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Cool! New energy-efficient R290 enclosure air conditioners

Seifert Systems introduces PFAS-free SoliTherm^® SlimLine NEO air conditioners using eco-friendly R290 refrigerant. These units offer high energy efficiency (EER up to 3.6) and a compact, under-8-in. internal depth. Featuring maintenance-free design with external or recessed mounting options, they deliver up to 8,500 BTU/hr, providing flexible cooling solutions for varied industrial enclosure needs. Several models available based on size/cooling capacity needs.
Learn more and see all your options.

Surface inspection: From Army depot to factory floor

Born from U.S. Army requirements for rotorcraft inspection, the GelSight Modulus 3D surface measurement system has surpassed 100 units sold to commercial and Department of Defense customers. The handheld, micron-scale tool with interchangeable probe tips delivers fast, high-res measurements in places traditional tools can't reach.
Read the full article.

What is Cold Metal Fusion?

Cold Metal Fusion is an open industry standard for sinter-based metal additive manufacturing. It combines polymer SLS design freedom with reliable debinding and sintering workflows, enabling complex geometries, lightweighting, lattice structures, conformal cooling channels, and high-precision metal parts with predictable shrink behavior. Now available from TriMech Group, this process offers a faster, cost-effective way to produce strong, high-performance metal parts.
Learn more from TriMech Group.

Cool! Internal threading in hard materials now possible

INSACO has a new capability where they can machine an internal thread in ceramic, sapphire, quartz, and other very hard materials. This advance pushes the boundaries of what's possible to support advanced applications that demand high precision and complexity. Ultra-hard materials are alternatives for when metal can't do the job. Ideal for aerospace, medical, and industrial applications.
Learn more. Video available on right side of page.

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 newer 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. ClampDisk eliminates over-installation, cross-threading, stripped screw heads, broken screws, and damaged product. This fastener can be removed easily with a sharp-edged tool.
See how ClampDisk works.

Simplify appliance glass assembly

Henkel's Technomelt PUR 9015 BV/WV is a polyurethane hotmelt adhesive providing high initial strength and long-term durability for glass and large-panel appliance assembly. It enables immediate handling, excellent substrate adhesion, and high thermal resistance, while supporting automated, cost-efficient production. It offers a flexible solution for high-reliability manufacturing.
Learn more.

Made-to-order stamped components for insert molding

Traditionally, OEMs source metal inserts and insert molding services separately. Not anymore. Plastics manufacturers and injection molders are now taking on more of the sourcing responsibility for insert molded parts, and they are partnering with Boker's, who has a long-term proven record for delivering precision stampings with quick turnaround times and ensuring metal inserts are mold-ready upon delivery. Boker's has immediate access to over 2,000 commonly specified and hard-to-find materials.
Learn more.

SDP/SI Shaftloc Fastening System

Shaftloc is a unique, reusable locking device for securely mounting mechanical components like gears and sprockets onto shafts without the need for keyways, set screws, or adhesives. Its simple, two-piece design offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional fasteners, providing high clamping force and vibration resistance. Installed with standard tools, Shaftloc is perfect for designers seeking flexible, hubless mounting solutions. Available in four styles.
Learn more from SDP/SI.

Epoxy engineered for heat-sink bonding

Master Bond EP54TC is a two-component epoxy engineered for heat-sink bonding and thermal management applications. Featuring the highest thermal conductivity in the Master Bond electrically insulating portfolio, it delivers exceptional heat dissipation while remaining electrically non-conductive and compliant with ASTM E595 NASA low outgassing requirements. It supports thin bond lines and efficient void filling to maximize thermal performance.
Learn more.

Metal 3D printing: Right at your desktop

From prototyping to tooling or batch production of end-use parts, the Studio System 2 from Desktop Metal brings metal 3D printing to any office, studio, or lab setting. This powder- and laser-free system consists of an easy-to-adopt two-step process: print using pre-bound metal rod feedstock and then sinter. It requires minimal training and operator intervention. Combined with next-gen Separable Supports and a software-controlled workflow, the Studio System makes metal 3D printing simpler than ever. This platform offers more materials than any other metal extrusion 3D-printing system on the market, including Inconel 625, titanium (Ti64), copper, tool steels, and stainless steels.
View the video and learn more.

