31 Oct 2014

Hi New Metal Working World!

Hi New Metal Working World!


Hi New Metal Working World Downloads! Subscription Editions!
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Hi Materials Handling and the Paper Industry.

Hi Materials Handling and the Paper Industry.


The paper industry is an intense, fast-moving environment with little tolerance for downtime in operations running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. 

Because of these demands, operations are looking for equipment that can withstand the abuse with minimal downtime. 

This complimentary white paper explores environmental impacts and operating conditions in the paper industry and provides an overview of materials handling equipment, attachments and options that can enhance paper industry productivity.

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Hi New White Paper: Maintain the Cold Chain!.

Hi New White Paper: Maintain the Cold Chain!.


An already complex global supply chain can be even more complicated when the freight has temperature requirements. 

Download C.H. Robinson's latest white paper to learn which best practices can make all the difference when transporting your temperature sensitive goods. 

By applying the right procedures, you can help keep your temperature controlled freight secure from origin to destination, even across the globe.

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Hi The Top 50 Electronics Distributors Home.

Hi The Top 50 Electronics Distributors Home.


GlobalPurchasing’s editors rank the largest distributors by sales volume and interview leaders from the top companies to get take the pulse of the electronics distribution market.


For the fourth straight year, Avnet Inc. takes the top spot on Global Purchasing’s annual Top 50 Electronics Distributors list, with sales of $26.7 billion worldwide in 2013. Nearly $11 billion of that total comes from sales to customers throughout the Americas, where the global giant sells electronic components and technology solutions to a wide range of end users. Avnet and its chief rival Arrow Electronics—which ranks second on our list for the fourth consecutive year at $21.4 billion in sales—are the biggest companies on our list by far, dwarfing their nearest competitor by $13 billion and $7 billion, respectively.
Download the Top 50 Distributors as a .PDF.   
*This file includes the Top 50 article, The Methodology Behind The Survey, 5 Questions With Avnet, and the Complete 1-50 List of the Top Distributors.
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Hi Latest Introduced Industry Standard 2014 Today!

Hi Latest Introduced Industry Standard 2014 Today! 

ASTM A568/A568M:
This specification covers the general requirements for steel sheet in coils and cut lengths. 
It applies to the existing specifications that describe carbon steel, structural steel, and high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA) furnished as hot-rolled sheet and cold-rolled sheet.
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Description / Abstract:
This specification covers the general requirements for steel sheet in coils and cut lengths. It applies to the following specifications that describe carbon steel, structural steel, and high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA) furnished as hot-rolled sheet and cold-rolled sheet: Specifications A414/A414M, A424, A606, A659/A659M, A794, A1008/A1008M, A1011/ A1011M, and A1039/A1039M. 

This specification is not applicable to hot-rolled heavy-thickness carbon sheet coils (Specification A635/A635M). 

In case of any conflict in requirements, the requirements of the individual material specification shall prevail over those of this general specification. 

For the purposes of determining conformance with this and the appropriate product specification referenced in 1.1, values shall be rounded to the nearest unit in the right hand place of figures used in expressing the limiting values in accordance with the rounding method of Practice E29. 

Annex A1 lists permissible variations in dimensions and mass (see Note 1) in SI [metric] units. The values listed are not exact conversions of the values listed in the inch-pound tables, but instead are rounded or rationalized values. Conformance to Annex A1 is mandatory when the "M" specification is used. 

NOTE 1—The term weight is used when inch-pound units are the standard. However, under SI the preferred term is mass. 

The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard. 

This specification and the applicable material specifications are expressed in both inch-pound units and SI units. However, unless the order specifies the applicable "M" specification designation (SI units), the material shall be furnished to inch-pound units.
 

Hi Is Hyper spectral Imaging Ready to Take Off?

Hi Is Hyper spectral Imaging Ready to Take Off?


After the Deep water Horizon oil rig exploded and spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, the U.S. space agency, NASA, deployed its Earth Resources-2 aircraft to detect the presence, extent and concentration of the spill. Equipped with the airborne visible/infra-red imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS), the aircraft collected data that helped researchers identify thicker parts of the spill by measuring how the water absorbed and reflected light.

AVIRIS calibrates images of the spectral radiance in 224 adjacent spectral bands. By comparison, a traditional RGB (red, green, blue) sensor used in colour cameras captures three bands. The NASA-deployed technology, known as hyper spectral imaging or imaging spectroscopy, allowed AVIRIS to document what satellites could not by distinguishing material properties otherwise undetectable by the human eye.

