O'Reilly Auto Parts and zMAX Dragway are revving up the savings for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, March 25-28. Fans can save eight dollars on $45 tickets for Saturday and Sunday, resulting in a final purchase price of $37 per ticket.
The offer is available now through the event, at participating O'Reilly Auto Parts stores throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio.
After purchasing tickets at the store, fans will receive a receipt that can be redeemed at the zMAX Dragway ticket window on event days, or at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office in advance.
The historical event marks the first time that the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will race four wide, unleashing 32,000 horsepower down the Bellagio of drag strips.
Qualifying and eliminations for Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will be run four wide during the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals instead of the traditional two-wide format.
"We knew when Bruton built zMAX Dragway this was going to happen," said Cory McClenathan, 2009 NHRA Carolinas Nationals Top Fuel champ. "I think for fans, it's going to be unreal. The qualifying is going to be pretty crazy and interesting. We're there to put a show on and obviously everybody wants to win the race. If I could be in the final round and be the first one to cross the finish line-that would be more than cool. I think the roar of three other dragsters, when you're in your own car, is going to be a real rush."
Tickets can be obtained online at www.zmaxdragway.com or by calling the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS. Four-day ticket packages are available starting at $99.
2010年3月16日星期二
2010年2月22日星期一
Tips For Increasing Your Truck's Gas Mileage
Tips for increasing your truck's gas mileage with a few simple car care tips and by getting a truck bed cover, also know as a tonneau cover.
With the high cost of fuel, many pickup owners are feeling the burn at the pump. While some consumers may be able to purchase a new truck that gets better gas mileage, many of us are financially stuck with the truck we currently have. To cope, there are several things you can do to save gas money now.
Oil it up: As most auto body technicians will tell you, checking and changing your oil is one of the most overlooked items. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine, ensuring your engine will run at peak performance. And don't forget to keep it clean. You can increase your gas mileage up to 10 percent by ensuring your oil, air and fuel filters are clean.
Fill it up: Fill up with the lowest octane gasoline possible for your vehicle. That pricey premium fuel won't boost your truck's fuel economy or performance. Passing on pricey premium gasoline could save you hundreds of dollars a year, according to the Car Care Council. The council also suggests tightening your gas cap because fuel will evaporate from your tank if it has an escape. Loose, missing or damaged gas caps cause 147 million gallons of gas to evaporate each year, according to the Car Care Council. So be sure to tighten up that gas cap each time you fill up.
Pump it up: Check your tires to make sure they're properly inflated and aligned. Proper inflation can improve gas mileage up to 3 percent. If you don't know what the right pressure is for your tires and truck, consult your owner's manual or stop in at your local tire shop.
Ease on up: It's hard to make changes, but if you really want to see increased gas mileage, it's suggested you avoid unnecessary idling, revving your engine and slamming on the brakes. It is recommended that you stop and start gently, use cruise control when possible and reduce the amount of trips you make each day.
Roll on down the road: The easiest and most rewarding step you can take to see immediate gas mileage improvement is to install a truck bed cover on your pickup. A truck bed cover, also known as a tonneau cover, will reduce drag, making your vehicle more aerodynamic at high speeds. There are several different tonneau cover options available on the market today.
The Access Roll-Up Cover, manufactured by Agri-Cover, Inc., a North Dakota truck accessory company, is an affordable and high-quality option. Made of heavy-duty, double coated vinyl, the roll-up cover installs quickly and easily with a clamp-on installation and is designed specifically to fit your truck. Since the roll-up cover is lockable, it's also great for protecting your gear, all while improving the overall look of your vehicle. When not in use, the cover can be rolled up behind the cab and never has to be removed when hauling larger items. The company estimates that you can save over $200 within the first year of installing an Access Roll-Up Cover on your truck bed.
Richard F. of Bismarck, N.D, knows firsthand the benefits of having a roll-up tonneau cover on his truck.
"I put on many highway miles during the year and in talking to other owners with a similar truck without a box cover, I am amazed at the savings in gas mileage I'm getting with my cover. The Access Roll-Up Cover is such an attractive addition to my truck. It really finishes the look I want."
With the high cost of fuel, many pickup owners are feeling the burn at the pump. While some consumers may be able to purchase a new truck that gets better gas mileage, many of us are financially stuck with the truck we currently have. To cope, there are several things you can do to save gas money now.
Oil it up: As most auto body technicians will tell you, checking and changing your oil is one of the most overlooked items. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine, ensuring your engine will run at peak performance. And don't forget to keep it clean. You can increase your gas mileage up to 10 percent by ensuring your oil, air and fuel filters are clean.
Fill it up: Fill up with the lowest octane gasoline possible for your vehicle. That pricey premium fuel won't boost your truck's fuel economy or performance. Passing on pricey premium gasoline could save you hundreds of dollars a year, according to the Car Care Council. The council also suggests tightening your gas cap because fuel will evaporate from your tank if it has an escape. Loose, missing or damaged gas caps cause 147 million gallons of gas to evaporate each year, according to the Car Care Council. So be sure to tighten up that gas cap each time you fill up.
