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Engineer's Toolbox: How to design the optimum hinge

Although many pin styles are available, Coiled Spring Pins are particularly well suited for use in both friction- and free-fit hinges. To achieve optimum long-term hinge performance, designers should observe these helpful design guidelines from SPIROL.
Read the full article.

Innovative new robo welding gun

Comau's newest N-WG welding gun is designed for high-speed spot welding for traditional, hybrid, and electric vehicles, in addition to general industry sectors. It features a patented, single-body architecture that enables rapid reconfiguration between welding types and forces, and it delivers consistent performance across a broad range of applications, including steel and (soon) aluminum welding. It supports both X and C standard gun configurations, has fast arm exchange, and universal mounting options. It is fully compatible with major robot brands and represents a significant advancement in spot welding performance and cost efficiency.
Learn more.

What's a SLIC Pin^®? Pin and cotter all in one!

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.

Engineering challenge: Which 3D-printed parts will fade?

How does prolonged exposure to intense UV light impact 3D-printed plastics? Will they fade? This is what Xometry's Director of Application Engineering, Greg Paulsen, set to find out. In this video, Paulsen performs comprehensive tests on samples manufactured using various additive processes, including FDM, SLS, SLA, PolyJet, DLS, and LSPc, to determine their UV resistance. Very informative. Some results may surprise you.
View the video.

Copper filament for 3D printing

Virtual Foundry, the company that brought us 3D-printable lunar regolith simulant, says its popular Copper Filamet™ (not a typo) is "back in stock and ready for your next project." This material is compatible with any open-architecture FDM/FFF 3D printer. After sintering, final parts are 100% pure copper. Also available as pellets. The company says this is one of the easiest materials to print and sinter. New Porcelain Filamet™ available too.
Learn more and get all the specs.

Copper foam -- so many advantages

Copper foam from Goodfellow combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. A perennial favorite of Designfax readers.
Learn more.

Full-color 3D-printing Design Guide from Xometry

With Xometry's PolyJet 3D-printing service, you can order full-color 3D prints easily. Their no-cost design guide will help you learn about different aspects of 3D printing colorful parts, how to create and add color to your models, and best practices to keep in mind when printing in full color. Learn how to take full advantage of the 600,000 unique colors available in this flexible additive process.
Get the Xometry guide.

Tech Tip: How to create high-quality STL files for 3D prints

Have you ever 3D printed a part that had flat spots or faceted surfaces where smooth curves were supposed to be? You are not alone, and it's not your 3D printer's fault. According to Markforged, the culprit is likely a lack of resolution in the STL file used to create the part.
Read this detailed and informative Markforged blog.

Test your knowledge: High-temp adhesives

Put your knowledge to the test by trying to answer these key questions on how to choose the right high-temperature-resistant adhesive. The technical experts from Master Bond cover critical information necessary for the selection process, including questions on glass transition temperature and service temperature range. Some of the answers may surprise even the savviest of engineers.
Take the quiz.

Engineer's Toolbox: How to pin a shaft and hub assembly properly

One of the primary benefits of using a coiled spring pin to affix a hub or gear to a shaft is the coiled pin's ability to prevent hole damage. Another is the coiled pin absorbs wider hole tolerances than any other press-fit pin. This translates to lower total manufacturing costs of the assembly. However, there are a few design guidelines that must be adhered to in order to achieve the maximum strength of the pinned system and prevent damage to the assembly.
Read this very informative SPIROL article.

What's new in Creo Parametric 11.0?

Creo Parametric 11.0 is packed with productivity-enhancing updates, and sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest impact in your daily workflows. Mark Potrzebowski, Technical Training Engineer, Rand 3D, runs through the newest functionality -- from improved surface modeling tools to smarter file management and model tree navigation. Videos provide extra instruction.
Read the full article.

What's so special about wave springs?

Don't settle for ordinary springs. Opt for Rotor Clip wave springs. A wave spring is a type of flat wire compression spring characterized by its unique waveform-like structure. Unlike traditional coil springs, wave springs offer an innovative solution to complex engineering challenges, producing forces from bending, not torsion. Their standout feature lies in their ability to compress and expand efficiently while occupying up to 50% less axial space than traditional compression springs. Experience the difference Rotor Clip wave springs can make in your applications today!
View the video.