Although hyper spectral imaging is used primarily in remote sensing applications such as the Deepwater Horizon accident, new applications that include food safety inspection and life sciences are bringing the technology from the skies overhead to the plant floor.

Color infrared composite image made from three spectral bands of NASA's MASTER instrument mounted on the high-altitude ER-2. Red areas depict green vegetation in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 30. 2014. Source: NASA/Dean Neeley/Jeff Myers.
Hyper spectral imaging adds a third spectral dimension to standard 2D pictures in which each pixel contains dozens and even hundreds of values, each representing a section of the electromagnetic spectrum. A standard 2D image taken with a digital camera captures three values per pixel and splits the visible spectrum into red, green and blue values. In other words, a hyper spectral image is visualized as a “data cube” representing spectral and spatial information, typically covering the electromagnetic spectrum between 300 nano meters (nm) and 2,600 nm. Hyper-spectral images record 100 bands or more in the spectrum, whereas multi-spectral imagery typically capture about 20 channels.

Within the hyper spectral sensor, a specialized optic called a “diffraction grating” spatially separates the electromagnetic spectrum by wavelength. This data cube, essentially a stack of images with each one viewed through a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum, holds more data on the material properties of an object in the imagery field of view than with standard imaging techniques.

“Each object under view has a unique spectral signature, so based on how the sensor views the scene, we can make a real-time determination as to the material composition of the object,” says David Bannon, CEO of Headwall Phonetics, a spectral imaging manufacturer based in Fitchburg, Mass.

Hyper spectral machine vision has two critical components, says Adam Stern, senior scientist at Resonon Inc. in Bozeman, Mont. One component is the hyper-spectral imaging itself and the other is real-time statistical pattern-recognition software that uses the hyper-spectral data to control robotic actuators.


Benefit or Weakness?



Until recently, hyper-spectral imaging’s benefits have also been its weakness. While it provides a lot more data on a scene, the data flow can be too much for computers to handle in real time. As a result, it requires specialized knowledge to extract usable information from the massive amounts of visual data.
“Not only do you have a picture with a million pixels, but each pixel has 240 12-bit data points, so the datasets are enormous," Stern says. "Computers are finally getting big, fast and inexpensive enough to make this an economically feasible technology.”

These advances have enabled the adoption of hyper-spectral imaging in automated sorting applications where existing machine vision technologies or manual sorting fail. In the case of almond sorting in the food industry, for example,

A technician could train the hyperspectral system to recognize almonds based on spectral data. Source: Resonon.

Standard machine vision systems that are equipped with monochrome or three-color cameras often don't acquire this data, or they acquire it but without the spectral specificity to reliably make an automated decision.

Using software algorithms developed for multi- and hyper-spectral imaging systems, automated sorting systems can analyse data in real time and instruct a robot or other material handling system as to what to reject and what to accept.

Food inspection facilities have been early commercial adopters of hyper-spectral imaging, says Bannon, because of government safety regulations. In fact, Headwall sold its first hyper-spectral inspection instrument in the food safety industry to a major poultry processor five years ago following research and development conducted with the U.S. Agriculture Department.

“When you are in a regulated environment that is being controlled or overseen by a human, it’s a difficult job to be able to inspect food products at very high speeds,” he says. “The hyper-spectral sensors will run continuously and provide accurate and repeatable results.”

Not only is hyper-spectral imaging able to improve upon human visual inspection, but it also can replace traditional biological or chemical detection laboratory sampling experiments that require additional time and resources.

Expense and Training;



While advances in microprocessors, memory and high-speed data interfaces make hyper-spectral imaging more attractive to industrial users, the imagery themselves can be expensive and require trained technicians to keep the hardware calibrated.

Nano electronics research center imec (formerly the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre based in Leuven, Belgium) builds its hyperspectral sensors directly on top of, and as an extension to, the image sensor. 

Other hyper-spectral instruments combine high and optical components and align the optical path.
In the sensor, each row essentially acts as a linear camera filtered to a specific spectral band. By scanning the camera across a target area, each row acquires a single line of a 2D image for a given spectral band.

Using software and computers, each new row constructs a 2D image for that spectral band. By combining continuous images from these rows, a 3D image block is created with the number of spectral bands limited by the size of the area-array image sensor. 

Different filters can be positioned over individual pixels meaning that other arrangements that do not require line scanning also are possible.
A camera with a standard area-array sensor can be fitted with an image sensor that contains imec’s hyper-spectral filter. 

The resulting camera retains the same dimensions, but features spectral capabilities with the same form factor. 

