Monday, August 27, 2012

Cats: The Most Cuddly Carnivorous Pet a Man Can Have

Since I was a kid, I have had a love-hate relationship with cats. Most feline exchanges would play out the same way. I would go to pet the cat. “Hey, cat. I’m just trying to pet you,” I would say. For some reason, it seems like this warning should prepare the cat for physical affection. Cats seem to love physical affection. They also love paper bags and scratching furniture, but that’s a whole different story. “You will pet me over my cold, dead, lifeless body,” the cat would reply. Then the cat would run away and look at me, licking its privates just to punctuate its feelings for me. Nevertheless, I would not give up. I would allow that cat enough time to finish its private grooming. It’s very rude to interrupt that kind of activity, I would assume. The last think I want to do at this point is offend the cat I am trying to pet. “Okay, for real this time, cat. I’m just going to pet,” I would say, trying to ease the cat’s mind lest he feel that I am really just trying to hunt and kill him. “I promise it will feel good.” The cat would look at me with its dead, lifeless cat eyes. “I can tell you one thing,” it would say. “It will not feel as good as this!” Then he would bite my hand and run behind some piece of furniture. At this point, I usually give up. Who wants to pet an animal that poops in a box anyway? For the last 25 years of my life, this has happened over and over. (Editor’s note: This may or may not be true as it is very difficult for Nathan to remember the first few years of his life. As far as he is concerned, he has always been able to walk and control his own bowels.) Even my own cat would come and sit next to me then, for no reason, bite my hand. It was his way of sending a warning. “I will sit next to you, but if you so much as lay one finger on me, I will forcefully remove that finger with my teeth.” When my friends got a kitten, I was excited. This was a chance for a fresh start. Kittens have no reason to hate me. They have no preconceived notion that I am trying to ruin their life. I walked up to little Hamish and stuck out a hand. “Hey, Hamish,” I said. He sniffed, then wrapped his paws around my hand and bit me. Every time I saw the cat, he would bite me. I would sit down and see him on the other side of the room. He would notice that my foot or hand were unoccupied, then duck way down against the floor. There he would sit for several minutes, scouting it out. Maybe it was a trap. This could be the time that there was a cat-eating snake hiding behind me, waiting for a chance to have a Hamish-sized snack. After several minutes, figuring that any snake would have gotten bored and either eaten me or left, he would pounce. Across the room he would bound, jumping over furniture and ignoring his forsaken cat toys. He had spotted his prey. It just happened to be one of my extremities. To me, this seemed like a jerk move. I had never once tried to bite the cat. For one, he is hairy and it would take forever to get that cat hair out of my teeth. For another, I have seen the cat eat food. He is not starving to death. Trying to eat my hand is just pure cat gluttony. So, like many other cats before him, I gave up on Hamish. I wrote him off as another in a line of cats that reaffirm why I prefer dogs. Then, today, I sat down on the couch. Much like he has done in the past, Hamish came over. I prepared for the worst. This could be the time that he goes for the throat. I grabbed my phone just in case I needed to make a quick 9-1-1 call. Instead, this happened: Maybe there is hope for cats after all, I thought. Every so often, he would stand and walk up to my face, rubbing against it. A few times, he crawled under my hand to urge a petting. I could be a cat person after all. They are not all bad. Of course, then he bit my hand and ran away. For one second, though, this cat and I were friends. I had hope for the future. Now if cats would just learn that I am not food…

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Apple Stock Reaches New All-Time High Following Verdict, Up 1.70% To $674.48 After Hours

pple stock reached a new all-time high as it rose 1.79% to $675.11 in after-hours trading at the time of publication. The stock opened Friday morning at $659.51. A few hours after the market closed on Friday afternoon, a jury in San Jose federal court ruled in favor of Apple in a landmark patent case. Samsung must pay Apple $1,051,855,000 (although that exact figure is being disputed) in damages. While it was not a sweeping win for Apple, as the company was requesting $2.525 billion in damages and did not win all of its infringement claims, it did significantly better than Samsung, which was awarded $0 in damages. Both companies are expected to appeal the decision of the complex case.

DRAWING SPORT MOTOR CYCLE

Altria Raises Dividend, Expect 11 More Big Hikes Coming Before Year-End Read more: Altria Raises Dividend, Expect 11 More Big Hikes Coming Before Year-End - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/08/24/altria-raises-dividend-expect-11-more-big-hikes-coming-before-year-end/#ixzz24YAW8duv

It was just on Monday that we released the 24/7 Wall St. "12 Big Dividend Hikes Coming Before The End of 2012" and we already have one of the twelve coming true. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) just delivered on its dividend hike. This is not the last big hike coming. Altria's dividend hike was raised to $0.44 per quarter per share from $0.41... We predicted $0.44 or even $0.45 per share. The problem here is that Altria is paying out so much of its earnings at a time when case volume woes can only be offset by more price hikes. Price hikes are harder and harder to get when states can keep raising taxes collected per pack as well. At least Altria is back to paying 5.25% rather than about 4.8% for a dividend yield. Investors should take today's hike from Altria as a foreshadowing event for its international version Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM). The international tobacco giant is due for an imminent dividend hike as well and we are targeting the first half of September. For that hike. So, who is next on the dividend hikes? We are about as certain as ever on these and expect at least 8 of these payout hikes to be announced. These include the following: American Electric Power Co. (NYSE: AEP); Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT); McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD); Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT); AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS); and Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM).

Friday, August 24, 2012

Top Talent Heads for Exits at Social Media Firms (GRPN, ZNGA, FB, YELP, ANGI, LNKD, SOCL) Read more: Top Talent Heads for Exits at Social Media Firms (GRPN, ZNGA, FB, YELP, ANGI, LNKD, SOCL) - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/08/24/top-talent-heads-for-exits-at-social-media-firms-grpn-znga-fb-yelp-angi-lnkd-socl/#ixzz24UNKf5ND

We’ve noted already this morning that Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) has replaced its head of national sales. And a report from Bloomberg notes the departure of four executives from social game maker Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA). Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) also has seen its share of top talent heading for the door. There could be a few things at work here. One is the poor share price performance at these companies, which extracts a huge toll on stock compensation for many of the social media companies’ top execs. Another is that top talent, especially top technical talent, often exhibits a desire to do its own entrepreneurial thing. A third might be that once the start-up becomes a publicly traded company the culture changes so drastically that top employees figure anywhere else is better. A fourth possibility is that entrepreneurial founders may not be the best leaders of public companies. A fifth reason, of course, is that the executive is not performing and the company points to the door. The high-profile companies also seem to fare a bit worse than those that fly a bit below the mass media radar. Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) shares are down nearly 22% since the company’s IPO, but that is not bad when compared to Facebook or Groupon (down 50%) or Zynga (down 40%) or Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) (down 43%). Only LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) (up 40%) has posted a gain. Yelp and Angie’s List, like Facebook, Groupon, and Zynga, recently had to contend with the end of their lock-up periods, and as investors dumped their shares, stock compensation values tanked. Facebook has lost three top executives since its IPO, while neither Yelp nor Angie’s List suffered the executive exodus seen at the other companies. At LinkedIn, the rising stock price has apparently helped keep executives happy. Whatever the reason, the turmoil in the social media companies raises questions about whether or not there’s a there there. Is this a sector that will survive or is it just another bubbly niche that will effervesce for a while before it disappears? The Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL) trades at $12.57 today, in a 52-week range of $11.84 to $16.00. The fund is down about 16% since its IPO in December of 2011. That’s probably because its two largest holdings, Chinese firm TenCent Holdings and LinkedIn, account for nearly a quarter of the fund’s holdings. Paul Ausick

Friday, July 27, 2012

TABLE MODELLING

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T)

