Manufacturing
Europe's most important medical trade fairs
Submitted by Rolf Albern on Sat, 02/20/2010 - 00:03The world's largest medical trade fair is the MEDICA in Dusseldorf, where each year about six hundred speakers introduce the latest medical knowledge of their discipline and some three hundred suppliers present their latest discoveries and developments. Outpatient as well as inpatient technological tools up to new digital processes of health care are presented in Dusseldorf. So, all in all the entire modern achievements of world medicine are showcased there.
For manufacturers of medical products the MEDEC Europe is the most important one of all trade fairs on the European continent. It provides its visitors comprehensive information on the current range of products and services in the field of development and manufacturing of medical devices. At the MEDTEC Europe manufacturers are given the possibility to order the latest medical equipment as well as individual components.
Due to the fact that at the MEDTEC Europe, world's leading suppliers of medical materials and technologies meet up, the offer includes the following areas:
- Assembly and manufacturing technology
- Materials for all application areas
- Packing, sterilization and clean room systems
- Synthetic / disposable products and diagnostics
- Outsourcing / contract manufacturing
- Motors, pumps, and motion control
- IVD manufacturer
- Technology for quality assurance and control
- Accurate and high-performance cutting / subtle cutting
- Medical Electronics
In the field of biotechnology, the BIO-Europe is of greatest importance. At this annual trade fair the best known names of the industry as well as senior decision makers meet in the context of workshops and forums in order to deal with future key themes. In addition, at the BIO-Europe, the latest products and technologies are showcased.
Solar Energy
Submitted by Rolf Albern on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 10:58Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy and it is different from photovoltaics, which convert solar energy directly into electricity. There are many applications of solar thermal energy such as drying, heating and water distillation.
Many solar thermal technologies have existed for centuries and have established manufacturing bases in many sun-rich countries. Manufacturing can be done on a small scale without using expensive equipment. In 2008 solar thermal energy industry in Europe has grown over 60%.
Solar distillation is necessary in areas that clean water is not common. Its main aim is to provide people with purified water. Basic solar stills can be used to remove fluoride and salts to produce drinking water. http://energysourcefacts.org/solar_energy_solar_thermal_energy.html
Plastic
Submitted by admin on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 08:45The word plastic derives from the Greek plastikos- fit for molding and plastos- molded. Plastic is a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the industrial or commercial products. Plastics are polymers of high molecular mass, that may contain other substances to reduce costs or improve performance. Modern manufacturing processes allow them to be pressed, cast, or extruded into different kinds of shapes—such as bottles, fibers, boxes, plates, films, and much more.
There are two types of plastics:
Thermosets, that can melt and take shape once, and stay solid after they have solidified,
Thermoplastics, that will soften and melt when enough heat is applied, for example: polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Plastics can be classified by the chemical process used in their synthesis; for example, as cross-linking, condensation or polyaddition.
Plastics can also be classified by their chemical structure, for example, silicone, halogenated plastics, polyesters, polyurethanes or the acrylics.
They can also be ranked by various physical properties, such as tensile strength, resistance to various chemical products, density, glass transition temperature, etc.
Other classifications are based on qualities that are relevant for manufacturing or product design, for example, electrically conductive, elastomer, biodegradable, structural, the thermoplastic and thermoset, etc.
Plastics have already displaced many traditional materials, such as paper, wood, stone, leather, metal, glass, horn and bone; and ceramic.
They are used in a huge range of products because they can easily be manufactured, they are relatively low cost and imperviousness to water and versatility.
Die Casting
Submitted by admin on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 02:38Conceptually, die casting is a manufacturing process and requires articulate calculations to create the required outputs. This process injects liquid material into different molds to solidify the mold. The amalgamation results in different fabricated parts The primal benefit of casting process allows manufactures to create specific parts that are not economically feasible to create on the general assembly line. Million of parts that are made via die casting process could not have been achieved otherwise since the cost of producing certain items are not economical or even production possible.
any form of casting is a labor intensive process that requires a specific skill set. all processes from temperature building, quantity and quality of the liquid to be injected, form and shape of the mold, to the coolness technique of the output products all require specific skill sets. Without an accomplished team, it become very difficult for die casting manufactures to delivery quality products.
