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News

Harnessing the Santa Anna winds of Texas

Motor named 2007 Golden Mousetrap Award finalist

Hydraulic power achieves 300 cph (cows per hour)

New lightning sensors warn of hurricane's power from far away
In this issue:

Feature Articles

Advancements in long-distance medical robotic technology
Imagine a time when doctors can perform surgery on a patient without having to be in the same room, or even in the same city. Modern technology, aided by tools like Maple, is making such possibilities very real. Maplesoft, the provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics is assisting Quanser Consulting to develop revolutionary haptic (feedback) technology, taking robotically assisted surgery to the next level.
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Tiny switches with big features
Development of MEMS relays has been underway since at least the early 1990s with many types reported during the intervening years. Anticipated benefits include extremely small size, long life in excess of 100 billion cycles for military applications, high operating speed, and excellent RF characteristics. Unfortunately, the step from a working laboratory device to a reliable volume-manufactured product has proven to be large. Today, only a few companies have proven MEMS switches or relays.
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Before it’s real – 3D prototyping
As design engineering progresses in today’s marketplace, that first make-or-break prototype is becoming crucial to the success of a project. Whether it's a complex pump system or a sleek new bicycle, companies have to prove to themselves, and investors, that the product is going to work before it goes into mass production. For Autodesk, Inc. and Amy Bunszel, the director of the Autodesk Inventor product line, the future of the business lies in a transition to software-driven 3D prototyping.
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Panoramic multibillion-pixel pictures
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, have built a low-cost robotic device that enables any digital camera to produce breathtaking gigapixel (billions of pixels) panoramas. GigaPan technology gives people a new way to make and share images of their environment. To promote further sharing of this imagery, Carnegie Mellon has launched a public website where people can upload and interactively explore panoramic images.
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Wheels: Feel the pump – tire pressure monitoring meets safety requirements
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 23,000 accidents and more than 500 fatalities a year in the United States involve flat tires and blowouts stemming from improperly inflated tires. Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the industry's first tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) containing a capacitive pressure sensor for ultra-low power consumption and precise sensing. Freescale's MPXY8300 system-in-package device provides a highly integrated, cost-effective solution that combines an advanced pressure sensor with an 8-bit microcontroller, 2-axis accelerometer, and radio frequency technology.
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5-Star Product: Double-stacked actuator for a variety of applications
Haydon Switch & Instrument has introduced the newest addition to its extensive hybrid motor line, the 35000 series (Size 14) double-stack hybrid linear actuators. These linear actuators occupy a minimal 1.4 in. (35 mm) square space and include numerous patented innovations that provide customers high performance, endurance, and new linear motion design opportunities in a small package.
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New Products
Electrical/Electronic
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Motion Control
View products … 		Special: Fluid Power
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Guides

Literature, guides, catalogs, and other great free stuff: Always more than 50 new resources

  • Free BEI Industrial Coders for Dummies —  BEI Industrial Encoders
  • Constant natural frequency mounts —
    • Advanced Antivibration Components
  • Self-guiding N10 belts with unique design —
    • SDP/SI

View guides …

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