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Domain: manufacturing.net
Stories and comments across the archive that link to manufacturing.net.
Stories · 4
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FDA To Review Inhalable Caffeine
First time accepted submitter RenderSeven writes "Manufacturing.net reports that U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement. AeroShot went on the market late last month in Massachusetts and New York, and it's also available in France. Consumers put one end of the canister in their mouths and breathe in, releasing a fine powder that dissolves almost instantly." -
Building a Better Motorized Bicycle
toyotaboy writes "Saw this in 'design news' magazine. It's a bicycle using an engine that looks like something pulled off of an R/C airplane. He uses a gear reduction system as well as a overrunning clutch to keep the engine running while stopped. Claims to get 20 mile range from its 1/4 gallon gas tank (80mpg). If you figure most engines like that are 30k rpm with 1:100 gear reduction, and an average bike rim is 26", you should get potentially 1,458,000 inches per hour, or 23mph! He goes on to say that similar devices in electric form (segway) fail because of their heavy 80lb weight and limited 10-15 mile range (and where do you recharge?) This thing can be filled back up at any gas station." -
Formula 1 Design
How do Formula 1 teams design a new car in only 5 months? Partially because of new software which allows every piece of the car (including the semi-naked driver) to be modeled in 3D to calculate its aerodynamics before it is made. It amazes me how the design process has improved when you think a Mercedes S class used to take 10 years to design in 1986. -
Open Source used in new aviation technologies
RandySC writes " The following quote is from the last paragraphs of the section under Cockpit Contrivances. Dean Vogel, VP of research and technology at Cirrus Design (says) "Typically, to certify software with the FAA, you have to start off with all source code, and be capable of testing all types of combo calls," (...) He notes that using an operating system such as Windows NT to do this "is an extremely daunting task at the very least, if not impossible." Instead, engineers use open-source software so that they can control the source code and track modifications they make to it." "