Die casting is a similar process in which molten metal is put under high pressure into the cavities of steel molds. The molds are called dies. The dies also come in different shapes and varieties in properties. Die casting process is heavily used in the automotive industry to create different body parts.
http://advantagetool.us/mats/die_casting/
Links
NPD Network
In many cases the inception of a new product idea begins with identifying the need for a product device or process that makes certain tasks easier. Some products are clearly more necessary than others for example, the scraper used to de-ice a car windshield is a very useful product, during the winter months and in parts of the world that experience freezing conditions. The point is that even great products can have only limited market potential. Before considering the development of a product for commercialization, the technology should be evaluated for its feasibility.
CadModels.Biz
Cadmodels.biz offers a variety of services in the field of product development. Our services range from initial design, clean up and repair of existing data files and 2d to 3d conversion to prototype fabrication, preparing patent literature and performing the manufacturing processes necessary to bring your product to market. We can take your idea from concept art to finished production engineering, providing 3D CAD services for complete product engineering and design for the consumer product market. Have your concept designed, built, tested and manufactured through Cadmodels.biz.
Software used in Engineering
As with all modern scientific and technological endeavors, computers, software and internet tools play an increasingly important role. As well as the typical business application software there are a number of computer aided applications specifically for engineering. Computers can be used to generate models of fundamental physical processes, which can be solved using numerical methods.
Creativity in Product Development
Submitted by admin on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 00:47Great products don't happen purely by accident. There is a process by which products are developed that channels creativity with disciplined logical processes. There are clear phases during which a shifting mindset is applied that comprise a continuum that begins with dominant right-brain thinking and culminates in dominant left-brain thinking. Over this continuum ideas freely flow and expand at the initiation phase whereas technical factors and focus on detail are applied to complete precise specificity of product form for the conclusion of the program.
Ideation, commonly associated with the term "brainstorming" is the beginning phase of the product development process. The scope of ideation is related to some specified objective to develop a product that will serve some desired end use. That specified objective can be parameterized by numerous factors that characterize the overall goal. The goal can be driven by market opportunities relating to functionality, cost, size, appearance, features, or on some unique invention embodiments. The goal can be to discover some unique invention embodiment to meet a particular market or research goal. Regardless of the goal, the development process must progress though this continuum of phases to become viable. Ideation is a light hearted process wherein the mind is given liberty to freely express ideas that in turn stimulate other ideas that flow in a synergistic manner to surround the development goal.
In the modern world of product development, 3D CAD (computer-aided-design) and CAE (computer-aided-engineering) are the principle tools for developing products for manufacturing. http://www.cadmodels.biz/creativity_in_product_development.html
Rapid Manufacturing
Submitted by admin on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 15:53Since the earliest days of rapid prototyping, experts have envisioned the application of the technology in the manufacturing process, and the focus of this vision has been on the initial cost and time savings that are realized when tooling is eliminated. However, the relative impact pales in comparison to the wide ranging advantages that exist when rapid manufacturing is implemented.
Rapid Manufacturing (RM) is the name given to the production of series or end-use component parts made using additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) processes. ALM processes take three dimensional Computer aided Design (3D-CAD) data and directly print or grow parts in a variety of materials.
Although RM remains in its infancy, with up-take restricted almost exclusively to large scale OEM's and technology focused research firms, the technology has been cited as leading towards a second industrial revolution for the digital age, where it could have a significant impact on business, society, the economy and the environment.
