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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.
Learn more.

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.

World first: Industrial 3D printer makes metal or advanced composite parts

Markforged Holding Corporation has unveiled the FX10 Metal Kit, a print engine that brings metal-printing capability to the FX10 machine system. With this kit, the FX10 becomes the world's first industrial 3D printer that can be switched to print with metal filaments or composites.
Read the full article.

World's first current-carrying fastening technology

PEM^® eConnect™ current-carrying pins from Penn-Engineering provide superior electrical connections in applications that demand high performance from internal components, such as automotive electronics. This first-to-market tech provides repeatable, consistent electrical joints and superior installation unmatched by traditional fastening methods. Features include quick and secure automated installation, no hot spots or poor conductivity, and captivation options that include self-clinching and broaching styles.
Learn more about eConnect pins.

Retaining magnets from JW Winco: Universal and clever

JW Winco has expanded its magnet line to support more applications with new materials, shapes, systems, and even raw magnets. Learn about their latest offerings, including retaining magnets designed for corrosive environments (GN 50.8), encapsulated magnets designed for sensitive or painted surfaces (GN 51.8), handle magnets (GN 53.3), and powerful magnets designed to handle challenging environs (GN 52.6).
Learn more.

New polymer bearings are PFAS- and PTFE-free

igus has developed a new polymer bearing material called iglide JPF that is free of both per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This innovation marks an important step in the company's efforts to create sustainable alternatives to conventional plain bearings. JPF is a dry-running, wear-resistant polymer that offers comparable friction and wear performance to iglide J. It delivers high wear resistance and durability.
Learn more.

New high-speed PSLA 270 printer from 3D Systems

The all-new PSLA 270 projector-based polymer 3D-printing platform and associated new materials from 3D Systems enable faster production times for a wide range of applications. This machine's high throughput and accuracy make it ideal for industries like healthcare, aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing, where precise and durable components are critical. Complementary Wash and Cure systems streamline post-processing and ensure high-quality finished parts.
Learn more including materials and build sizes.

New slim and ergonomic compression latch

Southco has launched the E3 Compact MIM compression latch, bringing new ergonomic and safety features to its durable family of latches in a low-profile package. The E3 Compact MIM compression latch is metal injection molded and has a shorter head (4 mm vs. the normal 6.4 mm), 180-degree ergonomic actuation, and visual indicators machined into the latch and color coded to easily show when it is open or closed. Features a sleek, low-profile, polished look.
Learn more.

Optimizing seal selection: From O-rings to press-in-place

What is the right seal for my application? The Sealing & Shielding Team at Parker Hannifin is looking to help you out in this blog. Learn some basics and possible modifications, including application and manufacturing considerations, gland options, mating hardware, and more. They are always very helpful over there at Parker.
Read the Parker blog.

Adjustable Spot Cooler provides precise industrial cooling

EXAIR's Adjustable Spot Cooler System offers a low-cost, reliable, and maintenance-free solution for industrial spot cooling needs. This tool offers precision control, versatility, and ease of use for a variety of applications including milling, machining, soldering, gas sampling, welding, and more. Utilizing cool and clean compressed air, the Spot Cooler allows users to precisely adjust temperatures from as low as -30°F (-34°C) to room temperature with the simple turn of a knob.
Learn more.

Engineers develop ballistic wallpaper, pop-up guard towers, laser guns for military

By David Vergun, U.S. Army

Nick Boone, a research mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center, in Vicksburg, MS, shows a section of ballistic wallpaper during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

Troops often use abandoned masonry, brick, or cinderblock structures for defensive purposes instead of building their own or digging foxholes.

While these structures offer a degree of protection, they are susceptible to blast impact from missile or other large projectiles, said Nick Boone, a research mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center, or ERDC, in Vicksburg, MS.

Boone spoke during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, where a large number of Army laboratory exhibits were on display.

Engineers at ERDC came up with a novel idea of fortifying these structures with rolls of lightweight ballistic wallpaper with adhesive backing that can quickly be put up on the inside of the walls, he said.

The wallpaper consists of Kevlar fiber threads embedded in flexible polymer film, he said.

Without the wallpaper, a wall that is hit will "rubblize," he said, sending shards of rock and mortar flying at the occupants inside.

When the blast occurs with the wallpaper installed, it acts as a "catcher's net," containing the rubble and preventing debris from injuring Soldiers.

Engineers built unreinforced structures and actually bombed and blasted them, Boone said, showing a video of the experiments. Small blast testing was done at nearby Fort Polk, LA, and large-blast testing was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.

Ballistic wallpaper is still in the research and development stage and does not yet have an official name, but it could one day be produced and fielded and hopefully save lives, Boone said.

Other protection
Improved protection mortar pits and guard towers, designed by engineers at ERDC and royal engineers from the United Kingdom, have recently been shipped to Afghanistan, Boone said.