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is a system for defining and communicating engineering tolerances. It uses a symbolic language on engineering drawings and computer-generated three-dimensional solid models for explicitly describing nominal geometry and its allowable variation. It tells the manufacturing staff and machines what degree of accuracy and precision is needed on each facet of the part. Overview Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is used to define the nominal (theoretically perfect) geometry of parts and assemblies, to define the allowable variation in form and possible size of individual features, and to define the allowable variation between features. Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing specifications are used as follows: • Dimensioning specifications define the nominal, as-modeled or as-intended geometry. One example is a basic dimension. • Tolerancing specifications define the allowable variation for the form and possibly the size of individual features, and the allowable variation in orientation and location between features. Two examples are linear dimensions and feature control frames using a datum reference (both shown above). There are several standards available worldwide that describe the symbols and define the rules used in GD&T. One such standard is American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Y14.5-2009. This article is based on that standard, but other standards, such as those from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), may vary slightly. The Y14.5 standard has the advantage of providing a fairly complete set of standards for GD&T in one document. The ISO standards, in comparison, typically only address a single topic at a time. There are separate standards that provide the details for each of the major symbols and topics below (e.g. position, flatness, profile, etc.). [edit] Dimensioning and tolerancing philosophy According to the ASME Y14.5-2009[1] standard, the purpose of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is to describe the engineering intent of parts and assemblies. This is not a completely correct explanation of the purpose of GD&T or dimensioning and tolerancing in general. The purpose of GD&T is more accurately defined as describing the geometric requirements for part and assembly geometry. Proper application of GD&T will ensure that the allowable part and assembly geometry defined on the drawing leads to parts that have the desired form and fit (within limits) and function as intended. There are some fundamental rules that need to be applied (these can be found on page 6 of the 2009 edition of the standard): • All dimensions must have a tolerance. Every feature on every manufactured part is subject to variation, therefore, the limits of allowable variation must be specified. Plus and minus tolerances may be applied directly to dimensions or applied from a general tolerance block or general note. For basic dimensions, geometric tolerances are indirectly applied in a related Feature Control Frame. The only exceptions are for dimensions marked as minimum, maximum, stock or reference. • Dimensioning and tolerancing shall completely define the nominal geometry and allowable variation. Measurement and scaling of the drawing is not allowed except in certain cases. • Engineering drawings define the requirements of finished (complete) parts. Every dimension and tolerance required to define the finished part shall be shown on the drawing. If additional dimensions would be helpful, but are not required, they may be marked as reference. • Dimensions should be applied to features and arranged in such a way as to represent the function of the features. • Descriptions of manufacturing methods should be avoided. The geometry should be described without explicitly defining the method of manufacture. • If certain sizes are required during manufacturing but are not required in the final geometry (due to shrinkage or other causes) they should be marked as non-mandatory. • All dimensioning and tolerancing should be arranged for maximum readability and should be applied to visible lines in true profiles. • When geometry is normally controlled by gage sizes or by code (e.g. stock materials), the dimension(s) shall be included with the gage or code number in parentheses following or below the dimension. • Angles of 90° are assumed when lines (including center lines) are shown at right angles, but no angular dimension is explicitly shown. (This also applies to other orthogonal angles of 0°, 180°, 270°, etc.) • Dimensions and tolerances are valid at 20 °C / 101.3 kPa unless stated otherwise. • Unless explicitly stated, all dimensions and tolerances are only valid when the item is in a free state. • Dimensions and tolerances apply to the full length, width, and depth of a feature including form variation. • Dimensions and tolerances only apply at the level of the drawing where they are specified. It is not mandatory that they apply at other drawing levels, unless the specifications are repeated on the higher level drawing(s). (Note: The rules above are not the exact rules stated in the ASME Y14.5-2009 standard.)

DESK MODELING

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

ISO DIS 13567 - The Proposed International Standard for Structuring Layers in Computer Aided Building Design

SUMMARY: Layering is a widely used method for structuring data in CAD-models. During the last few years national standardisation organisations, professional associations, user groups for particular CAD-systems, individual companies etc. have issued numerous standards and guidelines for the naming and structuring of layers in building design. In order to increase the integration of CAD data in the industry as a whole ISO recently decided to define an international standard for layer usage. The resulting standard proposal, ISO 13567, is a rather complex framework standard which strives to be more of a union than the least common denominator of the capabilities of existing guidelines. A number of principles have been followed in the design of the proposal. The first one is the separation of the conceptual organisation of information (semantics) from the way this information is coded (syntax). The second one is orthogonality - the fact that many ways of classifying information are independent of each other and can be applied in combinations. The third overriding principle is the reuse of existing national or international standards whenever appropriate. The fourth principle allows users to apply well-defined subsets of the overall superset of possible layernames. This article describes the semantic organisation of the standard proposal as well as its default syntax. Important information categories deal with the party responsible for the information, the type of building element shown, whether a layer contains the direct graphical description of a building part or additional information needed in an output drawing etc. Non-mandatory information categories facilitate the structuring of information in rebuilding projects, use of layers for spatial grouping in large multi-storey projects, and storing multiple representations intended for different drawing scales in the same model. Pilot testing of ISO 13567 is currently being carried out in a number of countries which have been involved in the definition of the standard. In the article two implementations, which have been carried out independently in Sweden and Finland, are described. The article concludes with a discussion of the benefits and possible drawbacks of the standard. Incremental development within the industry, (where ”best practice” can become ”common practice” via a standard such as ISO 13567), is contrasted with the more idealistic scenario of building product models. The relationship between CAD-layering, document management product modelling and building element classification is also discussed. KEYWORDS: CAD-system, layering, standardisation

Drawing Sketsa "HUB"

Drawing Sketsa "HUB"
Drawing work Sketsa "HUB"

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Image Compression and Coding - Fundamentals of visual data compression