Metal 3D printing: EOS adds four new materials

Industrial 3D-printing supplier EOS has added four new metal additive manufacturing materials to its portfolio: an iron-nickel alloy that boasts stability under fluctuating temps, a nickel alloy with high strength and extreme corrosion resistance, a low-alloyed steel prized for its high toughness and strength, and an industrial-grade stainless steel. Each has been optimized for EOS Laser Powder Bed Fusion systems.
Get all the details.

Application Note: Disc springs in mechanical braking system

Braking systems for off-highway equipment are commonly designed to be hydraulically actuated, but without an additional fail-safe system, this design alone has limited reliability. If a hydraulic seal is compromised, or the hydraulic cylinder loses pressure for any reason, the brakes fail. One solid mechanical back-up design uses SPIROL disc springs.
Read the full article.

Configurable welding platform for flexible manufacturing

Emerson's new Branson Polaris Ultrasonic Welding Platform offers a highly configurable, smart solution for advanced manufacturing. It features secure connectivity and real-time control to join diverse materials, from medical devices to food packaging. With adaptable power supplies and actuators, the system scales from benchtop lab trials to fully automated production lines, optimizing footprint and data storage to meet complex application needs.
Learn more.

SPIROL receives 2025 Supplier Excellence Recognition Award from Caterpillar

Kudos to SPIROL! The engineered fasteners manufacturer has received the 2025 Supplier Excellence Recognition Award from Caterpillar Inc. This prestigious award recognizes suppliers who demonstrate world-class performance and a sustained commitment to quality, delivery, and operational excellence.
Read the full article.

Eliminate cotters, bolts, nuts with SLIC Pin^®

The SLIC Pin (Self-Locking Implanted Cotter Pin) from Pivot Point is a pin and cotter all in one. This one-piece locking clevis pin is cost saving, fast, and secure. It functions as a quick locking pin wherever you need a fast-lock function. It features a spring-loaded plunger that functions as an easy insertion ramp. This revolutionary fastening pin is very popular and used successfully in a wide range of applications.
Learn more.

DOD looks to establish 'mine-to-magnet' supply chain -- one F-35 fighter jet requires 900 lb of rare earth materials

By C. Todd Lopez, U.S. Department of Defense

The Defense Department (DOD) has, in recent months, advanced its goal of developing domestic supply chains to ensure continued access to the rare earth materials needed to manufacture the permanent magnets used in important U.S. military weapons systems. 

"DOD's recently published National Defense Industrial Strategy will guide the creation of a modernized defense industrial ecosystem," said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy. Taylor-Kale has a doctorate in management science and engineering with a specialization in organizations, technology, and entrepreneurship from Stanford University's School of Engineering.

"Resilient supply chains are essential to this goal. The U.S. can no longer afford to rely on overseas, single points of failure for critical components," Taylor-Kale added.

Metal shavings stand vertically atop a rare earth magnet. [Photo: C. Todd Lopez, DOD]

 

 

Rare earth permanent magnets are not only essential components in a range of defense capabilities, including the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, Virginia and Columbia class submarines, and unmanned aerial vehicles, but also a critical part of commercial applications in the United States. They are also used to generate electricity for electronic systems in aircraft and focus microwave energy in radar systems. 

Since 2020, DOD has awarded more than $439 million to establish domestic rare earth element supply chains. This includes separating and refining rare earth elements mined in the U.S., as well as developing downstream stateside processes needed to convert those refined materials into metals and then magnets. 

"DOD's strategic investments are building capability at multiple stages of the rare earth supply chain and will provide a clear signal to private capital that the time is right to build additional resiliency," said Danielle Miller, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience. "We are on track to meet our goal of a sustainable, mine-to-magnet supply chain capable of supporting all U.S. defense requirements by 2027." 

