Rapid Prototype Blog

Archive for January, 2011

We all know what Mazda is. But as per what a hydrogen vehicle is, that is something not quite familiar for most people. You see, a hydrogen vehicle is actually considered as an alternative fuel vehicle, or an AFV, for instead of using the usual type of fuel or gas to give it power, the hydrogen vehicle can run using hydrogen as the primary source of its power.

So now the question is what is the connected between the Mazda brand and hydrogen vehicles? The answer is quite simple. You see, Mazda has been doing research on hydrogen vehicles. After all, the company has sure been showing very keen interest in this type of vehicle. Perhaps Mazda is still trying to find the answer to some problems that hydrogen powered vehicles pose. One of these is that hydrogen for cars can be quite costly and the vehicle does not perform well. However, with the type of technologies that the industry is capable of doing, perhaps the future is starting to get brighter for Mazda and its interest in hydrogen powered vehicles.

Of course, despite the blatant interest Mazda has with this kind of vehicles, the company still has the time and the capacity to continuously produce new vehicles in their vehicle range. Also, it still continues on creating products for the market like Mazda Tribute auto parts among many others. The company also is still continuously designing, testing, and producing new vehicles for the market.

The hydrogen powered vehicle interest that Mazda has displayed has been noted some fifteen years back. In fact, it has already created various prototype vehicles that they claim to hold the capacity to run on hydrogen. If you would remember the Mazda HR-X Prototype vehicle, this is one concept car that the Mazda has shown off to the motoring public. And it was during the Tokyo Motor Show done back in the year 1991 that the company introduced this hydrogen vehicle prototype. What this one held was a rotary engine that could run on hydrogen.

Years have passed and the interest on hydrogen vehicles has not yet waned for Mazda. And many enthusiasts are on guard and trying to see what developments the company has in store for the future.

Precisely what is entire body scanning?

Intro to total body scanning

There are various scanners out there at this time, white light scanning scanners, X-ray Machines, security scanners and also a lot more. None of them have been more referred to recently compared to the total body scanners which will quickly be employed in most airport security.

The total-body scanner is a attention grabbing gadget which generates a graphic of your person’s nude body throughtheir particular clothing to watch out for covered up items without them needing to actually take away their garments or make physical contact with anyone. A number of cities around the world are implementing them to firm up security at train stations and air terminals.

The engineering of whole body scanners

1 way the scanners may well work is simply by sending incredibly high frequency radio waves from the body to generate a picture which you can view items invisible under the garments.
High frequency radio waves do not recognize clothing and organic material and as a result they will not likely show up on the picture.

Positive aspects and cons of these scanners

There is a wide variety of rewards to complete body scanners.
1 of the main one’s is the volume of time which it takes to scan which is a lot less than 20 seconds per individual. One other main benefit is the fact that the scanners are non-contact. Many people resist being searched by airport staff and consider it improper. Contact searches can also be open to misuse.

Given that the technology is indeed new there are several grey areas which include potential health effects. This type of scanner hasn’t been around long enough to evaluate if there is any potential harmful results. Scanners including X-Rays and white light scanning are considerably more tried and tested and thus more universally recognized. But the nude pictures that are generated by these scanners evoke a sense of doubt in the general public.

It is also considered that these scanners have the ability to benefit many other industries as well. Courthouses, government building as well as other official buildings are also considering applying this technology.

Not many are convinced of the benefits of whole body scanners as those people who are willing to have identified approaches to conceal explosive equipment in all sorts of bodily crevices that could be overlooked by the full body scanners.
This leads you to consider what the development will probably be from nude full body scanners, will everyone need to go through obtrusive strip searches?

For extra materiallook at white light scanning

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Designing is the most crucial phase in a new product development to ensure that the product functions effectively and fully suits the needs of the customer with safety. At the same time, the product should be cost efficient and should be able to generate a good market share along with expected profits for the manufacturer.

In plastic product design, technology has provided many prototyping options such as Rapid prototyping, Rapid tooling, Rapid injection molding and conventional injection molding. A product design consultancy or product design company provides effective, specialized and practical product design service to give the best solution while selecting the make of a plastic product.

The designers at a product design consultancy conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible with a more systematic approach. Their role is to combine art, science and technology to create long lasting, durable and efficient products. This evolving role has already been facilitated by digital tools that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze ideas in the most precise way after considering all available options.