Definition: Image compression deals with reducing the amount of data required to represent a digital image by removing of redundant data. Images can be represented in digital format in many ways. Encoding the contents of a 2-D image in a raw bitmap (raster) format is usually not economical and may result in very large files. Since raw image representations usually require a large amount of storage space (and proportionally long transmission times in the case of file uploads/ downloads), most image file formats employ some type of compression. The need to save storage space and shorten transmission time, as well as the human visual system tolerance to a modest amount of loss, have been the driving factors behind image compression techniques. Compression methods can be lossy, when a tolerable degree of deterioration in the visual quality of the resulting image is acceptable, or lossless, when the image is encoded in its full quality. The overall results of the compression process, both in terms of storage savings – usually expressed numerically in terms of compression ratio (CR) or bits per pixel (bpp) – as well as resulting quality loss (for the case of lossy techniques) may vary depending on the technique, format, options (such as the quality setting for JPEG), and the image contents. As a general guideline, lossy compression should be used for general purpose photographic images, whereas lossless compression should be preferred when dealing with line art, technical drawings, cartoons, etc. or images in which no loss of detail may be tolerable (most notably, space images and medical images). We will review the most important concepts behind image compression and coding techniques and survey some of the most popular algorithms and standards. Fundamentals of visual data compression The general problem of image compression is to reduce the amount of data required to represent a digital image or video and the underlying basis of the reduction process is the removal of redundant data. Mathematically, visual data compression typically involves transforming (encoding) a 2-D pixel array into a statistically uncorrelated data set. This transformation is applied prior to storage or transmission. At some later time, the compressed image is decompressed to reconstruct the original image information (preserving or lossless techniques) or an approximation of it (lossy techniques). Redundancy Data compression is the process of reducing the amount of data required to represent a given quantity of information. Different amounts of data might be used to communicate the same amount of information. If the same information can be represented using different amounts of data, it is reasonable to believe that the representation that requires more data contains what is technically called data redundancy. Image compression and coding techniques explore three types of redundancies: coding redundancy, interpixel (spatial) redundancy, and psychovisual redundancy. The way each of them is explored is briefly described below. •Coding redundancy: consists in using variable-length codewords selected as to match the statistics of the original source, in this case, the image itself or a processed version of its pixel values. This type of coding is always reversible and usually implemented using look-up tables (LUTs). Examples of image coding schemes that explore coding redundancy are the Huffman codes and the arithmetic coding technique. •Interpixel redundancy: this type of redundancy – sometimes called spatial redundancy, interframe redundancy, or geometric redundancy – exploits the fact that an image very often contains strongly correlated pixels, in other words, large regions whose pixel values are the same or almost the same. This redundancy can be explored in several ways, one of which is by predicting a pixel value based on the values of its neighboring pixels. In order to do so, the original 2-D array of pixels is usually mapped into a different format, e.g., an array of differences between adjacent pixels. If the original image pixels can be reconstructed from the transformed data set the mapping is said to be reversible. Examples of compression techniques that explore the interpixel redundancy include: Constant Area Coding (CAC), (1-D or 2-D) Run-Length Encoding (RLE) techniques, and many predictive coding algorithms such as Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM). •Psychovisual redundancy: many experiments on the psychophysical aspects of human vision have proven that the human eye does not respond with equal sensitivity to all incoming visual information; some pieces of information are more important than others. The knowledge of which particular types of information are more or less relevant to the final human user have led to image and video compression techniques that aim at eliminating or reducing any amount of data that is psychovisually redundant. The end result of applying these techniques is a compressed image file, whose size and quality are smaller than the original information, but whose resulting quality is still acceptable for the application at hand. The loss of quality that ensues as a byproduct of such techniques is frequently called quantization, as to indicate that a wider range of input values is normally mapped into a narrower range of output values thorough an irreversible process. In order to establish the nature and extent of information loss, different fidelity criteria (some objective such as root mean square (RMS) error, some subjective, such as pairwise comparison of two images encoded with different quality settings) can be used. Most of the image coding algorithms in use today exploit this type of redundancy, such as the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT)-based algorithm at the heart of the JPEG encoding standard. Image compression and coding models Figure 1 shows a general image compression model. It consists of a source encoder, a channel encoder, the storage or transmission media (also referred to as channel ), a channel decoder, and a source decoder. The source encoder reduces or eliminates any redundancies in the input image, which usually leads to bit savings. Source encoding techniques are the primary focus of this discussion. The channel encoder increase noise immunity of source encoder’s output, usually adding extra bits to achieve its goals. If the channel is noise-free, the channel encoder and decoder may be omitted. At the receiver’s side, the channel and source decoder perform the opposite functions and ultimately recover (an approximation of) the original image. Figure 2 shows the source encoder in further detail. Its main components are: •Mapper: transforms the input data into a (usually nonvisual) format designed to reduce interpixel redundancies in the input image. This operation is generally reversible and may or may not directly reduce the amount of data required to represent the image. •Quantizer: reduces the accuracy of the mapper’s output in accordance with some pre-established fidelity criterion. Reduces the psychovisual redundancies of the input image. This operation is not reversible and must be omitted if lossless compression is desired. •Symbol (entropy) encoder: creates a fixed- or variable-length code to represent the quantizer’s output and maps the output in accordance with the code. In most cases, a variable-length code is used. This operation is reversible. Error-free compression Error-free compression techniques usually rely on entropy-based encoding algorithms. The concept of entropy is mathematically described in equation (1): where: a j is a symbol produced by the information source P ( a j ) is the probability of that symbol J is the total number of different symbols H ( z ) is the entropy of the source. The concept of entropy provides an upper bound on how much compression can be achieved, given the probability distribution of the source. In other words, it establishes a theoretical limit on the amount of lossless compression that can be achieved using entropy encoding techniques alone. Variable Length Coding (VLC) Most entropy-based encoding techniques rely on assigning variable-length codewords to each symbol, whereas the most likely symbols are assigned shorter codewords. In the case of image coding, the symbols may be raw pixel values or the numerical values obtained at the output of the mapper stage (e.g., differences between consecutive pixels, run-lengths, etc.). The most popular entropy-based encoding technique is the Huffman code. It provides the least amount of information units (bits) per source symbol. It is described in more detail in a separate short article. Run-length encoding (RLE) RLE is one of the simplest data compression techniques. It consists of replacing a sequence (run) of identical symbols by a pair containing the symbol and the run length. It is used as the primary compression technique in the 1-D CCITT Group 3 fax standard and in conjunction with other techniques in the JPEG image compression standard (described in a separate short article). Differential coding Differential coding techniques explore the interpixel redundancy in digital images. The basic idea consists of applying a simple difference operator to neighboring pixels to calculate a difference image, whose values are likely to follow within a much narrower range than the original gray-level range. As a consequence of this narrower distribution – and consequently reduced entropy – Huffman coding or other VLC schemes will produce shorter codewords for the difference image. Read more: Image Compression and Coding - Fundamentals of visual data compression, Redundancy, models, Error-free compression, Variable Length Coding (VLC) - JRank Articles http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6760/Image-Compression-and-Coding.html#ixzz21Jsy7h8n

Mechantronics and the role of engineers

Mechatronics can be seen everywhere today. Engineers have mechatronics journals and can read mechatronics papers in journals that cover other fields, while a multitude of diverse companies are embracing its principles. The term was coined over 40 years ago, when engineer Tetsuro Mori combined the words "mechanical" and "electronic" to describe the electronic control systems that Yaskawa Electric Corp. was building for mechanical factory equipment. Mechatronics are all around us, from computer hard drives and robotic assembly systems to washing machines, coffee makers, and medical devices. Electronics that control mechanical systems account for much of the value of the average automobile, managing everything from stability control and antilock brakes to climate control and memory-adjust seats. "Mechatronics" means many things to many people, but when pressed, many engineers reference a drawing shown by Kevin Craig, perhaps the nation's foremost evangelist of mechatronic design. It consists of four overlapping circles: mechanical systems, electronic systems, control systems, and computers. "Mechatronics represents more than mechanical and electronics," according to Craig, a professor of mechanical engineering who left Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to start a mechatronics program at Marquette University. According to Michelle Boucher, an analyst for the Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based technology think tank, the best performers among the surveyed companies have changed the way they worked. More importantly, though, they do not schedule meetings based on time—every week, or twice monthly—but on key events in the project timeline. Mechatronics are all around us, from computer hard drives and robotic assembly systems to washing machines, coffee makers, and medical devices. So instead of wasting time in a meeting when nothing is happening, key players gather when it's time to fit the pieces together. Design and project collaboration software are also important. These applications help engineers visualize how systems work and are easy to mark up with questions and comments. "If you're an electrical engineer, you don't necessarily have easy access to CAD data, so this helps you see how the device is supposed to work," Boucher said. But the question remains: Which engineers lead? According to Peter Schmidt, a senior research engineer at Rockwell Automation's Advanced Technology Group who teaches part-time with Craig at Marquette, "We're all engineers and we're doing engineering, period. Rockwell Automation has long hired electrical and control engineers to design its machine control and factory automation systems. Many of the company's engineers say they have been doing systems integration design and modeling (in short, mechatronics) for 20 years. It's that multidisciplinary approach from concept through delivery that separates mechatronics from old-style control engineering at Rockwell. President Terry Precht calls it a virtual factory, combining design, manufacturing, and depot repair services. While some mechatronics teams like to run simulations, Precht prefers to use the prototype approach. "You can answer certain questions from an actual model that you can't get answered in a soft model," he said. Project Leadership "Our mechanical and electrical engineers are always working very closely together on these things," Precht said. "When we build systems with complex moving parts, mechanical engineers write the control software since they understand how the devices should operate. We have three graduates that went through Doctor Dave's mechatronics course, and it was just obvious from the start how well they can work across a broad spectrum of projects compared with engineers who were classically trained." "Doctor Dave" is David Alciatore, a professor of mechanical engineering who literally wrote the book on mechatronics, Introduction to Mechatronics and Measurement Systems, with co-author and professor emeritus Michael Histand. The first edition came out in 1999, and the book is now in its fourth edition. "A good hands-on mechanical engineer trained in electronics makes a much better mechatronics engineer than an electrical engineer or computer engineer trained in mechanics later," he said. Back to School Right now, the question of who takes ownership and who will lead the development of next-generation electromechanical systems often depends on where engineers work. Companies that make mechanical systems tend to let mechanical engineers lead; those that make electronics assign the lead to software and electrical engineers. In the future, though, the issue may be decided by how colleges train the next generation of mechanical engineers. Right now, most schools teach controls, basic electronics, and programming as part of the mechanical engineering curriculum. For example, at Colorado State University in Pueblo, in addition to the course work, the engineering program also focuses on teaching students to work on teams, an essential for the multifunctional world of industrial design. According to Craig, classical mechanical engineering has become a commodity skill. His goal at Marquette is to integrate courses so that electrical, control, and mechanical engineers learn how different disciplines use the same core knowledge to achieve different results. "We have to show how we can integrate electronics and controls into modern mechanical systems," he says. Another approach is to offer a degree in mechatronics. So far, only three schools do that: California State University, North Carolina State University, and Colorado State University. The department chair at Colorado State, Jane Fraser, thinks that industrial engineering is an ideal platform for mechatronics because the focus is on bottom-line results rather than on mechanical or electrical components. Manufacturing companies in her community are telling her the same thing. They want students trained to integrate electronics, controls, computers, and moving parts. For them, this is not just where engineering is going. It is where engineering has arrived. [Adapted from "Who Owns Mechatronics?" by Alan S. Brown, Associate Editor, Mechanical Engineering, June 2008.]

