One of the main sources of noise in a gearbox is the variation of the tooth meshing stiffness. This variation causes a deviation from the nominal transmission ratio at the output of the gearbox termed transmission error. Magnetic field solvers often require that the values of currents in all coil regions be known and specified in advance before the solution can begin. This presents little problem with steady state DC simulations, since the correct currents are easily calculated by Ohm’s Law. When you begin the design of a machine or product, you do not know at the
outset the exact direction you will take to reach the final result. In May this year, Google launched its Google Mini integrated hardware/software search appliance in Europe. After an installation process that takes only a matter of hours, users can search for information across a company’s intranet or public website just as they do with Google on the internet. Google Mini can search up to 100,000 documents and costs less than €3000, making it very cost-effective for small and medium-sized businesses . It is hard to imagine life without internet search engines, and now the software technology behind these index-and-search tools is being made available to users who want to search their own computer. Alistair Rae takes a look at a selection of the desktop search tools currently available. Engineering is about solving problems and there are many tools available to assist. Some of these are computer-based, while brainstorming and others rely on human input. In addition, many of the tools that have been traditionally thought of as being pen-and-paper based are now available as computer packages. Mind mapping tools can be an invaluable part of the creative process, but the map content is only as good as the individuals involved in the process. WDS' new range of tough handles and hinges provides OEMs across all industries with ideal opening solutions for doors, lids, cabinets, machinery and mobile equipment. David Barry looks at a new addition to a family of high resolution multi-channel converters. A new module in the Autopol for Windows software suite is said to make it easy to create pipe models for transitions, Y-and T-pieces, eccentric cones, elbows and similar shapes. KV has developed an advanced rapid prototyping manufacturing technology that is already cutting costs and lead times for OEM customers. Effectively managing the risk associated with product designs is a critical capability for any manufacturing company. The finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) are two common approaches for solving electromagnetic field problems. Gary Carter investigates the use of finite element analysis (FEA) in the postmortems of three tragic events over the past thirty years. Even nowadays some companies perform time consuming routine tasks manually. ATR Soft develops software to automate those tasks. prev    next