Pump it up: Check your tires to make sure they're properly inflated and aligned. Proper inflation can improve gas mileage up to 3 percent. If you don't know what the right pressure is for your tires and truck, consult your owner's manual or stop in at your local tire shop.
Ease on up: It's hard to make changes, but if you really want to see increased gas mileage, it's suggested you avoid unnecessary idling, revving your engine and slamming on the brakes. It is recommended that you stop and start gently, use cruise control when possible and reduce the amount of trips you make each day.
Roll on down the road: The easiest and most rewarding step you can take to see immediate gas mileage improvement is to install a truck bed cover on your pickup. A truck bed cover, also known as a tonneau cover, will reduce drag, making your vehicle more aerodynamic at high speeds. There are several different tonneau cover options available on the market today.
The Access Roll-Up Cover, manufactured by Agri-Cover, Inc., a North Dakota truck accessory company, is an affordable and high-quality option. Made of heavy-duty, double coated vinyl, the roll-up cover installs quickly and easily with a clamp-on installation and is designed specifically to fit your truck. Since the roll-up cover is lockable, it's also great for protecting your gear, all while improving the overall look of your vehicle. When not in use, the cover can be rolled up behind the cab and never has to be removed when hauling larger items. The company estimates that you can save over $200 within the first year of installing an Access Roll-Up Cover on your truck bed.
Richard F. of Bismarck, N.D, knows firsthand the benefits of having a roll-up tonneau cover on his truck.
"I put on many highway miles during the year and in talking to other owners with a similar truck without a box cover, I am amazed at the savings in gas mileage I'm getting with my cover. The Access Roll-Up Cover is such an attractive addition to my truck. It really finishes the look I want."
2009年11月19日星期四
Sony Showcases 3D Video Production System
Sony Corp and Sony Marketing Inc exhibited a set of 3D video production system for business use at International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition 2009, which runs from Nov 18, 2009, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
"Not only movies but also other moving images will go 3D in the near future," the companies said.
The two companies showcased a business-use camera, processor to compensate and adjust 3D images, switcher and recorder for editing, monitors to check images, projector and so forth.
Among them, there was the "SRX-R320," a digital cinema projector that can project 4k2k 3D video and was released Nov 9, 2009. The "HDC-P1," a multi-purpose camera for taking 3D images, and a "rig" will be launched in February 2010. The rig is a mount for the camera, and it enables to combine two units of the HDC-P1 and a half mirror to shoot 3D video.
This time, Sony and Sony Marketing exhibited the "3D LED Wall," a 280-inch LED display that is 6.4m in width and 3.4m in height and can switch between 2D and 3D video. It seemed to be made by combining 70 LED displays, each of which measures about 28 inches.
3D images are shown by using two overlapping images for the right and left eyes. And polarization glasses are used to separate those images.
Home-use TVs and Blu-ray players that can show 3D images are expected to be released in 2010. But it is still impossible to predict when terrestrial TV broadcasts will support 3D images in Japan.
"In the United States, 3D images are already broadcast in live sports and music programs via cable TV networks and satellite broadcasting," Sony said. "In the future, such movements will occur in Japan, too."
"Not only movies but also other moving images will go 3D in the near future," the companies said.
The two companies showcased a business-use camera, processor to compensate and adjust 3D images, switcher and recorder for editing, monitors to check images, projector and so forth.
Among them, there was the "SRX-R320," a digital cinema projector that can project 4k2k 3D video and was released Nov 9, 2009. The "HDC-P1," a multi-purpose camera for taking 3D images, and a "rig" will be launched in February 2010. The rig is a mount for the camera, and it enables to combine two units of the HDC-P1 and a half mirror to shoot 3D video.
This time, Sony and Sony Marketing exhibited the "3D LED Wall," a 280-inch LED display that is 6.4m in width and 3.4m in height and can switch between 2D and 3D video. It seemed to be made by combining 70 LED displays, each of which measures about 28 inches.
3D images are shown by using two overlapping images for the right and left eyes. And polarization glasses are used to separate those images.
Home-use TVs and Blu-ray players that can show 3D images are expected to be released in 2010. But it is still impossible to predict when terrestrial TV broadcasts will support 3D images in Japan.
"In the United States, 3D images are already broadcast in live sports and music programs via cable TV networks and satellite broadcasting," Sony said. "In the future, such movements will occur in Japan, too."
2009年11月17日星期二
Toledo's OC begins to recover from chilled sales
WHEN HARD times cause boaters on Italy's Lake Como to delay trading up, executives at the Toledo headquarters of Owens Corning take notice.
Slumping sales of swimming pools, corrosion-resistant oil pipelines, and windmills - wherever in the world - are also a cause of concern.
