Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

High-capacity benchtop video measurement system

Optical Gaging Products has introduced the SmartScope^® E18, a compact, benchtop video measurement system. Featuring a 12" x 12" stage, IntelliCentric™-E fixed-lens optics, and VIRTUAL ZOOM™ technology, it offers fully automatic 3-axis performance without taking up floor space. Standard LED lighting, a rigid fixed-bridge design, optional touch probes, and advanced metrology software ensure accurate, repeatable inspection.
Learn more.

Tech Tip: Fan selection - Why airflow is not just CFM

For many engineers, fan selection starts and ends with a single number: CFM (cubic feet per minute). Higher CFM feels like a clear win. More air moved must mean better cooling. However, in practice, this assumption is one of the most common causes of thermal problems, excess noise, and late-stage redesigns. Find out why.
Read this Orion Fans technical article.

Useful! Snap-together LED enclosure lighting

Seifert StripLite SL 4000 Series LED enclosure lighting provides bright illumination to 700 lumens. On/off switch and motion sensor models are available. Easily daisy chain up to 16 light strips. Magnetic or clip mounting. See video/info on website or contact Bristol Instruments for more information.
Learn about snap-together lighting.

The hidden hardware helping AI's heat problem: PCHEs

Across AI infrastructure, thermal constraints now connect semiconductor design with power and cooling systems. More compact, lighter, and efficient than conventional shell-and-tube models, printed circuit heat exchangers save floor space, reduce energy costs, and improve overall efficiency in dense, hyperscale environments.
Read the full article.

Nearly 1,000 parts: Industrial enclosure range expanded

Altech Corp. has expanded its industrial enclosure lineup to 10 unique series with nearly 1,000 parts! Designed for control, junction, and terminal applications, these plastic and aluminum housings offer up to IP69 protection. They mount directly to walls or panels, resisting chemicals, corrosion, flames, impacts, and severe outdoor conditions without sacrificing aesthetics.
Find your perfect enclosure today.

Cool Tools: MetraSCAN BLACK2 -- Next-gen shop-floor 3D inspection

You'll gain some superhero powers when you brandish FARO CREAFORM's new MetraSCAN BLACK2, a next-gen portable metrology-grade optical 3D scanner engineered to deliver total inspection flexibility on the shop floor. This unit boasts a 3-in-1 architecture that combines C-Track scanning, stand-alone scanning, and probing in a single metrology-grade system.
Read the full article.

Compact, touchless position sensors: Wear-free operation in tight spaces

Novotechnik's TFD-4000 Series of touchless linear position sensors delivers wear-free measurement in tight spaces. Featuring ranges up to 50 mm, IP67 protection, 12-bit resolution, and analog outputs, these reliable sensors operate from -40 C to 125 C across diverse industrial, mobile, and medical applications such as short-stroke linear valve positioning, solenoid valves, off-highway brake actuation, and more.
Learn more.

World's first 10-m safety laser scanner: See farther, protect more

Datasensing, Datalogic's Sensor & Safety and Machine Vision business unit, has launched the SLS10 Safety Laser Scanner, the world's first 10-meter safety laser scanner. Delivering a 275-degree scanning angle, 240-m² of coverage, and an 84-msec response time, the SLS10 protects larger workspaces with fewer devices. It features best-in-class angular resolution for precise AGV navigation, SIL-2/PLd compliance, dust immunity, and the new ONEGUI platform for simplified configuration.
Learn more and see it in action.

Accelerate AI-driven machine vision systems

BitFlow has announced full production of its Claxon CXP-12 frame grabbers, designed for NVIDIA GPU-accelerated machine vision. Across five models, the CoaXPress 2.0 lineup delivers up to 50 Gbps -- five times 10 GigE Vision -- eliminating data bottlenecks. The full CXP-12 specification ensures deterministic, high-bandwidth streaming to unleash modern AI inference models.
Learn more.

Millimeter-wave imaging inspection in real time

With its new quality and inspection R&S IMAGER millimeter-wave scanner, Rohde & Schwarz aims to simplify the industrial inspection of packaged products. The system sees through common packaging materials at production speed without using X-rays, protecting both products and operators. The high-contrast 3D images are used as digital twins and can be automatically integrated into AI-powered fault-detection systems. Sees through plastics, cardboard, and composites. Applications include food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, logistics.
Learn more.

What are single-loop process controllers?

PLCs are powerful, but complex control isn't always necessary. For standalone processes requiring single-variable monitoring -- like temperature, pressure, or flow -- a single-loop controller is ideal. See how single-loop controllers can streamline your next project.
Read the AutomationDirect tech tip.

