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NEWSMotovated Design & Analysis Newsletter - August 2008Hello everyone, It's difficult to miss all the news headlines about New Zealand entering a recession. According to the NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA), sales in May 2008 decreased 3.71% compared with last year and net confidence dropped 7 points in the last month. However, we at Motovated definitely aren't feeling this ourselves yet – in fact, we're busier than ever and having to recruit to keep up with demand (see below for our current vacancy). I think there are two reasons why the recession isn't affecting us yet. Firstly, many of our clients export a large portion of their goods, isolating them from the local conditions (the same NZMEA statistics showed a 8.13% increase in export sales). There's a case study below about how we are helping DesignLine meet their international demand. Secondly, in tough economic conditions we can help manufacturers maintain or improve their margins by helping them work smarter. Investing a bit of time in doing good product design up-front or making improvements to production machinery pays dividends with reduced production times & costs, better products and less risk. We'd also like to announce that we're finalists in the Champion Canterbury awards. Read below for more about this exciting news... I hope you enjoy this newsletter, and please get in touch if you need any recession-beating advice!
Greg Morehouse Champion Canterbury Awards
The Champion Canterbury Awards recognise enterprise, innovation, sustainability and excellence in the Canterbury Region. Motovated are finalists in the Champion Service award category, which recognises providers of professional services, infrastructure or utilities in helping the community to thrive and prosper. Motovated has been providing its unique service to local manufacturers since 1999. Since then we have grown considerably and now service clients all over the world, but we are still proud of the value we add to the local region by helping our neighbours compete on national and international scales. We would like to thank all our clients for recognising the value we can add to your businesses, and entrusting us with the responsibility of “Engineering Your Vision!” Read our full press release for more information: http://www.motovated.co.nz/news/aug08 We're Hiring! Current Vacancies...Motovated has grown considerably over the past few years, and our services continue to be in high demand as word of our unique service spreads. In order to meet this demand and maintain our current growth, we currently have the following vacancies:
Would you like to be involved in a stimulating and challenging mechanical design environment? These permanent positions will offer you the opportunity to work with an innovative team who are passionate about design, allowing you to grow yourself while growing Motovated as well. Our clients expect and deserve the best from Motovated, demanding a highly professional level of service and clear communication. If you have what it takes to join one of Australasia's leading engineering design consultancies, visit our website: http://www.motovated.co.nz/careers.html Case Study: Bus Design for DesignLine
Motovated Design & Analysis have been helping DesignLine meet this increasing demand since early 2007, providing our skilled staff and advanced Computer Aided Design tools to give DesignLine the immediate and on-going support they need. We used our CAD expertise to reverse engineer existing buses, using legacy 2D CAD data to generate complete 3D models of entire buses. These 3D models can now be more quickly adapted to create multiple configurations based on the customer's needs, such that we can now produce a complete model of a bus structure and a full set of detailed production drawings within 1 month following the release of a detailed specification.
To read this case study in full, visit our website at: http://www.motovated.co.nz/casestudies/designline.html Tips & Tricks: Living Hinges
The secret to living hinges is getting the shape and thickness right. Below a certain thickness (about 0.4 mm) the plastic molecules will orient themselves along the direction of flow, resulting in high strength in bending perpendicular to this direction. Also, a thinner section will have lower strain on the outer surfaces compared to a thicker section.
The diagram to the right shows some recommended dimensions for living hinges. The thickness of the hinge can be modified with the given range to change the stiffness and feel of the hinge. The recess on the inner surface of the hinge is also very important to avoid a sharp notch as the hinge is closed. Living hinges can be very useful, but they do need to be carefully designed for each application. For more information on living hinges, get in touch with us. Outsmart your colleagues!Our June Newsletter's question wasn't as easy as it looked, so we received lots of incorrect answers! The question was: Stan has two children. The probability that the first child is a girl is 50%. The probability that the second child is a girl is also 50%. Stan tells you he has at least one daughter. What is the probability that their other child is also a girl? Many people assumed that the probability was 50% but the correct answer is 33%. There are four possible permutations for the 1st/2nd child: boy/boy; boy/girl; girl/boy; and girl/girl. When Stan tells you that he has at least one daughter the boy/boy option is removed, leaving three possibilities, only one of which contains two girls. Congratulations to Chris Heaslip of Heaslip Engineering Ltd, a $50 Mitre 10 voucher is on its way to you.
They are arranged as shown in the image with either a green or a red hat. Each prisoner can see the hats of the prisoners in front of him, but not his own or any hats behind him, and they can't see through the wall. They are told that there are two green and two red hats, and that they can all go free if one of them can say out loud the colour of their own hat. Other than that they are not allowed to talk. Which prisoner can set them all free, and how? Send your correct answer to competition@motovated.co.nz to be in with a chance of winning a $50 Mitre 10 voucher. Thanks for your time, and we hope you enjoyed this newsletter. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best engineering services and advice possible. Greg and the team at Motovated. |
We are very proud to announce that Motovated Design & Analysis has been nominated and are now finalists in the Champion Canterbury Awards 2008!
Bus manufacturing company DesignLine has enjoyed huge growth in the last few years. Opportunities from their purchase by DesignLine International led to the opening of a new production facility in North Carolina, and in 2009 they will be moving to a larger factory closer to Christchurch.
We also generate photorealistic rendered images of DesignLine buses. These images are used in DesignLine's international sales and marketing efforts, leading to several enquiries from various city authorities across the United States.
A living hinge (or plastic hinge) is a cleverly designed thin section of material that joins two bodies together, such as the hinge on pill-boxes or lunch boxes. A properly designed hinge made from the correct materials (usually polypropylene or polyethylene) should provide a very long life, but other materials such as nylon or acetal can be used if only a limited life is required.
And now for this issue's question: The warden of an overcrowded prison decides to give four prisoners the chance to go free if they can solve a puzzle.
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