In their last newsletter, Endevco discusses the differences between capacitive and piezoelectric acceleromters in response to a reader question.

ZTEC has published the first of a three-part series on oscilloscope measurement fundamentals. According to the company:
Many oscilloscope users take advantage of only a small fraction of the powerful features available to them. In addition, selecting the right measurement from a catalog of possibilities and accurately interpreting the results can lead to confusion and mistakes. […]

Pneumatically operated linear slides are simplifying the design and construction of a new pressure testing machine produced by hydraulic testing expert, Curtis Assemble & Test. Developed specifically to meet the needs of a major automotive manufacturer, the new machine performs high-pressure leakage testing on components which are used in fuel injectors.
Central to the functioning of […]

The Vibration Division of PCB Piezotronics now offers A2LA-accredited calibration services for its DC response accelerometer product lines. These services provide a new solution for PCB¨ customers needing recalibration of their existing piezoresistive and variable capacitive accelerometers, as well as other manufacturers’ models. Their in-house ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory with A2LA accreditation to ISO 17025 […]

Special-purpose vehicles such as taxis and police cars often require add-on equipment such as taximeters, printers, and sirens. The increasing functionality of these devices requires digital communication interfaces.
Because CAN (Controller Area Network) is used in several applications inside of cars, it was the obvious candidate for networking the add-on equipment. CAN in Automation (CiA) […]

A new SAE seminar on the importance of lighting will cover lighting functions, standards, regulations, and testing. “Automotive Lighting: Testing and Requirements” will be offered for the first time October 27 at SAE Automotive HQ in Troy, MI.
Seminar instructor is Janzhong Jiao, General Manager for Engineering Technology at North American Lighting. He is vice chairman […]

The LXI Consortium’s recent PlugFest, held July 25-27 in Cleveland, Ohio, had 56 registered attendees representing manufacturers, system integrators, customers, universities and the press. Products were tested for compliance to Class A and Class B requirements in a simulated real-world environment. Class A devices are the most advanced LXI instruments that include time synchronization via […]

Automotive assembly and test systems manufacturer CL Automation has been renamed Cincinnati Automation & Test, to reflect the fact that it is now part of the Cincinnati Technologies group of companies, a subsidiary of MAG Industrial Automation Systems (Sterling Heights, MI).
Cincinnati Automation & Test began operations nearly 40 years ago as Rockford Automation in […]

From DefenseLink, July 31, 2006:
General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on July 27, 2006, an $8,318,171 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for systems technical support for the Abrams Tank program. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2006. Contract […]

Practicing Oil Analysis, a trade magazine I’d never run across before, has an interesting article, Improving Used Oil Analysis Standards. This article is more relevant to the machinery industry, but I think automotive engineers will also find something of value here.