Because RM has the potential to change the paradigm of global manufacturing, it is undoubtedly of increasing importance in both further and higher education. To-date however, RM focused learning tools have been restricted to printed materials, static web based resources and on-line multimedia content produced by technology vendors to stimulate sales.
The prime concerns of manufacturing engineers are productivity and quality. The daily challenge is to ensure maximum production quantity while adhering to the specified quality standards. Jigs & fixtures are essential tools to achieve these aims.
SLS: What is it and what are its advantages as well as disadvantages?
Submitted by admin on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 15:53SLS, or "Selective Laser Sintering," is one of many additive fabrication techniques used in rapid prototyping today. SLS shows a lot of promise as it provides us with an opportunity to, not only, exceed in rapid prototyping, but also make advances in technology toward rapid manufacturing. The process uses a laser to fuse small particles into parts ideal for functional applications directly from 3D CAD data. The parts are created layer by layer using a wide scope of nylon, metal, and polymer powders. SLS shares many similarities with other additive technologies such as SLA, FDM and DMLS. The machine first reads the provided 3D CAD and then scans each cross-section before creating the first layer. After the first layer has been created, the tray, on which the parts are sintered, is lowered by one layer. The next layer of material is then added and the process is repeated layer by layer until the part is created.
Stereolithography
Submitted by admin on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 15:52Stereolithography, or STL, is an additive technology which uses a UV laser to create parts from a UV curable liquid within an SLA, or Stereolithography Apparatus, system.
For a part to be created using STL, a 3D model of the desired part must first be created, after which the 3D data is seperated into a group of 2d layers of the entire part. These layers typically range from 0.10mm to 0.050mm in thickness (although a resolution of 0.050mm in thickness is usually used) and this group layers is called called "slice data." The slice data is then fed into the SLA system and the actual fabrication process begins. The platform is first lowered into the vat of clear, liquid plastic photopolymer. The polymer used is sensitive to ultraviolet light, allowing the polymer to solidify when it is exposed to the light provided by the UV laser and the materials used in this process range from soft durable plastic to hard plastics. The ultraviolet laser traces and selectively solidifies the first layer within the resin onto the platform, which is currently submerged one layer under the resin.
After the first layer has been created, the following layers are added to the first layer while adhering to the previous layer. A resin-filled "re-coater" blade is swept across the top the previous layer removing the uncured polymer while re-coating it with fresh material. The platform is then lowered gradually submerging the platform along with the base of the part (and the part itself, or rather the section of the part, which has been already created layer by layer) deeper under the resin. This process repeats itself until the last layer has been created and the part is completed. This is a relatively quick process. Up to about two minutes is needed for each layer to be created whereas an entire run might take six to 12 hours.
Import 3D CAD Data Exchange and 3D CAD Data Repair
Submitted by admin on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 03:19CAD data exchange remains a challenge for designers and engineers during the product development stage and in the data turnover to manufacturing. Among the many 3D CAD systems there is limited data transfer capabilities that retain native feature functionalities. Accordingly CAD data is routinely transferred between CAD platforms using IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) and STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product model data) formats. While these exchange tools provide for generally good data transfer they do not transfer feature creation data and are thus inflexible for modification. While CAD publishers recognize this as a problem and have tried to address it; to date there has been poor result in translating anything but primitive geometric forms which are comprised of planar, cylindrical, revolved, and spherical surfaces. Parts that require splined curves and surfaces remain problematic to transfer from one CAD platform to another. The reason for this is that primitives are defined mathematical different from those of complex surfaces. While primitive geometries consisting of planar, cylindrical, ruled, spherical, and revolved surfaces and can be defined by unlimited discrete mathematical coordinates, those that are defined using spline surfaces require polynomial equations with interpolation to transition between defined curvature patches within the surface curvature network. The interpolation aspect of surface data translation is the basis of the popular commentary on IGES translation which is that IGES is an acronym for "I guess." http://www.cadmodels.biz/import_3d_cad_data_exchange_and_data_repair.html

