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Engineer's Toolbox: 9 considerations for specifying a slewing ring bearing

In applications that require a bearing to support a structure while it rotates (e.g., cranes, radar, tank turrets), premature bearing failure can put people and equipment at risk. While slewing ring bearings have proven themselves countless times in such applications, designers must consider many factors when specifying them. According to engineers at Kaydon, the bearing's support structure, mounting (including bolt strength, tensioning, and hole patterns), installation, and even storage are all factors in a bearing's success or failure.
Read the full article.

Engineer's Guide to Low Outgassing Adhesives

Learn all about low outgassing adhesives from the masters of making things stick at Master Bond. Outgassing from adhesives can pose significant challenges -- especially in the aerospace, electronic, and optical industries. "The Engineer's Guide to Low Outgassing Adhesives" ebook covers the ASTM E595 standard, initially developed by NASA, and guides you through the adhesive selection process. No registration required.
Learn more.

How it's made: Precision lead screw assemblies

Discover what makes the integrated lead screw systems from PCB Linear a step above the rest. From CNC manufacturing and sophisticated parts fine-tuning to PTFE coatings, innovative anti-backlash nut development with Constant Force Technology, and high-end motors to top it all off, this presentation is full of useful information about PCB Linear production and technology. We bet you will learn something new.
View the video.

Fastest large-format SLA 3D printer in the world

Built on Formlabs' next-generation Low Force Display print engine, the new Form 4L SLA 3D printer delivers unmatched reliability with a 99% print success rate compared to other SLA 3D printers. These benefits, combined with a build volume nearly 5x the size of Form 4, allow Form 4L users to solve big problems and print smaller parts at high volume. Large-scale prints finished in under six hours.
Learn more.

Adjustable monitor mounts that hold, tilt, and more

AV Monitor Mounts from Southco allow intuitive and ergonomic display positioning, enabling the operator to grab and move the screen without significant effort. These mounts also hold the screen in any position securely and resist unwanted movement when in use. Constant-torque functionality provides an arm that can withstand strong touch forces, vibration, and heavy loads. Lots of options.
Learn more.

Keypad teardown and design insights with Autodesk and Xometry

Take a deep dive into the second revision of the macro keypad developed for Autodesk University's Factory Experience 2024 in this exclusive, on-demand webinar hosted by Xometry's Greg Paulsen and Autodesk Fusion's Jonathan Odom. This presentation features a live teardown of the keypad, showcasing how the design team addressed challenges and elevated the product. No registration required.
Watch this Xometry webinar at your convenience.

Cool Tools: Portable joystick videoscope

The USAVS J-4-1500 Joystick Videoscope from USA Borescopes combines high-performance tech with user-friendly features. This advanced 4-mm-diameter scope is designed to elevate the inspection process for professionals across various industries, including automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing. One of its standout features is the responsive joystick-controlled articulation, which allows users to easily navigate the 1.5-m-long probe in multiple directions to acquire high-res images.
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Tube cutting and bending design guide: Xometry

Xometry's no-cost tube design guide offers design tips and tricks for laser-cut tube parts, including: minimums, tolerances, and sizes. The guide also covers important rules for mandrel tube bending, such as tolerancing, distance between bends, bend center line radius, types of bends to avoid, and more. Incredibly handy. If you need parts, Xometry can help with that too. It's easy to get a quote.
Learn more.

SPEE3D develops ultra-corrosion-resistant alloy
-- a game-changer for maritime additive manufacturing

Australian manufacturer SPEE3D has developed two grades of an ultra-corrosion-resistant Nickel Aluminum Bronze alloy that are compatible with its Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing technology. The powder material is a game-changer for maritime OEMs and the U.S. Navy, as it will help with supply chain delays and keep critical maritime systems operational.
Read the full article.

Achieve higher loads with a round wire Wave Spring

Wavo Springs are produced from round-section wire to provide higher loads while maintaining the accurate loading found in wave springs. As an alternative to Belleville Springs, the Wavo provides similar loads but with an accurate, predictable spring rate. Available in carbon and stainless steel from stock, sizes range from 1/2" to 6" diameters. Free samples are also available!
Learn more.

