each conveyor separately to yield the proper dwell times in the oven. The ...
MEMPHIS, Tenn., – Thomas & Betts (T&B) has upgraded its Steel City® Ceiling Fan Boxes to improve the speed and ease of installing ceiling fans and large fixtures. "The improvements we made to Steel City® Ceiling Fan Boxes were driven by extensive research and development to simplify their installation," said Chad Smith, global product group manager at T&B. "The result...
With its plant-wide automation concept, Siemens integrates all manner of automation solutions from various machine and plant manufacturers in a single, plant-wide total automation system, all along the value chain. The modular complete solution encompasses automation, drives, instrumentation and energy technology, as well as IT, digital planning and industry services. ...
Last week, Magnus Edholm, the Siemens marketing director responsible for Digital Manufacturing Solutions in Germany, described the benefits of designing a product with the innovative NX tool. But when it comes to the second step – production planning – Siemens also has customized, integrated software solutions. Mr. Edholm, production planning plays a key role in the ...
I'm sure you've heard of the standing desks, or even better yet, the treadmill desk (which I'm still waiting for...), all which are supposed to help get you up (and some moving) because as we all know, sitting all day is bad for, well, everything. Fluidstance, a California-based startup is questioning, though, is standing still all the time that much better? They thin...
A steam turbine is a turbo-machine for generating mechanical power from the energy of steam at high temperature and pressure; in other words, it converts the thermal energy of steam into useful mechanical work. Steam turbines can deliver constant or variable speed and are capable of close speed control; drive applications include pumps, compressors, electric generators a...
In electronic applications, however, the low thermal conductivity can result in local overheating. Since polymers usually do not have any freely moving electrons, thermal energy in plastics is transmitted primarily by elastic waves in the solid (so-called phonons). Strong bonds between the individual molecules are needed for heat to be conducted by thermal waves. In a...
A basic desktop 3D printer is after all perfect for producing cool and unusual accessories to complete your costume. But then again, some people take things a bit more seriously. Remember this cool 3D printed Samus suit? And now the 20-year-old Ross Wilkes, from Birmingham, England, has 3D printed his very own Iron Man suit. Be prepared, ComicCon. During the day, Ross...
While great fun to make and give, I’ve found that some spoiled children nowadays quickly get bored of them as it doesn’t move and only relies on their own imagination. And 3D printing a moving toy can quickly become a challenging project. In that respect, the wind-up toy car seen above is a perfect solution. Designed by Australian student and Shapeways producer Luke Dit...
