Volume #5: November-December 2007:
www.jarothermal.com
|
Inside this Month’s Issue:
(click
on a topic below)
- When Engineers Communicate: Harvard
Examines The Design Flow
- JaroThermal’s Aquas™ Fan Now Meets IP57 “Waterproofing” Standard
Summary by Mr.
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review (“Are Your Engineers Talking to One Another When They Should?” Nov2007, Vol. 85 Issue 11, p133-142), Craig Rowles conducts a thorough analysis of today’s typical “product components team” environment. In his analysis, he excellently identifies the smoking gun(s), which usually lie at the heart of most design flow errors.
According to Mr. Rowles, mistakes attributed to poor design-process communication can be both costly and hard to correct. Critical design incompatibilities, cost overruns and major delays are sited as byproducts of poor inter-engineer planning and communication. In order to address this growing concern, the author puts forward a new conceptualization of the design process flow. Much of this new approach was learned by studying the development and approach used by Pratt & Whitney (during the development of their PW4098 jet engine). Thanks to this study, critical areas of poor (or even absent) communication are identified before these problems pop up. The next step involves a root cause analysis of the process, in order to eliminate these potential threats.
By studying Pratt & Whitney’s development of the PW4098 jet engine, Mr. Rowles describes a developed approach that uncovers “(a) areas where communication should be occurring but is not (unattended interfaces, usually bad) and (b) areas where communication is occurring but has not been planned for (unidentified interfaces, usually good).”
The article goes on to describe the need for “redrawn organizational lines,” which insure optimal team participation and oversight. Other challenges that relate to compatible design equipment and inconsistencies between CAD tools were also identified.
In the end, all of these mistakes can be avoided through better inter-team and intra-team communication. The design structure matrix described in the article helps to identify key points of failed communication. A strong analysis of the product development organization may be in order for many in our industry.
JARO’s
Aquas™ Fans Now Meet IP57 “Waterproof”
Standard
JARO Thermal announces the newest addition to the Aquas™
line of water protected fans. The newest AC rated fan specifically meets the
waterproof and dustproof parameters of the IP 57 water-protection
standard. This is a step up from the previous Aquas™
fans, which met the IP 55 standard.
|
The new fans have the
capability of being immersed in water, to a depth of one meter, without any ingress
of moisture. This highly robust fan is ideal for use in all hazardous
environments. It has an operating temperature range from -10 to +70° C and a
life expectancy of 50,000 hours at 25° C. The AQ Series is targeting
applications where harsh environmental conditions exist and are protected
against direct or indirect sprays of water, extended exposure to salt spray,
or in air containing fine dust particles. |
|
|
|
The AQ series can be
supplied fitted with a range of IP protected connectors, extended lead
lengths, and threaded inserts where installation is difficult. Versions are
available in a 60, 70, 80, 92 and 120mm sizes in both 12Vdc and 24Vdc. |