A deal with a rival in late 2007 helped cement the downtown Toledo corporation's position as the globe's undisputed No. 1 producer of glass to reinforce plastic, which is commonly known as fiberglass - "composites," in company parlance.
The product has many uses, including sporting goods, blades for windmills, pipelines, construction, auto parts, blast protection for military vehicles, and smart-phone cases. Sliced into fibers, the glass is combined with polymers to form plastic that is tough, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight.
It is so common around the globe that it is something of a bellwether for the international economy.
And late last year, it became a fire bell.
Fiber-glass sales at OC in December plunged 45 percent from 2008's monthly averages as economies around the world fell into a deep recession that experts described as the worst since the Great Depression.
Officials at the firm's Cesar Pelli-designed office building on the Maumee River characterized what happened to fiber-glass sales as a "global demand collapse."
Blades for wind turbines are among uses for fiber glass-reinforced plastics.
They responded quickly, shutting down more than half of production lines worldwide.
In a conference call with financial analysts three weeks ago, Mike Thaman, OC's 45-year-old chief executive officer, said: "We still have a lot of equipment turned off and a lot of our operations turned off."
Other industry players also experienced declines.
In the United States alone, manufacturers of frp grating shipped 16 percent less product in 2008 than in 2007, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
"Demand dried up," Chuck Dana, head of the division of the Fortune 500 firm that makes fiber glass, said in an interview last week.
But OC's sales of fiber glass are beginning to revive, especially in China, India, and Brazil, he said. The recovery has been slower in western Europe, the United States, and Canada.
"We are restarting capacity in a number of places around the world," Mr. Dana said. He cited a plant in Italy and one in Amarillo, Texas, which had been partially shut down.
After two consecutive quarters of losses, the company's fiber-glass business broke even in the third quarter. But sales in that three-month period, which ended Sept. 30, were down 23 percent from a year earlier to $451 million, according to the firm's financial report issued late last month.
Through the first nine months of the year, the company overall has had a profit of $86 million on sales of $3.6 billion.
The firm's core insulation business also is struggling.
A bright spot is the roofing business, where sales and profits remain strong.
The situation illustrates how OC became much more vulnerable to international economic forces after its purchase two years ago of the fiber-glass business of French rival Saint-Gobain. Fiber glass, which generated $2.4 billion last year, accounted for 41 percent of total company sales in 2008, up from 30 percent in 2006 before the deal with the French firm.
The business has 7,100 of OC's 16,500 employees worldwide, with 100 at the Toledo headquarters.
Two-thirds of fiberglass sales were outside the United States and Canada last year, compared with just 7 percent of building products sales.
The business operates 38 manufacturing plants, including ones in Amarillo, Texas; Jackson, Tenn.; Anderson, S.C.; Chambery, France; Gous, Russia; Vado Ligure and Besana, Italy; Kimchon, South Korea; Ibaraki, Japan, and Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Construction is under way on a second plant in China in the outskirts of Shanghai. It is to be completed next year.
The renewed importance of fiberglass at OC represents something of a return to the firm's roots.
The company was founded in 1938 as Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. but dropped Fiberglas from its name in the mid-1990s as then-Chief Executive Officer Glen Hiner sought to enlarge the firm's fiberglass-insulation franchise into a building-materials powerhouse.
Fiberglas, without the second "s," is a company trademark. But it is rarely used in promotional material anymore.
More often, executives refer to "composite materials" or "reinforcements." Consumers continue to talk about "fiberglass boats" and "fiberglass skis." But that is something of a misnomer. In actuality, they are made of glass-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass refers to the glass fibers that are combined with polymers to create the material with which the products are made.
In recent decades, glass' dominance has been challenged by other advanced materials. For example, manufacturers of aircraft and high-end bicycles have mixed carbon fibers with polymers to create a light, steel-like material that is much stronger -and more costly-than glass-reinforced plastic.
But, according to experts, glass continues to represent 85 percent to 95 percent of reinforcements.
Other fiberglass manufacturers include Johns Manville Corp., Denver, and PPG Industries, Pittsburgh.
More recent entrants into the industry include China's state-owned Jushi Group Co. Ltd. Its Web site boasts that Jushi is "the world's leading manufacturer in terms of capacity, technology, and economic efficiency."
OC officials aren't ready to concede leadership in those areas.
"We know Jushi and we know they have grand aspirations," said Mr. Dana. "Their strategy is largely emulating Owens Corning and aspiring to be as big and as technologically oriented as we are."
Said Garik Shmois, a stock analyst with Longbow Research in Cleveland: "OC is certainly No. 1 globally."
He recently raised his rating on OC shares to buy, and predicted that they will reach $27 each. They were in the $24 range in trading last week on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock dropped as low at $5.02 a share over the past year.
The stock analyst expects OC's roofing business to continue to nail down strong profits, sees early signs of a recovery in insulation, and is pleased with progress made by the fiberglass unit.
