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Motovated Design & Analysis Newsletter - June 2011

Hi everyone,

We are pleased to say we are still up and running after the latest round of June quakes - here are some pictures to give you some idea of the situation!

In this issue we have a brief update for you on the informal presentation to industry of New Zealand's first Passenger Rail bogie design - thanks to all those who took advantage of our late notice to attend! The Canterbury SolidWorks Users Group (CANSWUG) meeting was also a great success - big thanks go to Aucom for the use of their premises and for the factory tour, to Darren Marchant for his presentation on boiler modelling techniques and to Aidan Cavanagh and Simon Couch for their superb organisation.

In other news, the Product Development Seminar in Tauranga was also fully booked, with Jon having to present a second seminar for the following day! If you missed out make sure you get in early next time!

Also below is a Tip & Trick on designing for impact load strength, and another joke and brainteaser puzzle. Enjoy the read!

Greg Morehouse
Managing Director
Engineering Analyst
greg@motovated.co.nz

Update on KiwiRail Bogie Design Presentation

Motovated Design and Analysis along with Holmes Solutions gave an overview of the design process of the new KiwiRail passenger bogie. The project was managed by KiwiRail Mechanical Design Group, designed by Motovated, physically tested at Holmes Solutions and is being manufactured by Hillside Engineering in Dunedin. The synergy between good project management, design, analysis, testing and manufacture was clear to see. It was also great fun to show off the bogie frame and axlebox in Holmes Solutions's fatigue and exceptional load test rigs.

This is a hugely valuable project for the country, the kind that was thought not to be viable in New Zealand. However, with a strong 'can do' attitude we have achieved an excellent result! Thanks to IPENZ and SME for getting so many of their members to join us. And thanks also to KiwiRail for an excellent project and the valuable ongoing work for New Zealand Industry.
AK Bogie Rendering AK Bogie Stress Plot

Tips & Tricks - Designing for Impact Loads (Round 2)

In this issue we revisit designing for impact loads, with another tip for improving the impact capacity of a beam through simple changes to the section properties.

Watch out though, as you might find diminishing returns for your efforts if you're not careful!

Read more here

Beam Section for Impact

Futureintech - Promoting careers in technology, engineering and science

This initiative sees professionals going into schools all over New Zealand to talk to students, spark interest in the many different careers available, and highlight the use of maths and science in their job.

Sara from Motovated volunteers as a Futureintech Ambassador, and recently helped students at Russley School with their topic "Simple Machines". There was all sorts of fun that afternoon, as one of the aim's of the initiative is to show that science is fun! Read the whole article here

FutureInTech Activities
Futureintech IPENZ

JOKE: Software Engineering Glossary

ALL NEW The software is not compatible with previous versions
DESIGN SIMPLICITY It was developed on a shoe-string budget
MAINTENANCE FREE It's impossible to fix
PERFORMANCE PROVEN It works through beta testing
REVOLUTIONARYThe disk drives go round and round
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED We'll send you another copy if it fails
STOCK ITEM We shipped it once before, and we can do it again, probably
UNMATCHEDIt's almost as good as the competition
UNPRECEDENTED PERFORMANCE Nothing ever ran this slow before
YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT We finally got one to work.

Outsmart your colleagues...

Einstein wrote the following riddle. He said that 98% of the world could not solve it. But several NASA scientists were able to solve it, and they said it's not all that hard if you pay attention and are very patient. Give it a try:

There are 5 houses in 5 different colours in a row. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar, or drink the same beverage. Other facts:
  1. The Brit lives in the red house.
  2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
  3. The Dane drinks tea.
  4. The green house is on the immediate left of the white house.
  5. The green house's owner drinks coffee.
  6. The owner who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
  7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
  8. The owner living in the centre house drinks milk.
  9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
  10. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
  11. The owner who keeps the horse lives next to the one who smokes Dunhill.
  12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
  13. The German smokes Prince.
  14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
  15. The owner who smokes Blends lives next to the one who drinks water.

The question is: WHO OWNS THE FISH?
Send your correct answer to competition@motovated.co.nz to be in with a chance of winning a $50 Mitre 10 voucher.

Answers to last issue's puzzle

Check your answer to April's question here: The correct answer is: Bob's profit goes up by 40%

His profit on 200 tables was $3,000, or $15 per table, so we can deduce that his cost is $85 per table. At the new price of $115 (15% more) he makes $30 per table. Thus, even though he sells only 140 tables (30% fewer), he makes $4,200 - 40% more than the previous year.

Interestingly, a 15% price increase makes his profit per-hour-of-labour go up 100%, showing the importance of selecting the right price.

Last issue's puzzle winner...

Congratulations to Mike Tie from Fletcher Easysteel, a $50 Mitre 10 voucher is on its way to you.

Thanks for your time and support. We look forward to working with you and continuing to provide the best engineering services possible.

Greg and the team at Motovated.

"Engineering Your Vision"