The Engineer
13 July 2001
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5,000-HP superconducting electric motor
19 Jul 2001
American Superconductor has built and demonstrated the world’s first 5,000-horsepower (hp), high temperature superconductor (HTS) electric motor. The company’s patented, ultra-compact HTS electric motors are designed to reduce manufacturing costs of industrial and ship propulsion motors by up to 40 % compared with conventional motors.
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Alexander invites bids for wireless internet licences
19 Jul 2001
The UK's E-Commerce Minister Douglas Alexander today outlined the bidding process for the 26 remaining licences for broadband fixed wireless access in England, Scotland, and Wales. The licences will be available from September 2001. Commercial licence holders will be able to deliver internet and multimedia services over the airwaves. The announcement is said to form part of the Government's drive to provide competitive broadband services throughout the UK.
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An overhead kick?
19 Jul 2001
Upcoming EU safety regulations look set to put the boot into the already heavily burdened overhead factory cranes sector.
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Ford sets itself ambitious target for new diesel site
19 Jul 2001
Ford is planning to turn out 900,000 diesel engines a year by 2004 at its refurbished Dagenham factory, it claimed this week.
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Hard times loom as slowdown bites
19 Jul 2001
With warnings over the skill shortages facing manufacturing industry, you would be forgiven for believing anyone with an engineering degree could waltz straight into the job of their choice.
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Hoover dust-up over euro entry
19 Jul 2001
Hoover is ready to end production of fridges and vacuum cleaners in the UK if the government continues to keep the pound out of the euro.
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Keep those car parts rolling
19 Jul 2001
Who says conveyors aren't high-tech? Mercedes-Benz has recently installed a super-smart one incorporating 209 photocells and 42 barcode scanners.
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Last of the killer forklifts
19 Jul 2001
The forklift truck has a deadly reputation, claiming around ten lives every year. Yet more of the problems stem from lack of maintenance or inadequate training.
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Marconi staff call on board to quit following job cuts
19 Jul 2001
Marconi workers called for the board to be sacked at the AGM in London this week after the firm announced 4,000 job losses earlier this month.
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Oil industry gets IT together...
19 Jul 2001
Major oil companies are to begin sharing data from the North Sea via the internet. BP, Shell, Esso and Conoco are among those involved...
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Poor image leaves RAF in recruitment dogfight
19 Jul 2001
The RAF is battling against skills shortages and the public's poor perception of life in the services in its annual drive to recruit engineers.
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QinetiQ targets assault on commercial projects
19 Jul 2001
QinetiQ, recently spun out of the MoD's DERA, last week previewed some of its new research projects in the fields of intelligent highways and mobile phone infrastructure.
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Roller bearings giant cuts back
19 Jul 2001
SKF, the world's biggest supplier of roller bearings, said this week that it will be cutting more jobs and bringing production down to 'considerably lower' levels.
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Sky-high stakes
19 Jul 2001
When the US government decides later this year which Joint Strike Fighter it wants, it will set off a production line that will see thousands of the combat aircraft take to the air across the world.
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Trade body set to chart new course for industry
19 Jul 2001
The UK's storm-hit shipbuilding industry has been given a new protector this week, with the launch of a trade body aiming to promote its interests at home and abroad.
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Visteon forms joint venture to supply modules to Nissan
19 Jul 2001
Visteon Corporation is to form a joint venture with Lextron to supply integrated cockpit modules and front-end modules to Nissan, for future truck and minivan platforms.
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Mitsubishi licensed by IBM to make wafers
16 Jul 2001
Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corporation has been granted a license from IBM to manufacture and sell SIMOX-SOI wafers.
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Determining the limits of CMOS
18 Jul 2001
IMEC has launched a study to determine the practical limits of the semiconductor industry's primary workhorse manufacturing process technology - CMOS.
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A common spec for the VIPA
18 Jul 2001
Fujitsu Limited and Avanex Corporation have reached an agreement to standardise specifications on virtually imaged phased array dispersion compensation modules.
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Concorde set for verification flight
17 Jul 2001
British airways has announced that Concorde will undergo a verification flight today to assess the operational impact of the modifications it has undergone since being grounded in August 2000.
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Semi equipment companies expect $31 billion market
17 Jul 2001
The leading manufacturers of semiconductor equipment expect the industry to decline 35 percent from the record $47.7 billion posted in 2000.
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New Apple Macs and a new OS
18 Jul 2001
Apple today introduced a new line of Power Mac G4s with 733 MHz, 867 MHz and dual 800 MHz PowerPC G4 processors.
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Deere takes partners for transaxle venture
18 Jul 2001
Deere & Company, Yanmar Diesel Engine, and Kanzaki Kokyukoki Manufacturing have formed a joint venture - Transaxle Manufacturing of America.
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Getting rid of the clutter
16 Jul 2001
Thanks to technology developed by QinetiQ, there could be a dramatic reduction in the number of radio masts and antennas currently in use throughout the UK.
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High efficiency DC/DC controller simplifies PSU design
18 Jul 2001
The LTC1871 from Linear Technology is a current mode DC/DC controller IC for step-up, flyback and SEPIC applications.
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Streamlined service on the Web
13 Jul 2001
Autodesk has launched its Web-based 'Streamline' service that allows small and mid-size manufacturers to share personalised design data from a single location.
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Auditing tool for wireless network security
13 Jul 2001
IBM claims to have developed the industry's first automated auditing tool that can monitor 802.11 wireless networks and collect security-related information.
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3G cell-site modem makes its debut
16 Jul 2001
Qualcomm is now sampling its CDMA Technologies (QCT) CSM5500 Cell-Site Modem (CSM) IC and associated system software.
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3D parametric modelling for GIS/CAD users
16 Jul 2001
Evans & Sutherland has disclosed that version 2.2 of its RAPIDsite software for civil engineers will ship in August.
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Conveying a faster chain
13 Jul 2001
Tsubaki has introduced the Double Plus free flow conveyor chain, which conveys objects 2.5 times faster than the actual chain speed. Consequently, motor speeds up to 60% slower can be used, leading to improved system reliability and reductions in chain noise by as much as 15dB compared to outboard plastic roller chains. Double Plus employs a design that incorporates a large centre roller, and a smaller outer roller, which supports the chain on a guide rail.
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Federal-Mogul loses its bearings
18 Jul 2001
Federal-Mogul Corporation is to sell its industrial heavy wall bearing operation in McConnelsville, OH, to Miba-Bearings.
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Enabling next-generation optical networking
13 Jul 2001
Agilent Technologies has introduced two new 43G Bit Error Ratio (BER) test systems that support emerging 40 Gb/s technology.
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Floating sun gear benefits planetary reducers
17 Jul 2001
Groschopp's new planetary reducers employ a floating sun gear rather than a fixed position one.
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What maketh a motor?
13 Jul 2001
With the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme now in effect, businesses buying multi-phase induction motors can claim the capital cost of the motor plus any direct installation costs.