Even before the Saint-Gobain unit purchase, many of OC's fiberglass sales were outside North America. Partly as a result, business has grown 5 to 7 percent annually for at least a decade as product manufacturers sought out lighter-weight alternatives to steel and other traditional materials, company officials said.
In the United States, shipments of fiberglass material have declined by 26 percent after peaking at 4.2 billion pounds in 2005, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
Problems culminated last year. Losses can be traced largely to problems in three key markets supplied by the industry: boat-building, auto manufacturing, and construction.
However, the crisis of 2008 had been brewing for some time, said John Busel, director of the association's composites growth initiative.
"Our industry was something of a bellwether that something was happening," he said. "We probably didn't know it was going to turn into what happened."
It is difficult to predict how rapidly the U.S. fiberglass industry will recover, but the nation's struggling construction, auto, and boat-building industries are unlikely to lead the recovery, he acknowledged.
OC executives have acknowledged that the firm's fiberglass business is unlikely to turn a profit in 2009.
Jim Barrett, an analyst with C.L. King & Associates, Albany, N.Y., expects losses for the unit to reach $20 million by the end of the year. He predicts a turnaround next year, for which he expects $100 million in profit.
"This assumes that worldwide economies show gradual recovery as we move through 2010," he said in a research note to clients after OC released its third-quarter earnings.
Slumping sales of swimming pools, corrosion-resistant oil pipelines, and windmills - wherever in the world - are also a cause of concern.
A deal with a rival in late 2007 helped cement the downtown Toledo corporation's position as the globe's undisputed No. 1 producer of glass to reinforce plastic, which is commonly known as fiberglass - "composites," in company parlance.
The product has many uses, including sporting goods, blades for windmills, pipelines, construction, auto parts, blast protection for military vehicles, and smart-phone cases. Sliced into fibers, the glass is combined with polymers to form plastic that is tough, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight.
It is so common around the globe that it is something of a bellwether for the international economy.
And late last year, it became a fire bell.
Fiber-glass sales at OC in December plunged 45 percent from 2008's monthly averages as economies around the world fell into a deep recession that experts described as the worst since the Great Depression.
Officials at the firm's Cesar Pelli-designed office building on the Maumee River characterized what happened to fiber-glass sales as a "global demand collapse."
Blades for wind turbines are among uses for fiber glass-reinforced plastics.
They responded quickly, shutting down more than half of production lines worldwide.
In a conference call with financial analysts three weeks ago, Mike Thaman, OC's 45-year-old chief executive officer, said: "We still have a lot of equipment turned off and a lot of our operations turned off."
Other industry players also experienced declines.
In the United States alone, manufacturers of frp grating shipped 16 percent less product in 2008 than in 2007, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
"Demand dried up," Chuck Dana, head of the division of the Fortune 500 firm that makes fiber glass, said in an interview last week.
But OC's sales of fiber glass are beginning to revive, especially in China, India, and Brazil, he said. The recovery has been slower in western Europe, the United States, and Canada.
"We are restarting capacity in a number of places around the world," Mr. Dana said. He cited a plant in Italy and one in Amarillo, Texas, which had been partially shut down.
After two consecutive quarters of losses, the company's fiber-glass business broke even in the third quarter. But sales in that three-month period, which ended Sept. 30, were down 23 percent from a year earlier to $451 million, according to the firm's financial report issued late last month.
Through the first nine months of the year, the company overall has had a profit of $86 million on sales of $3.6 billion.
The firm's core insulation business also is struggling.
A bright spot is the roofing business, where sales and profits remain strong.
The situation illustrates how OC became much more vulnerable to international economic forces after its purchase two years ago of the fiber-glass business of French rival Saint-Gobain. Fiber glass, which generated $2.4 billion last year, accounted for 41 percent of total company sales in 2008, up from 30 percent in 2006 before the deal with the French firm.
The business has 7,100 of OC's 16,500 employees worldwide, with 100 at the Toledo headquarters.
Two-thirds of fiberglass sales were outside the United States and Canada last year, compared with just 7 percent of building products sales.
The business operates 38 manufacturing plants, including ones in Amarillo, Texas; Jackson, Tenn.; Anderson, S.C.; Chambery, France; Gous, Russia; Vado Ligure and Besana, Italy; Kimchon, South Korea; Ibaraki, Japan, and Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Construction is under way on a second plant in China in the outskirts of Shanghai. It is to be completed next year.
The renewed importance of fiberglass at OC represents something of a return to the firm's roots.
The company was founded in 1938 as Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. but dropped Fiberglas from its name in the mid-1990s as then-Chief Executive Officer Glen Hiner sought to enlarge the firm's fiberglass-insulation franchise into a building-materials powerhouse.
Fiberglas, without the second "s," is a company trademark. But it is rarely used in promotional material anymore.
More often, executives refer to "composite materials" or "reinforcements." Consumers continue to talk about "fiberglass boats" and "fiberglass skis." But that is something of a misnomer. In actuality, they are made of glass-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass refers to the glass fibers that are combined with polymers to create the material with which the products are made.
