Reduction of Machine Tool Times Through a Software/Hardware Integrated Solution

Toolmaking is an industry that creates metal moulds, generally of durable tool steels, for producing vacuum-formed and injection moulded plastic parts, which are used in thousands of everyday items such as mobile phones. At present toolmaking is labour intensive with each machining operation requiring manual supervision. The FASTOOL project was a European Union funded collaboration that was aimed at reducing the manpower content of mould toolmaking, and extending the working day. This paper focuses on one element which utilised specially created scheduling and control software that operated an automated overhead gantry system and could remotely start the workshop machines. The software was completely object oriented which allows future proofing by creating new objects for new machines. The results demonstrate that this manufacturing process can be automated, leading to better working conditions for employees and an increase in efficiency and profitability.Mechanical Engineerin

Symmetry violations at BABAR

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.2014 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 556 012042 (http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/556/1/012042

Cellular mechanisms underlying burst firing in substantia nigra dopamine neurons

Burst firing of substantia nigra dopamine (SN DA) neurons is believed to represent an important teaching signal that instructs synaptic plasticity and associative learning. However, the mechanisms through which synaptic excitation overcomes the limiting effects of somatic Ca2+-dependent K+ current to generate burst firing are controversial. Modeling studies suggest that synaptic excitation sufficiently amplifies oscillatory dendritic Ca2+ and Na+ channel currents to lead to the initiation of high-frequency firing in SN DA neuron dendrites. To test this model, visually guided compartment-specific patch-clamp recording and ion channel manipulation were applied to rodent SN DA neurons in vitro. As suggested previously, the axon of SN DA neurons was typically found to originate from a large-diameter dendrite that was proximal to the soma. However, in contrast to the predictions of the model, (1) somatic current injection generated firing that was similar in frequency and form to burst firing in vivo, (2) the efficacy of glutamatergic excitation was inversely related to the distance of excitation from the axon, (3) pharmacological blockade or genetic deletion of Ca2+ channels did not prevent high-frequency firing, (4) action potential bursts were invariably detected first at sites that were proximal to the axon, and (5) pharmacological blockade of Na+ channels in the vicinity of the axon/soma but not dendritic excitation impaired burst firing. Together, these data suggest that SN DA neurons integrate their synaptic input in a more conventional manner than was hypothesized previously

A survey of electric and hybrid vehicle simulation programs

Results of a survey conducted within the United States to determine the extent of development and capabilities of automotive performance simulation programs suitable for electric and hybrid vehicle studies are summarized. Altogether, 111 programs were identified as being in a usable state. The complexity of the existing programs spans a range from a page of simple desktop calculator instructions to 300,000 lines of a high-level programming language. The capability to simulate electric vehicles was most common, heat-engines second, and hybrid vehicles least common. Batch-operated programs are slightly more common than interactive ones, and one-third can be operated in either mode. The most commonly used language was FORTRAN, the language typically used by engineers. The higher-level simulation languages (e.g. SIMSCRIPT, GPSS, SIMULA) used by "model builders" were conspicuously lacking

A survey of electric and hybrid vehicle simulation programs, volume 1

Development and capabilities of automotive performance simulation programs suitable for electric and hybrid vehicle studies are considered

Exchange Rate Regimes and Revenue Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

It has been argued that the institutions of the CFA Franc zone may have reduced inflation but that they also induced misalignment of the real exchange rate and that this is the explanation for their dismal revenue performance. This paper uses a panel of 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to estimate revenue performance over the period from 1980 to 1996. It finds that the poor cumulative relative revenue performance of the franc zone countries is mainly attributable to differences in environmental and structural factors, and to their different responses to changes in the equilibrium real exchange rate, but that the misalignment of the real exchange rate also played a part.

Dust masses for SN 1980K, SN1993J and Cassiopeia A from red-blue emission line asymmetries

We present Monte Carlo line transfer models that investigate the effects of dust on the very late time emission line spectra of the core collapse supernovae SN 1980K and SN 1993J and the young core collapse supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Their blue-shifted emission peaks, resulting from the removal by dust of redshifted photons emitted from the far sides of the remnants, and the presence of extended red emission wings are used to constrain dust compositions and radii and to determine the masses of dust in the remnants. We estimate dust masses of between 0.08 – 0.15 M⊙ for SN 1993J at year 16, 0.12 – 0.30 M⊙ for SN 1980K at year 30 and ∼1.1 M⊙ for Cas A at year ∼330. Our models for the strong oxygen forbidden lines of Cas A require the overall modelled profiles to be shifted to the red by between 700 – 1000 km s−1, consistent with previous estimates for the shift of the dynamical centroid of this remnant

Digital Doppler extraction demonstration with the advanced receiver

A digital Doppler extraction demonstration with the Advanced Receiver 2 (ARX 2) tracking Pioneer 10 and Voyager 2 is described. The measured results are compared with those of the Block 4 receiver that was operating in parallel with the ARX 2. It is shown that the ARX 2 outperforms the Block 4 receiver in terms of Allan variance of the Doppler residuals, the amount of which depends on the scenario of interest