By utilizing the services of a good product design consultancy, you can be assured of:

* Reduced product cost
* Enhanced innovation
* Support for your product even after manufacturing process
* Good product quality
* Maximum returns for your business
* Complete flexibility and minimal risk

More than any other material, parts made with plastic must be “designed for production”. With a host of prototyping options, almost anybody can design a plastic part to some extent. However,  to do it really well,  a thorough technical knowledge of the different processes, along with “regular” design is inevitably required.

A product design consultancy is a specialist in its domain. It analyzes individual client needs while presenting them with innovative design concepts to meet their needs in a cost efficient manner.  It collects all required information regarding client expectation and employ formalized techniques to turn  them into concrete product concepts. Concepts are also supported on their software tools to get a strong feel for its reaction to a number of potential situations. Extreme value testing is conducted to    ascertain which concepts are most tolerant to design, production, and user environment variables.  The  concept generation phase of the product design company also collects the information that makes detailed design and engineering easier, faster, and less risky.

If you are looking for a perfect solution to plastic product designs in UK, Detektdesign is the place for you! Our product design consultancy has experienced designers for plastic products and we have helped many entrepreneurs through Design Prototyping UK, Product Industrial Design UK.

Contract electronics manufacturing service or EMS providers typically work with customers in a wide range of industries with differing requirements for inventory control, testing, product packaging, and product support. In some applications, the EMS provider simply assembles the printed circuit boards and then ships the boards to the customer. In other applications, the EMS provider will assemble the printed circuit board, load firmware/software into memory, test the board, and then assemble the board and associated cables, enclosures, and documentation into a finished product that is shipped to the customer.

Some customers will provide all of the materials (raw boards and electronic components) required for a job and the EMS provider assemblies the printed circuit boards, performs any required testing, and ships the finished boards to the customer. This is generally considered as inventory provided on a consignment basis where the EMS provider basically provides labor and expertise only. Some customers will provide some portion on the materials (such as specialty or high cost integrated circuits, proprietary parts such as transformers or coils, raw printed circuit boards, etc.) and rely on the EMS provider to purchase the remainder of the components needed to assemble the boards. Most EMS providers prefer to

use their own purchasing power, their extensive contacts, and their existing parts inventory where applicable to provide all of the required materials for a customer’s particular project. This method is generally considered as inventory provided on a turn-key basis.

But before any of this can happen, the EMS provider must provide an assembled board quote or pricing estimate to the customer for the project. In addition to the quantity commitments (production release quantity and annual usage quantity), this pricing process also requires a detailed bill of material from the customer along with a set of the Gerber files for the printed circuit board(s). The BOM should define all of the components along with the approved vendor and vendor’s part number for each component. This information allows the Materials Management group to determine availability (lead time), packaging, and pricing for each component based on the quantities and vendor information. The BOM information

is also needed to allow a technical review to determine the amount of labor and the equipment required to place the parts and to solder the components to the board.

The Gerber files for the printed circuit board design provide Materials Management with the information they need in order to get raw board pricing and lead times from the printed circuit board manufacturing vendors. The Gerber files also provide the Manufacturing Group with the information they need to develop the manufacturing plan (are components on top only or top and bottom of board; surface mount, thru hole, or mixed component types; wave solder or reflow oven processes required, etc.). The Manufacturing Group also has to estimate time to program the component placement equipment and to load the

components in the placement feeders (set-up costs), costs to order the solder paste stencil(s), and must also quantify test plans, procedures, and required test equipment. In order to correctly place components on the printed circuit board with each component properly oriented, the EMS provider will need silkscreen files to know the correct orientation of the parts on each side of the board. The screen paste files for surface mount applications will be required to order the stencils for the solder paste application to the board prior to the part placements.

All of this may seem to be a lot of information, but each piece is needed in order to provide the most cost effective pricing for the finished product. Fortunately, the Gerber files are usually readily available from the pcb design system as the Gerber format is the industry standard output format. The BOM is usually in the form of an Excel spreadsheet or formal drawing. Assist your EMS provider by providing the approved vendor’s name and part number for each component.

In Summary:

The information required to prepare an accurate quotation for a typical printed circuit board assembly project includes:

* Definition of inventory method (consignment, partial consignment, or turn-key).

