Engineer-to-order methods impact product design and engineering

The complexity of the ETO (engineer-to-order) manufacturing sector demonstrates how Canada is known for highly skilled technical and mechanical expertise.

That comforting statement comes from Thomas Cutler, president and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based manufacturing marketing firm TR Cutler, Inc. (trcutlerinc.com). Cutler notes that ETO impacts the changing role of engineering in product design includes these factors:

* Numerous possible product and design permutations
* Shifting customer specification
* Lengthy product design and approval process
* Engineering design release schedule synchronized with production

ETO automation systems have a direct impact on product design, he adds, because factors that include:
* Configuration of a 3D product model for use by the customer and/or sales engineer
* Automated engineering analyses based on the 3D product model and the product's intended usage environment
* Creation of detailed drawings down to the piece-part level for internal engineering and manufacturing use
* Generation of BOM, price quote, work orders, and other documents
* Automated NC tool path generation
* Data management/archiving of various product configurations
* Secure, web-based access to product configurations with customer access restricted to only their own designs
Cutler concludes "knowledge-capture and reuse software for ETO manufacturers ... allows manufacturers to respond to customer-specific orders more rapidly, accurately and efficiently."

Mike Edwards, Editor, DPN Magazine medwards@clbmedia.ca
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USEFUL SITES

Enclosures. The annual Modsie Awards reward creative use of modular TS8 enclosures from Rittal Systems. April is Rittal's 2007 National Enclosure Month and applications for the competition are now open (rittal.ca).

Motor calculations. The Groschopp Motortec STP (speed, torque, power) online calculator for rotational device calculations has been upgraded to include more automated conversions of units and a printable report with all unit conversions (groschopp.com/stp.php).

Switches. NKK Switches has redesigned its website (nkksmartswitch.com) to improve navigation and include 3D CAD downloads.

Industrial Ethernet. The PTO (Profibus and Profinet North America) present three free Industrial Ethernet webinars over April, May and June (us.profibus.com).

 
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                 DPN EXCLUSIVES

Rotary positioning systems. The 300 series rotary stage from LinTech features a rigid pair of quality angular contact bearings said to produce smooth table top rotation. The low backlash precision worm gear drive is said to provide exceptional accuracy and repeatability.

Flexible high energy magnet. Reance SF (U.S. Patent #6,707,361) sheets from The Electrodyne Company Inc., combine magnetic strength of up to 5.0MGOe with high flexibility.

Manual motor starters. Carlo Gavazzi has released a line of manual motor starters which complements its existing range of contactors, starters and overloads.

Metric mini PCB support posts. Micro Plastics has announced locking spacers designed to eliminate screws, nuts, and lock washers in the mounting of printed circuit boards on a metal chassis, or stacking in multiple tiers.

SPONSOR MESSAGE: PTC Corporation

Check out the Free Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 trial download.

Get a good look at the new features of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 and what it can do for you. The download includes tutorials to help you make the most of the enhancements. You'll get a look at the new user interface, easier to use than ever before. Check out faster sketching and modeling and see how to quickly create drawings from a 3D model. Download this trial version, and see how Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 helps you create patterns in minutes rather than hours, assemble faster and re-use 2D files with ease.
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Coming Soon:

March/April 2007
DPN Digital & Print Editions

• Bosch Rexroth & the Desktop Factory
• Locking fastener technology tips
• Volkswagen's clever twincharger diesel
• CAD flow simulation improves castings
• More 3D PDF content for DPN online
 
Click on the chair for a PDF Sneak Preview of the March/April Cover Story



 

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 12, 2007. Mississauga, ON. Sheet Metal Day - free seminars on Solid Edge software sheet metal capability and alma/cut CAM software presented by Designfusion (designfusion.ca or 888.567.3933).

April 16-19, 2007. Detroit. SAE 2007 World Congress (sae.org/congress), with the event theme: Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility – It's Up to Us.

April 16-20, 2007. Hannover, Germany. The Hannover Messe trade show features exhibit halls with themes of Factory Automation, Motion, Drive & Automation and Digital Factory (hf-canada.com).

May 1-3, 2007. Toronto. PLAST-EX 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of Canada's national plastics industry showcase (plast-ex.org).

May 8-9, 2007. Markham, ON. 2007 Canadian RFID Conference covers developments in radio frequency identification devices, as well as tagging and tracking technologies (rfidcanada.com).

May 14-17, 2007. Montreal. ASME Turbo Expo 2007, the global conference addressing new developments in gas turbine technology (asmeconferences.org/TE07).

May 15-17, 2007. Montreal. Plant Maintenance and Design Engineering Show presented by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (sme.org).
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SPONSOR MESSAGE: Festo Inc.
   
With you from Start-to-Finish!

With more than 80 years of experience, FESTO continues to advance the state of industrial automation with proven innovations, customized design solutions, and exceptional service worldwide.

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With our comprehensive line of automation components and a complete range of electromechanical and pneumatic actuators, plus our ability to combine these in multi-axis configurations together with controls, FESTO can support your most complex automation requirements.
To learn more contact us at info_ca@festo.com
or call 905 624 9000.
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                         NEWS BRIEFS

Unbrako, with fastener manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Ireland and Brazil, has appointed Interfast (interfast.ca) as its exclusive master distributor for North America.
Click on the Windows Media Video (.wmv) logo above for streaming video on the details.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (sme.org) has purchased seven Reed Exhibition Canada trade shows, including Canadian Manufacturing Week. As part of the initiative, SME plans to work closely with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence-Canada and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association.

SPONSOR MESSAGE: Vaisala

Vaisala Humidity/Temperature Transmitter

The Vaisala HUMICAP® Humidity/Temperature Transmitter Series HMT330 is optimized for HVAC and demanding industrial applications. Six models cover
0…100%RH, a wide temperature range -70…+180°C (365°F), pressure 0…100 bar (1450 psi). In humid/harsh chemical conditions, warmed probe and chemical purge function maintain reliability. Features a unique graphical trend display with one year of historical data.
Call: 1-888-VAISALA (824-7252)
Visit: www.vaisala.com/HMT330.

Product Spotlight:

Industrial Ethernet 8 Port Switch for IP67

For direct connection to the network in the field, Weidmuller offers an IP67 switch with eight Ethernet ports. Designed for the most extreme environments and integrated into an IP67 housing with M12 D-coded plug-in connector. The Industrial Ethernet switches configure via Web browser or via RS232 connection. Weidmuller also offers redundancy through RapidRingTM with managed switches. (weidmuller.ca).
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DPN CARD PACKS

Get the same information that DPN Card Packs provide when you get them in the mail. Go to the DPN website or click here
to get immediate feedback on the products you want to know about NOW.