In recent decades, glass' dominance has been challenged by other advanced materials. For example, manufacturers of aircraft and high-end bicycles have mixed carbon fibers with polymers to create a light, steel-like material that is much stronger -and more costly-than glass-reinforced plastic.
But, according to experts, glass continues to represent 85 percent to 95 percent of reinforcements.
Other fiberglass manufacturers include Johns Manville Corp., Denver, and PPG Industries, Pittsburgh.
More recent entrants into the industry include China's state-owned Jushi Group Co. Ltd. Its Web site boasts that Jushi is "the world's leading manufacturer in terms of capacity, technology, and economic efficiency."
OC officials aren't ready to concede leadership in those areas.
"We know Jushi and we know they have grand aspirations," said Mr. Dana. "Their strategy is largely emulating Owens Corning and aspiring to be as big and as technologically oriented as we are."
Said Garik Shmois, a stock analyst with Longbow Research in Cleveland: "OC is certainly No. 1 globally."
He recently raised his rating on OC shares to buy, and predicted that they will reach $27 each. They were in the $24 range in trading last week on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock dropped as low at $5.02 a share over the past year.
The stock analyst expects OC's roofing business to continue to nail down strong profits, sees early signs of a recovery in insulation, and is pleased with progress made by the fiberglass unit.
Even before the Saint-Gobain unit purchase, many of OC's fiberglass sales were outside North America. Partly as a result, business has grown 5 to 7 percent annually for at least a decade as product manufacturers sought out lighter-weight alternatives to steel and other traditional materials, company officials said.
In the United States, shipments of fiberglass material have declined by 26 percent after peaking at 4.2 billion pounds in 2005, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
Problems culminated last year. Losses can be traced largely to problems in three key markets supplied by the industry: boat-building, auto manufacturing, and construction.
However, the crisis of 2008 had been brewing for some time, said John Busel, director of the association's composites growth initiative.
"Our industry was something of a bellwether that something was happening," he said. "We probably didn't know it was going to turn into what happened."
It is difficult to predict how rapidly the U.S. fiberglass industry will recover, but the nation's struggling construction, auto, and boat-building industries are unlikely to lead the recovery, he acknowledged.
OC executives have acknowledged that the firm's fiberglass business is unlikely to turn a profit in 2009.
Jim Barrett, an analyst with C.L. King & Associates, Albany, N.Y., expects losses for the unit to reach $20 million by the end of the year. He predicts a turnaround next year, for which he expects $100 million in profit.
"This assumes that worldwide economies show gradual recovery as we move through 2010," he said in a research note to clients after OC released its third-quarter earnings.
2009年11月15日星期日
Despite All of the Clouds
The use of a 3D Laser scanner to survey can quickly result in a cloud of more than one million points; none of which contain any intelligence or reference information on the their topology or what they are supposed to be representing.
PointCloud and PointCloud Pro from kubit allow the display and processing of point clouds directly inside AutoCAD. Every single point of a 3D cloud can be accessed (OSNAP) and thus be used in combination with all traditional AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, PointCloud provides numerous tools for an efficient analysis of 3D laser scan data.
Coordinate systems, polylines, planes and cylinders can easily be fitted to point cloud sections. Planes can be fitted and intersected to quickly derive the edges of houses or curbs. Corners can also be precisely determined using the intersection point of three planes. Full pipe-runs and routing lines can easily be fitted for pipe design programs.
The results of such post-processing techniques can vary between 2D plans or 3D models.
The latest release of PointCloud Pro 5 extends AutoCAD by adding a photogrammetric, multiple image analysis. Three-dimensional objects can now be modelled using digital photos instead of scanned point clouds.
Oriented images can be generated directly within PointCloud and then drawn on to get an image plan. Lines drawn on a two dimensional photograph are simultaneously displayed inside the 3D point cloud at the correct geometric position.
PointCloud license holders may deliver fully functional cloud files free of charge with the FreeEdition version of PointCloud. Thus, service providers can hand their measured point cloud data to their customers for further processing in AutoCAD without the customers having to purchase a licence of PointCloud.
Versions 5 of PointCloud and PointCloud Pro support AutoCAD 2007-2010 and all vertical applications (e.g. Architecture, Civil 3D). They run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Prospects may try the software free of charge.
Related blog:djthsurty.gujaba.com
PointCloud and PointCloud Pro from kubit allow the display and processing of point clouds directly inside AutoCAD. Every single point of a 3D cloud can be accessed (OSNAP) and thus be used in combination with all traditional AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, PointCloud provides numerous tools for an efficient analysis of 3D laser scan data.
Coordinate systems, polylines, planes and cylinders can easily be fitted to point cloud sections. Planes can be fitted and intersected to quickly derive the edges of houses or curbs. Corners can also be precisely determined using the intersection point of three planes. Full pipe-runs and routing lines can easily be fitted for pipe design programs.
