Progress In Europe

The SPS Drives show in Nuremberg Germany is one of the best attended shows in the world.  And one of the reasons why has to the with the outstanding technical effort and preparation that all the vendors put forward.  Demonstration systems are sophisticated and perform flawlessly.  Exhibitor personnel are all very professional and technically astute.  And multi-lingual which is great for me because my German is almost non-existent, so its great having so many people able to bridge the gap. Read more

Integrated Servo Motors

Santa Clara, California - Animatics Corporation, pioneer of Integrated Servo Technology has taken their best selling Integrated Servos, the SM2315D and SM2315DT and added power and functionality, while lowering the cost. The new products are called the SM2316D-PLS2 and the SM2316DT-PLS2.

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Animatics’ Harmonic Linear Drive Series

Santa Clara, California - Animatics Corporation, through OEM Dynamics Linear Division, has expanded its product line into the Linear Actuator market with the release of the Harmonic Linear Drive Series.

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Carnegie Mellon University receives $10 million gift

The Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies will be one of two buildings in the 200,000-square-foot complex, which also includes the Gates Center for Computer Science, the university announced Wednesday. The Hillman Center will face Forbes Avenue and serve as the main entrance to the university’s school of computer science. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $20 million in 2004 to establish the Gates Center for Computer Science.

Construction of the computer science complex, which will include the Gates and Hillman centers, began last year and both buildings are expected to open by summer 2009. The cost of the school of computer science complex is $98 million.

source: Pittsburgh Business Times

Beshear Unveils Energy Plan Proposal

Steve Beshear rolled out what he is calling the “”first-ever comprehensive energy plan”" for Kentucky on Thursday that concentrates on alternative energy sources, coal conversion technology and reducing greenhouse gases by 20 percent by 2025.

“Energy and the production of energy is going to be one of the top priorities in the world over the next few years,” Beshear said Thursday afternoon during an interview with the Messenger-Inquirer. “Kentucky is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in that.”

The plan includes an exploration of how to promote the development of nuclear power in Kentucky and significant emphasis on building up to eight plants capable of converting coal into transportation fuel.

Beshear predicts that implementing the plan, which was created with little input from those outside his administration, will also provide economic development jolt for the state and produce up to 40,000 jobs in the state by 2025.

Source: Your Nuclear News

Anna University To Create Plm Center Of Excellence With Grant

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, announced an in-kind software grant with a commercial value of US$23 million to Anna University in Chennai, India.

Anna University will utilize Siemens PLM Software’s industry-leading technology to establish a PLM Center of Excellence that will bring state of the art technical education in the field of PLM to students in the state of Tamil Nadu. Anna University will incorporate PLM and computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) tools into the curricula to help students develop a wide range of skills in digital product development, digital lifecycle management and digital manufacturing. The grant is provided through Siemens PLM Software’s GO PLM™ (Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management) program.

“Anna University has committed itself to be at the forefront in the service of the nation by achieving excellence in engineering education, fostering co-operation and collaboration between academia and industry across the country,” said Dr. D. Viswanathan, vice chancellor, Anna University. “We have been committed to providing our students with the most current, technologically relevant education to ensure that they have the skills demanded by industry. We chose to partner with Siemens PLM Software because of their leadership position in the PLM industry worldwide and their commitment to work jointly with us in achieving our vision.”
 
Source: Siemens PLM Software

Advancing Energy Efficiency in Data Centers

Xiotech Corporation today announced that it has joined The Green Grid, a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems. As a General Member, Xiotech will work to develop industry-wide recommendations on best practices, metrics and technologies to help organizations improve energy efficiency in data centers and increase energy cost savings.

By joining The Green Grid, Xiotech is helping influence both developers and end users of data center technology. Xiotech will work with The Green Grid to establish practices and processes to help organizations more easily measure and predict the energy consumption of their specific storage systems, based on their performance and capacity requirements.

“In our experience, most organizations select a storage platform for a combination of capacity and performance, so their goal should be to find a solution that delivers these attributes with the least power, the least cooling and the smallest footprint,” said Xiotech(R) Vice President of Marketing Mike Hoch. “Developing consistent energy measurement standards for storage systems, and helping implement and interpret them, will make it much easier for organizations to select storage platforms that meet their needs while minimizing both carbon footprints and unnecessary energy and cooling expenses. It’s a win-win situation: We can help storage users realize cost savings and preserve the environment at the same time.”

Source: The Energy Daily

Ford to Consolidate Parts Across Car Platforms

Endeca Technologies,a search and information access software company, announced that Ford Motor Company, has selected and deployed Endeca’s Spend Analysis solution, built on the Endeca Information Access Platform (IAP). Launched in late summer 2008, the solution supports a corporate initiative to reduce direct material costs and identify opportunities for parts consolidation and efficiencies for existing and new vehicle programs. The Endeca solution integrates data from more than seven different source systems. These include purchasing, finance, supplier, engineering, and part catalog applications, offering sourcing professionals 360-degree visibility of part and supplier related data. The solution will also serve to improve collaboration between engineering and sourcing professionals by offering first-of-their-kind tools to evaluate the complex tradeoffs that occur during the new product design process. As a result, key decision makers have immediate access to information that had previously taken weeks or even months to gather and analyze.

The new Endeca application - which combines search, business intelligence and Guided Navigation capabilities into a single experience – powers Ford’s Global Commodity Hub, a portal which offers one-stop access to parts, program, supplier, technical attribute, and cost target data. 

“Ford offers a great example of how information visibility can be used to create new operational efficiencies and competitive advantage in the face of shifting consumer demand and new economic realities,” said Steve Papa, CEO of Endeca. “Manufacturers are among the most information rich of all enterprises, but the ultimate value of this information remains limited by legacy systems that were never architected for such integration, exploration and discovery. We are now witnessing the beginning of a shift to a whole new class of information architecture that will unlock this latent value.”

Source: Endeca Technologies

Misumi Sponsors Student Robot Competitions

Schaumburg, IL- Misumi has been a major force in the mechanical and factory automation markets for over 45 years.  Through its product innovations, combined with its unmatched CAD Configurator and online ordering system technologies, Misumi has changed the landscape for machine and assembly system design engineers worldwide.  You’ll find Misumi products onboard a growing number of machines and systems in myriad industries, owing to the upsides of this unique company’s business model.  Not surprisingly, the company’s annual sales topped the $1 billion dollar mark, several years ago.

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Winners Announced in 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition

The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation today announced that a new method of combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria has won the grand prize at the 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition. Timothy Lu of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology received the $25,000 prize during a ceremony last night at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

In addition to the grand prize, awards were also given for the top graduate and undergraduate student inventions. This year’s winners include graduate student Paul Podsiadlo of The University of Michigan for his Ultra Strong and Stiff, Optically Transparent Plastic Nanocomposite and Greg Schroll of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who created a new spherical robot with potential to drastically advance safety and technology. These winning teams each received a $15,000 prize from the competition, which is sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of the global health care company Abbott.

“This year’s winning inventions and their potential applications are ideal examples of the importance that science and technology play in our society,” said Jeffrey Dollinger, President of Invent Now, Inc., a subsidiary of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation. “The Collegiate Inventors Competition is a testament to the innovative work that college students are performing all across the country.”

Source: PRNewswire

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