DESIGN SPORT CAR

DRAWING DESIGN FORMULA 1

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sample CAD Drawings, 3D CAD Drawings, 2D AutoCAD Drawing services

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DRAWING PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEEAN

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

he Vibration Dampener

by Bart McNeil Gimme a vibe... The 1956 Jeep Model CJ-3B Parts List contains some seldom noticed lines. And even if noticed, this one is still somewhat of a mystery: "vibration dampener." A thing which dampens vibrations. What thing, and what vibrations? And why do they need to be damp? (Editor's note: I have to admit that when Bart first said he was writing an article about the "vibration dampener" I didn't realize what he was talking about. I assumed it must be something in the suspension or steering. But once again Bart has combed through old Willys publications, Jeep history books, and the web, to assemble a history of an overlooked original Jeep detail. -- Derek Redmond) A vibration dampener couldn't be simpler; just a block of wood bolted to the body to hold the spare tire in slight compression to avoid the bounce and wobble (vibration) of the spare when driving over rough roads or terrain. Apparently Willys was more concerned with vibration of the spare tire than most of its customers; vibration dampeners were available starting in 1949, and may have been standard equipment on the CJ-3B, but most of us have never seen one, or noticed it even if we did see one. I have poured over my Jeep books and have only found a few published photos showing a vibration dampener, and two of those photos show only a small portion of the dampener. On the internet I've found a few more. Click the detail photos below to see the full photos from which they are taken. CJ-1 Upon receiving my copy of Fred Coldwell's 2001 book, Preproduction Civilian Jeeps, the first thing I noticed in the cover photo was that in front of the bare spare tire rim two small blocks of wood were installed. This pre-production 1944 CJ-1 had to be the earliest version of the civilian Jeep on which vibration dampeners are found. They can be seen in the 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock position relative to the empty rim. Another photo shows a third dampener behind the spare mount in the 9 o'clock position. CJ-3A Although vibration dampeners could be installed on CJ-2A's I have found no published photos where they are visible. A vibration dampener does appear on Jim Marski's 1950 CJ-3A with Auburn Jeep-a-Trench and blade, pictured in Jim Allen's Jeep. This workhorse would certainly need some sort of dampener because of its heavy off-road use and quaking machinery. It can barely be seen between the spare and the sheet metal and is located in line with the curve of the tire. Parts List From Willys Motors Jeep Model CJ-3B Parts List (1956). The question remains, why didn't Willys install the vibration dampeners on all its civilian Jeeps? The answer is in the parts list line, which reads "Use with 6.00 x 16 tires." Shortly after the introduction of the CJ-2A, buyers could opt for another size rim and tire, and to install the vibration dampener would be a committment the owner might not want to make. The wider 7.00 x 15" tire needs a much thinner vibration dampener. In fact Reed Cary points out that in a 1949 Parts List (CJ-2A and CJ-3A) two were offered: "671157 DAMPENER, vibration, spare wheel (use with 6.00-16 tires)" and "671158 DAMPENER, vibration, spare wheel (use with 7.00-15 tires)." Reed's own CJ-3A with 7.00 x 15" tires doesn't use a dampener and the tire wall touches the body. We cannot visually determine the width of the dampener on Marski's 3A but it is almost certainly a thin one. It seems that Willys itself had mixed feelings on the need for a dampener with 7.00 x 15" tires. Both the 1956 CJ-3B Parts List and the 1962 Master Parts List show only the standard part number 671157 vibration dampener, used with 6.00" tires. Drawing But indeed when the units were first introduced for the CJ-3A in 1949, there were two sizes. Service Bulletin 49-24 (70K JPEG) tells dealers, "Where vehicles are used in rough territory, it is suggested that you interest your owners in the installation of this vibration dampener. (...) This installation can also be made on the Model CJ-2A in the same manner, using the same dimensions. The installation of this dampener will materially lengthen the life of the spare tire mounting." Bill Norris scanned the drawing (left) from the Service Bulletin, showing the size of the wood blocks, and the drawing showing the location of the mounting bolt holes (30K JPEG). CJ-3A In The Jeep in Sweden, by Stig Edqvist, there are two CJ-3A's pictured with vibration dampeners. In this example the 3A was brand new (recently assembled after import) and had never been used. The photo is quite sharp, so that under close scrutiny the vibration dampener can be seen to be the thinner version for use with a 7.00" tire. CJ-3B Derek Redmond's 1959 3B was running with 6.00 x 16" tires when he bought it. This is a detail from a photo which I studied for an hour (for another purpose) before I noticed the vibration dampener, held by only one screw and dangling from the body. Tim Henderson sent a closeup of the original vibration dampener on his 1956 CJ-3B. CJ-3B Lawrence Wade is preserving his father's 1955 CJ-3B. Lawrence's vibration dampener appears to be simply a piece of hard wood 3/4 x 2" by about 5" in length, just visible in this photo. But there is something interesting about the way his father installed this vibration dampener for his optional 15" rims and 7:00 x 15" tires. CJ-3B Normally one would need at most a very thin vibration dampener when using 7.00 x 15" tires, as the 1949 Parts List suggests, but Lawrence's father installed a 3/4-inch block. (See a close photo by Rus Curtis of the vibration dampener from above, 60K JPEG.) Once the vibration dampener was installed he had to fabricate a spacer to fit between the body and the spare tire mount to make it work effectively. The spacer appears to be 3/4-inch pieces of plywood between the spare tire mount and the body. Lawrence describes his father as a perfectionist who went to great efforts to get things to fit. At some point he also cut off the upper right hand corner of the vibration dampener so as not to interfere with the original canvas top. Tire size At first it may seem unnecessary for Mr. Wade to have installed the dampener and spacer between body and spare mount, but let's examine the situation from a different perspective. We have seen that if we change the tire size from 6.00 x 16" to 7.00 x 15" the tire wall moves toward the body sheet metal and touches it (or almost touches it). The same effect is taking place on all the other installed tires and the right rear tire wall is moving 1/2-inch toward the spare tire just as the spare is moving 1/2-inch toward the right rear tire. A potentially dangerous situation. Under normal day-to-day driving there may be no problem, but under strain which one might encounter in an emergency situation (or severe off-road usage) the spare and right rear tires could rub against each other causing a blow out. Robert (Bert) Baker, a long-time Jeep owner, has experienced this with 7.00 x 15" tires during off-road driving. According to Bert the largest safe tire offered as a standard tire for CJ's was the 6.70 x 15" (or 16"), slightly narrower than the 7.00" tire. So Wade's father outsmarted us. It was most likely a safety issue that caused him to move the tire out by 3/4-inch. To do this he needed both the spacer and the vibration dampener. A larger tire would create an even greater problem; on my own 3B (used on a farm to plow snow) the previous owner installed 7.50 x 15" truck tires. That may explain why the owner removed the spare mount from the side and installed it on the tailgate. CJ-2A Paul Provencher describes his problems caused by the lack of a vibration dampener back in the 1970's: "The side-mounted spare on my CJ-2A was a source of great frustration for me. The original spare would not stay tight against the body. I wedged something in between the body and the tire. My right rear tire rubbed the spare in off-road situations so much that I finally removed the spare and mount and stored the spare inside the Jeep." (Photo by Paul M. Provencher. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of 4x4icon.com.) CJ-5 Joe Caprio's restored 1958 CJ-5 shows a vibration dampener to the right of the empty rim. This was the first example we had seen of the dampener turned 90 degrees, pointing away from the spare tire mount. This change in orientation may be to accommodate either 15" or 16" rims and tires. CJ-5 Here's another CJ-5 which appears to retain the original dampener. Keith Ross photographed this example in 2008 in Lake City, Colorado (180K JPEG). CJ-5 In Patrick R. Foster's The Story of Jeep there is a factory photo of a 1966 testing of various Jeep vehicles. A CJ-5 is decked out for a safari outside Toledo. A careful examination of the photo reveals a vibration dampener. While not a clear image there is certainly a vibration dampener installed pointing in the 2:30 o'clock position. Most of the Jeeps seen here were used, or were meant to be used, off road or under severe conditions. Jim Marski's 3A speaks for itself. The Swedish 3A with its Monroe lift is ready for farm work. Lawrence Wade's 3B spent a few early years as the only work vehicle on a small poultry operation. Joe Caprio's CJ-5 pushed a plow, and the factory CJ-5 seems to be preparing for an adventure in the roadless wilderness of Ohio. A standard vibration dampener couldn't have cost more than a few cents to manufacture and might have been supplied to the dealer uninstalled with the caution that it is to be installed for hard use and only with the proper size rims and tires. Considering that it is in every parts list as standard equipment, yet can be found on only a few CJs even when 6.00 x 16" tires were the norm, it just might be the case that owners simply didn't want two more holes in their brand new Jeeps. I hope this article explains why your CJ has a vibration dampener, or has holes where one used to be. Or perhaps it explains why your CJ has never had one.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

