Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
October 23, 2012Volume 08 Issue 40


Image - New Line of Phillips Pan Machine Screws
New Line of Phillips Pan Machine Screws
Micro Plastics has added a new line to their inventory of 250 million parts! The Phillips Pan Machine Screws are molded in tough, resilient, and corrosion-resistant Nylon 6/6 material. Thread sizes included are: 4-40, 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20 and 1/4-28. Available in 25 standard lengths ranging from 3/32 in. up to 3 in., Micro Plastics also offers an extensive line of machine screws, including head styles such as Binder, Binder Combination, Fillister, Hex, Pan, Round, Socket, Flat, Oval, and Thumb Screws, as well as Studs, Grubs, and Flat Head Wing Screws.

Click here for more information.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Microdrives in humanoid robots
  • Sensors used in cathedral restoration
  • Biodegradable electronics
  • Wheels: DARPA amphibious design challenge
  • Mike Likes: User-configurable load cell adapter
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Will this mold work?
  • Cool Tools: Next-gen 3D scanning
  • DC gearmotor with PWM and encoder
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Robotic cable management
    • Navy aircraft benefitting from boroscopes
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Goodyear self-inflating tires
    • Mobile 'MacGyver' robot
    • Gel stretches 21 times its length
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Optical long strain gage sensors mounted on Duomo di Milano cupola.

News

MegaDroid: Sandia builds self-contained, Android-based network to study cyber disruptions and help secure hand-held devices

International Space Station astronauts get real ice cream treat thanks to special fridge

Freescale introduces seven development kits to ease design of automotive motor control applications

Speedometer celebrates 110th birthday; displays keep evolving



Image - Tiny but tough mini compression springs
Tiny but tough mini compression springs
BANTAM Mini Compression Springs are Lee Spring's unique line of miniature springs. These stock products are offered in wire sizes .0040, .0045, .0050, and .0055 in standard outside diameters of .025, .040, and .057. BANTAM Springs are offered in a range of free lengths from .005 to 0.625 inches. Stock BANTAM Mini Springs are made of Elgiloy, a corrosion-resistant cobalt-nickel alloy known for its high strength (10% stronger than Type 316 Stainless Steel). Great for med devices, aerospace, firearms, automotive, precision instruments, and more.

Click here to learn more about BANTAM Mini Compression Springs.


Feature articles

Image - Microdrives give humanoid service robots <br>human traits
Microdrives give humanoid service robots
human traits

The more human-like a robot is, the more sophisticated the mechatronic engineering input necessary. Microdrives are often central to providing robots the means to exhibit "body language."
Read the full article.
Sensors in the field:
Fiber-optic strain gages protect restoration of Milan cathedral

When the Duomo di Milano, one of the largest and most impressive Gothic structures in the world, needed its main spire restored, a 90-ton scaffolding and its effects on the Italian cathedral required extensive and intensive sensor monitoring.
Read the full article.

Image - New biodegradable electronics can vanish in the body
New biodegradable electronics can vanish in the body
Physicians and environmentalists alike could soon be using a new class of electronic devices: small, robust and high performance, yet also biocompatible and capable of dissolving completely in water -- or in bodily fluids.
Read the full article.
Wheels:
DARPA amphibious design challenge could net you part of $4 million

DARPA is calling on experienced design engineers and students alike to collaboratively design elements of a new amphibious infantry vehicle, the Fast, Adaptable, Next-Generation Ground Vehicle (FANG).
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>User-configurable load cell adapter
Mike Likes:
User-configurable load cell adapter

The Model PTA Plug & Test adapter from Mark-10 is an intelligent connector for adapting common strain-gage-based load cells and torque sensors to Mark-10 universal force/torque indicators. This product satisfies applications in the automotive, medical device, packaging, and many other industries. The included software utility has a library of programmable capacities and resolutions, and allows the user to assign a unique identification number. All calibration and configuration data is saved within the PTA adapter, allowing for interchangeability between sensors. Mark-10 indicators measure real-time and peak-load values, with sampling rates up to 7,000 Hz; data memory and statistics; USB, RS-232, Mitutoyo, and analog outputs; set-point indicators with outputs; and a range of additional functions.
Click here to learn more.
Engineer's Toolbox:
Mold makers show designers ... This mold will work

Engineering polymers specialist LGG Charlesworth's work has been revolutionized by the unique prediction tool VISI Flow, which analyzes exactly how a mold will perform ahead of tool manufacture, whether it be a tool made on site or at a sub-contractor.
Read the full article.

Image - Cool Tools: <br>Next generation of 3D scanning is fully automated
Cool Tools:
Next generation of 3D scanning is fully automated

eQuality Tech, the exclusive distributor for Solutionix in the Americas, announces the immediate availability of Rexcan CS+, the first fully automated 3D scanner to integrate a turntable with four degrees of freedom for simpler setup and more comprehensive data acquisition. The new rotating and pivoting turntable eliminates scan targets and allows users to reorient a part by simply clicking on the computer screen; no need to physically move the part, turntable, or scanner. Rexcan CS+ can scan small intricate objects as efficiently as larger objects, in some cases drastically cutting the time from receipt of part to creating a full CAD model or inspection report.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Brushless DC gearmotor with PWM control and optical encoder
Brushless DC gearmotor with PWM control and optical encoder
Bodine Electric Company has added more power to its INTEGRAmotor gearmotor line. The new type 34B4/FV-F gearmotor combines Bodine's 34B brushless DC motor and a high-torque gearhead, along with a built-in PWM speed control and an optical encoder. Together, they create a high-performance drive package that radically simplifies design, wiring, and assembly. The new 24-VDC, 1/4-hp gearmotors provide up to 341-lb-in. (39-Nm) continuous torque and are stocked in gear ratios ranging from 5:1 to 180:1 and rated output speeds of 0.3 to 500 rpm.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue
Goodyear debuts self-inflating tire technology for commercial trucks
Imagine if your tires just filled themselves every once in a while when they got low and needed a little pick-me-up. Wouldn't that be great?
Read the full article.
Researchers aim to create mobile 'MacGyver' robot
A research team at Georgia Tech is working on building robots that have the ability to solve complex problems and escape dangerous situations by using everyday objects and materials found at hand.
Read the full article.
Tough gel stretches to 21 times its length, recoils, and heals itself
A team of experts in mechanics, materials science, and tissue engineering at Harvard have created an extremely stretchy and tough gel that may pave the way to replacing damaged cartilage in human joints or be used in soft robotics, optics, artificial muscle, or as a tough protective covering for wounds.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
The less-is-more approach to robotic cable management
Cable management is often an afterthought for robotic systems, but it is a vital consideration when it comes to assuring machine reliability. This video covers the challenges and goals of cable management for six-axis robots. Discover the negative effects of poorly designed cable management systems and learn how the less-is-more approach to robotic cable management reduces both maintenance requirements and downtime.
View the video.

Video Image
Navy aircraft benefitting big time from common boroscopes
The common video boroscope set is changing the way the Department of the Navy performs aircraft maintenance. Sailors use the hand-held device to inspect and repair aircraft engines without taking them apart, decreasing repair time and increasing the number of mission-ready aircraft.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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