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Advanced tips for CNC designs and drawings: On-demand webinar

Greg Paulsen and Steve Zimmerman from Xometry present a comprehensive understanding of CNC design principles, what features are considered common, and what can drive costs. The experts also go through guidance to make great technical drawings to communicate design intent to manufacturers. Lots of good info here. Flip through now and take it all in later when you have the time.
View the video. No registration required.

Get a 24-piece bearings sample box from igus

igus has a new and improved 24-piece iglide^® sample box that engineers can request and receive gratis. All iglide components are self-lubricating, resistant to dirt and dust, and offer low rates of wear. The sample box contains bearings, gears, piston rings, and more, and includes many of the most widely used iglide materials. Nothing like having the materials in hand to really check them out.
Learn more.

Couplings provide stable control in challenging stepper/servo motor applications

Zero-Max's ServoClass-HSN Couplings address noise and vibration issues that can be experienced in high-gain, high-speed stepper/servo motor applications such as linear actuators, high-response gantry systems, pick-and-place systems, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Featuring a Highly Saturated Nitrile Rubber (HSN/HNBR) flex element, these couplings are specifically designed for maximum damping and performance. They incorporate the field-proven ServoClass clamping hub system and have a zero-backlash design.
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New infinitely reconfigurable and reusable mold tech

UK-based company Fyous is launching the world's first infinitely reusable molding technology that can shapeshift in under 20 minutes, producing zero tooling waste and making usable parts 14 times faster than 3D printing. Sort of like a kid's pin art toy, Fyous' PolyMorphic molding can be set, used, and then reset to help create parts from carbon fiber, polyurethane, PET sheet (thermoformed), foods like chocolate, and more.
Read the full article.

New disk-type flexible couplings

Stock Drive Products/ Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) has expanded their selection of flexible couplings to include the single disk-type couplings (short-type) series S50XHSM and the double disk-type couplings (standard length-type) series S50XHWM. The disk-type flexible couplings are an economical option that provides greater torque capability and improved performance in a reduced size, with torque ratings of 0.6 up to 12 Nm -- an improvement over similar products.
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What is a Heatric Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger?

According to Parker Hannifin, "A Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger is a robust, corrosion-resistant, high-integrity plate-type heat exchanger manufactured using diffusion bonding." Learn about the technology and why Heatric, a Parker brand, "can manufacture a unit up to 85% smaller and lighter than traditional technologies such as shell and tube heat exchangers."
Read this informative Parker blog.

Top Product: 3M Friction Shims -- Why have more than 300 million been sold?

3M Friction Shims are small, thin steel shims with a big impact. They can increase maximum load and peak torque in bolted connections without additional fasteners or redesigns. What else makes them so popular -- and so useful?
Read the full article.

Big news from Smalley! New online store

Smalley's customers for the highest-quality retaining rings and wave springs now have a new procurement option: the Smalley online store. This new service channel is a first for the renowned rings and springs provider. After creating an account, approved users gain access to: convenient 24/7 online ordering that includes more than 11,000 standard parts, real-time product pricing, easy reordering with saved history and wish lists, and a quick checkout. No more waiting for an RFQ response to purchase!
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New robotic parts feeding system claims to be a game changer

TM Robotics has launched a revolutionary new robotic feeding system called Infinifeed™ to the North American market. Powered by Shibaura Machine's advanced THE series of industrial robots, the Infinifeed is an automated feeding system that addresses the common challenges of parts feeding and sorting. Designed by DOMA Automation and integrated by Tera Automation, Infinifeed uses a unique parallel belt conveyor system with opposing motion. This innovative design, equipped with diverters and a 2D vision system, ensures seamless part feeding and sorting.
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V-Conform O-ring Belts -- the Ultra-Drive Belts

V-Conform™ Reinforced O-ring Belts from Dura-Belt are bi-modulus (rubber reinforced with elastic stretchy nylon), so they provide greater tension than solid polyurethane belts. These belts have soft, tiny ribs that conform to standard 3/16-in. roller grooves, so they can replace round elastic belts while maintaining grip and tension. Lots of benefits, including: energy savings, motorized drive roller (MDR) protection, bearing and shaft hole wear prevention, and more.
Learn more.

EXAIR's new AR Mobile App enhances user experience

The new EXAIR AR Mobile App provides users with a handy compressed air reference tool for over 570 different EXAIR products. The app expedites the solution-finding process by allowing users to select their specific sizes and performance requirements, place a 3D version of the product in their actual workspace using Augmented Reality, and navigate to a page to purchase -- all from their mobile device. The app includes a library of conversion calculators. Available in both the Apple and Google Play Stores.
Learn more.

ClampDisk micro fastener is new alternative for automotive and consumer electronics

Designed as a unique alternative in assemblies for the automotive and consumer electronics markets, the ClampDisk Press-on Fastener is a new offering from PennEngineering that delivers a fast, simple way to achieve sheet-to-sheet clamped fastening while replacing the use of standard screws, nuts, and adhesives. The most common challenges that can be eliminated or reduced by using ClampDisk include over installation, cross threading, stripped screw heads, broken screws, and damaged product. This fastener can be removed easily with a sharp-edged tool.
Learn more and see how ClampDisk works.

