From Shop Floor to Software

Avatars help those with Asperger

Leslie_Gordon — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:18:00 GMT

Avatars or online alter-egos can help individuals with Asperger syndrome deal with frustration in a computer-simulated environment to better cope in the real world, say researchers at the Univ. of Texas at Dallas Center for BrainHealth. Asperger syndrome is a form of autism that does not completely isolate people from the real world. But having the disease makes it hard to understand non-verbal cues such as facial expressions. A program at the university lets patients use avatars in a simulated world to learn how to negotiate with a difficult manager, practice dealing with customers on the job, and interact with people in general.

PTC 2008 Global Media Event

Leslie_Gordon — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:34:00 GMT

Unfortunately, I can only attend one day of PTC's three-day Global Media Event, being held in Long Beach, Calif. This morning's presentations covered the business side of things. It was said that 2,046 registrants from some 24 countries attended the conference. First to speak was the President of PTC's World User group Dan Glenn. He says there are plenty of active user portals and technical communities. The company has restructured the regional user groups -- only active members are now represented.

Customers of PTC include ABB, Seimens, Boeing, HP, Rolex, Motorola, Harley Davidson, Dell, and Liz Clairborn. PTC is opening a new development center in China to take advantage of that new consumer base.

"How are companies to succeed?" asks the second speaker. By using technology that supports ROI. In other words, each of the six product families: Windchill, Pro/E, CoCreate, Arbotext, MathCAD, and ProductView.

For customer satisfaction, the company has been rated by an independant firm at 7.0 out of a possible 10 -- "right in the middle of the pack for technology companies." Globally, there are 800,000 seats of Windchill and 1.5 M users. Revenue growth has been 14% over the last 3 years.

PTC practices what it preaches in terms of the globalization of product development -- it has 1,700 engineers in India, Asia, and China, and other countries overseas, and is focusing on IT consolidation so global interaction is better.

Two new products were announced:

Windchill ProductPoint, which sits inside Microsoft SharePoint. ProductPoint 1.0 Beta in Aug 2008.

Windows SharePoint Services a technology suite that was not good for understanding CAD files structures. But a lot of companies use it to share documents. Sharepoint now understands what CAD is saying:

Windchill ProductPoint Server:

Windows SharePoint Services, a portal, can share documents,

Windchill adds tab for products where you can see thumbnails of files

Filters to find files

Embedded visualization

Can see assembly structures "under the hood" Wildfire 4.0 is integrated with it, so you can quickly search and find assembly components.

Windchill PDMLink, Windchill ProductPoint, Windchill PLM Connector: PLM solutions for varying size companies.

ProductPoint -- simple, general purpose, standalone and integral (the pieces are made to work together). It does not replace Pro/Intralink, PDMLink, ProjectLink

And:

ProductView 9.1

View, markup tool, MCAD, ECAD, document formats.

Standalone, integral with Windchill, and 2.5 GByte file in ProductView gets compressed to a few MBytes.

Is easy to run queries and the software color-codes model based on the query. For example, all parts that are behind schedule turn red.

500,000 components can run in one session!

ProductView is in Windchill 9.1 -- mouse-over icons and see what part it is, where it is used, all its children, can drag columns to increase their size.

Lastly, enhancements for Pro/Engineer : flexible modeling for Wildfire 6.0. will allow freeform sculpting or conceptualizing the shape as you go. What is created is not an STL or a faceted model -- it is Pro/E surfaces from which you can make a solid model.

"EDM No-No"

Leslie_Gordon — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:30:00 GMT

A few readers wrote in to MACHINE DESIGN commenting on the mistake I made on my blog item "Artistic EDM". In it, I said that "electrically conductive materials cannot be EDMed." Ovbiously, this is incorrect. As one reader says, "EDM will spark-erode any material that conducts electricity."

Dear readers, thanks for keeping me on my technical toes!

RAPID Manufacturing 2008

Leslie_Gordon — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:10:00 GMT

Later this afternoon, I’m headed to the RAPID 2008 Conference held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In manufacturing, “rapid” does not really have an exact definition. Sometimes it connotes additive fabrication techniques (certainly not rapid as in “made quickly”). The techniques are rapid because machines use CAD files directly to make parts. Thus, there is a turnaround of a day or a few days compared to weeks or months. I think the definition is getting broader to include subtractive technologies also. Think of how quickly Mom and Pop rapid shops could pump out parts with free, downloadable CAD and CNCs that cost under $3,000.