In addition to the F-35 and Virginia and Columbia class submarines, magnets produced from rare earth elements are used in systems such as Tomahawk missiles, a variety of radar systems, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs. The F-35, for instance, requires more than 900 pounds of rare earth elements. Each Arleigh Burke DDG-51 destroyer requires 5,200 lb, and a Virginia class submarine needs 9,200 lb.

Rare earth elements are also used in other ways that don't involve magnets. Vehicle-mounted laser range finders, such as those found on Abrams M1A1/2 tanks, make use of rare earth elements, as do their portable counterparts and target designators. Also making use of rare earth elements are fiber optics communication systems, cerium-polished optical lenses, and sonic transducers used in submarine sonar systems. 

There are 17 elements on the periodic table referred to as "rare earth" elements. While DOD needs nearly all of them in some capacity, three are used to make the permanent magnets that are critical to so many defense systems. 

Continued U.S. reliance on foreign sources for rare earth products poses a risk to national security. The U.S. and most of the world depends on China for many rare earth elements.

Through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Program directorate has embarked on a five-year rare earth investment strategy to build "mine-to-magnet" domestic capacity at all critical nodes of the rare earth supply chain. Those critical nodes include sourcing, separation, processing, metallization, alloying, and magnet manufacturing. 

The first of those critical nodes, the sourcing of rare earth elements, means mining rare earth elements out of the ground. Today in the U.S., there is only one rare earth mine currently active and selling to the commercial market.

Separation includes a series of processes that take out extractable rare earth elements from other elements and compounds in the mineral rock. Processing involves concentrating separated rare earth elements and then chemically treating them to produce high-purity rare earth oxides or rare earth salts. The metallization step transforms rare earth salts into rare earth metals. Depending on the application, those metals can be combined with various alloying elements to produce a variety of rare earth alloys. 

Finally, rare earth magnets are typically produced from alloys that are sintered, or bonded, into magnet block and then cut and coated according to specification. 

It's important that all those critical nodes happen inside the U.S. so the Defense Department can have a secure supply of the rare earth materials and rare earth magnets it needs. 

Projects underway have already helped the U.S. establish growing capacity in rare earth element separation and processing, as well as magnet manufacturing.

Among the U.S.-based companies involved in DOD's "mine-to-magnets" initiative is MP Materials, which is headquartered in Nevada. With $45 million in support from MCEIP awards, MP Materials established the only integrated rare earth mine and oxide production facility in the U.S. The company is expected to continue to add capacity for additional oxide products through 2025, when they are projected to reach full-scale production. 

Right now, domestic and partner demand for rare earth materials outpaces the production of any single partner nation. To build resiliency in these critical, early stages of the supply chain, Lynas USA, LLC was awarded a combined $288 million in MCEIP funding to establish a second domestic, commercial-scale oxide production capability by 2026. 

MCEIP has also invested $10 million to explore the development of extraction technology and alternative sources of rare earth minerals from coal ash, acid mine drainage, and other waste streams.

Noveon Magnetics has established a rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in San Marcos, TX, with a $28.8 million award from MCEIP. The company produces qualified magnets from extracted or recycled material for both defense and commercial applications. 

An additional award of $2.3 million from MCEIP has also helped TDA Magnetics to demonstrate a capability to source, produce, and sell qualified magnets into DOD supply chains. 

Finally, with a $94.1 million award, E-VAC Magnetics will establish a commercial-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing capability by 2025. As part of this project, E-VAC will also develop domestic capacity to produce rare earth metals and alloys, a critical node of the supply chain linking early-stage rare earth processing to magnet production. 

These awards from the Defense Department are expected to help develop the domestic market for magnet production to serve both defense and commercial markets. 

Future MCEIP investments are expected to focus on closing remaining supply chain gaps and promoting integration among the tiers. DOD expects its support of these emerging capabilities will attract additional investment in rare earths from both defense and commercial manufacturers. With these additional investments, DOD will be able to meet its future demand for magnets without overseas dependencies.

Published April 2024

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