Technology for OEM Design Engineers April 17, 2007 — Volume 3, Issue 15
Injection Molded Plastic Prototypes FAST! Protomold can turn your 3D CAD model into real plastic parts as soon as the next business day. These plastic parts are ideal for functional testing, bridge tooling, or even short-run production. Visit Protomoldonline for more information and a free automated ProtoQuote®.
Register online to receive your Protomold resin puzzle.
Tribologists get slick
Two scientists specializing in tribology, the science of friction, lubrication, and wear, have developed a Surface Engineering Treatment (SET) technology that reduces the friction between moving parts using an innovative polymer-based machining process. According to Drs. Boris Shamshidov and Alexander Ignatovsky, founders of FriCSo (Friction Control Solutions), the SET technology creates an oil-retaining organic nanolayer chemically bonded to the metal surface, increases surface hardness, and improves surface topography. Read the full article
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Globe Motors' application engineers are expert at reviewing requirements and creating an optimal design for your product or identifying one of our many existing solutions.
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Fountain fix exhibits smarts under pressure
Imagine a thousand pounds of metal objects slamming and pounding all at the same time. That's how Dave Edgar, mechanical engineer for the City of Long Beach, CA, describes the original working chambered-nautilus design for the Wave Fountain at Queen Mary Events Park and Aquarium in his city.
"The water hammering felt like a gunnery range," says Edgar. The poppet solid on/off valves installed on two manifolds caused destructive harmonic vibrations in the equipment when they were opened and closed in different sequences, and the valves quickly failed. Read the full article
Can SharePoint – C2Share collaboration tame the EDM beast?
Sword Group is launching C2Share, an entirely new electronic document management (EDM) product that takes advantage of the power of Microsoft Corp.'s SharePoint 2007 to wrestle monster projects. In the three decades since the last surge in U.S. utility and refinery construction, regulatory burdens have multiplied, review processes have knotted, and penalties for noncompliance have soared. The result: mind-boggling amounts of paper and chaos without careful management. C2Share is also rapidly advancing toward a general-purpose CAD tool for drawing management for mechanical and even electrical engineering projects. Read the full article
Metal memory aims for disappearing dents
Crumpled kitchen foil that lays flat for reuse. Dents in car doors that disappear when heated with a hairdryer. These and other physical feats may become possible with a technique to make memory metals discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois. The researchers found that when heat is added to bent metal films having the right microstructure, the films return to their original shapes. The thin-film technology could also reduce energy loss in oscillators and resonators. Read the full article
Wheels: Super-charged battery cells help break world speed record
What powers the world's fastest electric motorcycle? After recently breaking the quarter-mile drag world record for an electric vehicle (EV), the KillaCycle
Team attributes a major portion of their success to
A123 Systems' nanophosphate technology in the lithium-ion battery cells used to power the bike.
"We call the A123 Systems battery pack 'Mister Fusion' because it acts like a bottomless pit of power and energy on the track," says Bill Dube, designer, builder, and owner of the KillaCycle. Read the full article
New Products
The Countdown Continues. Throughout the month of April we count down the Most Requested and most popular new products. Be sure to check in every week.
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