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July 17, 2018Volume 14 Issue 27


Image - Universal Robots reduce changeover times 50%
Universal Robots reduce changeover times 50%
Continental has pioneered the move towards industry 4.0 as the company acquired several collaborative UR robots to automate the manufacture and handling of PCB boards for instrument panels. Learn and watch how the robots brought down changeover times by 50%, from 40 to 20 minutes when compared to performing the task manually.
Find out more about this super-productive automotive application.
Request a cobot demo.
Get started with cobots, download the ebook.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Innovations in the world of bearings
  • Alloys: Nickels could get cheaper to produce
  • Carbon fiber muscles can lift 12,600x their weight
  • Wheels: Future combat vehicles get super flexible -- Wow!
  • Mike Likes: Stainless steel retaining rings from stock
  • Toolbox: Airbus execs talk about finding the right metals and composites
  • Precision dispensing for micro-electronics
  • Advancements in reed switch-based technology
  • Linear actuators for medical applications
  • Odorless thermal insulation material for automotive
  • Instant quoting for on-demand manufacturing
  • High-torque rotary voice coil actuators
  • New full-line catalog of fasteners
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Introducing smallest wave springs on the market
    • Is DNA the future of data storage? Fascinating!
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Most Popular Stories/Products 1st Half 2017: Pt 2
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: DARPA's military Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T)

News

Researchers upend conventional wisdom on thermal conductivity and crystals

New way to make wet suits better: 'Artificial blubber' protects divers in frigid water

All-new Ford Police Interceptor Utility Pursuit-Rated Hybrid offers improved performance, lower gas costs

With the help of 3D printing, crash-test dummies get older -- and better



Feature articles
Innovations in the world of bearings
For design engineers, specifying the right bearing for the right application can elevate anticipated equipment performance to higher levels -- and avoid (sometimes crippling) performance issues. Brian Dahmer from SKF USA runs through important innovations, including specialty protective coatings, materials advances, 'intelligence' capabilities, and unconventional lubrication.
Read the full article.
Image -
In addition to the high speed up to 200 mm/sec, the low inertia (direct drive, no rotating parts) allows for a rapid start-stop behavior with settling times in the milliseconds. How can you use this XY stage?


Image - Alloys: Nickels could get cheaper to produce thanks to new materials design modeling
Alloys: Nickels could get cheaper to produce thanks to new materials design modeling
Sometimes making a U.S. five-cent coin costs as much as seven cents a pop. Working in conjunction with the U.S. Mint, a research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has identified an alternative approach that would reduce the cost of materials for the nickel by as much as 40 percent.
Read the full article.

Image - Carbon fiber artificial muscles can lift 12,600x their own weight
Carbon fiber artificial muscles can lift 12,600x their own weight
Some researchers working on artificial muscles are seeing results even the fittest individuals would envy, designing muscles capable of lifting up to 12,600 times their own weight. The new muscles are made from carbon fiber-reinforced siloxane rubber and have a coiled geometry.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Future combat vehicles get super flexible -- Wow!
Wheels:
Future combat vehicles get super flexible -- Wow!

Round "tires" that transform into triangular tracks, extreme travel suspensions, and virtual windows -- these are just some of the impressive new military-vehicle innovations in the works from DARPA. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is aiming to improve the mobility, survivability, safety, and effectiveness of future combat vehicles without piling on armor.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Stainless steel retaining rings from stock
Mike Likes:
Stainless steel retaining rings from stock

Smalley has over 5,000 Spirolox® Retaining Rings in 302 and 316 stainless steel from stock. Specials can be manufactured with their No-Tooling-Costs™. Smalley's manufacturing process allows for the economical production of stainless steel retaining rings. Spiral-type retaining rings are interchangeable with standard snap ring grooves and have No Ears To Interfere® with the assembly. Samples are available of stock parts at no charge to test in your application.
Learn more. (Samples available on top right tab on site.)

Image - Toolbox: <br>Airbus execs talk about finding the right metals and composites
Toolbox:
Airbus execs talk about finding the right metals and composites

After nearly a century of dominance as the material of choice for aircraft, metals are seeing increased competition from composite materials in use on such aircraft as Airbus' widebody A350 XWB jetliner. Are the days of metal aircraft numbered? Two experts from Airbus' Material Procurement division explain that it's more complicated than that.
Read the full article.

Image - Precision dispensing for micro-electronics
Precision dispensing for micro-electronics
The spread of miniaturization in automation has led to an ever-increasing demand for optimum dispensing of the tiniest volumes. Whether in electronics or micro-mechanical engineering, solder pastes, adhesives, lubricants, and 3D-printing filament must be applied or extruded precisely where needed, in exactly the right dosage and without spillage or dripping. Compact, high-torque DC motors deliver the precision and small size needed for such a challenge.
Read the full article.

