Manufacturing Technology

Used cigarette butts offer energy solution

A group of scientists from South Korea have converted used-cigarette butts into a high-performing material that could be integrated into computers, handheld devices, electrical vehicles and wind turbines to store energy. The researchers have demonstrated the material’s superior performance compared to commercially available carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes. It is hoped the material can be used to coat the electrodes of supercapacitors—electrochemical components that can store extremely large amounts of electrical energy—whilst also offering a solution to the growing environmental problem caused by used-cigarette filters. It is estimated that as many as 5.6 trillion used-cigarettes, or 766?571 metric tons, are deposited into the environment worldwide every year. Co-author of the study Professor Jongheop Yi, from Seoul National University, said: “Our study has shown that used-cigarette filters can be transformed into a high-performing carbon-based material using a simple one step process, which simultaneously offers a green solution to meeting the energy demands of society. “Numerous countries are developing strict regulations to avoid the trillions of toxic and non-biodegradable used-cigarette filters that are disposed of into the environment each year—our method is just one way of achieving this.” Carbon is the most popular material that supercapacitors are composed of, due to its low cost, high surface area, high electrical conductivity and long term stability. Scientists around the world are currently working towards improving the characteristics of supercapacitors—such as energy density, power density and cycle stability—whilst also trying to reduce production costs. In their study, the researchers demonstrated that the cellulose acetate fibres that cigarette filters are mostly composed of could be transformed into a carbon-based material using a simple, one-step burning technique called pyrolysis. As a result of this burning process, the resulting carbon-based material contained a number of tiny pores, increasing its performance as a supercapacitive material. “A high-performing supercapacitor material […]

Reduce development risk

Offering both tools and services, Maplesoft Engineering Solutions help engineers validate and optimise product designs, produce extremely fast simulation code for hardware-in-the-loop and other types of simulations where execution speed is critical, and develop specialised analysis and design calculation tools. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions also support model development for model predictive control, an advanced technique used to represent the behaviour of complex systems. The Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team has expertise in a variety of engineering fields and extensive experience in model-based design. By leveraging the unique benefits of MapleSim and Maple, advanced engineering design tools from Maplesoft, they help engineers reduce development risk, create better products, and get to market faster. MapleSim and Maple are also available for engineers to use directly in their own development projects. MapleSim is an advanced system-level modelling and simulation tool from Maplesoft that applies modern techniques to dramatically reduce model development time, provide greater insight into system behaviour, and produce fast, high-fidelity simulations. MapleSim is based on Maple, the technical computing software for engineers, mathematicians, and scientists. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions are used by customers in a variety of domains, such as electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, ground transportation, space systems, batteries, mining, and manufacturing. Past projects include a robotic arm for drilling in mines, a motion platform for driving simulators, a torsional vibration analysis tool for marine drivelines, batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, and dialysis machines. While projects vary greatly, they frequently involve the following: High performance plant models for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications. Generating high-fidelity plant models from many system design tools typically results in code that is not fast enough for real-time, HIL execution, and engineers often perform a trade-off between model fidelity and performance.

electronica India and productronica India from 23-25 September

electronica India and productronica India are India’s number one trade fairs for electronic components and production technology.This year around 300 exhibitors, representing 600 companies, will take part from 23 to 25 September 2014 at BIEC, Bengaluru. After a successful 2013 edition that witnessed 11,589 trade visitors, the 15th edition of India’s leading trade fairs on electronics components and production technology this year will be hosted at BIEC, Bengaluru from 23-25 September, 2014. Electronics manufacturing and components manufacturing are getting a boost in India due to the announced M-SIPS policy. India has approved the setting up of semiconductor wafer plants, commonly known as fab units, by two consortia costing a total of 63,410 rupees crores. India’s demand for electronics products is forecasted to rise nearly 10 times during this decade to reach 400 billion USD by 2020, causing policy makers to worry that electronics imports, with no major local manufacturing, could exceed those of oil(as per report by NDTV.com). These FABs will have a big impact on the development of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing eco-system across the country. This will help set up a critical pillar required to promote Electronics System Design and Manufacturing in India. Indian Electronics Semiconductor Association (IESA), electronica India and productronica India will present the maiden edition of Deftronics conference – an industry symposium focused on aerospace and defense electronics. The premier edition of this conference will examine sector-specific issues, emerging trends and outlook for strategic electronics in the aerospace and defense verticals. Besides Deftronics, there will be various other conferences/seminars organised during the three days of the trade fairs. This year, IPC INDIA 2014 exclusive pavilion will be co-located with electronica India and productronica India. IPC INDIA 2014 is India’s leading association that focusses on PCB manufacturing development in India. electronica India and productronica India […]