ISO Standards Handbook:

Contents Part 2 : Mechanical engineering drawings ISO 1101:1983 Technical drawings — Geometrical tolerancing — Tolerancing of form, orientation, location and run-out — Generalities, definitions, symbols, indications on drawings ISO 1302:2002 Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) — Indication of surface texture in technical product documentation ISO 1660:1987 Technical drawings — Dimensioning and tolerancing of profiles ISO 2162-1:1993 Technical product documentation — Springs — Part 1: Simplified representation ISO 2162-2:1993 Technical product documentation — Springs — Part 2: Presentation of data for cylindrical helical compression springs ISO 2162-3:1993 Technical product documentation — Springs — Part 3: Vocabulary ISO 2203:1973 Technical drawings — Conventional representation of gears ISO 2692:1988 Technical drawings — Geometrical tolerancing — Maximum material principle ISO 2692:1988 / Amd. 1:1992 Amendment 1:1992 to ISO 2692:1988 — Least material requirement ISO 3040:1990 Technical drawings — Dimensioning and tolerancing — Cones ISO 5459:1981 Technical drawings — Geometrical tolerancing — Datums and datum-systems for geometrical tolerances ISO/TR 5460:1985 Technical drawings — Geometrical tolerancing — Tolerancing of form, orientation, location and run-out — Verification principles and methods — Guidelines ISO 5845-1:1995 Technical drawings — Simplified representation of the assembly of parts with fasteners — Part 1: General principles ISO 5845-2:1995 Technical drawings — Simplified representation of the assembly of parts with fasteners — Part 2: Rivets for aerospace equipment ISO 6410-1:1993 Technical drawings — Screw threads and threaded parts — Part 1: General conventions ISO 6410-2:1993 Technical drawings — Screw threads and threaded parts — Part 2: Screw thread inserts Technical drawings, Ed. 4, Vol. 2 Page 2 of 4 ISO 6410-3:1993 Technical drawings — Screw threads and threaded parts — Part 3: Simplified representation ISO 6411:1982 Technical drawings — Simplified representation of centre holes ISO 7083:1983 Technical drawings — Symbols for geometrical tolerancing — Proportions and dimensions ISO 8015:1985 Technical drawings — Fundamental tolerancing principle ISO 8826-1:1989 Technical drawings — Rolling bearings — Part 1: General simplified representation ISO 8826-2:1994 Technical drawings — Rolling bearings — Part 2: Detailed simplified representation ISO 9222-1:1989 Technical drawings — Seals for dynamic application — Part 1: General simplified representation ISO 9222-2:1989 Technical drawings — Seals for dynamic application — Part 2: Detailed simplified representation ISO 10578:1992 Technical drawings — Tolerancing of orientation and location — Projected tolerance zone ISO 10579:1993 Technical drawings — Dimensioning and tolerancing — Non-rigid parts ISO 13715:2000 Technical drawings — Edges of undefined shape — Vocabulary and indications ISO 14660-1:1999 Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) — Geometrical features — Part 1: General terms and definitions ISO 14660-2:1999 Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) — Geometrical features — Part 2: Extracted median line of a cylinder and a cone, extracted median surface, local size of an extracted feature ISO 15785:2002 Technical drawings — Symbolic presentation and indication of adhesive, fold and pressed joints ISO 15787:2001 Technical product documentation — Heat-treated ferrous parts — Presentation and indications Part 3 : Construction drawings ISO 3766:1995 Construction drawings — Simplified representation of concrete reinforcement ISO 4066:1994 Construction drawings — Bar scheduling ISO 4069:1977 Building and civil engineering drawings — Representation of areas on sections and views — General principles ISO 4157-1:1998 Construction drawings — Designation systems — Part 1: Buildings and parts of buildings ISO 4157-2:1998 Construction drawings — Designation systems — Part 2: Room names and numbers ISO 4157-3:1998 Construction drawings — Designation systems — Part 3: Room identifiers ISO 4172:1991 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — Drawings for the assembly of prefabricated structures ISO 6284:1996 Construction drawings — Indication of limit deviations Technical drawings, Ed. 4, Vol. 2 Page 3 of 4 ISO 7437:1990 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — General rules for execution of production drawings for prefabricated structural components ISO 7518:1983 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — Simplified representation of demolition and rebuilding ISO 7519:1991 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — General principles of presentation for general arrangement and assembly drawings ISO 8048:1984 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — Representation of views, sections and cuts ISO 8560:1986 Technical drawings — Construction drawings — Representation of modular sizes, lines and grids ISO 9431:1990 Construction drawings — Spaces for drawing and for text, and title blocks on drawing sheets ISO/TR 10127:1990 Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Technique — Use of computers for the preparation of construction drawings ISO 10135:1994 Technical drawings — Simplified representation of moulded, cast and forged parts ISO 11091:1994 Construction drawings — Landscape drawing practice Part 4 : Drawing equipment ISO 9175-1:1988 Tubular tips for hand-held technical pens using India ink on tracing paper — Part 1: Definitions, dimensions, designation and marking ISO 9175-2:1988 Tubular tips for hand-held technical pens using India ink on tracing paper — Part 2: Performance, test parameters and test conditions ISO 9176:1988 Tubular technical pens — Adaptor for compasses ISO 9177-1:1989 Mechanical pencils — Part 1: Classification, dimensions, performance requirements and testing ISO 9177-2:1989 Mechanical pencils — Part 2: Black leads — Classification and dimensions ISO 9177-3:1994 Mechanical pencils — Part 3: Black leads — Bending strengths of HB leads ISO 9178-1:1988 Templates for lettering and symbols — Part 1: General principles and identification markings ISO 9178-2:1988 Templates for lettering and symbols — Part 2: Slot widths for wood-cased pencils, clutch pencils and fine-lead pencils ISO 9178-3:1989 Templates for lettering and symbols — Part 3: Slot widths for technical pens with tubular tips in accordance with ISO 9175-1 ISO 9180:1988 Black leads for wood-cased pencils — Classification and diameters ISO 9957-1:1992 Fluid draughting media — Part 1: Water-based India ink — Requirements and test conditions ISO 9957-2:1995 Fluid draughting media — Part 2: Water-based non-India ink — Requirements and test conditions ISO 9957-3:1997 Fluid draughting media — Part 3: Water-based coloured draughting inks — Requirements and test conditions ISO 9958-1:1992 Draughting media for technical drawings — Draughting film with polyester base — Part 1: Requirements and marking Technical drawings, Ed. 4, Vol. 2 Page 4 of 4 ISO 9958-2:1992 Draughting media for technical drawings — Draughting film with polyester base — Part 2: Determination of properties ISO 9959-1:1992 Numerically controlled draughting machines — Drawing test for the evaluation of performance — Part 1: Vector plotters ISO 9959-2:1999 Numerically controlled draughting machines — Draughting test for evaluation of performance — Part 2: Monochrome raster plotters ISO 9960-1:1992 Draughting instruments with or without graduation — Part 1: Draughting scale rules ISO 9960-2:1994 Draughting instruments with or without graduation — Part 2: Protractors ISO 9960-3:1994 Draughting instruments with or without graduation — Part 3: Set squares ISO 9961:1992 Draughting media for technical drawings — Natural tracing paper ISO 9962-1:1992 Manually operated draughting machines — Part 1: Definitions, classification and designation ISO 9962-2:1992 Manually operated draughting machines — Part 2: Characteristics, performance, inspection and marking ISO 9962-3:1994 Manually operated draughting machines — Part 3: Dimensions of scale rule chuck plates ISO 12756:1998 Drawing and writing instruments — Ball point pens and roller ball pens — Vocabulary ISO 12757-2:1998 Ball point pens and refills — Part 2: Documentary use (DOC) ISO 14145-2:1998 Roller ball pens and refills — Part 2: Documentary use (DOC) ISO 16018:1999 Technical drawings — Numerically controlled draughting machines — Draughting media and tools for vector plotters