New laser welder automates assembly of small plastic parts

Emerson's new Branson GLX-1 Laser Welder offers users flexibility to meet the growing demand for joining small, complex, or delicate plastic components and assemblies. Its compact footprint and modular design make it compatible for use in ISO-8 cleanroom environments, while an integral automation controller simplifies installation and interfaces with production robotics. The precise, servo-based actuation controls allow for greater freedom to design and join components with three-dimensional contours in small-part applications for the medical, electronics, automotive, and appliance industries.
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Slip clutch real-world applications

When design engineers think about slip clutches, they first think of using them for overload protection. While this is certainly a valuable application, there are a surprising number of other applications that solve many engineering problems. See real-world applications of Polyclutch slip clutches, from conveyors and military robots to vending machines, printers, and more. There's a good Selection Guide here too.
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Precision profile rolled steel products

Need steel products with a special edge? NIPPON KINZOKU CO. of Japan offers its Fine Profile cold-rolled technology that produces metal pieces with irregularly shaped cross-sections of different thicknesses. By rolling the uneven pattern on the roll surface, it is possible to process various designs and functions such as unique designs, oil grooves, gloss prevention, identification grooves, etc. Final products can be delivered in a variety of forms such as record rolls, oscillate rolls, fixed-length products, and secondary processing. An interesting alternative to machining processes such as cutting and grinding.
Learn more.

Air Force X-ray vision tool projected to save millions and reduce time for 3D-printed parts qualification -- 'Won't ever reduce the defects to zero,' though

By Mary Pacinda, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, in partnership with the Materials Solutions Network at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source of Cornell University, has developed a tool that can look directly inside of -- and instantaneously inspect -- the structure of composite components while they are being manufactured.

This new technology uses a combination of phase contrast imaging and micro-beam scanning to produce real-time X-ray scattering images of the component during and post production. The process is expected to save the Air Force millions of dollars in qualification and certification of composite parts used in advanced unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite systems.

"Imagine having Superman's X-ray vision," said Dr. Hilmar Koerner, research lead of the Polymer Matrix Composites, Materials, and Processes Research Team of AFRL's Structural Materials Division. "You could go to a manufacturing floor and be able to see through parts and see defects 'on the fly,' while they are being produced. If you could see the defect, you could pull the part out of production before it actually gets in a system and causes the system to fail, or (you can) adjust the processing parameters to correct for it."

In routine manufacturing, a quality-control inspector currently has to wait until a part is completely formed to examine it and see if it has defects. This new technology allows the continuous inspection of a critical part while it is being created, looking for voids or inconsistencies in the material as the part takes shape, in particular during an additive manufacturing process.

Although still in its infancy, additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) is expected to change the way machined parts will be made in the near future, a change that is under way even now. Instead of being made by processes like stamping, forging, welding, or hand lay-up, parts such as wings for drones will be "printed." That is, they will be built up layer by layer from molten material forced through nozzles. Those layers eventually stack up and form a pattern that takes the shape of the desired aircraft component.

"Right now, what we can look at is on a small scale," Koerner said when asked how big an area of a component can currently be inspected with phase contrast imaging (also called radiography). "We have a window of a few millimeters by a few millimeters (in which) we can see defects right away. It's not instant yet, but it is a huge step toward instant. It takes us a few minutes to a half an hour to see what's going on and see how well the carbon fibers are aligned in a 3D-printed composite.

"Five to ten years ago when we did these experiments, it would take as long as six months to analyze the X-ray image data. Now it takes less than an hour," he said.

For this process, Koerner's team uses X-rays that cannot be used on the manufacturing floor. "We are using X-rays a million times stronger than what are used in a doctor's office," he said.

The team is conducting its experiments at a test facility at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, which produces the high-intensity, high-energy X-ray beams. The experiments are carried out inside a hutch with thick, lead-shielded walls.

"You cannot be in the hutch when the experiment is being run," Koerner said. "The X-rays being used are so strong you could look through someone quite literally within a second. You can watch it happen that fast in real time. It's not like when a doctor takes an X-ray exposure and spends time developing it. Here we have real-time images on a monitor. The X-ray beam comes in, hits the sample (as it's being built up layer by layer), and creates an image behind it within fractions of a second."

To take advantage of this kind of intimate inspection, an extrusion-based 3D printer is mounted in the path of the X-ray beam. "As layer by layer (of material) builds up the part, we can watch the structure and any defects in real time as it's printed," said Koerner.

Once the part has been printed, another inspection technique uses a micro-beam (a very narrow X-ray beam, 1 to 5 microns in diameter) to scan across the sample. This process takes longer, about two to three hours. "You then stitch all the images together into a map," Koerner explained. "The map of data from more than a quarter-million images tells you everything about the sample down to the nanometer scale (a millionth of the thickness of a human hair). So now you know everything about your part, starting from the actual printing to the final part, including nanoparticle alignment."

According to Koerner, one inherent problem in 3D printing is consistency from part to part. "3D printing is basically creating a part with defects," he said. "We won't ever reduce the defects to zero."

So, the challenge becomes not to eliminate defects, but to print each part with the same defects all the time. "You want to make sure the defects are always in the same place so the performance (of the part) is predictable," Koerner said.

The X-ray inspection sees those "consistent" defects, but more importantly, it also spots unexpected defects like voids. "That's one of the goals," Koerner said. When a new defect suddenly appears, the team knows that something has gone wrong and something needs to be fixed. "The angle of the nozzle may need to be changed to get rid of gaps. Or we may have to change the nozzle design or the printing parameters."

AFRL invested about $7 million to build two X-ray beamlines at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source in 2019. "The goal of these two beamlines," Koerner said, "is to work with our industrial partners to solve Defense Department challenges to create composites faster, stronger, and better."

The money invested also supports the staff that runs the two beamlines. Having a staff of experts onsite means the companies that are using the facility don't have to provide their own expertise.

Published May 2021

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