The results of such post-processing techniques can vary between 2D plans or 3D models.
The latest release of PointCloud Pro 5 extends AutoCAD by adding a photogrammetric, multiple image analysis. Three-dimensional objects can now be modelled using digital photos instead of scanned point clouds.
Oriented images can be generated directly within PointCloud and then drawn on to get an image plan. Lines drawn on a two dimensional photograph are simultaneously displayed inside the 3D point cloud at the correct geometric position.
PointCloud license holders may deliver fully functional cloud files free of charge with the FreeEdition version of PointCloud. Thus, service providers can hand their measured point cloud data to their customers for further processing in AutoCAD without the customers having to purchase a licence of PointCloud.
Versions 5 of PointCloud and PointCloud Pro support AutoCAD 2007-2010 and all vertical applications (e.g. Architecture, Civil 3D). They run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Prospects may try the software free of charge.
Related blog:djthsurty.gujaba.com
2009年11月10日星期二
Towards a safer construction industry
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) formed in 1984, became a pioneering research and development organization in the country specializing in various spheres of technology. After 25 years NBRO now stands as one of the leading multidisciplinary institutions in the country.
This institution was initially formed under the Local Government Ministry, subsequently brought under the Policy Planning and Plan Implementation Ministry and later placed under the Housing and Construction Ministry covering the requirements of housing sector which was then a national priority. During that period NBRO developed solutions for cost effective housing, structural engineering research, and housing in problematic soil areas. NBRO kept expanding their fields of expertise and consequently developed their capacity on landslide studies. Now NBRO is under the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry catering to new areas of Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Landslide Mitigation.
During this 25-year period, NBRO has stayed ahead of other institutions by developing a multidisciplinary human and physical assets base. NBRO had two laboratories related to building industry; building materials laboratory and soil or geotechnical engineering laboratory.
These laboratories gave NBRO a unique identity of being capable of testing both soil and building materials. Twenty five years ago, NBRO was the only institution that had the capacity in investigating soils or problematic ground conditions.
Formerly the soils and materials laboratories belonged to the Buildings Department and these facilities were used by the Department to conduct investigations on building on problematic soils and on construction materials used in their construction work. As this became inadequate with soil investigations for complex construction becoming common and most of the consultants requesting soil and material investigation reports, a market demand was created naturally that the Department could not ignore.
Also, outside work could not be done within the Buildings Department. In 1984, these became push factors for soil and building material laboratories to break off from their original ‘owners’, the Buildings Department.
The pull factor being that at that time, the Government was looking for an independent institution to provide support services to implement the million housing program. After forming NBRO, the Geotechnical Engineering Division and Building Materials Division provided services such as lab investigation of soils and building materials to such programs.
In 1984, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division were added when forming the organization.
The Million Housing Program lacked proper for project management and this was provided by the NBRO at that time. Due to the highlighted Government focus at that time, NBRO got the highest level of attention. NBRO was the main focal point in providing project management services to the Million Housing Program.
To meet other service requirements, the Human Settlements Division and the Environmental Division were created and these supported the process of project management and monitoring.
In 1986, a large number of deaths were reported due to landslides in the hilly areas. This attracted the attention at the highest level. NBRO had been newly established and at this juncture, NBRO was the only institution that was capable of geotechnical and soil related work. For these reasons, the Government decided to develop the capacity of NBRO in the field of landslides and the UNDP stepped forward to help. The initial landslide investigations were carried out by the Geotechnical Engineering Division (GED) of NBRO and at that time, they highlighted the need for further advancement in this newly emerging field. Later, the Landslide, Studies and Services Division was created.
With the establishment of the NBRO and subsequent developments, two diversified areas appear to coincide, the work related to construction industry and housing sector merging with work related to landslides or geo-technical matters. In 1988, UNDP developed a project on landslide risk reduction in hilly areas. This project was conducted with the overall assistance of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). The project initially tries to understand the landslide occurring phenomena and the possible remedial measures that can be adopted to reduce the risk on the affected population.
In parallel to the housing program, NBRO seemed to have reached to its climax at that time and most of the value addition programs were carried out based on the research work of NBRO. Most of this research work has gone unnoticed since they were used in policy making by the decision makers. Hence, the access to these reports was very limited to the public. Some of these research work included building standards for economically and differently abled population and condition of workers’ dwellings in the export processing zones. NBRO embarked on a program to introduce cost effective building materials.
Numerous research work was carried out by the Building Materials Division on micro concrete tiles, rice husk ash cement and dolomite lime. During this period, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division (SERC and PMD) assisted various development projects in the country specially the Gam Udawa program.
In this program SERC and PMD provided the technical inputs in engineering research, project management and overall project monitoring work. NBRO became one of the silent partners in the Gam Udawa program. NBRO was one of the organizations that could develop through the process and divert from the mainstream of housing and construction at that time. During the past 25 years, NBRO diversified from mainstream of housing and construction to environmental management, landslide disaster risk reduction and now disaster risk reduction through safer environment.
