Smartphone apps are rapidly taking on traditional software technology. Driven by the rush of new tablets onto the market, the mobile app market is expected to be worth $25b by 2015, up from $6,8b in 2010.
Both the iPhone and iPad can be useful engineering tools. Apps are specific and can fit in with the tasks engineers do daily. A mobile app is like a software program but it is more dedicated and task oriented. Instead of carrying around a laptop in the field and booting it up to work out a solution for a client, an engineer can take out a smartphone or tablet and launch an app. The task is completed in a few seconds with the tap of a finger. Increasing numbers of smartphone owners are downloading apps to their phones because of their computing power, ease of use and portability.
New engineering apps are appearing all the time. Some are free, some are supported by ads and others can be downloaded for typically $0,99 to $9,99 depending on the functionality provided. Fluid power component manufacturers are now also starting to offer free apps related to their products, using them as a sales and marketing tool. Here is a sample of some engineering apps that can be downloaded from the iTunes store.
Pipe sizer
Pipe Sizer determines the required pipe internal diameter for a given flow rate and velocity requirement. All you have to do is enter the flow rate, select the flow rate units and then select your low and high velocities.
Pressure drop calculator
Pressure Drop Calc requires the user to enter the fluid flow rate, internal pipe diameter, fluid density, fluid viscosity, pipe roughness factor along with the equivalent length in either pump runs or a combination of piping, valves and fittings. It will then give the Reynolds number, Fanning friction factor, pressure drop and fluid velocity in the pipe.
Electrical engineer
For the electrical engineer, e-ENGineer provides solutions to a number of commonly used calculations used in electrical engineering including volt drop; star delta and delta star transformations; calculations to resolve V, A, VA, kW, VAr and power factors; and capacitance.
Seal life estimator
Seal manufacturer Bal Seal has a free app which estimates PV and seal performance life. It lets you enter known variables such as pressure, speed and diameter and get a PV or pressure/velocity value. It also allows you to estimate the service life of Bal Seal’s LKS High PV Seal using your application data.
Hydraulics calculator
Featured by Apple in New & Noteworthy, Hydraulic Experts from In Situ gives technical hydraulic answers at the touch of a button. This application is designed specifically for hydraulic engineers. In a few simple clicks on the tactile screen it calculates answers to hydraulic questions such as verification of hydraulic formulas; sizing of hydraulic pumps and motors; the power of the current installation; mechanical power of pumps or motors; definition of hydraulic cylinders; and conversion of units.
Condition monitoring
Parker Hannifin’s Filtration Division has released the industry’s first condition monitoring app. ConMon enables users to measure the degree of filtration required for their systems, and the frequency at which fluids should be tested. Users can determine the sample frequency of their system fluid and calculate their estimated ISO code of fluid cleanliness.
Tube bending tooling calculator
Unison’s tube bending calculator determines what bending machine tooling you require to perform your tube bending application. Simply enter the bend radius, tube diameter and wall thickness and you will receive a visual representation of what you require to perform the perfect bend.
Energy saving tool
Baldor’s BE$T Energy Savings Tool compares the efficiency and annual electricity usage of existing motors. The program then calculates the annual potential savings. It also provides an estimated payback calculation and suggested replacement motor to make upgrades easier. It also features a currency converter, project level energy costing, motor management feature, estimated rewind costs and motor nameplate data. The tool can be downloaded free from the Baldor website.
Wolfram
The Wolfram computational knowledge engine is like a vast electronic brain. This online service answers factual queries directly by computing the answer from structured data. It is much smarter than Google, which simply retrieves documents based on keyword searches.
For more detailed information and more apps visit http://motioncontrol.co.za/+apps
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