This enables the mass fabrication of hyper-spectral cameras and opens new applications that previously could not use hyper-spectral cameras, says Andy Lambrechts, program manager and team leader of Integrated Imaging at imec.

Imec manufactures the hyper-spectral sensors at wafer level, with each wafer containing tens to hundreds of imagery that are manufactured together. The process can use semiconductor industry equipment, which enables the alignment of spectral filters on a per-pixel scale. This approach reduces the optical complexity and cost of the hyper-spectral imaging camera, Lambrechts says.

Multiple Manufacturers;



Imec is partnering with multiple camera manufacturers, including Adimec, Tattile, Bayspec, 3D-One and VRMagic to bring this technology to multiple markets. 

One example is the xiQ USB3.0 camera manufactured by XIMEA of Münster, Germany. The camera measures 26 mm³ and weighs 27 grams. 

As earth observation platforms move from expensive satellites to more cost-effective, widely deployable unmanned aerial vehicles, Lambrechts says the need for compact hyper-spectral cameras will grow.

XIMEA CEO Max Larin sees expanding applications in a variety of industries, including life science instrumentation and medical imaging.
“You now have a portable device for express skin diagnostics, for example, that you can bring to the patient rather than bring the patient to the system,” he says.
Hyper-spectral imaging has been used in remote sensing for about 30 years, but the technology is still in its early stages within industrial and medical settings. As with any new implementation, growing pains are expected.
“Speed and resolution will always be a challenge for this technology, but it’s getting better all the time,” Stern says.
Furthermore, there is a lot of information in the short-wave infra-red (SWIR) spectral range that cannot be obtained with standard sensors. 

The near-infrared (NIR)-SWIR range from 900 to 1700 nm can be measured with conventional InGaS cameras, but many materials have reflectance signatures that extend to 2500 nm, Stern says, 
“Sensors in this spectral range often cost $50,000 or more, and the technology is just not there yet to affordable capture that data.”

Ease of use also will drive adoption. Headwall Phonetics’ Hyperspec imaging systems integrate a sensor, an embedded processor (containing a library of spectral signatures for comparison against data acquired by the imagery) and a diagnostic module within an IP-rated enclosure. This configuration reduces the number of components a customer has to buy.

Headwall also has prioritized software development. 
“We need to come in with robust, flexible application software capabilities that allow our customers to immediately understand the spectral composition of the product in the terms and nomenclature that they are familiar with,” Bannon says. 
Headwall’s software interfaces with upstream and downstream instruments such as robotic vacuum arms on the processing line to help users act on the data that is received.

Fulfilling hyper-spectral imaging’s commercial promise so far has seemingly been just one more technological advance away. 


Thanks to advances in processing power, economical hyper-spectral imaging sensors and software that simplifies the physics, the technology's day in the sun may be near.

Hi Without Relativity, GPS Would Be Lost!

Hi Without Relativity, GPS Would Be Lost!


Ask the average person what "relativity" means, and you'll likely hear answers such as "everything's relative," "you can't go faster than light" or even the classic formula "E = mc2.

However, if you ask how relativity affects his or her life on a daily basis, you'll probably hear "don't know" or "it just doesn't." These are not surprising answers, but they fall far short of reality.

Here's why? While the tangible effects we ascribe to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (1915) can be arcane (and range from the fact that clocks in motion run slower to the notion that light waves can be bent by gravity), those effects seem far removed from everyday concerns. That is not the situation at all.

For example, consider the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), a navigation system developed for civil aviation that promises exceptional accuracy. 

The WAAS collects and processes global positioning system (GPS) data, then corrects the initial rough accuracy of 10-20 meters down to about a single meter. 

It does this by adjusting for atmospheric disturbances and propagation anomalies using ground-based markers at precisely known locations with satellite links to aircraft to report GPS distortions in real time.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity looms large in GPS systems like the WAAS. Source: FAA.

Relativity and its consequences figure prominently into GPS

Without the theory that Einstein described almost 100 years ago, critically important navigation tools like GPS and WAAS would not exist.

WAAS improves safety and performance during all phases of flight and especially during the critical landing phase. It does this largely due to the enhanced vertical guidance it provides. 

However, before any WAAS corrections can be made, the initial GPS readout must achieve a locational accuracy performance in the 1-meter range.

That's a problem because basic GPS would only be accurate to a few miles at best, at least without added receiver compensation to account for the relativistic effects of satellite motion and acceleration, not to mention how these affect the relationship between time and space. While accuracy to a mile might be good enough for rough position reckoning in the air or on open water, it would not be precise enough for WAAS-enhanced runway location and landing guidance (not to mention driving, geo-location and the many others uses we now confidently use based on GPS).


