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EPA Sets Engine Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set strict new standards for gas-powered lawn equipment and marine engines, enhancing public health by substantially reducing the amount of gas fumes, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and smog-forming pollutants emitted from a wide range of engines. The regulations will take effect in 2010 and 2011.
"EPA's new small engine standards will allow Americans to cut air pollution as well as grass," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "These standards help fight smog in our neighborhoods and waterways as we continue to improve the environmental landscape." Read more... |
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AHRI Releases July Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipment Data
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has released July heating and cooling equipment data. According to the association, categories that saw increases included air-conditioners, heat pumps, electric water heaters, room heaters and hearth products. Warm-air furnaces and gas-fired heaters saw a drop in July. Read more...
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LG, Samsung Ranks High in Customer Satisfaction Survey
Among washing machine manufacturers, LG ranks highest in customer satisfaction for a third consecutive year, while Samsung ranks highest among clothes dryer manufacturers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Laundry Appliances Study.
The study measures customer satisfaction with clothes washers and dryers based on performance in six factors: ease of use; features (such as the number of settings available and appliance capacity); performance (including energy efficiency, noise level and how well the appliance functions); styling and feel; warranty; and value. Read more...
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Gorenje Signs Contract with Apple
Gorenje signed a license agreement with Apple for the use of their technology in Gorenje refrigerators. Resulting from this cooperation, a unique combination of the iPod device and Gorenje fridge freezer was developed, offering the best of both. The license also includes the use of Apple logo "Made for iPod". This innovative - previously unseen - combination that made its debut at the world's largest consumer electronics fair IFA 2008 in Berlin is yet another result of Gorenje's fruitful innovation. The new project is intended to bring the use of household appliances closer to the contemporary consumer and show how modern information technology can make
their use both simple and fun - just the way the user of tomorrow wants them. Read more...
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Hoshizaki Group Acquires Gram Commercial
Gram Commercial A/S has been acquired by Hoshizaki Group, a worldwide group manufacturing refrigeration and freezing products for commercial kitchens.Gram was owned by Danish private equity fund LD Equity and Management.
Hoshizaki Group, which is a Japanese family-owned business with just under 10,000 employees and a turnover of EUR 1,115 million, wants to maintain its market share in Japan, while increasing its worldwide market share through expansion in Europe and the U.S. Since its establishment in 1947, the Group has expanded its business in commercial kitchen equipment leveraging its high technology, strong sales and service network. Read more...
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Lack of Skilled Workers Hurts U.S. Economy
More leading manufacturing executives today believe the lack of skilled labor and management skills in the work force - not current oil prices or the weak U.S. dollar - most hurts the growth of America's economy.
In a new poll conducted by sponsors of the FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show including METALFORM, 27 percent of the executives cited the lack of employee skills as the leading obstacle to growth. Ranked second was oil prices (cited by 20 percent), followed by tax policies (11 percent), weak U.S. dollar (10 percent), the financial commitment in Iraq (9 percent) and the credit crisis (7 percent). Read more... |
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North America TV Shipments Surge
Despite a weaker US economy and rising energy prices that directly impact consumers budgets, North American TV shipments climbed a remarkably strong 26% quarter to quarter and 28 percent year-to-year in the second quarter of 2008 to more than 9.3M units, according to preliminary results from DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report .
This Y/Y growth is the strongest since DisplaySearch began tracking TV shipments in 2004. LCD and Plasma TV technologies both posted strong sequential quarterly gains, rising 30% and 35%, respectively. PDP growth in particular was influenced by strong initial shipments of Vizio's 32" HD PDPs. Learn more... |
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SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
For a comprehensive look at the September issue, click.
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COVER STORY 
Software: Speedy 3D
In today's business climate, flexibility drives the ability of product manufacturers to stay competitive. As the costs of labor, materials and transportation fluctuate, manufacturers must continually assess the profitability of their design and supply chains. Consumer trends and new manufacturing processes further compel them to seek innovative ways of bringing new products to market quickly and efficiently. Read more ...
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Industrial Design: Clarity & Complexity
I am not your typical appliance user. I have a doctorate in human factors and I am a Certified Professional Ergonomist. But, more importantly, I grew up in parallel with the emergence of consumer digital technology. I had an Apple II computer in the early 1980s and a Radio Shack TRS-80 even before that. So you might think that I'd be ahead of the curve when it comes to figuring out how to use complex appliances and products. In fact, I'm not. Sure, I am adept at setting an oven clock or storing a number in a cell phone, but it still requires a decent amount of effort and learning for each new product. And I certainly can't assemble anything out of the box
very well. For further information...
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Industrial Design: The Right Stuff 
Designers need to be materialistic. Not in the sense of being superficially obsessed with material things, but in the literal sense of being focused on materials themselves, the very substance and content of the products they design.