* Complete Bill of Material with at least one manufacturer’s name and part number for each component along with notes identifying any component(s) to be supplied by the customer.

* Gerber files for the printed circuit board design(s).

* Estimated Annual Usage (EAU) quantities and production release quantities.

* Name of technical contact person, along with their telephone number, fax number, and email address.

Additional information that may be helpful if you have it available:

* Assembly, schematic, and PCB drawings.

* Sample board assembly or prototype board assembly to review.

* Test requirements and procedures required by the customer.

Jim Usery

Sales and Marketing Director

Innovative Circuits, Inc.

311A S Parkway St

Corinth, MS 38834

office 662-287-2007

toll free 866-887-7381

fax 662-665-9275

email jusery@icimfg.com

Visit our website at www.icimfg.com for more information about Innovative Circuits, Inc. and the services and expertise that we provide to our customers or for additional technical articles. You can also sign up for our free Ezine, PCB Information, at the bottom of the Home Page at www.icimfg.com.

Related Electronic Prototype Board Articles

An industrial design can be considered as the creation of shape, pattern and color composition or other features of a 3d product. Industrial design courses offer a combination of creativity, technical expertise, and practical knowledge skills. Industrial Designer should have an eye for problem-solving skills to produce goods having with quality and design. Industrial designers have to carry out extensive research on latest design trends, safety, texture, shape, weight and other materials to be used before designing a product.

Industrial Design is a growing field. Industrial designing is not only helpful to manufacturing firms for increasing the sale but it is also a good platform for designers to show off their talent. Industrial Design is a field with number of good opportunities. The industrial design products should be of great quality and must be user-friendly.

Industrial Designers should be creative, and have technical skills, and must be able to design a product with great design and attractive features.

People who are interested in making a career in Industrial design must have a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree. Even one can opt for Masters too. But a bachelor’s degree is must as it will be helpful for understanding the basics of engineering, industrial design methodology.

After the completion of the course, the person will be able to handle different systems using different technologies. Industrial designer must have the creativity to provide innovative solutions.

An industrial designer can opt for various different posts in various industries. Like Industrial Designer, Multimedia Designer, Product Designer, Interface Designer, Exhibit Designer, and even Interface Developer and Product Developer.

So, there are a lot of career oppurtunities in Industrial Design. A lot of growth is also expected in this field.

More Industrial Design Articles

Normally, a project made with Justinmind Prototyper is going to be coded into a piece of software or a website later on. So, it’s important that your wireframe software to be capable of exporting in several formats.

Export your documentation to your programmers

Every requirement that’s in your Justinmind Prototyper project can be exported in .csv format, and imported to any requirements management tool. This way, your project will always be compatible with an Agile Management Project, and your data won’t be “stuck” in any way.

Uses:

Share with colleagues Organize comments Control and manage projects

Export your HTML

Do you need to show your client how his web is going to be? Fine, just export the HTML. He will see in any browser. Host it in your private servers under a password, or, if it’s an emergency, a public-hosted one. It’s not fully-featured HTML code, so you won’t be able to edit it to create the final one, but it’s perfect for presentations.

Uses:

Visualize the final project Test usability with clients Test usability with users Show co-workers the future final result

Export your documentation in a doc file (PC only)

You can have a full documentation, with printscreens, requirements, comments, details, events, everything that involves your project, in a doc file. The final production book, for everyone consult what was agreed, and a building guide to the final project.

Uses:

Have a final project in which everyone agrees Have a document that shows the project everyone agreed upon Have a guide for that hour when everyone seems to be lost

Share with other Justinmind Prototyper users with Justinmind Server

Of course, any project created with Prototyper can be shared with other users, and have full compatibility. Also, anyone can download the free Viewer tool to visualize and comment projects. It’s especially interesting to have clients use them, and get their inputs on the project organized.

You can use Justinmind Server to do this too. This way, other users don’t have to install any software but their browsers to visualize the wireframe.

Uses:

Share the project online and allow users to annotate Avoid miscommunication (“I meant the OTHER image”) Collaborate remotely

So, there’s several ways of sharing your wireframes with other people while working with Justinmind Prototyper.

