This episode of Designing the Future is brought to you by New England Wire.

Imagine an electrical design engineering challenge where usual cost and time-to-market pressures co-exist with the need to build equipment on which lives depend on performance and reliability.

That’s the world that medical device designers work in, and like all electrical equipment, moving power and signals through cables is a fundamental part of the product. Safety is always a consideration, but in the medical device industry, designers must also work within a highly regulated environment. Cables must endure everything from sterilizing agents to stray RF radiation, to mechanical shock, yet the choice of cabling is often left late in the engineering design process. There are, however, good reasons to think about cable design in medical equipment early in the process.

Jim Anderton spoke with Joshua Spaulding, Design Engineering Manager with New England Wire Technologies about the challenge of cabling in medical devices, and how to spec the right product. 

* * * 
Learn more about New England Wire’s design and manufacturing of high-performance, custom cables in medical electronics.

The post Medical device design: Cables that deliver in a tough, critical environment  appeared first on Engineering.com.

Minimally invasive, catheter-based surgical procedures have drastically improved outcomes and recovery times in critical procedures such as heart valve replacement, and as the technology advances, new procedures are evolving which promise the same benefits enjoyed by cardiac patients to patients suffering from renal, prostate and other diseases.

The shape memory alloy nitinol is a key technology in this revolution, and Medical Design and Outsourcing Managing Editor Jim Hammerand describes how it works, and why it’s effective, in conversation with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton.

***

Catch up on the latest engineering innovations with more Industry Insights & Trends videos and podcasts.

The post New materials for safer, better surgical procedures  appeared first on Engineering.com.

In 1962, an animated sitcom debuted on television called the Jetsons. It predicted a future with extensive automation of every aspect of life, from cleaning the floors to operating factories. Much of it has come true, with extensive robotic operation now commonplace in manufacturing, supply chain services and increasingly, in medicine. But that humanoid robot as personal servant remains elusive. Why?

The Robot Report’s Editorial Director, Eugene Demaitre, tracks automation industry trends in industrial, commercial and residential applications and he discussed the current state-of-the-art, and future prospects including those of humanoid personal assistants, in conversation with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton. 

***

Catch up on the latest engineering innovations with more Industry Insights & Trends videos and podcasts.

The post Still waiting for that personal humanoid robot? It’s coming.  appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode is brought to you by Dassault Systèmes. Please complete the registration form to watch the full conversation.

Heavier than air flight has been a technology that has evolved for 120 years, and in that time, practical aviation has developed on two parallel lines: airframes and powerplants. In most cases, engines have been the rate limiting step in aircraft development, despite considerable refinement in piston engine and gas turbine technology, the fundamental operating principles have been the same for decades.

Right now, that’s changing. The development of higher energy density, lighter batteries, and advanced electric motors has brought electric propulsion into the realm of practical use in aircraft, albeit with limitations in range and payload. The same constraints exist in automotive applications of electric technology, limitations which can be addressed with a hybrid approach. Can internal combustion engines be combined with battery electric drive to offer the range and endurance of combustion engines and the lower emissions and low noise of electric drive?

Joining engineering.com on this episode of The Engineering Roundtable are two experts to answer these important questions.

Panelists:

Michael Pereira, Configuration Manager, VoltAero
Roberto Licata, Aerospace & Defense Industry Solution Experience Director, Dassault Systèmes

Moderator:

Jim Anderton, Multimedia Content Director, engineering.com

* * *

Learn more on how to accelerate aircraft development with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud.

The post Hybrid aircraft: the best of both ICE and battery electric drive in one airframe  appeared first on Engineering.com.

20 years ago, many mechanical engineering experts predicted that hydraulics were dead. Rapid advancements in electric linear and rotary actuators promised an oil-less future, with cleaner, quieter and more energy efficient equipment, with lower overall cost of ownership and operating costs.

Despite considerable advancements in electric actuator technology, hydraulics haven’t gone anywhere, and don’t appear to be even close to obsolescence. How did the fluid power industry stand its ground, and even grow, in this high-tech age?

Fluid Power World editor-in-chief Mary Gannon monitors global trends in the industry closely, and she explains why hydraulics are more relevant than ever in conversation with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton.

***

Catch up on the latest engineering innovations with more Industry Insights & Trends videos and podcasts.

The post Electric actuators were predicted to replace fluid power. What happened? appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode of Manufacturing the Future is brought to you by Dassault Systèmes.

Production as we know it today has been around for just over a century, and in that time, the one universal truth and constant has been complexity. Managing complexity, and doing so in a way that maintains profitability, has frequently been the difference between ideas that succeed and those that fail.

