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Welcome to the first official Viewpoint
Systems newsletter for Spring 2011. New tree buds and flowers are appearing
and you’re talking with some of your neighbors for the first time
in months as you spend more time outside. What better time than this to discuss
new product development as our main article. We were excited to have been invited
down to Austin recently for a week-long integration training and meetings
on NI VeriStand at NI Corporate. Stu McFarlane attended and was impressed
with the platform. Given all the LabVIEW real-time applications we deliver
for simulation and test, we think that VeriStand will be a good tool
in our toolbox. Check out www.ni.com/veristand for details. Briefly, NI VeriStand helps you
configure a multicore-ready real-time engine to execute tasks that include: NI VeriStand can also import control
algorithms, simulation models, and other tasks from NI LabVIEW software
and third-party environments. You can monitor and interact with these
tasks using a run-time editable user interface that includes many useful
tools for value forcing, alarm monitoring, I/O calibration, and stimulus
profile editing. Here’s an intriguing twist (pun intended)
on internal combustion engine design that allows for arbitrarily-designed
piston motion: attach a cam to the piston. http://www.thomasengines.com/sinedriveanimation.html This animation pushes twice the piston
cycles per axle rotation, so it has more torque (should be double, right?).
They claim 30% better efficiency too. Thanks for reading!
Jim Campbell |
 Part 1: Embedded Systems for New Product Prototyping
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Suppose you have a new idea for a product or even an incremental improvement to an existing one. This product needs to measure and control and possibly have a user interface. You also need to put this new product through some paces to see if the concept works and to work out the kinks. You need prototyping! How do you decide whether to spin your own custom board or use components off-the-shelf (build versus buy)? What about packaging, communications, and user interface hardware? In our experience, there are many options to consider so read on... Also, you should also know that NIST sponsors local Manufacturing Extension Programs (MEPs) to provide assistance on Product Prototyping. In the Rochester area, High Tech Rochester (HTR) is the local MEP. Check out http://www.htr.org/resources_mep.asp. Viewpoint works with Ed Sullivan or Robert Hutchison at HTR. |
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Income Tax |
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For many people 1984 is a George Orwell novel set in a dystopian, oligarchic, collectivist society. For the United States Internal Revenue Service, 1984 was the middle of a five-year run when the highest tax bracket (over $41,500 in 1982 up to $88,270 in 1986) paid income tax at a rate of 50% of income. Taxes had actually DROPPED in 1982 from the previous 1981 max rate of 70.0% for individuals earning over $108,300. This was still a fantastic reduction from the 100-year high of 94.0% on income over $200,000 for 1944 and 1945. The lowest rate for max earners was the first year of income tax after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment when the top bracket was 7.0% for those earning $500,000 and above. http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/fed_individual_rate_history-20110323.pdf |
Hey It's Spring!
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