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Laser holographic printing or laser-printed rainbow hologram is an optical technology, high-tech printing process. It will not only reproduce the main body of original image, but also with the observation of changes in eye position, revealing a different side of original shapes, laser holographic image using white light diffraction grating principle, so that the image effect of volatile and colorful. Laser holographic material is a new type of high-tech materials, packaging and security printing widely used.

Holographic logo on the field of packaging and printing applications increases every year, tobacco, alcohol, medicine, cosmetics and other products are inseparable from the laser holographic anti-counterfeiting packaging identity.

Laser holographic printing or laser-printed rainbow hologram is an optical technology, high-tech printing process. It will not only reproduce the main body of original image, but also with the observation of changes in eye position, revealing a different side of original shapes, laser holographic image using white light diffraction grating principle, so that the image effect of changing, colorful, colorful, color spirited and the level clear vivid, information and high technology, laser hologram production and reproduction of high technological content and need professional personnel, complexity of processing technology, equipment, expensive, difficult to imitate the image itself has the characteristics, therefore, it is in the 20th century, 80 Age began widely used in security field. Currently with the encrypted holographic, three-dimensional holograms, and true color holographic introduction of such high-tech, as well as tamper-and stamping with two kinds of anodized aluminum, molded hologram film produced to promote the application of a greater anti-counterfeit laser holographic material intensity .

Laser holographic material is a new type of high-tech materials, packaging and security printing widely used. Laser holographic film are mainly raw materials used in PVC, PET, OPP, BOPP and so on, varieties of laser Polyester Film, Laser and transparent on the Film, laser bronzing paper, laser transfer paper series, the colors are gold, silver, red, blue, green, black and so on. Laser holographic anti-counterfeiting materials will have good effects of laser hologram anti-counterfeiting technology and hot stamping, molding and other printed decoration technology integrated with the product results in improving the finishing decorating the same time and add more security features.

In addition, the laser holography combined with other technologies to produce a fluorescence increase security, such as laser holographic film, flexible and transparent anti-counterfeit laser holographic film, the nucleus secret high-tech anti-counterfeit laser holographic film products, but also to improve the quality of laser holographic film and the anti-counterfeiting effect.

The Alabaster Stone Dancer is hung together with the Holographic Paper Dancers Mobile .. The paper pieces are strung together with black, cotton thread and are hanging from music wire. The Stone Dancer is strung together with beading wire (26lb, stainless steel, nylon coated). The Stone Dancer is the central figure and it is from her, again using the beading wire, that the mobile hangs.

Those that already create a prototype before investing too much time in any problem already know: there are several blind spots and mistakes designers do unwillingly. And those can be avoided by testing and validating the wireframe through several phases, from drawing to high fidelity prototype.

Most of those are common, but some can be really difficult to detect without a test:

Users getting lost while navigating

You know all the content of your site. So, you’ll never get lost, and you always know where you are. You know the site by heart, since it was a wireframe. But should this section really be where you think it is? Leaving hints like breadcrumbs or having colours for different sections is important, but also is testing content categorization.

Blindspots

You think everyone will look at your red-and-yellow banner at the centre of the screen, don’t you? Sorry, they won’t. And it may also happen with other objects. Sometimes, designers and clients become so obsessed with a colour or a photograph that they’re sure everyone will pay attention, but due to several different factors, it doesn’t happen. Testing can uncover some of them.

Standards exist for a reason

It may happen that you have a great idea for a different navigation model, direction or structure. It may be a breakthrough, but also can be a big flop. There’s a reason because most sites today have two or three columns, the main one is bigger, and a big header with navigation on top: it’s become a standard, and everyone is used to look for them there. If you need to create something different, it can be great. But, please, test it until you’re sure users won’t get confused and leave your site empty.

What to do if I find a problem?

If you’re using Justinmind Prototyper, add a comment, and the Ux designers and product managers will know there are some mistakes. Correct them. Adjust. Test again. Rinse and repeat. It always works.

Keep it easy – overexplain if needed

Remember that not everyone come to your website from the homepage. With the increase of Google’s visitors, the number is always bigger. So, it’s important to explain to them what your site is about, and what to do when they get there.

Help your users. Think of them as a foreigner in your country. Although they want to be kind and start a conversation, you created the place, you know the rules and you must teach them (in a kind way, no one wants to be bossed around) how to behave in your website.