ERDC engineers developed the Modular Protective System, or MPS. These are inexpensive, lightweight, easily assembled and disassembled panels attached by cross-braces, which offer "a lot of protection," he said. The panels were developed by ERDC, and the cross-braces were developed with collaboration from the royal engineers.

"We got the idea from picnic chairs that fold up neatly," he said.

The structures are pretty basic, he said. The braces are made of lightweight galvanized steel tubing, and the panels are made of multi-layered fiberglass.

Modular Protective System models of guard towers and mortar pit protection are shown during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

Boone showed models of the fortification as well as full-size versions. They resembled scaffolding. The steel tubing is crossed-braced at angles that afford the greatest strength, he said. It is strong enough to protect against military-grade rounds.

Besides being inexpensive, strong, and lightweight, the MPS can be quickly assembled by just a few Soldiers without any specialized tools or equipment, he said.

Another positive is that the entire MPS structure fits inside a small container that can be sling-loaded under a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for rapid delivery, he said. The beauty of it is that the shipping container itself then becomes the ammunition storage for the mortar pit structure. For the guard tower, the shipping container becomes a platform to support it.

Once the mission ends, everything gets packed back into the shipping container. Nothing gets wasted or left behind, he said.

The mortar pit MPS kits are being used by Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, he said. The guard towers are being used by the royal engineers there as well. A small, expeditionary guard tower for the U.S. Army has not yet been deployed.

MPS is standing by for licensing and for a possible transition to a program of record, he said.

Contaminants protection
While protection from blast is fairly evident, protection from the unseen can be just as deadly.

Dr. Brandon Lafferty, a research soil scientist with ERDC, said that while operating in enemy territory, Soldiers sometimes come across existing infrastructure that poses threats that cannot be seen.

"Sometimes, those buildings were abandoned for a reason," Lafferty said. "They may have been a chemical processing site, a waste dump, we just don't know. There are currently no portable tools to rapidly determine possible hazards."

Soldiers on the move often do not have time to wait for heavy test equipment to be trucked in and tested by specialists, he continued.

ERDC engineers developed the "Environmental Toolkit for Expeditionary Operations" to address this problem, he said.

Dr. Brandon Lafferty shows the Petroleum Environmental Test Kit during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

An engineer, who is not a specialist, can toss all the instruments he needs in his rucksack and determine if contaminants are present and what their levels of concentration are, he said, so that a commander can make an informed decision whether or not to occupy the structures or area.

The three pieces of gear used for testing include the Hand-held Fluorescent Spectrometer, which measures heavy metals in soil and water; the Petroleum Environmental Test Kit, which identifies and measures petroleum content in soil and water; and the Water Dog, which tests water properties for hardness, acidity, conductivity, and turbidity to determine if the water is contaminated, good for drinking, or maybe just clean enough for washing clothing.

When Soldiers decamp, the area is tested once more because of environmental reporting that requires an area to be left uncontaminated, he said.

Soldiers are being trained to use the test equipment at the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence on Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Test equipment is now being field tested in Kuwait and Iraq, he said.

Video teleconference in a suitcase
When Soldiers need to set up an outpost or bivouac in an unfamiliar area, there might be hazards nearby like landslides or flooding that they're not aware of.

To determine if the location is safe, Soldiers can contact the experts at ERDC who have all of that information readily available, said Vernon Lowery, general engineer, ERDC.

To make contact in remote areas possible, ERDC has supplied the entire Army with Telecommunications Equipment Deployable, or TCED. This video teleconferencing capability comes in a small suitcase that is easily carried by one person, he said. The communications equipment links to Vicksburg via satellite.

Soldiers in remote areas might also want to communicate with people other than at ERDC for various reasons. Lowery said ERDC can relay them to Video Teleconferences, or VTCs, elsewhere around the world.

Vernon Lowery, general engineer, ERDC, shows the telecommunications equipment deployable during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

For example, when Soldiers deployed to Haiti to assist with earthquake humanitarian assistance relief in 2010, they used TCED to establish command and control. Lowery said Soldiers told him it was their "lifeline," and without it, they could not have accomplished their mission.

Laser protection
Laser guns may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but engineers at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command - Technical Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL, have successfully developed and tested just such a system, known as High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, or HEL MD.

Dee Formby, an engineer involved in its development, said that a 10-kW laser, mounted on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck A4 platform, successfully took out 60-mm mortars and unmanned aerial vehicles at White Sands Missile Range, NM, last year.

Workings of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator are shown during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

Once the laser locks on, it essentially fries its target, Formby said. It is a cost-effective way to destroy cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, mortars, rockets, and artillery.

A 60-mm mortar round fried open by a High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator during testing is shown during DOD Lab Day at the Pentagon May 14, 2015. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

In good weather, the laser achieves a high success rate, he said. Right now, the system does not perform as well in degraded weather and atmospheric conditions. Distance-to-target remains classified.

In 2017, a 50-kW version will be tested, followed by a 100-kW demonstration in 2020. Higher power means quicker kill time of the projectile, he said, because more power is on the target.

Published 2015

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