Conveying and guiding: One-stop shop for components

JW Winco has expanded its range of conveying and guiding components with additional practical elements designed for common industrial applications, providing everything needed -- from guides and rails to brackets and feet -- for constructing unmotorized conveyor lines using standard parts.
Read the full article.

Why hybrid bearings are becoming the new industry standard

A combination of steel outer and inner rings with ceramic balls or rollers is giving hybrid bearings unique properties, making them suitable for use in a wide range of modern applications. SKF hybrid bearings make use of silicon nitride (twice as hard as bearing steel) rolling elements and are available as ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, and in custom designs. From electric erosion prevention to friction reduction and extended maintenance intervals, learn all about next-gen hybrid bearings.
Read the SKF technical article.

What are carbon composite bellows springs?

The Carbon Composite Bellows Spring (CCBS) from MW Components is a system of carbon fiber elements that combine to work as a high-performance, lightweight, and design-flexible compression spring meant to replace coil springs or metallic Belleville disc springs. A functional spring is made from several individual elements paired and joined to make a stack. The stack spring rate is determined by the number of elements, the base rate of each element, and their series or parallel orientation in the stack. Applications include motorsports, aerospace, and high-performance activities.
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Bellows couplings for robotics

Ruland bellows couplings are ideal for precision motion in robotic applications due to their zero-backlash design, high torque and torsional stiffness, and various styles that ensure accurate movement and smooth operation. These lightweight couplings are commonly used in industrial, medical, and autonomous robotic systems requiring high speed and accuracy. They have reduced vibrations at speeds up to 10,000 rpm and can accommodate all forms of misalignment, making them highly versatile for different applications.
Learn more.

Structural adhesive bonding 101

Learn how LORD structural adhesives are eliminating rivets, welds, and mechanical fasteners to enable lower-cost assembly. Listen to Angela Zambanini as she describes Parker LORD's acrylic, epoxy, and urethane adhesives and the best applications for each adhesive category.
View the video.

Glass as strong as steel? Researchers discover key to making glass brittle or ductile

By Eric Gershon, Yale University

Glass doesn't have to be brittle.

In a paper published online Feb. 26 in the journal Nature Communications, a Yale University team and collaborators propose a way of predicting whether a given glass will be brittle or ductile -- a desirable property typically associated with metals like steel or aluminum -- and assert that any glass could have either quality.

Ductility refers to a material's plasticity, or its ability to change shape without breaking.

"Most of us think of glasses as brittle, but our finding shows that any glass can be made ductile or brittle," said Jan Schroers, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale, who led the research with Golden Kumar, a professor at Texas Tech University. "We identified a special temperature that tells you whether you form a ductile or brittle glass."

The key to forming a ductile glass, they said, is cooling it fast. Exactly how fast depends on the nature of the specific glass.

Focusing on a new group of glasses known as bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) -- metal alloys, or blends, that can be extremely pliable yet also as strong as steel -- researchers studied the effect of a so-called critical fictive temperature (CFT) on the glasses' mechanical properties at room temperature.

When forming from liquid, there is a temperature at which glass becomes too viscous for reconfiguration and freezes. This temperature is called the glass transition temperature. Based on experiments with three representative bulk metallic glasses, the researchers said there is also, for each distinct alloy, a critical temperature that determines the brittleness or plasticity of the glass. This is the CFT.

Researchers said it's possible to categorize glasses in two groups -- those that will be brittle because in liquid form their CFT is above the glass transition temperature, and those that will be ductile, because in liquid form their CFT is below the glass transition temperature.

They previously thought a liquid's chemical composition alone would determine whether a glass would be brittle or ductile.

"That's not the case," Schroers said. "We can make any glass theoretically ductile or brittle. And it is the critical fictive temperature which determines how experimentally difficult it is to make a ductile glass. That is the major contribution of this work."

The finding applies theoretically to all glasses, not metallic glasses only, he said.

"A glass can have completely different properties depending on the rate at which you cool it," Schroers said. "If you cool it fast, it is very ductile, and if you cool it slow it's very brittle. We anticipate that our finding will contribute to the design of ductile glasses, and in general contribute to a deeper understanding of glass formation."

The paper's lead author is Golden Kumar of Texas Tech University. Pascal Neibecker of the University of Augsburg in Germany and Yanhui Liu of Yale are co-authors.

The U.S. Department of Energy provided support for the research.

Published April 2013

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