The show looks interesting. Workshops include “Metal Parts Using Additive Technologies,” “Reverse Engineering and 3D Data Capture,” and “3D Scanning: Reverse Engineering, Analysis, and Inspection.” Others that look neat are “3D Printing of Ceramics for Dental and Medical Applications,” and “Reverse Engineering and Aging Aircraft.”

More to come tomorrow...

Free download of CoCreate

Leslie_Gordon — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:06:00 GMT

Interestingly, PTC is now offering a free download of CoCreate personal version. As you recall, not long ago, PTC -- well known for inventing history-based modeling -- purchased CoCreate, an explicit or non-history-based modeler. PTC says the download provides the world's first free explicit 3D CAD software. Users work directly on geometry they want to modify and can design models with no upfront engineering. This helps to create lightweight designs fast.

Download CoCreate

A gripe about interoperability

Leslie_Gordon — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:38:00 GMT

You always hear about interoperability problems in CAD. Well, I have a gripe about interoperability issues with everyday software. If like me, you travel a lot on business, you probably find it sometimes hard to keep up with your work at the office. What to do? You might occasionally take home work on nights or weekends to catch up. That's what I oh-so blithely did this weekend, thinking I was so smart.

I had forgotten that we recently moved to Windows Vista at work. My home and laptop have Windows XP Professional. Guess what. Word documents in the new format (DOCX) WILL NOT OPEN ON MY HOME OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS, which, of course, only understand the DOC format. I am so upset! This means instead of being able to cut-and-paste, and thus save a lot of time, I have to RETYPE THE WHOLD G__D_____ DOCUMENT, all five pages of it.

*&#$#%&*(#%%^$#% :( :( :(

No wonder so many people dislike Microsoft.

Big, beautiful trucks

Leslie_Gordon — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:20:00 GMT

My twelve-year-old niece sends these images. of big, beautiful trucks. Her sending them was a bit uncanny, because for a long time I had a fantasy of making a living by painting beautiful murals on large trucks.

Safety for automation

Leslie_Gordon — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Rockwell Automation Inc. visited our offices yesterday and talked about how to tie safety in with standard automation systems. A critical point: safety is a main business driver. Why? Because an older safety system might completely shut down a machine during a safety incidence, whereas newer systems don't shut everything off. A lot of components go into the makeup of an automation system, including sensors, acturators, and power supplies. An efficient way to integrate safety into a system is building a sensor, for example, that works for safety as well as its usual function. The premise: if you have control of all the moving elements, you don't have to shut down the whole machine.

The best way to ensure safety is to design the automation system with safety in mind, upfront. Start with a risk assessment. The EN1050 standard covers principles of risk assessment asking such questions as, "How frequently is a worker exposed," and "What is the danger level?" Perform the assessment, then see what equipment is needed to eliminate issues.

Machine builders have more risk than they realize, often resulting in huge losses. Performing risk assessments are a good way to show you have followed good engineering practice.

So, what is it about the new technology that makes it easier to build in saftey? Compare old and new systems:

BEFORE	NOW
Electromechanical	Microprocessors
Sensor-specific relays	PLCs
Monitoring via hard wiring into PLCs	Monitoring via network connections
Fixed I/O	Remote I/O via safety networking
	Can use PLCs with light curtains

A huge Asia Pacific medical show

Leslie_Gordon — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:56:00 GMT

The China Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) which I just attended in Shenzhen, China over the last few days is Asia Pacific's largest medical device event. We hear so much about the "global" economy -- it has happened big time in Asia and Europe and with a few of the larger American companies such as Phillips and Laserage. Each country is angling to find the next best market and it seems as if everyone is partnering to do this: Pavilions at the show included ones from Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, and Canada, to name a few.