In brief, GPS works this way: each satellite in a constellation of orbiting satellites transmits a unique code data stream. 

A GPS receiver on Earth picks up these streams and then correlates them with each other. 

At least four simultaneous signals are needed for a three-dimensional position fix. 

The timing of the code streams is established by on-board atomic clocks. By analysing the results of the correlations, the receiver is able to determine the unique position on Earth that resulted in those code sequences at those specific times.

Simple enough, but there’s a catch. Unless the errors due to the effects of relativity are considered and the algorithms enhanced to compensate and correct those errors, the locational "answer" the GPS receiver provides will contain an accumulation of errors. In the world of GPS, a few hundredths of a nanosecond difference in time can make an unacceptably large difference between the correct result and the initially computed value. 

In other words, a commercial airline pilot on an instrument approach to a major airport can’t afford to gamble with inaccurate GPS data.

How these relativity errors occur is explained by Prof. Neil Ashby (References 1 through 3, below). He points out the many ways that relativity "corrupts" the intuitive time, distance and motion relationships that we assume in our non-relativistic daily life. Among them:


• Due to the height of the orbit (20,000 km), the GPS satellites are at a lower gravitational potential than clocks are at the Earth's surface; the result is that their atomic clocks run slower and are shifted in frequency.

• Due to their continuous acceleration as they orbit, the satellites' clocks experience time dilation and, again, run slower than on Earth. 


• The Earth's rotation relative to a GPS satellite’s orbit affects their relative paths and timing relationships.


• The satellites’ orbits are not perfect circles; they are elliptical, so the variations are also cyclical. This means that a mere 1% eccentricity in orbit results in a 28 nanosecond timing variation.


• Everything is moving with respect to everything else: Earth-based receivers move with respect to a single satellite and the satellites move with respect to each other. This makes it difficult to establish a frame of reference and remain consistent within it. (Detailed in Reference 4, below.)



Given all these unavoidable error sources, how does a basic GPS receiver provide 1-meter accuracy and even improves on that if two receivers coordinate with each other?

The answer is that GPS receiver vendors incorporate complex algorithms into their correlation/calculation firmware to correct and compensate for the distortions caused by relativity

That's easier said than done, since the errors are small and sometimes elusive (for example, rounding and truncation errors can negate the calculations). 

The adjustment algorithms, meanwhile, are fairly sophisticated. To add to the challenge, disagreement among physicists and mathematicians exists about the nature and extent of some of the error sources and how to deal with them.

If the average Joe or Jane insists that Einstein's relativity has no impact on their daily life, that's not the case. 

Nearly 100 years after Einstein published his theory, its ramifications are critical to a satellite-based positioning system and an aircraft-guidance application that even he did not envision.


References:

2. "Relativity in the Global Positioning System," Living Reviews in Relativity, January 2003.
3. "Relativity and the Global Positioning System," Physics Today, May 2002.
4. Richard H. Battin, An Introduction to the Mathematics and Methods of Astrodynamics, ISBN: 978-1-56347-342-5, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

30 Oct 2014

Hi $300bn worth of rail and metro projects announced or under way in the Middle East.

Hi $300bn worth of rail and metro projects announced or under way in the Middle East.


The annual MEED MENA Rail & Metro Summit was told this morning that a total of $300bn worth of rail and metro projects are under way or planned in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region.
“Every single country in the MENA region has rail project ambitions,” MEED Projects’ director of analysis Ed James said.
“Not all of these projects will go ahead, but the figure is indicative of the scale of what is happening.”
James said Saudi Arabia had the largest rail project pipeline in the region with over $100bn, including the Riyadh Dammam High-Speed Rail, which is currently under study, along with the Eastern Province Municipality – Dammam Metro. Qatar boasts a rail and metro project pipeline valued at $40bn, followed by the UAE with $30bn. Across the region, the other big investments will be seen in Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and Oman.
Meanwhile, a keynote speaker at the summit says delivering rail and metro megaprojects in the Middle East presents unique challenges.
“A lot of the projects in the region are aiming for completion in the period to 2022,” Fluor (UAE) programme manager Dago Beek said in a keynote speech. “2020 is a huge challenge whether it is for projects or rolling stock.”
“These are strategic projects where co-operation with all stakeholders is required,” he said.

“We need confirmation of stakeholder standards and regulations. We need the required drawings for existing and proposed services. And we need to deal with overlapping transport corridors.”
“We need transport safety laws and multi-modal regulations,” Beek said.
“Right of way and land acquisition is an issue. Every piece of land is owned and getting alignment straight is a huge challenge.”
“We should move in a more professional manner when dealing with systems assurance,” Beek said. “And we need to be more professional when we are dealing with communication.”