Alstom Grid energises Jeju Island in South Korea

Alstom Grid has successfully energised the second High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) turnkey project in South Korea, following the first also delivered by Alstom in 1997. The newly energised project, awarded in 2009, establishes a 400 MW HVDC bi-directional transmission line between Jindo and the island of Jeju. With 50 million people, South Korea is an energy-intensive nation, ranked eleventh worldwide in total energy consumption[1]. Yet, it imports 82 per cent of the total energy it consumes. Since 2006, the Korean government has developed new energy policies to become more energy independent, meet growing demand and increase energy efficiency. Jeju Island is located 100 km south of the peninsular mainland at 73 km wide and 41 km long. Known as the country’s honeymoon and holiday destination, the island previously operated on an independent electric network; it faced frequent blackouts and unstable power supply due to the network’s lack of efficiency and low power capacity. “Alstom supplied the first HVDC link at 300 MW between Jeju Island and the mainland in 1997. This second project, first of its kind at a power capacity of 400 MW in South Korea, demonstrates the Alstom’s efficient commissioning management, and commitment to continuous innovation in the high voltage energy management,” said Patrick Plas, Senior Vice President Power Electronics & Automation for Alstom Grid. Alstom’s HVDC technology is well-aligned with Korea’s ambition for a low-carbon economy, and is essential to carrying large amounts of power across long distances, with minimal losses. The new HVDC link is designed to be bi-directional, where power flow goes in both directions between the mainland and Jeju Island. This ensures that increasing renewable power on Jeju Island will be integrated for mainland use. The global HVDC market is expected to grow by €40 billion between now and 2020. In 2013, Alstom […]

The Second Machine Age

Driverless cars and 3D printers are harbingers of a new era, argue MIT colleagues Brynjolfsson (Director/Center for Digital Business; co-author, Wired for Innovation: How Information Technology Is Reshaping the Economy, 2013, etc.) and McAfee (Principal Research Scientist/Center for Digital Business; Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organisation’s Toughest Challenges, 2009, etc.). Some 200 years ago, the invention of the steam engine sparked massive amounts of mechanical power to drive factories and mass production in the first machine age. Now, computers and other digital advances are providing such “a vast and unprecedented boost to mental power” that technologies once found only in science fiction are becoming everyday realities. Drawing on research, including interviews with inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, engineers and others, the authors describe the forces driving the emerging age, notably the digitisation of nearly everything, which increases understanding and fosters innovation, and an amazing exponential growth in improvements. We’re now seeing “the emergence of real, useful artificial intelligence (AI) and the connection of most of the people on the planet via a common digital network. As machines complete cognitive tasks—as opposed to physical ones—engaging in pattern recognition and complex communication, AI will do more and more, for example, giving key aspects of sight to the visually impaired and restoring hearing to the deaf. Along with benefits, including greater amounts of individual choice, technological progress will bring economic disruption, leaving some people behind and workers without jobs. The authors describe the large differences that are already apparent among people in both income and wealth and explain how individuals can improve their skills to maintain healthy wage and job prospects. “Our generation has inherited more opportunities to transform the world than any other,” they write. “That’s a cause for optimism, but only if we’re mindful of our choices.”