Great Resources: Flexible circuit design guide

Tech-Etch uses advanced techniques to manufacture flex and rigid-flex circuits to exacting customer specs. Special processes include selective plating a single circuit with two different finishes, contoured circuits with variable metal thickness, semi-additive and subtractive techniques, open window or cantilevered contact leads, plus SMT for component assembly. Tech-Etch specializes in flexible circuits for medical, telecommunications, aerospace, semiconductor, and other high-reliability electronic applications.
Learn about flex circuits and get the guide (no registration required).

EMI Investigations: New immunity development system

Saelig Company announces the Langer E1 Immunity Development System for EMI investigations. This compact, affordable kit simulates burst and ESD interference to pinpoint layout weak spots down to IC pins. By eliminating "black box" guesswork early in development, engineers can efficiently identify coupling mechanisms, test measures, and resolve immunity issues before compliance failure.
Learn more and see it in action.

Battery packs for unmanned aerial vehicles

Re:Build Manufacturing has launched U.S.-assembled, NDAA-compliant lithium-ion battery packs for commercial, public safety, and defense UAV applications. Available in Core, Power, and Performance series, the packs use non-FEOC cells and are produced at Re:Build's advanced facility in New Kensington, PA. Re:Build also offers custom pack and battery management system development.
Learn more.

Easy-to-use precision measurement system

Optical Gaging Products has announced the StarLite S1, a compact, semi-automatic 3-axis video measurement system. It combines fully automatic video measurements with manual stage motion and features an IntelliCentric-S optical system for high-resolution images. Powered by Measure-X software, this system delivers fast, repeatable, high-accuracy results, making it ideal for both shop-floor and quality-control applications.
Learn more.

'Incredibly resilient' nylon device creates electricity under tons of pressure

PhD researcher Robert Komljenovic holding the flexible nylon-film energy-harvesting device developed at RMIT University. [Credit: Photo by Will Wright/Courtesy of RMIT University]

 

 

Researchers at RMIT University in Australia have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads and other electronic devices.

Certain materials -- such as quartz, some ceramics, and even bone -- produce an electrical charge when they are squeezed, pressed, or vibrated. This is piezoelectricity, coming from the Greek "piezein," meaning to press.

Modern vehicles rely on piezo components in fuel injectors, parking sensors, airbag systems, and other functions. The team's nylon innovation could provide a more durable alternative material for such components or support new technologies for traffic-management sensing on roads.

The breakthrough tackles a long-standing problem with energy-harvesting plastics, which can produce power from movement but are often too fragile for real-world use, while also reducing carbon emissions by using ambient energy naturally present in movement and pressure.

By using sound vibrations and electrical fields to reengineer the material at a molecular level, the team turned a tough industrial nylon into a resilient power-generating film suited to wearables, infrastructure, and smart surfaces.

The team, led by Distinguished Professor Leslie Yeo and Dr. Amgad Rezk, used high-frequency sound vibrations while applying an electric field as the nylon solidified, helping its molecules form a more ordered structure. This technique enabled the nylon device to generate electricity each time it was bent, squeezed, or tapped.

Nylon by itself does not convert movement into electricity efficiently, limiting its potential in powering everyday devices.

The team used a durable industrial plastic called nylon-11 that, unlike common nylons, can generate electricity from pressure when its molecules are carefully aligned.

Yeo said the team found a simple way to transform nylon into an energy generator that was "incredibly resilient."

"This method could power next-generation devices that need to survive real-world stresses -- whether that's wearable tech, sensors, or smart surfaces," said Yeo from the School of Engineering.

Dr. Amgad Rezk said the process offered significant advantages for industry, with an energy-efficient and scalable approach. "We're excited to see where prospective industry partners could take this technology, from flexible electronics to sports equipment," he said.

First author and RMIT PhD researcher Robert Komljenovic said the nylon films were flexible, tough, and reliable, maintaining their ability to turn movement into power. "Our nylon devices can harvest energy simply from compression during motion," Komljenovic said. "The thin-film devices are so robust, you can fold them, stretch them, even run a car over them -- and they keep making power. This could mean new ways to charge small devices using compression from the movement of people, machines, or vehicles."

The researchers plan to scale up the technology for larger applications and are exploring partnerships with industry to bring this innovation to market. Organizations interested in developing new products or collaborating further should contact RMIT at research.partnerships@rmit.edu.au.

The paper, "Electroacoustic alignment of robust and highly piezoelectric nylon-11 films," is published in Nature Communications.

The researchers stated in this paper, "We show that the material produces a piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g₃₃ = 427 × 10^-3 Vm N^-1) that surpasses the performance of all piezoelectric polymers reported to date. The film's exceptional mechanical resilience is evident from its stable performance over 20,000 compression cycles at 50 N and its ability to withstand vehicular loads."

Source: RMIT University

Published February 2026

Rate this article