Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008 - (Page 10)

Letters ting an actual product in their hands. In fact, some of the engineers would order a new engine, set it on their shop floor, and just from a walk-around, begin to visualize how the whole package might come together. It was interesting when we started receiving requests for CAD information from the younger engineers. The younger generation of engineers would do all these processes strictly on their computer, and even though they were not working with tangible materials, they would still create successful, new products. Author Joel Orr touches on the fact that engineers need to know how and why the results make sense, instead of implicitly trusting the computer. Over the years, I believe that I’ve developed a feeling for the numbers I’ve worked with. Along with an intuition as to whether something just feels right, this has come from working with something tangible. I have often wondered how someone working solely on a computer could develop these important and necessary skills. Perhaps I am not too old to begin to understand how young engineers can do it all from a computer. JOHN FISCHER ENGINE CONSULTANT PALATINE, ILL. Input #207 at csemag.com/quickResponse Cable selection In reference to your article, “Choosing the right communication cable,” July 2008 (page 61), let’s not overlook ANSI/TIA/ EIA-862, “Building Automation Systems Cabling Standard for Commercial Buildings.” Building automation encompasses control systems, such as security and monitoring, safety systems such as fire alarm, environmental conditioning systems such as HVAC, and energy management systems such as internal and external lighting. ANSI/TIA/EIA-862 specifies generic cabling topology, architecture, design, installation practices, test procedures, and coverage areas to support BAS used in commercial buildings. Historically, providers of these building automation services specified their own proprietary equipment, cables, interface connections, and topology. This new standard offers the distinct advantage of being able to support multi-product and multivendor environments using one generic structured cabling system. It is important to note that other low-voltage systems, such as audio/video paging, service/equipment alarms, non-voice/data communications, and wireless access points, are also supported by the telecommunications 10 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • OCTOBER 2008 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/reed/cse0708/?startid=61 http://www.yaskawa.com http://www.yaskawa.com/E7 http://www.yaskawa.com http://www.csemag.com/quickResponse

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008 Contents Viewpoint Letters News M/E Roundtable Cities Under One Roof Eight Design Tips for Integration Is 'Green' Really New? Down the Drain Product of the Year Awards Codes & Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008

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