Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
August 18, 2015Volume 11 Issue 31


Image - Protogami from Proto Labs
Protogami from Proto Labs
Protogami's three-dimensional flexagons create a continual kaleidocycle that exposes a different set of triangular faces with each turn of its living hinges. It lets product designers and engineers see commonly used materials like ABS, PC and acetal, and how they interact with different surface finishes. Register for a free Protogami today.

Click here to get your Protogami design reference tool.


In this issue of Designfax

  • High-speed hydrogen fuel cell ferry
  • DC Motor Applications: Cutting plotter
  • World's thinnest light bulb
  • Wings: NASA model could quiet noisy helicopters
  • Mike Likes: Noisy Bearings?
  • Deep Dive: Piezoelectric positioners for nanopositioning
  • Cooling: Super high-performance DC fans
  • Fasteners: Detent hinge with corrosion resistance
  • Mech Components: Build a mini synchronous drive
  • Motors/Gearmotors: New brushless DC product line
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Solid Edge ST8 Synchronous Design Intent
    • Jetpack flyer takes Dubai tour
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Shoot from the hip: Wireless night-vision goggles
    • Wings: NASA Mars glider prototype
    • Metal foams shield X-rays, gamma rays, more
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Illustration of light emission from graphene filament [Young Duck Kim/Columbia Engineering]

News

Nanoscale programmable switches promise faster, more versatile chip-scale devices

Glass paint could keep metal roofs and other structures cool -- even on sunny days

Study finds a way to prevent fires in next-generation lithium batteries

Management Tips: Why only 13 percent of companies successfully execute their strategies



Feature articles

Image - Sandia leads partnership to develop high-speed hydrogen fuel cell ferry for San Francisco
Sandia leads partnership to develop high-speed hydrogen fuel cell ferry for San Francisco
Sandia National Laboratories is helping San Francisco-based Red and White Fleet to create the SF-BREEZE (San Francisco Bay Renewable Energy Electric vessel with Zero Emissions), a project that aims to design, build, and operate a high-speed hydrogen fuel cell passenger ferry and create the world's largest hydrogen refueling station.
Read the full article.

Image - DC Motor Applications: Micro coreless motors power precision plotter/cutting systems
DC Motor Applications: Micro coreless motors power precision plotter/cutting systems
Paper and cardboard prototype models are essential to test packaging design and functionality. Making them by hand is expensive and imprecise, but cutting plotters can produce perfect in-house mock-ups in minutes. When German cutting-equipment specialist Lasercomb wanted to create a smaller version of its standout piece of configurable cutting equipment, the design challenge proved greater than first expected.
Read the full article.

Image - World's thinnest light bulb is one atom thick, reaches temps above 2,500 deg C
World's thinnest light bulb is one atom thick, reaches temps above 2,500 deg C
An international team of scientists has demonstrated an on-chip visible light source using graphene, an atomically thin and perfectly crystalline form of carbon, as a filament. Creating light in small structures on the surface of a chip is crucial for developing fully integrated "photonic" circuits.
Read the full article.

Image - Wings: <br>NASA researcher develops model that could quiet down noisy helicopters
Wings:
NASA researcher develops model that could quiet down noisy helicopters

Eric Greenwood, a research aerospace engineer at NASA Langley, has developed a method he calls Fundamental Rotorcraft Acoustic Modeling for Experiments that could soon help reduce some of that pesky, problematic helicopter noise.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: Noisy Bearings?
Mike Likes: Noisy Bearings?
Smalley wave springs are ideal for bearing preload. The wave spring preloads the bearing through its outer race, taking up play in the bearing. Preloading will reduce bearing damage, wear, noise, and vibration. The wave spring prevents sliding between the rolling elements. Bearing springs come in metric sizes to match popular bearing sizes. Smalley has over 150 standard springs available, from 16 mm to 580 mm. Customs are available for unique bearing sizes with No-Tooling-Charges™.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox Deep Dive:<br> Advances in piezoelectric positioners for precision motion control in nanopositioning applications
Engineer's Toolbox Deep Dive:
Advances in piezoelectric positioners for precision motion control in nanopositioning applications

Ever-increasing requirements for more precise motion control from the optics, biotech, and semiconductor industries have forced manufacturers of piezoelectric positioners to find ways to overcome their limitations, such as travel range and linearity, while preserving their unmatched speed, reliability, and resolution. Stefan Vorndran and Scott Jordan, Physik Instrumente, get into the nitty gritty of using piezoelectric positioners for nanopositioning.
Read the full article.