It is common to find ID cards at the office, at events and in many other areas of our daily life. Cards such as these are made at a desk sized printer that is commonly located on a desk at the organizations main office.  ID cards can be printed and provided to employees, guests and members of the organization.  Often an ID badge holder is included with the badge for easily displaying the card.

Mainstream photo ID card printers offer full color or monochrome ribbons with an overcoat later to provide extra protection for the printed card.  This overcoat does provide protection to the card and provides a method of securing the text and custom information printed on the card.  There have been tests, however, to show that this overlay can be stripped and the text can be manipulated with the right chemicals.

For this reason, corporations and government needs often require the use of a lamination of the plastic card.  With the use of a laminate overlay, any tampering with the card surface will be noticeable as the removal of the overlay will also damage the surface of the card.  The overlaminate will provide additional protection for the card

Clear overlaminates are available for cards that are need the additional layer for security or increased durability.  Some overlaminates are holograms.  These provide an extra flair to the card that can be appealing and indicate a highly secure card.  By using a custom hologram, an organization can display a unique look using their choice of logo or text that signifies that the card is branded to them and that it has not be tampered with since issue.

Many of the professional ID card printers have the capability to add holograms to the ID card at the time of card printing.  The module in the printer can be purchased at the time of card printer purchase. Some current printers are able to be purchased without this module initially, with the understanding that the lamination capability can be added by purchasing it in the future and adding it in the field by the end user.  Lamination capabilities vary, but many printers have the option of a single side card lamination option or a dual sided lamination capability.  These printers are more costly than a basic entry level printer, but they provide extra security and are generally more durable.

The majority of printer manufacturers have a secure level line of ID card printer models to choose from.  Some of the models which provide the lamination option are below:

The Evolis secure printer is called the Securion.  It is a dual sided printer and contains additional security features that are attractive to many organizations.  The warranty for this printer is 2 years or 100,000 card prints.

Fargo provides a flexible printer that can be upgraded with a lamination unit in the field after purchase.  The HDP means high definition.  This type of printing provides excellent printing results by using a reverse transfer printing method. This printer has a two year warranty with a lifetime printhead warranty.

The Magicard Tango+L offers both single and dual sided lamination with coordinating printing options.  It comes with Ethernet, USB and parallel connectivity.  A 3 year warranty is available with this printer.

An overview of the software for my Hologram Printer, which “prints” 3D holograms by scratching arcs into surfaces like plastic or metal. The printer was developed in 2009 at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. See Bill Beaty’s site for more information on the phenomenon itself: www.amasci.com

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Some big projects done with Justinmind Prototyper involve more than one person. Sometimes big teams work together to create something, and thus collaboration-management is a very important feature of our wireframe authoring tool.

Keeping the same design code throughout the project

Widgets and templates can be used to maintain the same styles, colours, events and structures which are repeated throughout several pages. The main designer can create the objects following the brand guidelines, and other users will simply drop them on their canvas, without any confusion of mistaken sizes, colours or deprecated styles. Also, it improves work, since things don’t need to be redrawn.

The filetypes for templates, masters and widgets are accepted in most Justinmind Prototyper versions, and are small, making them shareable by mail, network or even personal messaging systems. Also, most common media types, such as jpg and gifs, are accepted by Justinmind Prototyper.

Creating widget sets for determined projects

Let’s say you have a project with many, many screens, but just one designer. He can create the widget set that will be used, with specific properties, and several users can easily follow the guidelines.

There are widget sets for specific hardware and interfaces, such as iPhone or Android. With them, you can simulate all the UI of the phone in your computer, and specify the development of the software. You can always find more widgets at Justinmind.com.

Comments and requirements management

Not everybody’s comfortable with Justinmind Prototyper’s ease of use, but still have changes and modifications to do in the wireframe or prototype. Sometimes, the clients want to add their views and opinions, and they’re able to do that with JP Requirements Management feature. They can comment and link their comment to any specific feature. Also, they can specify features or requirements, and this can be related to any version of the software. Of course, these comments can be exported and organized in personalized .doc templates, for reports, summaries and analysis.

A team works better when it communicates better

Every manager knows the importance of being understood, and that details are organized and overseen. So, using Justinmind Prototyper to optimize teamwork is the best option to assure everything will run smoothly and within the deadline.

From wireframe to final development specifications, your team will work better with Justinmind Prototyper.

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