| December 23, 2014 | Volume 10 Issue 48 |
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 | Molded Nylon Special Standard Round Spacers
Micro Plastics announces a new product line of Special Standard Round Spacers. The new line of molded nylon round spacers includes over 250 sizes, with diameters of 1/8" through 1 1/2" and lengths from 1/8" to 2 3/4". These tough, resilient spacers can be used in a variety of assemblies. Useful in electronic and electrical applications, they may also be used as bushings, bearings, rollers, gliders, and bumpers. They are resistant to vibration, abrasion, and corrosion; are electrically insulating; and have a high strength-to-weight ratio.
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 | Mike Likes:
Mini rotary actuator has highest torque and power output
New Scale Technologies has created a miniature rotary actuator module (M3-R) with torque of 0.17 Nm and speeds of more than 400 degrees per second in a compact, 60-mm-diameter by 8-mm-thick design. Resulting from the successful completion of a Phase 1 SBIR project for the U.S. Navy, the non-inductive rotary actuator module delivers higher power output in a smaller footprint than electromagnetic pancake motors or other piezoelectric actuators. Applications include guided munitions and missile systems, MRI-compatible medical devices, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controls, gimbal systems, and computer equipment.
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 | Engineer's Toolbox:
The secret to living hinges that fold flat
Living hinges are often used to produce a container and its lid as a single molded part. If properly designed, they can open and close thousands of times without ever losing strength or flexibility. Proto Labs' Gus Breiland, Customer Service Engineering Manager, provides valuable tips on designing these (sometimes thin and fragile) parts.
Read the full article. |
 | Product: Shaft couplings eliminate resonance
Step-Flex, the new class of shaft couplings from Miki Pulley US, eliminates resonance in stepper motor ball screw assemblies. This two-part elastomer-element coupling features an innovative combination of HNBR (black) rubber element flanked by smaller, softer laminated (green) spacers designed to "mechanically tune" the system for optimal performance when a stepper motor is used to drive a linear actuator. This unique design quickly dampens oscillations, thereby suppressing resonance. The coupling's machined aluminum hubs also provide a low moment of inertia.
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 | Product: Customized direct-drive motors
Applimotion's Frameless Direct Drive motor kits have been used in custom direct-drive motors for more than 15 years in automation systems, robotics, semiconductor equipment, medical devices, and communication systems. The ULT, UTH, and UTS motor kits can be integrated into an assembly with high-resolution encoders and precision bearings. Some assemblies even include harmonic-drive gearing systems. Custom assemblies can range from 8-mm to 600-mm diameters and torque from .1 to 1,000 NM with unique through-holes, mechanical features, and custom cabling.
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 | Cool Kits: Wireless tactile feedback prototyping
Texas Instruments' wireless haptic development kit enables easy tactile feedback prototyping for eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motor and linear resonant actuator (LRA) haptic effects in a wide range of applications. Using Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and a free iOS app, the Haptic Bluetooth Kit (DRV2605EVM-BT) enables designers to create haptic sequences and LED patterns for tactile feedback, notifications, and alerts from a pre-licensed library of more than 100 distinct haptic effects, eliminating wires and the need to design haptic waveforms.
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| | Most popular last issue |
 | Tiny inverse-Wankel rotary engine concept is 4-lb powerhouse
Noise, excessive vibration, and relative inefficiency are drawbacks of the piston-based internal combustion engines (ICEs) that power today's lawn and garden equipment, such as leaf blowers and lawn trimmers. But now MIT startup LiquidPiston has developed a 4-lb rotary concept that it says is significantly smaller, lighter, and quieter, as well as 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the ICEs used in many such small-engine devices.
Read the full article. |
 | Conductive clay aims to shape the future of energy storage
In the race to find materials of ever-increasing thinness, surface area, and conductivity to make better performing battery electrodes, a lump of clay may have just taken the lead. Materials scientists from Drexel University's College of Engineering invented the clay, which exhibits conductivity on par with that of metals and can be molded into a variety of shapes for easy processing.
Read the full article. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action |
World's largest 3D-printed wrench
Looking to fabricate your own 1:1-scale, really large prototype parts? Stratasys has you covered. Unveiled at Euromold a couple years ago, the company's Objet1000 system features a climb-aboard-size build tray (39.3 in. x 31.4 in. x 19.6 in.) and is able to print up to 14 different material properties within a single model. Wow. Fourteen in one model! It can also handle big jobs that you could only dream about in the past, like the world's largest 3D-printed wrench, which Objet's Sam Green says took a few days to print.
View the video. |
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