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Provides information on Mission: Space, a flight simulation attraction at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, designed and developed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Features of the ride; Description of the human centrifuge technology used in Mission: Space; Collaboration of Disney Imagineers with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the development of the attraction. INSET: WHERE FLIGHT SIMULATION AND THRILL RIDES MEET.

Highlights the engine and chassis specification package at the 87th Indy 500. Range of engine makers competing in the 2003 race; Indy Racing League specifications of GM Racing for its Chevy Indy V8; Partnership of Honda Performance Development Inc. with Ilmor Engineering Inc. for the HI3R Series Indy V-8; Rules and factors considered by the design team at Toyota Racing Development for its engine. INSET: Xtrac is back.

Focuses on the hydraulic launch system used for the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster in Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio. Background on hydraulic systems; Details on the propulsion mechanism; Safety features. INSET: ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ERIE.

Highlights the process and issues involved in the development of NASCAR Winston Cup cars. Templates issued to car manufacturers to ensure compliance to NASCAR rules; Design goal of GM Racing with their Pontiac Grand Prix car; Simulation and testing process of Ford Motor Co.; Importance of tire management for Winston Cup cars. INSET: ONE AND DONE.

Reports on the advances in slot machines used in casinos. Mechanism of the computer used in the machine; Technique used by International Game Technology to generate random numbers; Ticket system for slot machines. INSETS: FLOW ANALYSIS, NOT JUST FOR FLUIDS;BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY;WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?.

Offers information on race car engine developments in the Indy Racing League (IRL). Introduction of the Chevy Indy V8 engine from General Motors Corp.; Details of the Infiniti Indy 35A engine; Response of chassis makers to the IRL chassis formula enacted in 2000. INSETS: RISING STARS;DOWNFORCE DYNAMICS.

Provides information on several machine design and motion control devices. Details of the interconnect modules developed by Phoenix Contact Inc.; Tempsonics R Series AQB quadrature interface positionsensors from MTS Systems Corp.; Function of the computer software released by PLCopen Task Force Motion Control.

Focuses on photovoltaics (PV), the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity. Advantages of solar electricity; Description of solar cells; Plan for the domestic use of PV in the United States; Encouragement of research on photovoltaic technologies.

Focuses on the use of antitheft tags by manufacturers, using acousto-magnetic and radio frequency technologies. Features of acoustomagnetic labels; Advantages of using acousto-magnetic transmitters; Information on how a radio frequency tag is activated.

Describes several high-technology marine electronics for fish detection. Advantages of liquid crystal displays (LCD) over flasher units; Functionality features of the Multi-Media Cards for storing sonar data from Lowrance Electronics Inc.; How the sidefinding technology used by Bottom Line products works; Interface technology developed by Raymarine for its color LCD.

Focuses on the changes in the automobile racing rules of the Indy Racing League and its implications on participating teams. Battle of the Oldsmobile and Infiniti engines in the racing event; Practice made by car racer Eddie Cheever Jr. for the Indy Racing; Preparation of Infiniti company for the race. INSETS: 2000 ushers in big changes;Team Penske returns to Indy;Fast facts.

Discusses the efforts of appliance manufacturers to make their products energy efficient in the United States as of April 2001. Terms faced by designers and manufacturers on energy consumption of refrigerators; Details on the team-up of Whirlpool engineers and the Kenmore appliance group of Sears to design appliances under the Kenmore name.

Provides information on the 2001 Saleen S7 supercar from specialty carmaker Saleen Inc. in Irvine, California. Objectives in the design and construction of the car; Structure of the chassis and suspension systems from Ray Mallock Ltd.; Performance features of the car; Availability and price.

Presents information on the application of electronic technologies in toy industry. Overview of the speech recognition technology used in the toys; Engineering features of Dream Baby, a doll that grows, crawls and walk; Advancements in robotic dogs.

Evaluates the Demag Travel Wheel System from Mannesmann Dematic Corp. Steps in designing a wheel system for transfer cars; Materials used for designing the DRS wheel block wheel; Significance of the travel wheel system on users; Options available at the Demag Travel Wheel Systems.

Presents information on digital cinema, a system that delivers full-length motion pictures, sporting events and other cinema-quality programs to theaters using digital technology. Benefits of digital technology; Details on various digital technologies; Action taken by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers to examine specific areas of digital cinema.

Examines the reasons behind the small number of women in the engineering field. Factors contributing to the inadequate training of women in math and science; Ways to prevent the gender bias in engineering; Percentage of women in the engineering workforce of the United States according to the Society of Women Engineers; Salary differences between men and women engineers. INSET: Women In Time.

Discusses information on electric bicycles. Forms of electric bicycles that assist riders in pedaling; Batteries used for the e-bicycles; Key players in the market. INSET: Smooth-running e-bikes have brushless motors to thank.

Focuses on several developments and changes in racing cars at the 84th Indy 500 Racing Northern Light Series to be held in May 2000 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reliability and safety of the cars' engines; Chassis improvements; Reasons for the changes, according to the Indy Racing League. INSETS: TALKIN' TRACK;GEARING UP FOR RACE DAY.

Looks at the history of the CAD/CAM Hall of Fame established by `Machine Design' magazine in 1998. Contributions of Ivan Sutherland, Patrick Hanratty and John Parsons in the development of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing; Profile of Richard H. MacNeal, founder of MSC.Software Corp.

Features the 101st Casting Congress of the American Foundrymen's Society held in April 1997. Technical and management sessions included in the conference; Exhibit held; Special activities planned in the conference; Awards of Scientific Merit to be handed.

