Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
May 28, 2013Volume 09 Issue 20


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

  • Army tests spring-loaded knee brace
  • Mike Likes: New Smalley Linear Springs
  • Printable 'bionic' ear
  • Wheels: Re-using electric car batteries
  • Robotic cable management made easy
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Specifying a slewing ring bearing
  • 360-degree potentiometer for appliances
  • Rubber products for sealing, vibration
  • 4-mm micro motor and gearhead
  • Small, high-power servo drives
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Strength properties of epoxies
    • Save energy by controlling water flow/pressure
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • 2013 football helmet ratings
    • Robotic insects make first controlled flight
    • DC motors power mini recon robot
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Smalley launches Linear Spring Series

News

3M quantum-dot technology promises to supercharge color on LCD smartphones, tablets, TVs

New open-architecture software aims to control drone and robot fleets

Siemens develops first car ferry powered by an electric drive system

NASA working on reactor prototype that makes trash a spacecraft fuel source



Feature articles

Image - U.S. Army tests Yale spring-loaded knee brace
U.S. Army tests Yale spring-loaded knee brace
Weight, hinge design, and assistive power of a quasi-passive exoskeleton were studied at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, Mass., recently to see how these factors affect the way an individual walks.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Smalley Steel Ring Company launches new <br>Linear Spring Series
Mike Likes:
Smalley Steel Ring Company launches new
Linear Spring Series

Catch the wave ... the linear spring wave, that is. Smalley Steel Ring Company has just announced its new Linear Spring Series, offering a selection of spring loads that react along a straight line, as opposed to a conventional spring that fits in a circular cavity.
Read the full article.

Image - Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology
Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology
Using 3D printing tools, scientists at Princeton University have created a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Do electric vehicle batteries have an afterlife? ORNL explores uses
Wheels:
Do electric vehicle batteries have an afterlife? ORNL explores uses

Once they've finished powering electric vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles, it may not be the end of the road for automotive batteries, which researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, along with industrial partners, believe can provide continued benefits for consumers, automakers, and the environment.
Read the full article.

Image - The less-is-more approach to robotic cable management
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.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>9 questions to ask when specifying a slewing ring bearing
Engineer's Toolbox:
9 questions to ask when 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. 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.

Image - 360-degree potentiometer for appliances and more
360-degree potentiometer for appliances and more
Piher's PT15 rotary control sensor, already popular in hundreds of white goods and appliance panel control and sensing applications, adds endless clockwise (CW or CCW) rotation to its feature set. Designer engineers can now design product command features over a 340-degree range (active electrical travel). The endless rotation feature can be combined with up to 51 unique and highly repeatable detent positions to provide users tactile feedback on each setting and selection. The PT15 has a wide variety of off-the-shelf mounting methods, custom ohmic (resistance) values, tight linearity performance, seven different rotor designs, and 15 standard shaft styles. Great for ovens, ranges, dishwashers, power hand tools, washing machines, and HVAC systems. Can also fit many automotive convenience electronic applications.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Rubber products for solving sealing and vibration problems
Rubber products for solving sealing and vibration problems
Custom fabricated specialty rubber products made from a wide range of materials for sealing, gasketing, and shock-resistance applications are available from Interstate Specialty Products (ISP). ISP specialty rubber products are custom fabricated and die-cut, molded, or machined to match specific OEM part performance and physical requirements for the application. Typical materials available include Buna-V, Butyl, coated fabrics, EPDM, fluoroelastomers, Hypalon, natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile, open- and closed-cell foams, Santoprene, silicone, and Viton.
Click here to learn more.

Image - New 4-mm micro motor and gearhead
New 4-mm micro motor and gearhead
When engineers at maxon motor were challenged to deliver maximum power in the smallest possible space, they created the EC 4, a 4-mm-diameter brushless DC motor and gearhead combo. maxon increased the performance of this tiny motor using the latest winding technology along with the most powerful magnets available. This micro motor is available in two lengths: short version with 0.5-W nominal power or long version with 1.0-W nominal power. A high-quality gearhead provides an impressive speed/torque gradient of 50,000 rpm mNm-1, with a continuous torque of 0.4 mNm.
Click here to learn more.

Image - High-power servo drives in a small package
High-power servo drives in a small package
Due to popular demand, Advanced Motion Controls has expanded the capabilities of its popular M/V series Electric Mobility Servo Drives. Key improvements include 125-A continuous with 200-A peak for 10 sec at 80 VDC, and 100-A fixed continuous at 175 VDC (previously 80-A continuous). The M/V series is designed for electric mobility applications such as traction, steering, and lifting for UAVs, AGVs, material handling, and more. In addition to traction and steering axes on ground vehicles, the M/V series has been designed into aircraft applications such as the compressor drive for lightweight air conditioning units as well as helicopter winches. Available from Electromate
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Virginia Tech announces 2013 football helmet ratings
Virginia Tech announces 2013 football helmet ratings
Virginia Tech has released the results of its 2013 adult football helmet ratings, designed to identify differences between the abilities of helmets to reduce the risk of concussion. The ratings program was created in 2011 based on research that included analysis of over 2 million head impacts recorded in high school and collegiate football games. The process used for evaluating helmets involves mapping the on-field exposure to laboratory tests.
Read the full article.

Image - Robotic insects make first controlled flight
Robotic insects make first controlled flight
Inspired by the biology of a fly, with submillimeter-scale anatomy and two wafer-thin wings that flap almost invisibly 120 times per second, Harvard researchers have demonstrated the first vertical takeoff, hovering, and steering of a truly insect-size robot. The RoboBee, an aspiration for the researchers for years, represents the absolute cutting edge of micromanufacturing and control systems.
Read the full article.

Image - Small DC motors power mini reconnaissance robot
Small DC motors power mini reconnaissance robot
Ruggedized motors, coupled with a titanium housing and clever clutch design, deliver a dumbbell-size unmanned ground vehicle that can survive a 30-ft drop onto concrete to help urban police units get surveillance info on bad guys.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Physical strength properties of epoxy adhesives
Master Bond epoxies feature outstanding physical strength properties for high-performance bonding, sealing, coating, potting, and encapsulation. These polymer compounds are formulated to meet challenging physical strength requirements. Learn about specific epoxies, their attributes and uses.
View the video.

Video Image
How to save energy by controlling water flow and water pressure
ABB/Baldor and Motion Industries demonstrate how to increase energy savings by controlling air flow and pressure with low-voltage drives. Take a look and visit mihow2.com for more instructional videos on various industrial solutions from Motion Industries.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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