A custom design and fabrication firm that specializes in building unique parts and accessories for motorcycles improves its processes with a new computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) solution.

The change from analog to digital technologies in the industrial image-processing (IIP) sector is in full swing. Therefore, the reliable frame grabber appears to be increasingly headed out to pasture. This is because digital communications interfaces such as Gigabit Ethernet, USB and FireWire allow for adequate camera-based solutions without image-capture cards.

Ultrasonics is the newest of the nondestructive testing technologies. It was not until World War II that industrial ultrasonic inspection became an accepted inspection tool.

The Romer articulating arm was introduced more than 35 years ago. In the mid-1970s, a California technology company called Eaton Leonard Corp. designed an arm-shaped instrument for tube inspection that could capture the shape of a 3-D object such as an exhaust pipe.

Piezoelectric ceramic components made of lead zirconate titanates (PZT) have enabled many recent technological innovations in the automobile industry. PZT components can be found throughout many state-of-the-art vehicles, enhancing safety, performance, energy-efficiency and comfort.

Using a biaxial testing machine, researchers characterize and model silicone materials for complex soft-bodied robots.

A safety equipment manufacturer takes advantage of 3-D laser scanning to quickly and cheaply improve the aesthetics of a product mid project.

The list of national and international standards seems never ending and ever changing. As a result, standards and regulations continue to create significant challenges for Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) members in identifying, understanding and applying the requirements of the many standards.

Williamette Valley Co. produces polyurethane systems used in many industrial applications. In the past, the company had difficulty maintaining high yields when producing these products.

Toshiba GE Turbine Components has reduced the time required to inspect and measure steam turbine blades from 280 minutes to 45 minutes through use of the Maxos noncontact measurement system from NVision Inc.