Originally Published MPMN March 2002

E-NEWS

My Favorite Bookmarks

Michael Dudley,
Senior Design Engineer
Extrusion Dies Inc.

For those who know how to navigate it, the Internet can be a powerful ally in the medical device development process. This month, Michael Dudley, senior design engineer for Extrusion Dies Inc. (Chippewa Falls, WI; www.extrusiondies.com), shares a few helpful sites.

Pro/User (www.prouser.org) is an independent, not-for-profit Web site designed to help engineers answer questions they have about software from Parametric Technology Corp. Organized by volunteers from companies that actually work with the products, this page hosts a number of discussion forums where users can discuss their problems with other users. I design with Pro-Engineer software and look here for information on the program that is both accurate and helpful.

McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) offers one of the widest selections of parts available on the Internet. From fittings to pumps to switches, I can usually find what I'm looking for here and have it shipped from stock. One of the best features about the site is that many of the parts have scale drawings that make it easy to tell if the component will be compatible with the product I'm designing. On-line order tracking also lets me know when the components will arrive.

Mechanical Designer's Bookmarks (http://stripe.colorado.edu/~genovaj/Mech_Designers_Bkmrk.htm) is a site maintained by a member of the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder that has a variety of conversion charts, screw data, and tapping figures that are useful to design engineers. It might be kind of clunky to look at, but I find that the vast amount of information it contains makes it helpful in a number of situations.

Time and Date (www.timeanddate.com) isn't specifically for engineers, but it's one that I find myself using quite often. I'm required to talk to customers and colleagues around the world as part of my job, and this page helps me communicate effectively by keeping track of the time around the world. Users can create a personalized page or embeddable applet that displays time and date information for up to 16 cities across the globe for quick reference.

Extrusion Dies Inc. designs and builds flat extrusion dies and coating heads for plastics processors and web converters. The company's products can be used to produce blood and solution bags, disposable and surgical kit trays, transdermal patches, adhesive liners, hospital hygiene products, and packaging for pharmaceuticals and devices.

Zachary Turke

Copyright ©2002 Medical Product Manufacturing News