The landslide studies conducted during the past 20 years have created some important developments in the organization, and important land mark being the establishment of the ‘Landslides Services and Studies Division’ (LSSD) of the NBRO.
This was carried out in 1993 by combining all the staff members working in the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project (LHMP) to form the LSSD.
The landslide studies project developed by the Chief Technical advisor of the NBRO/UNDP led to the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project. The study team noted the importance of establishing a system to map the landslide prone area of the country. The team highlighted this issue of the importance in developing mapping methodology. Today these maps are effectively used in development planning, project approval, landslide risk reduction and mitigation projects.
This institution was initially formed under the Local Government Ministry, subsequently brought under the Policy Planning and Plan Implementation Ministry and later placed under the Housing and Construction Ministry covering the requirements of housing sector which was then a national priority. During that period NBRO developed solutions for cost effective housing, structural engineering research, and housing in problematic soil areas. NBRO kept expanding their fields of expertise and consequently developed their capacity on landslide studies. Now NBRO is under the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry catering to new areas of Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Landslide Mitigation.
During this 25-year period, NBRO has stayed ahead of other institutions by developing a multidisciplinary human and physical assets base. NBRO had two laboratories related to building industry; building materials laboratory and soil or geotechnical engineering laboratory.
These laboratories gave NBRO a unique identity of being capable of testing both soil and building materials. Twenty five years ago, NBRO was the only institution that had the capacity in investigating soils or problematic ground conditions.
Formerly the soils and materials laboratories belonged to the Buildings Department and these facilities were used by the Department to conduct investigations on building on problematic soils and on construction materials used in their construction work. As this became inadequate with soil investigations for complex construction becoming common and most of the consultants requesting soil and material investigation reports, a market demand was created naturally that the Department could not ignore.
Also, outside work could not be done within the Buildings Department. In 1984, these became push factors for soil and building material laboratories to break off from their original ‘owners’, the Buildings Department.
The pull factor being that at that time, the Government was looking for an independent institution to provide support services to implement the million housing program. After forming NBRO, the Geotechnical Engineering Division and Building Materials Division provided services such as lab investigation of soils and building materials to such programs.
In 1984, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division were added when forming the organization.
The Million Housing Program lacked proper for project management and this was provided by the NBRO at that time. Due to the highlighted Government focus at that time, NBRO got the highest level of attention. NBRO was the main focal point in providing project management services to the Million Housing Program.
To meet other service requirements, the Human Settlements Division and the Environmental Division were created and these supported the process of project management and monitoring.
In 1986, a large number of deaths were reported due to landslides in the hilly areas. This attracted the attention at the highest level. NBRO had been newly established and at this juncture, NBRO was the only institution that was capable of geotechnical and soil related work. For these reasons, the Government decided to develop the capacity of NBRO in the field of landslides and the UNDP stepped forward to help. The initial landslide investigations were carried out by the Geotechnical Engineering Division (GED) of NBRO and at that time, they highlighted the need for further advancement in this newly emerging field. Later, the Landslide, Studies and Services Division was created.
With the establishment of the NBRO and subsequent developments, two diversified areas appear to coincide, the work related to construction industry and housing sector merging with work related to landslides or geo-technical matters. In 1988, UNDP developed a project on landslide risk reduction in hilly areas. This project was conducted with the overall assistance of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). The project initially tries to understand the landslide occurring phenomena and the possible remedial measures that can be adopted to reduce the risk on the affected population.
In parallel to the housing program, NBRO seemed to have reached to its climax at that time and most of the value addition programs were carried out based on the research work of NBRO. Most of this research work has gone unnoticed since they were used in policy making by the decision makers. Hence, the access to these reports was very limited to the public. Some of these research work included building standards for economically and differently abled population and condition of workers’ dwellings in the export processing zones. NBRO embarked on a program to introduce cost effective building materials.
Numerous research work was carried out by the Building Materials Division on micro concrete tiles, rice husk ash cement and dolomite lime. During this period, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division (SERC and PMD) assisted various development projects in the country specially the Gam Udawa program.
In this program SERC and PMD provided the technical inputs in engineering research, project management and overall project monitoring work. NBRO became one of the silent partners in the Gam Udawa program. NBRO was one of the organizations that could develop through the process and divert from the mainstream of housing and construction at that time. During the past 25 years, NBRO diversified from mainstream of housing and construction to environmental management, landslide disaster risk reduction and now disaster risk reduction through safer environment.
The landslide studies conducted during the past 20 years have created some important developments in the organization, and important land mark being the establishment of the ‘Landslides Services and Studies Division’ (LSSD) of the NBRO.
This was carried out in 1993 by combining all the staff members working in the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project (LHMP) to form the LSSD.