Friday, June 29, 2012

Making Money with Articles: Becoming an Affiliate

If you can either write articles or have the promotion and marketing knowledge to publicize articles that others write, becoming an affiliate for several companies may be a great way for you to generate a good income right from your own home. You can do this by receiving part of the revenue off of sales that the company gets from people who “click through” from your website via the company’s links that are placed on your pages. Since you will be promoting a product or service, you will need a killer sales pitch and website content to get your readers interested in the product, convince them that they cannot live without the product, and to keep them coming back to your website time and time again for more recommendations and your useful content, which will get them clicking on your links once again. Although many affiliate companies only give you money off of the first sale you make from each customer, you have the option of promoting a good range of companies so that you can still make a profit off of your returning customers. If you cannot write this kind of content of your own, there are many ways to pick up free or paid content to place on your affiliate website. There are many reasons why paying for such articles would be to your advantage. First, you will be able to tell the writer exactly what you want, what product you are trying to sell, and what direction they can go in to keep your readers interested and informed. On the other hand, when you search for free content, you are limited to what is already out there. Secondly, you will own the copyright to this content. That means that no one else can reuse it without your consent. If you opt for free content, you will be sharing that content with an unknown amount of other affiliate websites, plus the original author will be able to place their byline at the bottom of the article which could result in them stealing your traffic. There are many products that have nice affiliate commission rates for those who know how to pre-sale their product and deliver click through customers who are ready to buy. As long as you choose to promote a product or service that can be very useful to a wide variety of people, then pre-selling your chosen company may not be that hard at all. The key in this situation may likely be getting those customers to your website so that they have a chance to see your recommendations and click on your affiliate links. Word Count 446 PPPPP

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Going in Reverse Can Be the Right Direction

Returns management can offer significant cost savings for manufacturers. By David Blanchard For consumer goods and high-tech manufacturers, as well as their retail customers, Christmas isn't necessarily the most important time of the year. In fact, it's Christmas returns season that is make-or-break for many of these companies, says Curtis Greve, principal of Greve Davis, a company specializing in reverse logistics and aftermarket services. "Your ability to process the tidal wave of returns during the first quarter of the year will have a big impact on your company's bottom line," he says. There are at least 100 billion reasons for companies to take product returns seriously, since that's how much it costs U.S. manufacturers and retailers every year in lost sales, transportation, handling, processing and disposing of goods. Since 2007, the cost of returned consumer electronics has skyrocketed by 21%, reaching $17 billion last year. In a recent survey conducted by Accenture, 43% of the electronics manufacturers polled say that product return rates have increased since 2007, and only 12% say returns are trending downward. One might think this high rate of returns is indicative of customer dissatisfaction, with the problem being largely one of defective or substandard products. Not so, says Mitch Cline, managing director of Accenture's electronics and high-tech group. Only 5% of all returns are due to product defects. While another 27% are because of "buyer's remorse," by far the main reason why products are returned can be summed up in the phrase "no fault found," with 68% testing out fine after being returned. As Tony Sciarrotta, director of asset recovery at Philips Consumer Lifestyle, a manufacturer of TVs and other appliances, points out, "no fault found" is no longer considered a product issue, but rather, a customer experience issue. And that puts the responsibility for reducing returns squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturer. One of the ways that Philips has improved its returns management has been addressing the problem at the design stage of the product, focusing on ease of use and interoperability, with the goal of making the products more customer friendly. Also, every Philips division now has a formal returns department, with bonus programs in place to encourage reduction in returns at every level. Accenture's analysis indicates that by reducing the number of "no fault found" returns by just 1%, a typical large high-tech manufacturer could save $21 million per year in return and repair costs. "These high consumer electronics return rates are unsustainable in a sector with brutal competition and thin margins," Cline points out. Manufacturers, he suggests, should help consumers "understand, set up, use and optimize the products they purchase. Most companies invest considerable sums to manage returns but need to refocus their strategies on proactively preventing returns through customer education and aftermarket support." The payoff can be significant. Hitachi America, a manufacturer of HDTVs, has developed a Service Call Avoidance program, which relies on an outsourced call center to handle complaint calls from consumers. The program is part of an ongoing effort to improve first-call completion rate, the percentage of customer complaints that can be solved on the first call. As a result of the program, the first-call completion rate has climbed from under 60% to over 90%, with 33% fewer service call referrals overall. While many manufacturers use the services of third parties specializing in reverse logistics, some are opting for a more direct route: either partnering with or acquiring outright providers of returns and asset recovery services. Avnet Inc., for instance, an electronics distributor, recently acquired Canvass Systems, a provider of remarketing, refurbishment and asset disposal services. Similarly, Ingram Micro, an electronics and IT distributor, has begun offering IT asset disposition services to its channel partners, thanks to a collaborative effort with U.S. Micro, a provider of IT recycling services. See Also:

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

HAMMER TO FALL

Google Adsense: Understanding Image Ads and Making Google Adsense Dollars with Writingup.com

What are image ads? Image ads are graphical ads. Unlike traditional banner ads, image ads are also targeted to the appropriate audience, just like text ads. A publisher that has a combination of image ads and text ads has a greater revenue generating potential. Image ads are only for Adsense for Content pages and not available for Adsense for Search results pages. There are 5 major formats of image ads. The Leaderboard, which is about twice the size of a banner ad, the banner image ad, the skyscraper, the wide skyscraper and the medium rectangle. Google’s technology determines on a page by page basis whether image ads, text ads, or a combination of both will make you more money and then delivers the appropriate format. You can choose to run only image ads, but Google recommends selecting both, thereby giving them a better chance to target the right advertising for your page, generating more revenue for you. Bottom line: taking these two methods together will give you the best chance at making the most revenue. How to Make Google Adsense Dollars at Writingup.com To get started blogging at writingup.com, first you’ll need to create a Google Adsense account. If you’ve already done that, you’ll just give them the same publisher id you got when you originally signed up with Google Adsense. Since you can only have one Google Adsense account, you will always use the same publisher id on every site you add. Next, you’ll create an account at writingup.com and within minutes, start blogging! You still have to follow the Google Adsense rules as to the type of content not acceptable but other than that you have carte blanche as to what to write about in your blog. Paste your writingup.com URL into your email signature and every time you send someone an email, you will be referring them to your blog, thus increasing your traffic on writingup.com. Comment on other publisher’s blogs. If you interact with the blogging community, you are more likely to have your blog read more often. Again, traffic. Writingup.com has a list of successful topics you can write about. You don’t have to choose from that list of course, but it’s quite extensive and if you look it over, you’ll probably find something that interests you. They are successful topics because they turn up in search engines a lot. More traffic. Word Count 409 PPPPP