Alstom Grid energises Jeju Island in South Korea

Alstom Grid has successfully energised the second High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) turnkey project in South Korea, following the first also delivered by Alstom in 1997. The newly energised project, awarded in 2009, establishes a 400 MW HVDC bi-directional transmission line between Jindo and the island of Jeju. With 50 million people, South Korea is an energy-intensive nation, ranked eleventh worldwide in total energy consumption. Yet, it imports 82 per cent of the total energy it consumes. Since 2006, the Korean government has developed new energy policies to become more energy independent, meet growing demand and increase energy efficiency. Jeju Island is located 100 km south of the peninsular mainland at 73 km wide and 41 km long. Known as the country’s honeymoon and holiday destination, the island previously operated on an independent electric network; it faced frequent blackouts and unstable power supply due to the network’s lack of efficiency and low power capacity. “Alstom supplied the first HVDC link at 300 MW between Jeju Island and the mainland in 1997. This second project, first of its kind at a power capacity of 400 MW in South Korea, demonstrates the Alstom’s efficient commissioning management, and commitment to continuous innovation in the high voltage energy management,” said Patrick Plas, Senior Vice President Power Electronics & Automation for Alstom Grid. Alstom’s HVDC technology is well-aligned with Korea’s ambition for a low-carbon economy, and is essential to carrying large amounts of power across long distances, with minimal losses. The new HVDC link is designed to be bi-directional, where power flow goes in both directions between the mainland and Jeju Island. This ensures that increasing renewable power on Jeju Island will be integrated for mainland use. The global HVDC market is expected to grow by €40 billion between now and 2020. In 2013, Alstom […]

High strength cellular aluminium foam for the automotive industry

Aluminium foam is used for applications that requires high level of energy and sound absorption characteristics. Researchers have developed an innovative process to make high strength cellular aluminium foam with help from some salt. Aluminium foam exhibits unique properties when compared to its dense form, particularly its lightweight characteristics. Generally, the foam can be divided into two categories; closed cell and open cell, both have different characteristics and applications. The features of the closed cell are, the pores structure is isolated and they are not connected to each other. This type of aluminium foam is suitable for application that requires high level of energy and sound absorption characteristics. It has been used widely in many structural parts, particularly in areas exposed to high damping capacity, for example in the automotive front bumper component. Meanwhile, the open cell, owing to greater level of connectivity of the pores, the structure has been accepted and used in thermal management applications. One such promising application is as a heat exchanger, particularly as a cooling medium to transfer heat, due to the development of its porous structure, which provides greater surface area, thus, enabling improved heat transfer efficiency. Producing a combined structure of open and closed cell in one volume component appears to be a difficult process due to the different processing techniques involved and their individual limitations. Therefore, in this study, an innovative processing route for high strength cellular aluminium foam (CAF) by integrating porous and dense structures is presented. The CAF is well known as a light-weight product exhibiting high level of inter-connected porosity which is very useful as a thermal management application, particularly as a heat transfer or cooling medium. However, the level of strength for the CAF is not really promising when it is subjected to high impact; thus, limit its […]

Gemalto to provide secure M2M solution for car manufacturers in China

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), world leader in digital security announces that Flaircomm Microelectronics Inc., a high-tech company developing devices for the automotive industry, is integrating Gemalto’s M2M solution in their telematics control unit (T-Box). The solution designed for car manufacturers in China includes the Cinterion(R) MIM and integrates smoothly with in-car cellular networks. The T-box is ruggedised for extreme conditions including high temperatures, pressures and vibrations. It can inform the driver of the car conditions such as oil pressure, car speed, and engine status, as well as providing information on nearest amenities like petrol stations and convenience stores. If the car breaks down or is involved in an accident, an emergency call (eCall) will also be triggered automatically for assistance and medical help. “According to Strategy Analysts, the connected car market in China could exceed RMB 200 billion (EUR 23.5 billion) by 2020,” said Luke Shi, Chairman of Flaircomm Microelectronics Inc. “Working with Gemalto puts us in a good position to address that mega-trend. We have also passed the joint debugging test carried out by ten European operators, and so we have become a key player in the automotive industry for both domestic and international markets.” “Gemalto already has a significant M2M footprint in China, offering M2M solutions to leading providers,” added Michael Wallon, Vice President of M2M Sales for Asia Pacific at Gemalto. “We are fully committed to meeting Flaircomm’s current and future needs, with a complete M2M offering that can include Cinterion(R) modules and secure personalization after the MIM has been deployed. For our customers, this means simplified cross-border movement of M2M devices and unparalleled flexibility in instantly bringing on board international network partners.”