Image - Advancements in reed switch-based technology
Advancements in reed switch-based technology
Madison Company has developed an advancement in proven reed switch-based technology that provides ultra-high resolution, very tight tolerances, and consistent repeatable measurements in liquid level sensor designs. Sensors can be also designed to withstand extreme shock or vibration as well as corrosive conditions and temperature variations. Applications include: power generators, commercial compressors, power transmission equipment, chemical processing, and hydraulic systems.
Learn more.

Image - Linear actuators for medical applications
Linear actuators for medical applications
SKF Ecomag linear actuators from SKF Motion Technologies enable safe and precise power-driven movement and positioning of procedure tables and chairs in medical settings. Standard Ecomag actuators can be supplied in four versions: push models ECO 2/4 and ECO 6/8, and push/pull models ECO 3/5 and ECO 7/9. Depending on the model, the actuators can deliver push-load force up to 6,000 N or 1,348 lb and pull-load force up to 4,000 N or 899 lb, stroke ranges up to 300 mm or 12 in., and fast positioning speeds up to 13 mm/s or 0.5 in./s. All versions integrate built-in limit switches. As an option, encoder signals can be specified for added positioning functionality.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Odorless thermal insulation material for automotive
Odorless thermal insulation material for automotive
Interface Performance Materials introduces TI650 and TI1K innovative thermal insulation materials for automotive and heavy-duty vehicle heat shield applications. TI650 and TI1K are the first odorless and smokeless materials specifically formulated for three-layer heat shields in the automotive, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle applications. These non-toxic materials withstand temps up to 1,000 C (1,832 F), are malleable, and are resistant to cracking when molded into a layered heat shield. Their low-density makeup makes them the ideal substrates for lightweight initiatives by OEMs and fabricators. A highly inorganic material, TI1K is also unique in its ability to meet the ASTM E136 flammability test standard with no detectable smoke.
Learn more.

Image - Instant quoting for on-demand manufacturing
Instant quoting for on-demand manufacturing
Xometry, a popular on-demand manufacturing platform, has released a new version of its Xometry Instant Quoting Engine. Key features include a redesigned summary view to help users quickly review their quotes, a part-level modification page that captures all changes in real time, and an always-visible 3D viewer with instant design feedback displayed directly on the model. Xometry provides instant quotes on CNC Machining, Sheet Metal Fabrication, 3D Printing, and Urethane Casting.
Check it out on the Xometry website.

Image - High-torque rotary voice coil actuators
High-torque rotary voice coil actuators
H2W Technologies has developed several high-torque rotary voice coil actuators, otherwise known as a limited angle torque motors (LATs). The model TWR-015-346-2RC was designed to allow for a low moving mass (68 grams per coil) and inertia, as well as dual independent coils to allow for two independent motion profiles or couple the coils together to double the torque output. This rotary voice coil actuator can generate a continuous torque of 185 in.-oz (1.29 Nm) and a peak torque of 555 in.-oz (3.88 Nm) at a duty cycle of 10% (i.e., 1 sec on and 9 sec off) in each coil on a 4-in. (102-mm) rotation arm. By coupling the coils, the continuous torque doubles. Applications include driving a gimbal axis in scanning applications and providing stabilizing torques for image stabilization.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Completely updated new full-line catalog of fasteners
Completely updated new full-line catalog of fasteners
Micro Plastics introduces its new 300-page catalog #41 containing thousands of fastening solutions for engineers and product designers. Find hundreds of new problem-solving products including Spacers, Washers, Clips, Clamps, Ties, Bushings, Screws, Nuts, Rivets, and Plugs. Micro Plastics specializes in Nylon threaded fasteners, but the company also offers extensive product lines for wire management and circuit board hardware. Samples are available upon request.
Check out the new online catalog.

Most popular last issue

Image - Most Popular Stories/Products 1st Half 2017: Part 2
Most Popular Stories/Products 1st Half 2017: Part 2
Chevy Silverado engine, Marines sniper rifle, Nissan 370Z snowmobile, Jaguar electrified E-type classic, how a NASA engineer created the modern airplane wing, choosing a stepper or servo motor, specialized coatings for mechanical parts, link between superconductivity and the periodic table, and much more.
Read the full issue.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Introducing the smallest wave springs on the market
Smalley is involved in the development of medical technology and applications unique to the medical industry, and we are now ISO 13845 certified. We deliver high-quality alloys that are used for implants and medical instruments. Alloys including 316 Stainless Steel, Elgiloy, Inconel, and Titanium are readily available for fast production. With customs that can be designed with No-Tooling-Charges™ in sizes from .157" and 4 mm.
View the video.
Is DNA the future of data storage? Fascinating!
In the event of a nuclear fallout, every piece of digital and written information could be lost. Luckily, there is a way that all of human history could be recorded and safely stored beyond the civilization's end, and the key ingredient is inside all of us: our DNA. Science writer/editor Leo Bear-McGuinness explains. Wait until you see how much DNA space it takes to store the entire contents of the internet!
View the video.

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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