News

U.S. Army eyes micro-battery with 30-plus year shelf life

First all-composite Humvee-like military vehicle saves weight, but can it save lives?

TRW Automotive to launch belt drive electrically powered steering in North America and Europe

Rotating machinery software delivers radical new design productivity for motor generator manufacturers

High-pressure pneumatic guillotine for aerospace is latest Marotta Controls offering

Stratasys increases throughput up to 50% for FDM rapid prototyping and manufacturing

Got plans for that big end-of-year bonus? How about one-tenth of a Bentley?

Dethroning the internal combustion engine not so easy
Imagine a vehicle that runs on hydrogen or biofuels and offers the same features, performance, and price as today's gasoline vehicle. Will it capture half the market? Not likely, concludes a new MIT analysis. Not even if it's three times more fuel-efficient. Among the barriers: Until many alternative fuel (AF) vehicles are on the road, people won't consider buying one — so there won't be many on the road. Catch-22. The researchers' conclusions are not all gloomy, though.
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Engineers … start your motors! MicroMo Electronics, Inc. introduces a Microsystems Starter Kit with Synchronous Drive Systems. This new kit contains drive electronics, an adaptor board, and a motor. The kit was developed to allow a design engineer to quickly and easily get started with a MicroMo miniature synchronous motor. For more information visit MicroMo Electronics, Inc.

Beyond batteries: Storing power in a sheet of paper
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new energy storage device that can be printed like paper. The nanoengineered battery is lightweight, ultra thin, completely flexible, and geared toward meeting the trickiest design and energy requirements of tomorrow's gadgets, implantable medical equipment, and transportation vehicles. The device is also unique in that it can function as both a high-energy battery and a high-power supercapacitor.
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Next-gen compression engine technology receives new patents Sanderson Engine Development Company recently announced the receipt of three new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering a highly innovative piston assembly, an associated piston connecting joint, and a variable compression ratio mechanism — all core components of the Sanderson Rocker Arm Mechanism (SRAM) invented by Robert and Albert Sanderson. The engine combines novel technologies that allow direct conversion between reciprocating and rotational motion without the use of a conventional crankshaft. The result is an internal combustion engine for vehicles that is much simpler and more fuel-efficient than conventional piston engines, according to the design's creators. Read the full article Electric Replacement for Hydraulics! Exlar's electric linear actuators deliver the force of hydraulics and the speed of pneumatics. The patented roller screw technology offers peak forces in excess of 40,000 lbf., speeds to 60 in/sec, and stroke lengths to 96 inches, all with the ease and reliability of servo control. Visit Exlar online for more information.

God Particle's super collider secured by Superbolt
When CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is switched on next spring underground in Switzerland, there's no telling exactly what's going to happen. Physics theories range from the innocuous study of some of the Standard Model's less obvious facets, to the creation of stable black holes and the end of the universe. But Timken Steel and Superbolt know one thing: the collider's endcaps won't fall apart.
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Armor: It does a body good
What really made Clark Kent so admirable to us, and dangerous to super-villains? The freak was bulletproof. In a very real sense, we want to be just as indestructible. In response, engineers are finding new and ingenious ways of protecting the flesh through ceramics, woven fibers, and even biologically produced materials like spider silk.
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A spin down memory lane: Mazda's rotary engine celebrates 40th anniversary
On May 30, 1967, Mazda launched the world's first twin-rotor rotary engine car, the Mazda Cosmo Sport. Forty years to the day later, the company celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Mazda rotary engine and the production of nearly 2 million rotary engine-powered vehicles. "From humble beginnings in the 1950s to a very bright hydrogen-fueled future, the rotary engine represents Mazda as a company that follows the road less traveled, and makes its own successes where others have failed," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations.
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CNC MACHINED PLASTIC PARTS — FAST First Cut Prototype CNC machines low volumes of parts from solid blocks of real plastic in 1-3 business days. We are an alternative to additive rapid prototyping technologies when you need better material properties, improved surface finishes, and better dimensional properties. Upload your 3D CAD model and receive an On-line quote at First Cut.

3D solar cells boost efficiency, reduce size
Unique three-dimensional solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight, and mechanical complexity, according to Georgia Tech researchers. The new 3D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature "tower" structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid. The cells could find near-term applications for powering spacecraft, and by enabling efficiency improvements in photovoltaic coating materials, could also change the way solar cells are designed for a broad range of applications.
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Totally tubular motors: Tomorrow's automation technology … today
Of all three motor types, tubular motors are best equipped for mainstream industrial usage. This article explains why. It discusses tubular motor designs, installation ease, flexibility, and performance. It also discusses direct-drive linear actuators, in which the Thrust Rod, rather than the Forcer, is the moving component.
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Most Requested Resources

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

• Press force assembly and signature analysis modules — Cincinnati Test Systems
• Comprehensive servo gearhead catalog —
Neugart USA
• Fluid power motion control design guide —
Delta Computer Systems

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