ANALYSIS: The benefits of unified communications in the manufacturing industry

-Bruce Downing (Managing Director, Asia and South Africa) of ShoreTel. What is unified communications (UC)? Unified Communications, or UC, is a term used to describe a communications system that includes voice and data, as well as collaboration tools and applications delivered on a single platform. ShoreTel UC leverages Voice over IP to bring together VoIP telephony, instant messaging, video conferencing, mobility, presence and collaboration capabilities into a seamless business environment. How can UC solutions help manufacturers meet the key industry challenges and the growing pressure to innovate? Unified Communications solutions that offer scalability, availability and reliability, as well as ease of use and management, deliver the most value to manufacturers. Dealing with distributed offices or multiple remote plants can be a challenge for manufacturing companies; however, a UC solution that allows integration between legacy systems, whilst consolidating communications technology onto a single platform, will ensure continued growth – leveraging existing assets without costly production days. Using advanced call-routing features and centralised management across the system, ShoreTel helps minimise operational headaches, whilst maximising user adoption and customer satisfaction. Providing the organisation with the means to communicate easily and effectively – across diverse geographies, time zones and devices – enables better collaboration; and through that, there is more dynamic innovation. Can you share examples of ShoreTel customers who have successfully adopted UC in their manufacturing facilities, and the benefits they have reaped since? ShoreTel has a number of manufacturing customers in Asia using our UC, Contact Centre and Mobility solutions. For example, Tien Wah Press (TWP) was first established in Singapore as a family-run letterpress business in 1935. TWP has two main locations – its sales office and manufacturing plant are in Singapore, and it has two additional plants in Malaysia. They wanted to upgrade their old analogue phones and reduce costs […]

Keeping SMBs Ahead of the Manufacturing Innovation Curve in SouthEast Asia

By Rajiv Ghatikar, Vice President and General Manager, Siemens PLM Software, ASEAN / Australasia The Southeast Asia region as a whole has achieved unprecedented growth and development in recent decades and is increasingly playing the role of a global growth pole, fast emerging as a manufacturing and information technology hub of the world economy. According to a recent report from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), more than 96% of all enterprises across the region are considered SMBs, and those organizations account for between 50% and 85% of all domestic employment. Specifically, the SMB sector is an important pillar of Singapore’s economy as they contribute more than 50% of the economic output and 70% of employment. Needless to say, it is clear that small and mid-sized businesses play a unique and integral role across the region, serving as suppliers to large firms, customers of large firms and their own customers. Yet scale and making significant economic contributions have not protected SMBs from the pressures of the global economic slump, rising costs, competition from neighbouring countries and a shortage of skilled workers. GDP growth in the Southeast Asia manufacturing industry is predicted to accelerate modestly from 6.3% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2014 – slower in both years than the 6.9% growth in 2012, meaning manufacturing growth is dependent on the future of its smallest but most significant contributors. Against this backdrop, innovative SMBs are looking for the next generation of tools and strategies to stay ahead of the competition. As stated in a recent SBF DP SME Index, a joint initiative of the Singapore Business Federation and DP Information Group, manufacturers are tackling the challenges first hand by embracing a new wave of technologies and innovations. Product lifecycle management (PLM) software, which includes computer-aided design (CAD) and simulation technologies, […]

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