DRAWING DRILL JIG

DRAWING DRILL JIG
PART DRAWING DRILL JIG
DRAWING WORK DRILL JIG
ART DRAWING WORK DRILL JIG

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Drafting Tools - Snap and Grid

We've got snap and grid in AutoCAD. Let's talk about snap and grid. Let's see how we can use it and why we would use it. Snap restricts the cursor movements to specified intervals. That is handy. Lines will have a specific length. Still. If you're using object snaps than you can pick a point that is not on an interval that has been specified. We'll talk about object snap later. With grid switched on dots are displayed in the screen. The dots help to visualize distances. Often the grid interval is the same as the snap interval. That is important. You can have grid dots displayed in the screen. Now you want to print your drawing. The dots are not printed. OK. We know what snap and grid are. But we want to know more. We want to know how we can set the intervals and how we can switch it on and off. Let's start with setting the intervals. There are two ways for doing that. Whatever way you choose. You do it over the Drafting Settings dialog box. Click on Tools in the menu bar. A pull down menu shows up. In the pull down menu click on Drafting Settings. The Drafting Settings dialog box is displayed. There are four tabs in the Drafting Settings dialog box. The Snap and Grid tab is in front. That's exactly what we want. In the dialog box we see two check boxes and we see four areas. The checkboxes can be used for switching on or off snap and grid. Let's have a look at the Snap area and the Grid area. First the Snap area. In that area you can enter values for the spacing. You can enter a value for the X spacing and you can enter a value for the Y pacing. The spacing set the interval I was talking about. There is more you can do in that area. You can enter an angle, an X base, and a Y base. The angle gives the angle of the snap intervals. Most of the time you do not change the angle. You leave the angle at zero. But the X base and the Y base. What's that? The X base and the Y base gives the starting point of the snap. As before. Do not change it. Leave it as it is. At zero. You now know how you can do the settings for the snap. You do it in the Snap area of the Drafting Settings dialog box. But we can also do something with the settings of the grid. That is done in the Grid area of the dialog box. This time we can do less. We can only change the X spacing and the Y spacing. We cannot change the angle or the X base and Y base of the grid. This is what is done most of the time. Most of the time the spacing for the grid is the same as the spacing for the snap. That is what is happening. The grid follows the snap settings for angle and the X base and Y base. So there is no need to change those settings. This is what we now saw. You can do the settings of the snap and the grid in the Drafting Settings dialog box. And you can switch them on and off. Before I continue. I must tell you about the third area in the Drafting Settings dialog box. It is the Snap style and type area. For the snap type we can set Grid snap and we can set PolarSnap. If we go for a Grid snap type then e can select a rectangular snap or an isometric snap. If you're creating isometric drawings, then you want to go for an isometric snap. The snap will have the isometric angles. I'm not going to talk about PolarSnap now. I will do that later. I will do that as we're talking about Polar Tracking. In the next article. But there is another way. Look at your screen. Do you see the status bar? In the status bar there are two buttons. In the status bar there is the Snap button and there is the Grid button. You can click on the buttons. To have snap and grid switched on and off. Something else you can do with the buttons. You can right click them. If you do a short cut menu is displayed. If you right click the Snap button then you'll find the following options in the shortcut menu: -PolartSnap On -Grid Snap On -Off -Settings If you right click on the Grid button then you'll find the following options in the shortcut menu: -On -Off -Settings You can imagine where the on and off options stand for. Those options can be sued to switch snap and grid on or off. But we already saw. There is a quicker way. We can also click on the Snap and Grid buttons in the status bar. In fact. There is another quick way. You can press the F7 function key to switch grid on or off. And you can press the F9 function key to switch snap on or off. Oh. In the shortcut menu under the Snap button you also see the PolarSnap On option. As I said before. We'll talk about it alter. But there is the Settings option in the shortcut menus under the Snap button and the Grid button. Click on that option. If you do the Drafting Settings dialog box is opened. We already have seen what can be done in the Drafting Settings dialog box. But this is what we now know. Using the shortcut menu under the Snap and Grid button. That is a quicker way to open the Drafting Settings dialog box. This is it for today. Now you know everything that you need to know about snap and grid. Tomorrow we're going to talk about polar tracking. See you tomorrow.

New Way of Creating AutoCAD Drawings

You can sue this way. If you're creating 2D drawings and 3D drawings. If you follow this way, you're saving a lot of time. The new way of creating CAD drawings is all about creating a 3D drawing first and then using that drawing to create your 2D drawing. In this course is explained how it is done. More. There is even explained how you can add dimensions to your 2D drawing. Let's make a good start. We start with creating a 3D drawing. It's going to be a simple drawing. But that doesn't matter. We open AutoCAD. We start with a new drawing. We draw a rectangle. The size of the rectangle is 200 by 100. And we draw a circle. The comes is drawn in the left side of the rectangle. The diameter of the circle is 100. It fits nicely in the rectangle. This is the base of the 3D drawing. Let's extrude the rectangle and the circle. We give them a height of 50. And a taper angel of zero. We now have two 3D objects. Let's make one 3D object. We use the UNION command. You know that command. You know what to do. To see the 3D model clearly we go to a 3D view of the drawing. Next we save the drawing. Give it the name 3D drawing.

Engineering and Production Drawings

Engineering drawings and production drawings are different, and understanding the difference is important. In larger electronics manufacturing companies with specialized departments and mature procedures there is typically a good understanding of the difference between engineering drawings and production drawings. In smaller companies, however, this distinction can be lost and the wrong sort of information can end up on the wrong drawings. Or worse, the distinction between the two sets of drawings can be lost as a company struggles to manage with only one set. This article clarifies the difference between the two types of drawings, and shows how putting information in the proper place brings benefits. ENGINEERING DRAWINGS For an electronic product, the Engineering drawings define what the product should be. The engineering drawing set is produced by the Engineering department, and is the final output of the research, design and development phase of a project. The engineering drawing set includes schematics, printed circuit board layouts, bills of material, drawings for mechanical parts and assembly drawings. The engineering drawings set is a complete specification of what the finished product is. Every aspect of the product that is important to the form, fit and function of the product is specified. Any product, however manufactured, that is consistent with the engineering drawing set is acceptable PRODUCTION DRAWINGS Production drawings show how to manufacture the product. In a medium or large sized organisation there will typically be a production engineering department. Production engineers take the engineering drawings and decide how best to manufacture the product described by the drawings in their factory. They produce a set of production drawings that detail the task to be performed, the equipment to be used, the order tasks are to be performed in and the procedures to be followed. These drawings are used by the shop-floor workers in their day-to-day activities. Machine operatives, production line workers and supervisors all use the production drawings as a reference for how to go about manufacturing the product. For example, if the engineering drawings called for a screw to be tightened to a particular torque, the production drawings would typically detail which tool is to be used to tighten the screw, and how it should be calibrated. If the screw is in an awkward place the drawings might also specify that this tightening is to be done early in the assembly procedure, before access becomes restricted. DIFFERENT FACTORIES, DIFFERENT DRAWINGS As such, the production drawings typically include information that is specific to the particular factory. One factory will have different tools and machines than another and the production drawings will reflect this. More dramatically, a factory located in the first world will place a premium on labour and will avoid labour intensive processes. A factory in the developing world might choose very different assembly methods, preferring labour intensive Engineering - What Production – How methods that avoid the need to purchase expensive machines. Products produced in either factory are acceptable as long as they meet the specifications of the engineering drawings. WHICH DETAILS BELONG WHERE It is easy to fall in to the trap of putting too much detail on engineering drawings, in an attempt to be helpful. For example, the designer of the component with the screw that needed to be tightened might realise that the screw is in an awkward place and specify on the engineering drawings that the tightening operation is to be done early in the assembly process. But suppose the factory where the product is made only had a particular type of right-angled torque driver. It might actually be more convenient for them to tighten the screw later on, when they can get at it from the side. By imposing the unnecessary restriction the engineer might have just made the product more expensive. The key questions when considering if something belongs on an engineering drawing are "Is the proposed specification something that can be observed in the finished product? Would a product be unacceptable if this specification were not followed?" In the example of the screw the answer is that the torque specification is important and measurable. You can look at a finished widget and measure the torque of the screw and say whether it is acceptable. The torque specification, if it is important to the correct operation of the widget, properly belongs on the engineering drawing. On the other hand, you can say nothing from looking at the finished widget about which tool might have been used to tighten the screw or when the tightening might have been done. These things do not affect the finished widget and thus do not belong on the engineering drawings. WHY TWO SETS Separating production information from the engineering drawings brings advantages to the engineering department too. Every engineer is familiar with the Project That Will Not Die. The project he worked on five years ago but about which he is still compelled to make mundane decisions every other week. Decisions that have nothing to do with the engineering specifications of the product, but rather concern production details. This problem is especially acute in smaller companies without a dedicated production engineering department, where all the information about both engineering and production details is on one set of drawings. Every mundane production problem requires the involvement of engineering staff to modify the drawings. Avoid this problem by maintaining separate engineering and production drawing sets. The engineering drawings will rarely change and the expensive engineers can work on developing new products. The production drawings, which typically change more frequently as problems arise or new equipment is introduced, can be maintained by the production staff. CONCLUSION Maintaining a clear distinction between engineering and production drawings, and ensuring that everyone understands which information belongs where brings benefits to both the engineering and production functions, both in time and cost. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matthew Kendall is a principal of Ionocom Communications Inc., Vancouver, BC. He has worked in electronic product design since 1987, first in Reading, England, and lately in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He can be reached by email at matthew@ionocom.com. See http://www.ionocom.com for more articles like this one.