Discusses the application of induction sealing in the capless and nonthreaded snap-caps sealing. Process of the standard induction sealers and capless sealing; Benefits of induction sealing; Principles of induction sealing.

Interviews professor Dennis Engi, head of the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, regarding the establishment of the Homeland Security Institute in Purdue and the role of universities in the maintenance of national security in the U.S. Factors affecting the strategic plan of the university; Relation of the objectives of Purdue with the objectives of the National Homeland Security plan; Partnership of Purdue with outside companies or other universities in its homeland security effort. INSET: ACADEMIA STEPS UP TO FIGHT TERRORISM.

Reports on the research conducted by the AutoID Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the manufacturing of inexpensive radio frequency identification tags. Benefits of the smart cards on businesses; Elements of the global auto-identification system; Advantages of electronic product codes over bar codes. INSET: FIVE-CENT TAGS -- THEN WHAT?.

Deals with a computer simulation of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings after the impact of passenger airplanes in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Software used for the simulation; Details on the crash; Damage to the structrue detected by the contact technology in MSC.Dytran; Impact of temperature increase on the stability of the structure.

Interviews Professor Domenico Grasso, chair of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, regarding engineering education. Background of the program; Ways to assess if a student is learning the concepts of the program; Popularity of the program.

Discusses the impact of a legislation for energy efficiency on refrigerator manufacturers in the U.S. Suggestions on designing refrigerator cabinets; Necessity for manufacturers to be aware of cabinet venting; Considerations made when designing refrigerators with plastic liners.

Focuses on the design of the V-Rod, a motorcycle from Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Chassis and engine design; Features of the wheels; Weight and cost of the motorcycle.

Presents steps in product development devised by engine systems company Dana Corp. Regular exercise of experimentation and prototyping; Development of high-energy teams with diversity; Recognition of diminishing return points.

Focuses on e-product development (e-PD), an online approach to improving product development processes. Value potential offered by the Web in product development; Categories of e-PD tools; Utilization of e-PD in determining consumer needs.

Reports on the 2001 Best Ride competition of `Machine Design' magazine featuring sport utility vehicles. Highlights of the competition; Information on the winners; Factor that makes Best Ride different from other evaluations.

Reports that engineers are turning to computer simulations to solve fluid-flow issues in appliance design. Details on designing a lawn mower; How Maytag Cleveland Cooking Products used Computational Fluid Dynamics to analyze airflow's effect in home ovens.

Provides updates on machine design in the United States as of January 13, 2000. Shock absorber designed by ACE Controls Inc. that has a larger-bore piston; Features of Burkert Contromatic company's electronically controlled valves that used decentralized intelligence to handle internal valve functions; Overview of a two-piece linear guide called Dolphin Guides from Pacific Bearing company.

Features several new products for 1999. Pneumatic rotary interface from Numation Inc.; MOSFETs power switches for high current loads; J-4 Series Ball Switch from Control Products Inc.

Presents information on several machine interface products released as of November 1999. Brilliance 181AS LCD monitors from Phillips Electronics company; PanelMate Power Pro 3000 line of operator interfaces from Cutler-Hammer Inc.; QTerm-W85 industrial computer from QSI Corp.

Focuses on tiny fuel cells being developed by silicon-chip maker STMicroelectronics for cellular telephones. Volume of power consumed by cellular telephones; Information on the output current of the fuel cell; Details on the nanoporous silicon fabricated by the company.

Introduces the Solid Expandable Tubular technology, an oil and gas-well drilling system, designed by Eventure Global Technology LLC. Benefits of the technology; Features of the technology; Software used in validating the technology.

Introduces the custom concealed hinges from Weber Knapp. Features of the product; Mechanism of the product; Benefits of the product.

Provides information on mTwist, a magnetic control that provides all the conveniences of rotary-control knobs without the potential drawbacks, developed by BSH Home Appliances Corp. Design features; Components and specifications; Type of magnet used.

Provides information on the UltraGlide gearbox sporting low-friction gears made from Delrin acetal designed by Performance Gear Systems Inc. Features of the gearbox; Components.

Presents information on the barrier designed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to protect high-value buildings. Description of the barrier; Information on how to use the barrier.

Provides information on a manufacturing process that turns three-dimensional models into real injection-molded parts developed by engineers at Maple Plain, Minnesota-based Protomold. Details of the manufacturing process; Benefits of the manufacturing process for machine-tools manufacturer.

Reports on the FEA program from MSC.Software which helps prevent the breaking down of axles on a people mover. Features of the program; Cause of the repeated failures of axles.

Provides information on the NPE 2003 plastics and elastomer show. Scheduled dates; Company sponsor; Overview of activities and presentations.

Deals with the brushless vehicle-washing system from PDQ Manufacturing Inc. Information on the system's spring-pressure terminal blocks from Wago Corp; Basis of the wash system's architecture;

Introduces several wireless-fidelity technology home devices. Modero line of touch panels from AMX Corp.; Web-enabled cameras from Panasonic; OmniTouch controllers from Home Automation Inc. INSETS: TOTAL HOME CONTROL;Get off my lawn!;FASHIONABLE TOUCHSCREENS.

Describes the 2004 Maybach sedan. Models; Engine specifications; Electronic equipment and sound systems; Notable features.

Describes the 5.4-liter V8 engineof the redesigned 2004 Ford F-150 vehicle. Capacity of the engine; Information on the variable-cam timing technology used; Mechanisms involved in its operation.

Features the I-deas 10 NX Series computer software from EDS PLM Solutions. Utilization of the software for design works; Feature of the software; Improvement in the design feature of the software.

Reports on the use of modified proteins from extremophile microbes for smaller electronics by scienstists at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Details of the process; Applications.