| October 01, 2013 | Volume 09 Issue 37 |
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 | Stainless Steel Retaining Rings from Stock
Smalley has over 6,000 Spirolox® Retaining Rings in 302 and 316 stainless steel from stock in 1/4" to 16" diameters. Specials can be manufactured from .200" to 120". 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. Free samples are available of stock parts to test in your application.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Vrtex 360 Welding Simulator Reduces Cost of Training
Arc welding processes require the welder to use good workmanship in order to produce sound welds. Learning the skill requires time and patience, along with a significant volume of supplies. In an effort to reduce the cost of training and train welders faster, the Lincoln Electric Co. along with software development partner VRSim developed the VRTEX 360 welding simulator. The simulator uses MICROMO stepper motors to retract the electrode in a simulated handpiece, allowing the user to experience the sights, sounds, and motions of welding.
Read the full article. |
| | Feature articles | Precision metal bellows used as spring replacements in mechanical and electrical applications
 Servometer metal bellows are used for metallic hermetic seals, volume compensators, pressure and temperature sensors, flexible connectors, and countless other applications where quality, dependability, and long life are critical requirements. In this article, we evaluate the use of an electrodeposited metal bellows as a replacement for a metal spring in mechanical and electrical systems. The bellows offers various benefits to create a cost-effective, repeatable solution.
Read the full article. |
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 | Mike Likes:
Brighter, stronger, cooler flip-chip LEDs
TitanBrite Wireless Bonded LEDs from Lumex feature "flip chips" that are up to 15 percent brighter than any others in the market. In addition to the standard 3-W and 6-W LEDs, Lumex's TitanBrite Wireless Bonded LED is also available in 9 W. Wireless bonded LED technology, also referred to as "flip chip," offers several key performance benefits over traditional surface-mount technology (SMT) LEDs, including enhanced durability, enhanced heat dissipation, and superior light performance. A flip-chip LED is up to 15 percent brighter, 5x stronger, and 25 percent cooler than alternative technologies. Applications include: automotive interiors, appliance backlighting, industrial control lighting, medical lighting, signage, construction, and military.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Engineer's Toolbox:
Autodesk Remote goes global
This summer, Autodesk introduced a new technology called Autodesk Remote for its Subscription customers in North America. Now, the company is rolling it out broadly to Autodesk Subscription customers worldwide. Autodesk Remote allows users to drive Autodesk software installed on their primary computer from a remote PC or iPad, utilizing its full power in their 3D design and modeling work regardless of the device.
Read the full article. |
 | Product Spotlight:
Great alternatives to riveting or spot welding
PEM SpotFast self-clinching fasteners enable two sheets to be joined permanently in a flush-attachment connection without protrusions on either side. These practical alternatives to riveting or spot welding provide ideal solutions to attach two metal sheets too thin to weld, fasten sheets of unequal thicknesses, join dissimilar metals, attach ultra-thin metal sections, or join metal sheets to PCB or plastic panels. Their rotational capability offers additional application advantages by allowing the fastener to act as a hardened pivot point. SpotFast fasteners install smooth with the top sheet and flush or sub-flush with the bottom sheet. Can be installed in aluminum or steel sheets as thin as .030 in./0.8 mm.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Product Spotlight:
Pneumatic cylinders with self-adjusting cushioning
Festo's DSBC family of ISO 15552 standard pneumatic cylinders all feature the company's unique self-adjusting cushioning capability (called PPS) that works via exhaust slots in the cushioning boss. PPS eliminates the time-consuming back and forth typically required during the adjustment stage of installing pneumatic cylinders. This self-adjusting ability ensures optimum cushioning performance at all times without the need for any manual intervention -- even for changes in parameters such as friction and pressure, thus reducing wear and vibration.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Product Spotlight:
Friction positioning hinges provide constant torque for precise control
RT Series friction positioning hinges from Reell provide constant torque throughout their full 360-degree range of motion to precisely control and hold the angle of mounted components in any position. These hinges carry an industry-leading guaranteed service life exceeding 50,000 cycles. They integrate patented ReellTorq clip technology for a premium quality feel and smooth and precise position control without requiring adjustment during installation. Typical applications include motion and positioning of a display or access panel within a wide range of equipment and systems in the medical, aerospace and aviation, automotive, electronics, architectural lighting, and POP and POS industries. Three standard product families deliver successively more powerful torque capabilities.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Bigger really is better:
'Impossible dream' achieved in Sikorsky human-powered helicopter challenge
After 33 years of trying, a team has finally won the American Helicopter Society (AHS) Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Competition -- and its $250,000 prize! The challenge: fly a human-powered helicopter above 3 m and hover for more than 60 sec in a 10-m x 10-m space. Canadian team AeroVelo Inc., comprised largely of students at the University of Toronto, flew its extremely novel (and huge!) ATLAS pedal-powered helicopter for 64 sec June 13. A single pilot powered the craft, which featured four, nearly 70-ft rotors attached to a 115-lb carbon-tube and polymer frame. The AHS first issued the human-powered flight challenge in 1980, with an initial prize of $10,000. More than 20 human-powered helicopters have been designed and built since the competition began, though only a handful have gotten off the ground. Officials from AHS International verified the flight data over several weeks and concluded that it met all of the criteria necessary to win the competition. Sikorsky increased the prize to a quarter-million dollars in May 2009. Who would have guessed that this would be the winning design? Incredible.
View the Sikorsky video. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | Microfactory is 3D printer and CNC milling machine all in one
What's a Mebotics Microfactory? Well if you are the four guys who have dreamed up and built the device, it's a 3D printer and CNC milling machine all in one. Made "by makers for makers," the Microfactory is described as a networked, easy-to-operate, affordable, mess-free, quiet, and safe desktop machine capable of printing functional parts in four colors or multiple materials and computerized etching and computer-controlled milling. It's a Kickstarter project, and if it has any real legs, well, you be the judge.
View the video. |
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