Beek said that a key technical challenge is dealing with sand dunes drifting across the alignment of railways passing through deserts.
“There is no one solution to this challenge,” he said.
A possible technical solution brought forward at the summit was the use of viaducts of about 3 metres in height upon which railways would run.
“There is no single solution to this challenge,” Fluor (UAE) programme manager Dago Beek said a question and answer session after his opening keynote speech at the summit.
Fluor Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff are project managers on the $7bn Saudi Landbridge rail project which will connect Jeddah with Riyadh and the Saudi capital with the Gulf coast. Beek said the final full alignment of the project is not yet fixed, but it will include a stretch from Jeddah to the Riyadh area. The possible alignment of a link between Riyadh and the Gulf coast is now under review.
The MEED MENA Rail & Metro Summit is sponsored by Fluor, ZTE, Louis Berger, Vossloh Middle East, Bechtel, Drake & Scull, Autodesk, Hill International, Parsons and Thales.

29 Oct 2014

Hi Intercontinental Visibility Scorecards: Event Data Quality.

Hi Intercontinental Visibility Scorecards: Event Data Quality.

 Hi' One Click Download Here.

Increased globalization of the supply chain is causing shipments to spend more time in the transport and logistics pipeline, particularly the ocean. 

Often overlooked is the link between costs and intercontinental shipping event performance.

The resulting report investigates:
  • Which events industry leaders view as essential.
  • How leaders move from raw data to intelligence.
  • The link between improved supply chain visibility and reduced costs.

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Hi Announcement in The Project Manager Network Resources & Links:

Hi Announcement in The Project Manager Network Resources & Links:

 

It’s been a great October here with the Hi Project Manager Network Tools! Hope everyone is closing out the month well and keeping their projects on track! Have a great week and please enjoy the weekly group updates below: 

Project Management Resources: 
- 5 Key Findings on the State of Modern Product Delivery -http://bit.ly/1FMjvAY
- How to Scale Agile in Your Organization - http://bit.ly/1tRjbxR
- Advance your PM Career - http://bit.ly/1pz4UC1
- Enhance your business acumen with an online MBA from Quinnipiac University - http://bit.ly/1vtrQon

Reports and Downloads: 

- Eye-Opening Report on Budgeting and Scheduling - http://bit.ly/1rvrtE5
- Enterprise-class Work Collaboration Project Management Solutions -http://bit.ly/1rj8I6x
- Microsoft Project 2010 - Free Quick Reference Card -http://bit.ly/1aNUn0I
- Stress Management For Dummies, 2nd Edition - eBook -http://bit.ly/1BJmPb8
- Web Marketing For Dummies, 3rd Edition - eBook -http://bit.ly/1wBm70i

PM articles from Projectmanagers.net: 

- 5 Open Source Project Management Tools to Consider -http://bit.ly/1wBmw2U
- Taiga a New Open Source Project Management Software -http://bit.ly/1wBmw2W
- Estimating risk - http://bit.ly/1wBmZC2
- How do different groups judge success? - http://bit.ly/1wBn0WG

Career advice from Recruiter.com: 

- Do You Always Come in Second Place at Job Interviews? -http://bit.ly/1wBlUdx
- Learning to Acknowledge and Understand Other Cultures by Recognizing Your Own - http://bit.ly/1wBlUdy
- Know the Major Differences between Private- and Public-Sector Companies - http://bit.ly/1wBlUdD
- 5 Great Questions to Ask in a Video Interview - http://bit.ly/1wBlSlP
- Take the Skills of a Sales Professional into the Job Hunt -http://bit.ly/1wBlSlT
- Five Strange and Awesome Company Perks - http://bit.ly/1FwLrIX

ProjectManagers.net Site Resources:

Jobs: http://www.projectmanagers.net/jobs
Reports and Whitepapers: http://research.projectmanagers.net
Software and Services Directory: http://www.projectmanagers.net/directory 



Hi Pollution Engineering Buyers Guide.

Hi Pollution Engineering Buyers Guide.
"Directory for Air, Water, Waste & Remediation Markets."

Hi Free Engineering Magazines and Downloads

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Hi Graduate Opinion Poll.

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Hi - "Engineering Field."

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Hi 3D SketchUp "The Easiest Way To Draw 3D"

Hi 3D SketchUp "The Easiest Way To Draw 3D"
Hi Drawing “ Dust collectors” & “Systems”.