DRAWING CONNECTING ROD

DRAWING CONNECTING ROD DRAWING WORK CONNECTING ROD

Thursday, June 21, 2012

What does two-point perspective look like?

example drawing two point perspective Perspective in real life is a complicated affair; most of us can roughly sketch things so they look about right, but being very precise is tricky, because objects are at all kinds of angles. So to help us understand how perspective works without going completely crazy, we 'construct' perspective using just one or two simple objects, aligned in the same direction. When you come to drawing freehand, you can 'translate' this approach to drawing objects in your picture one at a time. You don't usually use detailed construction methods, but what you've learned from this approach helps you to recognize whether your sketch is accurate. So what does our subject look like when we're going to do a two-point drawing? In this type of perspective, we are viewing the object or scene so that we are looking at one corner, with two sets of parallel lines are moving away from us. Remember that every set of parallel lines has its own vanishing point. To keep it simple, two-point, as the name implies, uses two - each pair of horizontals (the top and bottom edge of a building, box or wall) will diminish towards the left or right vanishing point, while the remaining set of parallel lines, the verticals, are still straight up-and-down (we only worry about those when we're doing three-point perspective!). It sounds a bit confusing, but you don't need to be able to explain it - just understand how it should look, and by following the steps, you'll find it surprisingly easy to draw. Just remember: the verticals stay straight up and down, while we 'vanish' the left and right sides towards a vanishing point.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

DRAWING PISTON

DRAWING PISTON DRAWING WORK PISTON

Engineering Drawing Software

By an eHow Contributor Engineering drawing software, like Auto-CAD or Solid Works, enables engineers and drafters to spend more time creating and innovating mechanical or electrical drawings. Most engineering drawing software comes with a library of parts or components ready to drag and drop onto the screen. The importance of engineering drawing software is the time it can save in creating drafts for engineers, scientists, technicians and drafters. Of equal importance is the coherency of the drafts that it can produce. With applications like Solid Works, drafters can create three-dimensional drawings that are more interactive than the older drawing programs. Aside from drawing schematics and blow-up diagrams, engineering drawing software may include flow charts and process diagrams. These types of drawings are done using Microsoft Visio. Some companies have developed entire assembly procedures and parts descriptions for manufacturing using only Visio, and a little bit of programming. Engineering artwork and drafts are often stored and accessed by computer data bases, such as Oracle. Read more: Engineering Drawing Software | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4761869_engineering-drawing-software.html#ixzz1yIitrTNN History • The earliest engineering drawing software is the world-renowned CAD (computer aided drawing) application. CAD was originally a two-dimensional drawing program with very limited drawing tools, consisting of circles and simple line drawing tools. Today, CAD includes extensions like Wire Frame to allow for the creation of three-dimensional drawings. M Types • There are a number of engineering drawing software applications. Mechanical computer-aided design software (MCAD) is used primarily by mechanical engineers. Solid Works is one of the most popular mechanical drawing software programs. File formatting is saved in Microsoft Structured Storage. This format includes multiple files nested in one another, including previews, images and metadata files. Those who do the drawing are usually drafters or technical illustrators. Engineers spend more time analyzing drawings and crunching numbers. Graphing/ visualization applications are used to render scientific data into a coherent drawing. Engineers convert data into visual graphs that work with relational databases and reference documents. Graphs and drawings can then be stored in an online analytical processing model (OLAP). OLAP is accessed in multidimensional views by a shared network of scientists, engineers, drafters, and technicians. Tecplot helps engineers draw out dynamic data maps. Tecplot has been used in creating 3D graphs for invisible structures such as magnetic fields and bio-engineering models. Auto CAD is still the most widely used engineering drawing software. Utilizing C++ code allows engineers and drafters to customize CAD objects, resulting in more accurate and flexible drawings. For Mac and Linux, QCAD is the popular engineering drawing software. Read more: Engineering Drawing Software | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4761869_engineering-drawing-software.html#ixzz1yIj9GLUk Significance • The visual aspect of drawing software is a key component in assembly instructions for engineering/manufacturing companies. None of the products we use today could be manufactured accurately without engineering drawing software. Drawings are fixed point for accuracy and scaled. This means that size and dimension is scaled down (or up) for printing to paper or an electronic medium. A scaled technical drawing is a representation of something with physical dimensions. Without scaling, all drawings would have to match the exact size of the object being represented. considerations • Three-dimensional drawing programs were developed to speed up design processes in engineering. One problem that comes from engineering drawing software is the subject of simulations. Simulation-type drawings are useful for training personnel in hazardous environments, such as manufacturing facilities where dangerous chemicals are handled. Simulation drawings are time-consuming to create, though, and may actually inhibit productivity in the long run. Drawings are more likely used in place of simulations. Use • A common use for engineering drawing software is in creating documentation for an engineering group. For example, a mechanical engineer puts together three-dimensional components for a new product prototype. An electrical engineer would then draw out a two-dimensional plan for power distribution in the new product. Technical illustration software or CAD is used to draw the two-dimensional plan. In the case of an electronic file, the engineer or drafter will insert hyperlinks in the three-dimensional plan, which link to a two-dimensional electrical plan for the new product. Modern engineering drawing software, including Visio, has intelligent objects that have been preprogrammed to align on the computer screen and connect lines where it is reasonable to do so. The illustrator or drafter moves objects around more than actually drawing. Future applications • One area of technology that is opening the way to the future of engineering drawing is virtual reality. Virtual drawings enable engineers to visit inside space stations of the future, project problems with their designs and improve an existing design without ever leaving the office. In the real world, Ford Motors has used virtual reality to step inside a drawing of an automobile. Virtual drawings can aid engineers in finding defects before a product has gone to the market. In fact, engineers can utilize virtual drawings to determine the best assembly procedures before the first prototype reaches the assembly line. The use of virtual drawings can save a company money and increase the speed of the design process significantly. Read more: Engineering Drawing Software | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4761869_engineering-drawing-software.html#ixzz1yIjFJATo