New Standard Parts Handbook from JW Winco

JW Winco's printed Standard Parts Handbook is a comprehensive 2,184-page reference that supports designers and engineers with the largest selection of standard parts categorized into three main groups: operating, clamping, and machine parts. More than 75,000 standard parts can be found in this valuable resource, including toggle clamps, shaft collars, concealed multiple-joint hinges, and hygienically designed components.
Get your Standard Parts Handbook today.

Looking to save space in your designs?

Watch Smalley's quick explainer video to see how engineer Frank improved his product designs by switching from traditional coil springs to compact, efficient wave springs. Tasked with making his products smaller while keeping costs down, Frank found wave springs were the perfect solution.
View the video.

Top die casting design tips

You can improve the design and cost of your die cast parts with these top tips from Xometry's Joel Schadegg. Topics include: Fillets and Radii, Wall Thicknesses, Ribs and Metal Savers, Holes and Windows, Parting Lines, and more. Follow these recommendations so you have the highest chance of success with your project.
Read the full Xometry article.

Drive-thru tent proves to be simpler, cheaper way to test heavy-duty truck emissions

University of Denver scientists have developed a new highway emissions test for trucks that is far more reliable and less costly than the present test. If used, it could save the trucking industry millions of dollars and ensure that truck emissions are measured accurately.

"We have invented a drive-thru Streamlined Heavy-duty Emissions Test (SHED) which measures all the pollutants of importance in mass emissions units -- the current government standard," says Donald Stedman, John Evans Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Denver. "The test allows the truck to simply accelerate in its normal way with its normal load."

Developed by researchers at the University of Denver, the new SHED test for truck emissions is more accurate and less costly.

 

 

The SHED technique measures realistic truck exhaust emissions in 20 sec or less -- and the truck does not even have to stop. The system basically places a 50-ft long tent roof over the roadway, which captures some of the exhaust. "Under the roof," says Stedman, "is a perforated sampling tube with suction provided by an in-line blower. The perforations are designed to accelerate the air sample down the tube at about the same speed as the truck accelerates under the roof."

The result is a measurement that is closely comparable to federal emissions standards.

That is an upgrade to existing testing practices in two ways. First, the current method tests only for how much or little light (opacity) a truck's exhaust lets in. This actually has little correlation with the government standard for pollution, which is measured in units of smoke mass. Oxides of nitrogen, an important part of diesel exhaust, are not measured at all.

Second, the test now in place is time-consuming, which drives up transportation costs. The truck must be pulled over and stopped with the engine idling. The tester mounts an opacity monitor on the hot exhaust pipe, then has the driver floor the accelerator to allow the motor to go to its maximum RPM. "This is something that never occurs under normal circumstances," Stedman says.

The SHED testing technique has undergone two successful tests. The first was done in collaboration with researchers at Texas A&M University. The second took place in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the latter test, more than 1,000 heavy-duty truck emissions were measured. The results were presented in April at the Coordinating Research Council On-Road Mobile Source Emissions Conference.

Stedman says that practical applications of the SHED test include "improved estimates of the impact of truck emissions on air quality and fast emission screening at selected drive-thru locations, such as weigh stations, transit terminals, and border crossings."

The SHED test could also help The United States fulfill an unmet part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he notes. NAFTA allows trucks from Mexico to deliver directly to destinations in the U.S. But in practice that doesn't happen, in part because of fears that the Mexican trucks might be more polluting than the better-regulated U.S. fleet.

"Border crossing loads now are emptied from one truck and refilled into another," says Stedman, "significantly increasing the cost and time of transportation."

Earlier work by Stedman and his University of Denver colleagues resulted in a technique that enabled an emissions test for cars that, by using remote sensing, could be carried out in about 1 sec as the car drove by. That resulted in on-road emission monitoring being made a part of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments, although that mandate has been more or less ignored, except in Colorado. In Colorado, almost 300,000 drivers each year get a postcard from Air Care Colorado stating that they have passed their emission test by means of remote sensing during the course of their normal driving and thus do not have to report for their biennial emission test.

Stedman is hopeful that his new truck test will take off nationwide as successfully as his car test has been accepted in Colorado.

Source: University of Denver/Newswise

Published May 2013

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