Until about 1980, only firms with the resource is to afford expensive mainframe and minicomputers could enjoy the benefits of software tools to help make sense of an avalanche of data, but that’s different today. From multinationals to startups, software tools are now available to integrate multiple tasks through the design and production process, and make sense of the vast volume of data generated by manufacturing processes. And it all begins with a virtual, digital model of the manufacturing process.

Engineering.com’s Jim Anderton was joined by SOLIDWORKS Manufacturing Expert Michael Buchli to discuss this important issue. 

* * * 

Leverage manufacturing data to make informed decisions with accurate insights. Download the 3DS Technology Barometer Manufacturing Data report to learn how.

The post The digital twin: making sense of mountains of manufacturing data appeared first on Engineering.com.

Suddenly, after decades of watching manufacturing jobs move to Asia, reshoring is front and center in the media. The Trump Administration’s tariff policy, preceded by Biden Administration legislation like the CHIPS Act, have brought the issue of manufacturing in America to the forefront, but now that it’s happening, and quickly, the hard work really begins. 

First COVID, and now tariffs have forced American manufacturing to rely on supply chains that are increasingly domestic, supply chains which must in many cases be built or rebuilt from scratch.

Harry Moser, President of the Reshoring Initiative, recently published a report that outlines the attitude of American manufacturers toward reshoring and it reveals interesting insights into their attitudes toward the new paradigm. 

He joined engineering.com’s Jim Anderton on this episode of the Industry & Trends Podcast. 

***

Catch up on the latest engineering innovations with more Industry Insights & Trends videos and podcasts.

The post Are American manufacturers ready for reshoring?  appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode of Designing the Future is brought to you by TE Connectivity.

In the automotive industry, the wiring harness has always been the nervous system of vehicles on and off the road. System architecture has used 12 volts DC since the 1950s, and for years, automotive engineers looked at a future of higher voltages, to generate more power for accessory laden vehicles, and to reduce cost and weight. However, as vehicles evolve with greater electrification and increasingly complex systems, the need for a more robust electrical architecture has become apparent.

Enter 48V technology, a game-changer poised to redefine automotive electrical systems. With its ability to deliver higher power for advanced vehicle systems while reducing cost, weight, and energy loss, a shift to 48V offers an efficient and practical solution to the demands of modern automotive design. Is the industry ready for its first major electrical overhaul in decades?

Engineering.com’s Jim Anderton spoke with TE Connectivity’s Helio Wu, a product manager in their automotive business, about how now is the time for the first major revamp in auto electrical architecture in decades.

* * * 
Learn more about TE Connectivity’s 48V electrical and electronic systems.

The post 48-volt architecture: The future of automotive electrical systems  appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode is brought to you by Hawk Ridge Systems. Please complete the registration form to watch the full conversation.

3D printing, often called additive manufacturing, has been around for over two decades, and in that time, it has evolved from a laboratory curiosity to a prototyping machine, and now to true mass production. For many applications, there is no other way to fabricate highly complex parts, but the perception that 3D printing is strictly a prototyping and short run production technology is very persistent.

Today, there are novel technologies which make these additive technologies the go-to solution, not just for parts which can’t be made any other way, but for parts which can, and are, being made with subtractive techniques such as machining. But which additive technology should you use? What’s the economic breakeven for production runs with your design? Who has the knowledge to guide a designer to the correct technology? 

Joining engineering.com on this episode of The Engineering Roundtable are three experts that answer these important questions.

Panelists:

Donte Wesly, 3D Printing Application Engineer, Hawk Ridge Systems
Justin Hopkins, AMS applications engineering manager, HP Inc. 3D
Jon Toews, Senior Vice President, A3D Manufacturing

Moderator:

Jim Anderton, Multimedia Content Director, engineering.com

* * * 

Learn more about Industrial-grade 3D printing setups designed for rapid high-volume and high-quality prints.  

The post Making 3D printing a go-to solution for manufacturing at any volume appeared first on Engineering.com.

For decades, the design and manufacturing engineering disciplines have worked within business models that relied on global supply chains. Everything from children’s toys to jet airliners depend on outsourced manufacturing and design assets that are distributed among subsidiary corporations and a large network of Tier 1 and Tier 2 vendors.

Four months into the second Trump Administration however, and the supply chains feeding American manufacturers are in crisis. Re-shoring has been an ongoing trend for years, but will tariffs accelerate the trend? Can American design and engineering firms backfill the supply chain with domestic sources? If so, how quickly?

Paul Heney, Vice President and Editorial Director for WTWH Media and Mary Gannon, Editor-in-Chief of Fluid Power World, are industry watchers at the leading edge of manufacturing transformation in America, and they joined engineering.com’s Jim Anderton in conversation. 

***

Catch up on the latest engineering innovations with more Industry Insights & Trends videos and podcasts.

The post Will tariffs destroy the industrial supply chain? appeared first on Engineering.com.