Products and technologies covered a wide range, from imaging, surgical, diagnostics, electronics, as well as CM services, to name a few. Probably the most exciting ones I saw included a device which -- because FDA hurdles are so hard to jump -- will not be introduced to the U.S. market anytime soon. The eZscan is a non-invasive diabetes sceening device that lets the disease be caught early on. Tradtional methods don't catch the disease until it has already progressed, and they require a fasting blood sample, ingestion of glucose, and multiple blood samples. The new device, on the other hand, works like this: The subject places his hands and feet on flat nickle electrodes. The eZscan applies low dc voltage to varying combinations of anodes and cathodes and measures the low currents generated by electrochemical local reactions to generate a diabetes risk score. The method is rapid and can be used by healthcare personnel with no need for laboratory analysis. The device was invented by Phillippe Brunswick, CEO of Impeto Medical in Paris, France.

The other particularily interesting technology came from Masimo Corp. in Irvine, Calif. The technology is a simple upgrade to one of the company's existing devices that transforms an existing monitor to one that performs noninvasive total hemoglobin monitoring. Previous methods were invasive and provided only intermittent measurement.

Update on China travels

Leslie_Gordon — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:16:00 GMT

The last few days have been a whirlwind attending the China International Medical Equipment Fair and the International Component Manufacturing & Design Show in Shenzhen, China. On a personal note, I had some amusing experiences because there are ways of doing things here I am not used to. For example, you open your hotel room with a typical card key. Right inside the room is a slot with a sign above it that says, "Insert card for room lights." So I inserted the card briefly, just as you would a room key or an elevator-activator key, then removed the card. The room lights went on for about five minutes and shut off again. I tried this a few times and finally called the front desk. People here in China -- especially service staff -- work hard to cater to your every whim. So suddenly five employees head to my room to show me what was wrong. It turns out, the card must stay in the slot for the light to work. Duh! It's actually a great idea, because I know I am guilty of not always turning off hotel room lights when I leave the room. With the Chinese method, the lights go off automatically each time a patron leaves their room.

A better experience yet was getting a traditional Chinese massage. I went with our tour guide and one of the other journalists on our tour. Like most service establishments, the spa had what seemed like hundreds of employees -- mostly young Chinese women in short tight suits and high heels. Not wanting to be wimps, we opted for the traditional, rather than the soothing massage. From head to foot, my massause methodically pushed and prodded on all the pain points in my back, neck, thighs, and calves. It is said the pain is good for you -- get's rid off all the noxious toxins that have collected in our bodies over time. I felt like screaming STOP, STOP, but managed to bite my lip hard enough not to screech in agony. Afterwards, I actually felt pretty good, but sore all over.

More later on some amazing innovations I saw at the show. Some are only to be introduced to the Asia market for various reasons I will discuss in future blog items and editorial. My plane from Shanghai has just arrived.....

Palm trees in China?

Leslie_Gordon — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:33:00 GMT

I flew on Wednesday from Cleveland, to Chicago, to Shanghai, to Shenzhen. I arrived a day later, that night. My first impressions here: things seem huge: cities are huge, buildings are huge, airports are huge. Both cities a quite Westernized in that, for example, you see hugh billboards selling upscale clothes and the models are your typical chiseled chin blond man and pouty lip long-legged female. Very few images of Chinese people. The cities seem clean, at least what I have seen so far. Very modern. Tons of skyscrapers. Lots of new, foreign cars (haven't seen one SUV) -- Toyotas, Volkswagons, Mercedes, and the like. The people are very friendly and helpful except for some of the Chinese businessmen. They remind me of some of the corporate types you encounter when traveling -- pushy and arrogant. But everyone else is nice. The young people love the Western look. Many girls have dyed their hair with red, and they have the big shiney purses with tons of jingly things dangling from them, tight jeans, the whold works. Shenzhen feels almost tropical. In fact, it has palm trees!!

I am staying at the Sheraton in Shenzhen. Tomorrow it's off to the big medical trade show nearby. I got a real kick out of opening the desk drawer in my room. In it was everything you are likely to need: a small stapler, a container of lead replacements for a lead pencil, staples, staple remover, eraser, large clip, and highlighter pen.

More tomorrow...

Live from Shenzhen, China

Leslie_Gordon — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:06:00 GMT

Tomorrow I am headed to Shenzhen, China, which is just north of Hong Kong. Actually, the trip there will last two days, what with the long flight and the time change. I will be attending the China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) and the International Component Manufacturing & Design (ICMD) show to be held from April 18 – 21. Needless to say, I am very excited. I have been wanting to go to China for a long time – it seems so much is going on over there and I would like to be in the midst of it all.

