High-performance MB86298 'Ruby' graphics display controller
wins top honours for innovation in the electronics category

Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME), today announced that its MB86298 'Ruby' graphics display controller (GDC) has won a 2010 Golden Mousetrap Award from 'Design News Magazine,' arguably the industry's leading technical resource for design engineers in the USA.
                                                                                                               
The MB86298 'Ruby' graphics controller is being honoured in the electronics category of the Golden Mousetrap in the April edition. The graphics controller provides the high-performance 3D-rendering functions typically available on high-end computer graphics for embedded applications, and is designed for high-level graphics for automotive, avionics, marine, industrial systems, and other applications.

The Golden Mousetrap Awards highlight the 'best' and 'brightest' engineering innovations of the past year, as well as creativity in product design. Awards are presented in the categories of electronics, motion control/automation, design tools, materials/fastening, and joining and assembly. A total of 20 sub-categories are associated with these categories. 

"We congratulate the winners and finalists of the 2010 Golden Mousetrap Awards for the great work they've done in developing new and innovative products for design engineers," said Jennifer Roy, managing editor. "These products, as always, showcase the highly imaginative ways that today's engineers are 'building a better mousetrap,' and we thank them for their contributions."

"We are honoured that our MB86298 'Ruby' graphics controller has been recognised as delivering maximum performance with minimal power consumption and is designed for use with the OpenGL® ES 2.0 standard." said Dan Landeck, senior strategic marketing manager, Fujitsu Microelectronics America. "The Fujitsu graphics controller reflects the global leadership Fujitsu has developed with its innovative controller ICs. This graphics controller has been used to demonstrate the potential for exciting, versatile instrument clusters in new and future vehicles."

Earlier this year, the MB86298 'Ruby' graphics controller served as the basis for a new application concept showing the possibilities for virtual instrumentation in future passenger and commercial vehicles. The demo application was created in close co-operation with icon incar GmbH, a German automotive design studio. In the demo, different instrument cluster content was displayed in high-resolution, realistic 3D, using OpenGL® ES 2.0.

For further information, e-mail: mark.ellins@fme.fujitsu.com  Refer to page 34

Performance motorcycles for people with disabilities all set for USA conquest

Manufactured in Hyde, Cheshire, the world's first high-performance motorcycle for individuals with disabilities is being launched in the USA.

With assistance from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) in developing this exciting new motorcycle, Martin Conquest has signed a deal with American adapted vehicle specialists MobilityWorks to manufacture and distribute its new 1200cc, BMW-powered "Conquest" motorcycle through its 55-dealer network.

The 15-stong team at Martin Conquest design and build high-performance motorcycles for those with disabilities from the waist down, and are currently building demonstrators for the MobilityWorks network.

The Manufacturing Advisory Service helped the company identify methods of improving speed of manufacture of their motorcycle at the same time increasing cost-effectiveness and introducing new processes that reduced production time by 20%. They assisted with the introduction of stronger operating procedures that helped eliminate product rectification times and thus reduce pre-delivery inspections by 30%. MAS also helped the management team to formalise their assessment of component life expectancy.

Graeme McFarlane, managing director of Martin Conquest said: "The impartial advice from MAS was invaluable in not only helping us increase our production, but also in enabling us to secure this prestigious international contract for our company."

The new 1200cc, BMW-powered "Conquest" motorcycle.

Paul Fewtrell, Head of the Manufacturing Advisory Service in the North West said: "We are delighted that another great British product is now being exported and sold abroad. Not only have we helped to improve productivity at Martin Conquest, but our business advice practitioner's own extensive experience and understanding of the motorcycle world proved invaluable."

The Manufacturing Advisory Service in profile
The Manufacturing Advisory Service is designed to help SMEs with fewer than 250 employees to grow and prosper in line with their strategic requirements. An enhanced range of services is now helping to  boost innovation, reduce costs, increase productivity, leverage better value from supply chains and increase profitability.

Since 2002, MAS North West, which is delivered in the region by The Manufacturing Institute, has helped manufacturers to generate financial returns totalling £739 million and to safeguard 8790 jobs, and is leading the region to becoming the UK's centre of manufacturing excellence.

The Manufacturing Advisory Service is a subsidiary of the Manufacturing Institute, an independent charity - driven by manufacturers for manufacturers. For 15 years The Manufacturing Institute has helped transform manufacturing performance, working with over 4000 companies to gain competitive advantage from high impact skills building and productivity improvement programmes.

If you are a manufacturing business in the North West that would be interested in finding out how MAS can help improve your business, please call 0800 093 9077 and sign up for a free business review, or view website: www.mas-nw.co.uk for further details.

mayr® Power Transmission unveils revamped website. 
More informative, better organised, more attractive and simpler!

Drive technology specialist mayr® Power Transmission has overhauled its Internet presence with an entirely new website. At www.mayr.de you will find extensive information on safety clutches, shaft couplings and safety brakes. In addition, catalogues in PDF format, technical documentation and CAD files for all products are available for download.

Thanks to the modern design and lucid structure of the pages, which were generated using TYPO3, the website offers a high level of user friendliness. Along with the refined technology and clear menu structure, the new mayr® website makes a good impression with supplementary features such as the ´quick start´ function for insiders and a selection assistant for the reliable selection and dimensioning of shaft couplings.

The quick start function guides visitors with specific ideas directly to the desired information. The ´Products´ menu leads visitors and interested parties clearly and simply through the entire product range of mayr® Power Transmission to a suitable product. Searching for specific products or information is supported by a full-text search engine that is accessible on every page of the site.

mayr® Power Transmission unveil an entirely new and overhauled website.

Another highlight of the new Internet presence is the broad selection of download items. Detailed documentation in PDF format and 2D or 3D CAD files are available on the website for every product. This enables interested parties and potential customers to quickly find the catalogues, operating instructions and other technical information they need while saving paper and the expense of postal delivery.

The clearly organised menu provides easy, clear navigation. All significant information about mayr® Power Transmission is available under the ´Company´ menu, including the company history, the corporate philosophy, and the very latest news on products and the company itself.

The products are clearly divided into six areas. Three areas in which mayr® plays a major role or is a world leader - safety clutches, safety brakes and shaft couplings - are displayed prominently on the home page, where they lead the majority of the visitors directly to the desired product segment. The industry overview is very interesting, even for non-specialists. It portrays the diverse applications for mayr® products. The extended Service area of the website provides users additional options for getting in touch with mayr® Power Transmission and simplifies the process of searching for product information.

For further information, e-mail: sales@mayr.co.uk or view website: www.mayr.co.uk