September 21, 2007 Standards E 2515, Test Method for Determination of Particulate Matter Emissions Collected by a Dilution Tunnel, and E 2558, Test Method for Determining Particulate Matter Emissions from Fires in Low Mass Wood-Burning Fireplaces were developed by Subcommittee E06.54 on Solid Fuel Burning Appliances. They will provide designers of wood burning appliances with a way to gage the effectiveness of technological improvements in their products.

September 21, 2007 An ASTM task group, part of Subcommittee E11.30 on Data Analysis, has created standard E 2555, Practice for Factors and Procedures for Applying the MIL-STD-105 Plans in Life and Reliability Inspection. The standard presents a procedure and related tables of factors for adapting sampling plans in E 2234 to acceptance sampling inspection when the item quality of interest is life length or reliability. It is also the equivalent of Technical Report 7.

September 21, 2007 Developed by subcommittee F26.04 on Mechanical Preparation Equipment, F 2645 Specification for Bun Slicing Machines, and F 2646 Specification for Bread Slicing Machines are used to source various sizes and types of bread and bun slicing machines. Most likely user of standards will be U.S. Department of Defense, which purchases equipment for military installations.

September 20, 2007 Titled Commercial Practices for Die Casting Buyers, 16-page manual helps die casters develop proposals and contracts covering commercial specifications for buying die castings. It includes guidelines and checklists related to contractual obligations for physical creation of part from cast metal as well as other services, such as design, engineering, tool maintenance, finishing, and assembly.

September 20, 2007 With Special Publication SP 960-16, NIST aims to increase use of fractography by scientists and engineers for analysis of broken brittle materials. Fractography can identify cause and origin of failure, determine whether material contains atypical flaws, or why one part broke but others did not. In addition to emphasizing practical approaches for fracture analysis and problem solving, guide stresses fractography's value in applications such as mechanical testing and materials processing.

September 20, 2007 Guide to Secure Web Services, NIST Special Publication 800-95, provides details on how to make Web 2.0 more secure while maintaining flexible features. One recommended measure for content providers is to replicate their data and services at backup sites, while another is more uniform logging of visitors and actions on Web sites. Publication also outlines existing security techniques, such as adding encryption to data transmitted through XML.

September 20, 2007 In cooperation with MIT Enterprise Forum(TM) and TEDCO, NIST will host technology transfer workshop on Oct 9, 2007 at NRECA Conference Center in Ballston, Va. Various presentations by NIST will include building microstructures with light, creating fluidic arrays, microfluidic mixing and flow, temperature gradient mixing, surface immobilization of biopolymers, and uniform assembly of nanoliposomes.

September 20, 2007 NIST and SRC announced a public-private partnership to support research and innovation in nanoelectronics, the goal of which is to develop a replacement to the CMOS FET in computers by 2020. Over the next year, NIST will contribute $2.76 million to the effort and the partnership, aimed to provide $18.5 million over 5 yr, will fund a variety of high-priority research projects identified by the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI).

September 20, 2007 Subcommittee F17.40 on Test Methods, part of ASTM International Committee F17 on Plastic Piping Systems, has developed F 2634, Test Method for Laboratory Testing of Polyethylene (PE) Butt Fusion Joints Using Tensile-Impact Method. The test develops enough tensile impact energy at specific rates of strain to rupture standard tensile impact specimens of butt-fused plastic pipe. It can be used to determine the quality of joints and also the optimum butt fusion joining parameters of PE materials.

September 19, 2007 The NMMA, along with the MATES and Assurant Solutions, have joined forces to host the annual STAR (Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail) Fall Conference on October 9-11 in Miami, in conjunction with IBEX. During the conference, STAR leadership will present project updates and special interest group reports, which provides a forum for discussion and discovery of the organization's work on behalf of its members and their respective industries.

September 19, 2007 The NIST has voted for U.S. conditional approval of a proposed international standard for open documents, ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Office Open XML File Formats. Being fast-tracked by ISO/IEC, the standard says that OpenXML was designed from the start to be capable of faithfully representing the pre-existing corpus of word-processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that are encoded in binary formats defined by Microsoft Corporation.

September 19, 2007 Underwriters Laboratories (UL) announced an agreement to provide technical support for a study of the Marine Asset Tag Tracking System (MATTS). It is working with the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (MLIT) and U.S. DHS to evaluate the communications capability of MATTS on 100 containers shipped between Japan and the U.S. UL Japan provided EMC testing services to evaluate the system under different environmental conditions along the 10,000 km journey.

September 19, 2007 UL announced that it will provide testing and certification services for high-efficiency lavatory faucets and faucet accessories for EPA's WaterSense program. Launched in February 2007, the WaterSense initiative safeguards the U.S. water supply by identifying and promoting water-efficient products and services. The specification applies to lavatory faucets in private use, such as in residences, and private restrooms in hotels and hospitals.

September 19, 2007 UL has announced that its Board of Trustees has adopted a resolution to create a new for-profit testing and certification subsidiary, which would become a subsidiary of the existing not-for-profit parent company. According to UL Board Chairman Fred R. Marcon, the decision is intended to reinforce the UL's public safety mission by enhancing its growth, competitiveness, and agility in an increasingly complex global marketplace for testing and certification.

September 19, 2007 In 2008, APICS corporate headquarters will move from Alexandria, VA to Chicago, IL. Association provides training and education for supply chain and operations management professionals across all segments of manufacturing, service, retail, and wholesale industries. Chicago's labor force boasts large population of operations management and association professionals representing talent pool uniquely suited to meet the needs of APICS members.

September 19, 2007 According to preliminary data issued by U.S. Department of Commerce, total steel imports increased 6% in July to 2.9 mmt, up from June's level of 2.76 mmt. Imports of hot-rolled steel, used extensively by metalforming industry, declined 9% in July to 183,725 metric tons. William E. Gaskin, President of Precision Metalforming Association, said he expected U.S. supply of steel products to remain tight for foreseeable future.

September 19, 2007 Elected to 2007-2008 chairs, leaders and their respective volunteer boards provide dedicated service in each of PMA's districts by promoting metalforming industry through local meetings on topics related to manufacturing. PMA district activities include training and education, networking, apprenticeship programs, plant tours, supplier exhibitions, and social events.

September 19, 2007 Scheduled for April 1-3, 2008, at Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, AL, regional METALFORM exposition will take up to 48,000 net sq ft of floor space. Show targets metal stamping, tool and die, fabricating, metal spinning, roll forming, slide forming, and other related manufacturing technologies.

September 18, 2007 The NMMA and boats.com announced that they are accepting nominations for the 2008 North American Marine Industry Web Awards, which recognize companies for their website design and content. Categories include: Best OEM/Manufacturer Site; Best Marine Equipment Site; Best Dealer/Broker Site; and Best Marine Site Overall, as well as Outstanding Contribution to the Online Marine Industry. The awards will be presented at the 2008 Miami International Boat Show on February 12-18.

September 18, 2007 The NMMA and BWI have announced the judges for the 2007 IBEX Innovation Awards, which will be presented on Friday, October 12 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Comprised of BWI members who perform product testing throughout the year and have specific expertise in marine OEM products and equipment, the judges include James Barron, Dean Travis Clarke, Phil Draper, Jan Mundy, Lenny Rudow, and Alan Wendt. The deadline for award entries is Friday, September 21.