In the last (and first) issue of ENR’s FutureTech newsletter (which went out June 14), I discussed key pricing and compatibility issues to consider when buying new design software. But there are other issues to consider, which can include the usability of your drawings. Related Links: Before You Upgrade CAD: Questions to Ask (Pt. 1 of 2) A key test is a simple one: print out a detailed set of drawings for a job, in different sizes, on paper and in PDF or other format you might use for portable tablets and laptops. Is everything there? In the second half
Recent rendering of one of LightSquared's satellites Related Links: GPS Industry Groups Reject LightSquared's Network Fix FCC Announces Comment Period for TWG GPS Industry Groups Reject LightSquared's Network Fix The gloves are off in a standoff between the U.S. Global Positioning System industry and a satellite communications vendor seeking to light up a broadband satellite and terrestrial network to blanket the country.GPS interests say plans for the satellite and terrestrial voice and data network with 40,000 base stations will operate too close to GPS on the spectrum and cause damaging interference to the entire system. They accuse the vendor of
Construction industry players and other major users of precision Global Position Systems (GPS) say a new report released by an industry working group today confirms that a wireless broadband network proposed by LightSquared would cause major harm to most GPS equipment in use around the globe. Rendering of LightSquared's latest satellite. Related Links: FCC Announces Comment Period for TWG Report Save Our GPS Coalition Press Releases LightSquared's Press Release Efforts 'To Save Our GPS' Heat up in Congress The group also rejected a three-pronged proposal put forth by Reston, Va-based LightSquared, which it says would mitigate any interference the company's
Engineers who need to integrate river-flow analysis data with 3D civil design models recently got a boost with the release of a new extension that ties them together. Until the end of the year, Autodesk Labs is offering Project River Analysis Extension software for free as a sort of trial balloon. The software integrates with AutoCAD Civil 3D and AutoCAD Map 3D for 2012. Photo courtesy of Autodesk, Inc. A screen shot of Autodesk's new River Analysis Extension, which is on Autodesk Labs' site and free until the end of this year. The latest extension can overlay one-dimensional data from
A new app displays the load capacities of various shackles and slings, such as wire rope, chain, nylon web and round. Screen shot courtesy of RigIT. A new app displays the load capacities of various shackles and slings, such as wire rope, chain, nylon web and round.RigIT LLC, San Francisco, released the app RigIT for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch on June 8, 2011.“I have my rigging charts on a sticker inside my hardhat,” says Perry Churchill, safety manager with Bragg Crane Co., Long Beach, Calif. “But some of my charts only go up to a certain width, like
A fight over a 4G network and competitor to the Global Positioning System is heating up in Washington, as a coalition that includes major construction industry groups and heavy-equipment manufacturers is trying to block a move by LightSquared, Reston, Va., to launch a wireless broadband network. An industry group called the Coalition to Save Our GPS contends that the LightSquared plan would involve building some 40,000 ground stations and create interference with the existing GPS signals, which would disrupt systems such as high-precision GPS used in dredging operations in U.S. ports, as well as GPS that is used to guide
Image courtesy of Mesuris VISIBLOC's 3D feed is displayed to crane operators and the foreman in real time. The bull's eye in the bottom-right corner helps guide the block to its target. Monsoon season in the Arabian Peninsula's Sultanate of Oman goes from early June to mid-September, bringing with it predictably rough weather that can stir up the seas. For workers building a 3-kilometer-long breakwater at a $3.25-billion greenfield port at Dugm, this could hamper their work a bit.The stormy forecast led Muhammad D. Suleiman El Dawood, the site project manager, to adopt a GPS- and sensor-aided system for underwater
During his tenure at the National Aviation and Space Administration, Craig Collier helped develop the software that would become HyperSizer, a computer-aided program for designing with composite laminates. When he left NASA, his brainchild followed him, as the first ever software allowed to be commercialized by the space agency. The latest version, HyperSizer v6, was recently released. Image courtesy of Collier Research Corp. Different composite laminates overlap in this model of a wind-turbine blade. Each color represents a different laminate zone and often depicts one or more overlapping composites. Related Links: Interactive Screens For Less, To Go HyperSizer is designed
Utilities that allow users to view and control web-connected computers from a range of mobile devices—for example, smart phones and tablets—are some of the most popular applications. Woburn, Mass.-based LogMeIn, which makes the free screen-sharing service join.me, is among the more successful app makers in this category. Photo: Courtesy Of Log Me In LogMeIn has released a new version of join.me for iPhones and iPads. The company says the free app now features a Voice-over IP (VoIP) option that lets users converse during their screen-sharing sessions. A zoom feature for closer screen inspection is also available. On join.me’s Facebook page,
During his tenure at the National Aviation and Space Administration, Craig Collier helped develop the software that would become HyperSizer, a computer-aided program for designing with composite laminates. When he left NASA, his brainchild followed him— sort of—into a project with NASA to commercialize the product with the recent release of HyperSizer v6. Image: Courtesy Of Collier Research Corp. Different composite laminates overlap in this model of a wind-turbine blade. Each color represents a different laminate zone and often depicts one or more overlapping composites. HyperSizer is designed to help bridge the capabilities of CAD software and finite element analysis