Metals

Metals account for about two thirds of all the elements and about 24% of the mass of the planet. Metals have useful properties including strength, ductility, high melting points, thermal and electrical conductivity, and toughness. From the periodic table, it can be seen that a large number of the elements are classified as being a metal. A few of the common metals and their typical uses are presented below. Common Metallic Materials Iron/Steel...

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6 Minute SUV Sketch

How to sketch SUV in 6 minute....

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Archimedes

One of the greatest minds of classical antiquity, Archimedes (c. 287 BCE – c. 212 BCE) was a scholastic "triple-threat" who made astonishingly original contributions to mathematics, physics, and engineering. His c.v. includes some three dozen new tools and weapons systems as well as a pioneering role in plane and solid geometry. He even gave scientists and engineers their ultimate catch-phrase, "Eureka!" With all that going for him, Archimedes...

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Maine Constructing 4 MW Commercial Tidal Power Project

Tidal power is one of the renewable energy sources that you hear the least about even though its potential for generating electricity is incredibly vast. The problem is that deploying turbines out into the ocean or rivers can prove to be awfully tricky. But one major project is moving full steam ahead and will be delivering power by this fall. The Maine Tidal Energy Project started construction of the bottom support frame for Ocean Renewable...

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Jaguar C-X16 to be modeled in clay at Clerkenwell Design Week

From the official Press Release: Skilled clay modelers will be working on a full size model to reveal the artistry involved in sculpting the cars of the future. Julian Thomson, Advanced Design Director, Jaguar Cars, said: “Jaguar is one of the most technologically advanced companies in the field of product development but we still believe in the sense of artistry. Emotional connections are at the heart of our vehicles and the traditional...

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Alfa Romeo 8C Spider 3ds Max Tutorial

Software Used: 3ds Max Introduction: The project, Alfa Romeo C8 Spyder, started as a personal challenge in order to improve my modelling techniques and final renders. The modelling of cars has always attracted and fascinated me, and this is what I specialise in. I have created some car models and the treatment of each finished model is better than the previous one. I choose this model for this personal project because, from the very first...

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Exclusive: Renault Twizy design story Part 1

On May 10th we had the chance of participating to the presentation of the Twizy design story, with Renault VP Design R&D and Nissan Synergies Patrick Lecharpy and Renault Design Manager R&D Design Studio Luciano Bove. Both Patrick and Luciano shared many details on the work done on the car, not only in term of design, but also carrying out a complete reorganization of the concept development process, which resulted so successful that...

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Volkswagen Develops Crowd-Sourced All-Electric Hover Car Concept

As part of its People's Car Project (PCP) in China, Volkswagen has developed a concept car based on a crowd-sourced idea for an all-electric hover car that it will debut at the Beijing Auto Show. The car is a two-person city car that hovers above the ground and travels via electromagnetic roadways. The Hover Car looks a lot like a flattened fish bowl with its circular design and large glass panels. Simon Loasby, Head of Design at Volkswagen...

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What Is TSCiTM Technology

TSCiTM is a revolutionary combustion system enabled by injecting supercritical fuel directly into the combustion chamber. Direct injection of fuel in the supercritical state enables significant fuel efficiency improvements to be achieved. For example, supercritical injection enables cost-effective compression ignition of gasoline in engines with a conventional architecture. This is described as “Injection Ignition”, and it results in efficiencies...

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The Challenge: Current Internal Combustion Engine Inefficiency

he fundamental problem is that on average about 15% of the energy from the gasoline you put into your tank gets used to move your car down the road (U.S. Department of Transportation: Transportation Research Board). The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling. The engine is where most thermal efficiency loss takes place. Combustion irreversibility results in large amounts of waste heat escaping through the cylinder...

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Transonic Combustion Improves Gas Engine Efficiency Over 50%

Conventional gasoline engines are terribly inefficient things. Only 13% of the energy of the fuel actually moves the car. 62% is lost in the engine as waste heat, and driveline losses, accessories, and idling also reduce the efficiency. Transonic Combustion is planning to build automobile engines with improved efficiency obtained through heating and pressurizing gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber. "This puts it into a supercritical...

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New gasoline engine design has 4x efficiency of pistons

This looks promising. It is basically a continuous combustion wave turbine. While not super powerful in this early design and not intended to replace a V-8 it can be brought to market for a hybrid vehicle application soon, according to the researcher. See the video below. While they’ve got a focus on CO2 for the usual reasons, I’ll take increased efficiency any day. Schematic model of a wave disk engine, showing combustion and shockwaves within...

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Greener Aerospace with Nanotechnology

During flight, aircraft parts are subject to varying loads, and can develop cracks in high-stress areas. If structural parts are not regularly inspected and repaired, cracks could increase, eventually causing structural failure and loss of life. But aircraft inspection and repairs are costly to airlines. Moreover, high fuel prices and international efforts on climate change have brought attention to the need for greater fuel efficiency. Increasing...

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The Robo-Doctor Will See You Now

A technological idea born in science fiction is a promising answer to the challenging realities of modern health care. With fewer doctors to meet the growing health-care needs of our aging population, hospitals and health systems are investing in robotic systems for surgery and telemedicine that increase their patient capacity and geographic reach. Machines like the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical Systems, Sunnyvale, CA) and the...

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Inventors Out Sourcing Mechanical Engineering

Reasons for inventors to Out Source Mechanical Engineering Work. Before you get "up in arms" over the title of this article, let's clarify what we mean when we say the "out sourcing mechanical engineering work". We mean that it is a good idea for anyone who has invented a product or designed a new item to out source their mechanical engineering work to an official firm. Why? While you may have great skills with a CAD program or the ability to really...

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Mechatronics 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...

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Art in Motion

Renowned artist Arthur Ganson has become famous turning mechanics into high art. Originally he had his sights set on being a doctor but since pre-med didn't fulfill the discipline requirement for his college, he chose art. Then, it started to choose him. "I always enjoyed building things as a kid but that's where it ended," he says. "I had a 3D design assignment and I chose to attempt to make a working slot machine all out of wire. That really...

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Following a Higher Bounce

Back in the 20th century, a pogo stick was a cheap pole with a coil that kids tried out on Christmas and then hung in the garage for a few decades. But in this millennium, anything that can be ridden can be extremely ridden, anything that can move can be flipped, and anything that can get airtime provides those so inclined with a chance to break a collarbone. "Basically, there's an extreme sports spirit that has entered our culture," explains...

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Energy Harvesting Comes of

Is energy harvesting ready for prime time? It is certainly getting closer, according to Silicon Laboratories, which develops low-power wireless transmitters, and IDTechEx, a consultant in the field. Energy harvesters are devices that capture or recapture energy—vibration, heat, solar, electrostatic—that is otherwise lost. Most often, harvesters store the energy and reuse it later for power. Common technologies range from small piezoelectric...

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