The landslide studies project developed by the Chief Technical advisor of the NBRO/UNDP led to the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project. The study team noted the importance of establishing a system to map the landslide prone area of the country. The team highlighted this issue of the importance in developing mapping methodology. Today these maps are effectively used in development planning, project approval, landslide risk reduction and mitigation projects.
2009年11月8日星期日
Portable 3-D Laser Technology Preserves Texas Dinosaur's Rare Footprint
Using portable 3D laser technology, scientists have electronically preserved a rare 110 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur footprint that was previously excavated and built into the wall of a bandstand at a Texas courthouse in the 1930s.
The laser image preserves a "type specimen" footprint -- an original track used to describe a species of dinosaur identified in the 1930s as ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Portable 3D laser scanners capture original fossil morphology and texture, making it possible to use the data for rapid 3D prototyping in foam or resin, Adams says.
Without prototyping, the shape of the original track might ultimately be lost. The footprint embedded in the bandstand has been exposed to the elements for nearly 75 years, causing portions of it to erode, Adams says. Erosional loss has affected the outer edge of the toes and heel, altering the initial shape of the track impression.
The track of the ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis was originally excavated in 1933 from a main track layer in a riverbed in what is now 1,500-acre Dinosaur Valley State Park in North Central Texas. Not long after it was excavated, the citizens of Glen Rose built a stone bandstand and embedded the track in one of its walls.
The track was described in 1935 by Ellis W. Shuler, SMU's first geology professor.
Adams says the footprint is that of a three-toed, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur, with the most likely candidate being the theropod named Acrocanthosaurus, found mostly in Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
"The track is scientifically very important," says Adams, who is earning his doctoral degree in paleontology at SMU. "But it's also a historical and cultural icon for Texas."
Dinosaur Valley State Park boasts the ancient shoreline of a 113 million-year-old sea and is renowned for some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints in the world. The bandstand track is a popular draw for tourists passing through Glen Rose, which is an hour southwest of Dallas.
In an effort to preserve the specimen, as well as to compare its present state with the original description, Adams used a portable 3D laser scanner to perform in situ digitization of the track.
The scans were post-processed to generate high-resolution 3D digital models of the track. Finally the models were rendered in various media formats such as Quicktime VR Virtual Reality and Tagged Image File Format for viewing, publication and archival purposes.
Adams will make the raw scan data and industry-standard 3D object files format available for download.
The research demonstrates the advantages of using portable laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive models that can be digitally archived and made accessible to others via the Internet for further research and education.
"It's a nice way to share scientific data," Adams says.
For more information, go to www.smuresearch.com. Adams' research was funded by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU. He presented the research at a scientific session of the 2009 annual meeting of The Geological Society of America in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21. His co-researchers are Christopher Strganac, Michael J. Polcyn and Louis L. Jacobs in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU.
The laser image preserves a "type specimen" footprint -- an original track used to describe a species of dinosaur identified in the 1930s as ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Portable 3D laser scanners capture original fossil morphology and texture, making it possible to use the data for rapid 3D prototyping in foam or resin, Adams says.
Without prototyping, the shape of the original track might ultimately be lost. The footprint embedded in the bandstand has been exposed to the elements for nearly 75 years, causing portions of it to erode, Adams says. Erosional loss has affected the outer edge of the toes and heel, altering the initial shape of the track impression.
The track of the ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis was originally excavated in 1933 from a main track layer in a riverbed in what is now 1,500-acre Dinosaur Valley State Park in North Central Texas. Not long after it was excavated, the citizens of Glen Rose built a stone bandstand and embedded the track in one of its walls.
The track was described in 1935 by Ellis W. Shuler, SMU's first geology professor.
Adams says the footprint is that of a three-toed, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur, with the most likely candidate being the theropod named Acrocanthosaurus, found mostly in Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
"The track is scientifically very important," says Adams, who is earning his doctoral degree in paleontology at SMU. "But it's also a historical and cultural icon for Texas."
Dinosaur Valley State Park boasts the ancient shoreline of a 113 million-year-old sea and is renowned for some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints in the world. The bandstand track is a popular draw for tourists passing through Glen Rose, which is an hour southwest of Dallas.
In an effort to preserve the specimen, as well as to compare its present state with the original description, Adams used a portable 3D laser scanner to perform in situ digitization of the track.
The scans were post-processed to generate high-resolution 3D digital models of the track. Finally the models were rendered in various media formats such as Quicktime VR Virtual Reality and Tagged Image File Format for viewing, publication and archival purposes.
Adams will make the raw scan data and industry-standard 3D object files format available for download.
The research demonstrates the advantages of using portable laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive models that can be digitally archived and made accessible to others via the Internet for further research and education.
"It's a nice way to share scientific data," Adams says.
For more information, go to www.smuresearch.com. Adams' research was funded by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU. He presented the research at a scientific session of the 2009 annual meeting of The Geological Society of America in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21. His co-researchers are Christopher Strganac, Michael J. Polcyn and Louis L. Jacobs in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU.
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