Image - Cooling: Super high-performance DC fan series
Cooling: Super high-performance DC fan series
Orion Fans has designed a super high-performance 60-mm 24-VDC fan that delivers airflow up to 86 CFM, an increase of more than 25 percent vs. previously available DC fans. The OD6038 XC Series fan offers a superior maximum static pressure value of 2.9" H20, more than three times that of competing fans on the market. Combining high airflow with high static pressure, the high-performance DC fan series is ideal for medical, networking, and telecom equipment. This fan has a dual ball-bearing design and brushless DC motor with auto restart and polarity-protection.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Fasteners: Detent hinge with improved corrosion resistance
Fasteners: Detent hinge with improved corrosion resistance
Southco has refreshed its successful C6 Detent Hinge series with an improved design that provides increased corrosion resistance for applications that require doors and panels to be held securely at predetermined angles. Snap-on covers fully conceal mounting hardware, creating a modern, streamlined appearance that also enhances cleanability. This hinge eliminates the cost and labor of installing additional components to maintain consistent positioning and is available in a free-swinging style that allows a door or panel to open a full 180 degrees. Ideal for many industries, including off-highway, marine, and specialty vehicles, as well as industrial machinery applications.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Mech Components: Build a mini synchronous drive system
Mech Components: Build a mini synchronous drive system
Stock Drive Products (SDP) has introduced the new Miniature Synchronous Drive System so you can put your own 1-, 2-, or 3-mm design together in a snap. The tiny timing belts and pulleys are engineered and manufactured to give high accuracy and smooth, dependable operation in 3D printers, moving security cameras, med devices, robotic surgical equipment, self-service machines, and more. Advantages include no-slip synchronization, accurate positioning, high torque transmission with low backlash, quiet operation, and long belt life.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Motors/Gearmotors: New brushless DC product line
Motors/Gearmotors: New brushless DC product line
Bison's new line of brushless DC motors and gearmotors conserves space while still providing the power you need. The BLDC line combines the design advantages from the company's most popular products with an efficient brushless DC motor that provides improved power density and long-lasting reliability. The BLDC line comes in 12-V and 24-V motor-only or gearmotor versions and is perfect for single-direction or reversible conveyor system equipment, peristaltic pumps, and any application requiring precise speed control and positioning.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Shoot from the hip: Wireless night-vision, thermal goggles can be linked to small-arms weapons
Shoot from the hip: Wireless night-vision, thermal goggles can be linked to small-arms weapons
New U.S. Army night-vision equipment promises an enhanced image of the battlefield and frees Soldiers from using traditional firing positions. The Enhanced Night Vision Goggle III is worn on a helmet and can be wirelessly linked to weapon sights, so a Soldier will be able to accurately fire his weapon without having to bring the weapon up to eye level -- even shooting around corners.
Read the full article.

Image - Wings: <br>NASA gives insider look at Mars glider prototype
Wings:
NASA gives insider look at Mars glider prototype

A prototype of the Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars, which is a flying wing aircraft with a twist, is planned to be ready for launch from a high-altitude balloon later this year. The glider will be released at about at 100,000-ft altitude, which will simulate the flight conditions of the Martian atmosphere.
Read the full article.

Image - Stainless steel metal foams can shield X-rays, gamma rays, neutron radiation
Stainless steel metal foams can shield X-rays, gamma rays, neutron radiation
Research from North Carolina State University shows that lightweight composite metal foams made of stainless steel and stainless steel/metal hybrids are effective at blocking X-rays, gamma rays, and neutron radiation, and are capable of absorbing the energy of high-impact collisions. The finding means the metal foams hold promise for use in nuclear safety, space exploration, and medical technology applications.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Solid Edge ST8 Synchronous Design Intent
This Siemens PLM demonstration highlights the new interface for intuitive synchronous modeling, helping you to focus more on your design and less on the software. Synchronous technology in Solid Edge allows sophisticated wholesale moves of geometry "chunks" without regard for feature history. In Solid Edge ST8, QuickBar options control how a chunk interacts with surrounding geometry during the move.
View the video.

Video Image
Jetpack flyer takes Dubai tour
How cool would it be to fly with a real jetpack? See for yourself as Swiss-born Yves Rossy, sometimes called "Jetman" or "Rocketman," dons a 120-lb pack with 7-ft-long carbon-fiber wings and four modified kerosene-fueled model aircraft engines. In this incredible adventure, he flies with fellow jetpack enthusiast Vince Reffet around Dubai. The fuel they can carry provides up to 13 minutes of fly time. Speeds average 125 mph. Thrilling.
View the video.

Video Image

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