A quick Google search on the city has informed that its economy produces agriculture from lychees, to bananas, to sisal hemp. Animal products include seahorses, oysters, and abalone. Industry includes electric power generation, electronics, food processing, garments, household appliances, metallurgy, plastics, and textiles. Mineral resources include coal, iron, germanium, kaolin clay, peat, pyrite, quartz, and tellurium.

Shenzhen is one of three Special Economic Zones in Guangdong province. According to Wikipedia, "A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws. The category 'SEZ' covers a broad range of more specific zone types, including Free Trade Zones (FTZ), Export Processing Zones (EPZ), Free Zones (FZ), Industrial Estates (IE), Free Ports, Urban Enterprise Zones and others. Usually the goal of an SEZ structure is to increase foreign investment. The SEZ was created to be an experimental ground of capitalism in 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'".

Once a fishing village, Shenzhen became the first SEZ in China. The SEZ was established in 1979 because of its proximity to Hong Kong, then a prosperous British colony.

More to come...

COFES 2008

Leslie_Gordon — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:13:00 GMT

Attending the COFES 2008 (Congress on the Future of Engineering Software) conference has been a nice surprise. For one thing, the event is being held at the beautiful Scottsdale Plaza Resort near Phoenix, Arizona. Think bright blue skies, hot sunny days, and unusual fauna such as the bottle brush tree, which has what looks like thousand of red, bristly bottle brushes hanging from its branches.

For another thing, the event is way more intellectually oriented than are most trade shows. That sounds boring, but is in fact, quite inspiring. Here are a few of the things I have seen and heard, in no particular order: Karl Ulrich from the Wharton School of the Univ. of Pennsylvania gave a talk that could have easily been titled: Quantifying innovation. He qualifies extreme innovation as something that makes a lot of $$ and gave the example of the Oral B toothbrush, which has the largest market share in the world of any toothbrush. The company used what is called a "tournament structure" to come up with the best design: designers generated hundreds of ideas; the company made models of the best 50 and tested them with consumers. Out of this came the best five. The company tested these thoroughly in the lab using mirrors to watch participants brush their teeth from every angle. The winner was the now widely known brush with a co-molded handle.

Pixar used the same method to pick a movie to make. The company got 500 one-sentence pitches and out of these picked the best, "A hot-rod racecar gets waylaid in the desert and finds the meaning of friend and family." This resulted in the movie Cars. He also says tournaments are not always needed. A good example is the problem, "What should a roof beam look like in engineering software?" This problem and others like it only take one or two passes to solve. Ulrich says Six Sigma is the wrong logic for innovation because it aims to produce the same thing the same way every time. Instead, it is better to think of innovation statistically using the tournament framework to:

-- Take more draws from a larger distribution
--Shift the mean of the quality of ideas upwards
--Increase the variance in the qualities
--Increase accuracy in evaluating opportunities

In one case, this method produced a money-making idea from an Indian doctor -- that of brokering "medical tourism" for semi-elective surgery.

Coming soon: A new RP format that replaces STL

Putting things in perspective

Leslie_Gordon — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:14:00 GMT

Sometimes it's great to just step back and put everything into perspective. In that spirit, check out this photo, taken last month by Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society member Russ Swaney, from the RG Mortland Observatory at Indian Hill in Huntsburg, Ohio. The comet 17P Holmes is on the right, along with the California Nebula.

The end of blogging burnout

Leslie_Gordon — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:11:00 GMT

Perhaps some of you dedicated readers have noticed that I took a long break from blogging. Chalk it up to a rather bad case of blogging burnout. Don’t get me wrong – usually, I love blogging. You can write less formally, outside of normal strict editorial guidelines. And blogging gives you a way to discuss cool stuff that can’t fit into print publications. A few new things though, now make me want to start again:

First, it’s likely I am soon to visit China. So look for future items that will be "live from the floor" of the China International Medical Equipment Fair, Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre 18 – 21 April 2008.

And second: Machine Design now has a presence in Second Life. Those of you who read this blog know that I am fascinated with virtual realities such as this. We envision our little plot as an educational area, one in which you can come and meet the editors, watch a video on some aspect of technology, or even mingle with like-minded folk. So also look for more items on virtual reality. My name in Second Life is Pez Balut. Here is the address for those already members of the site: 179.7.145