In the course of new product development, the selection of materials is one of the most daunting and intimidating aspects of the project. In some cases, it may turn out to be the single most important decision made. Using the right stuff can make a product. Using the wrong stuff can break it. Read more...
Decoration: Bright Ideas
OEM product designers and fastener
application engineers have struggled to provide a self-locking
screw-thread system that is reusable and cost effective. Over the
years, several locking systems for threaded fasteners have been
developed and implemented in a wide range of commercial products. Most
of these locking fasteners depend on some type of interference fit
between the male and female thread. This interference is most commonly
accomplished by deforming a few threads in the fastener, which is
referred to in the fastener industry as an all-metal, prevailing-torque
fastener. Find out more.
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Connectors: Know about Glow?
Since successfully addressing the well publicized issues created by the RoHS and WEEE directives on the restriction of hazardous substances, the connector industry is now facing a new challenge -- Glow Wire. Although the IEC 60335-1 standard is primarily relevant in Europe, North American companies need to comply in order to service their global customers.
IEC 60335-1 was quietly put together in 1998, although its effects have only really become apparent since mid-2006. In the past, the emphasis was on the ability of electrical appliances and components to self-extinguish in accordance with the Underwriter Laboratories (UL) standard in the event of a naked flame. However, damage is now increasingly being caused by devices self-igniting when components malfunction - damage that may occur in particular when appliances are left unattended. Want to learn more?
See more of the September issue, including a look at:
-- News Watch
-- NEMA Association Report
BACK TO TOP
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Kingbright
The 0.25mm Ultra-Thin 0603 SMD LEDs (APG1608 package) features an ultra-thin design (1.6mm x 0.8mm x 0.25mm) with wide viewing angle of 120 Deg. The LEDs are available in blue (470nm), green (525nm & 571nm), yellow (589nm), orange (605nm), and red (631nm). The low power consumption device operates under current as low as 1mA and meets industrial temperature ratings of -40 DegC to 85 DegC. Read more.
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ETCO 
ETCO Specialty Terminals featuring dual gauge materials can combine two functions that were previously unavailable in a single part, such as a rigid tab or connector with a formable "ear section" mating end. Suitable for designing terminals and connectors incorporating multiple bends and forms, this technology saves metal, reduces labor, and eliminates multiple parts. Find out more.
Emerson Climate Technologies
The horizontal Copeland Scroll® cryogenic refrigeration compressors have been designed to operate with helium refrigerant applications such as MRI machines and semiconductor or R&D equipment requiring operating temperatures as low as -450 DegF. The new line is intended to phase out the production of vertical Copeland Scroll cryogenic compressors. The compressors have an enhanced operating envelope. Find out more.
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Fenwal Controls
The Series 08 Precision Snap Disc Thermostats are available as hermetically sealed stainless steel probes (Series 08-8X) or as surface mounting (Series 08-0X) with calibrated temperature settings from 35 to 550 DegF (2 to 288 DegC). These rugged devices feature a precise and repeatable snap-acting bimetallic disc as the actuating element and have durable silver contacts. Want to learn more?
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Infineon Technologies Industrial Power
The CiPoS™ (Control Integrated Power System) is a highly integrated, intelligent power module that contain nearly all of the semiconductor components required to realize electronically controlled variable-speed electric motors. The CiPoS modules are designed to enable energy-efficient operation of consumer appliances, offering efficiencies up to 94 percent. Read more.
Lumex
A new line of surface-mount devices combines the convenience of surface-mo unt technology (SMT) with the features and capabilities of through-hole, leaded T-5mm epoxy lens LEDs. The OctoLEDs™ is a direct replacement to standard 5mm through-hole LEDs. OctoLEDs are ideal for any situation where there is a need to transition from through-hole to SMT technology, without sacrificing the light emission features of epoxy lenses. Read more.
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Maplesoft
MapleSim™ is a high-performance multi-domain modeling and simulation tool, which the company says will reduce the time taken to bring products to market by using physical modeling techniques. MapleSim allows users to mix physical components with traditional signal-flow blocks. Model diagrams look like the real system being modeled. The multi-domain models are assembled from pre-built components. Want to learn more?
Ticona 
The Hostaform® long glass fiber acetal copolymer (POM) delivers better performance than standard reinforced thermoplastic polymers. The long glass fiber POM offers a combination of properties including unprecedented impact resistance, inherent lubricity, and excellent fuel and chemical resistance. Read more...
 Please let us know what you think by sending your comments to Larry Adams, E-News Editor, at adamsl@bnpmedia.com. |
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BNP Media
2401 W. Big Beaver Road, Ste. 700
Troy, Michigan, 48084-3333
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