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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.

New 'intelligent' wind turbine has a rotor as big as the London Eye

By GE Reports

How tall is a wind turbine? The rotor of the latest GE wind turbine sweeps a circle the size of the London Eye, the giant Ferris Wheel that looms across the River Thames over the Big Ben.

In fact, the turbine is so large that engineers had to find a way to compensate for the difference in wind speed between the top and the bottom blade.

Blade of glory: This giant blade, 57.8 m long (189 ft), will be part of the new turbine's rotor.

 

 

"When the top tip is 650 feet high, the bottom blade is 25 stories below," says Vic Abate, vice president of GE's renewable energy business. "The pitch of the blades keeps changing as they rotate. Think about it like sails on a sailboat. The fuel is free and you take this fuel and you concentrate it so that machine can produce more power more often."

But the new turbine, which GE calls 2.5-120 (that's for 2.5 megawatts in output and 120 m in rotor diameter), is not just big. It's also got a brain that can be plugged into the Industrial Internet, the global data network that knits together machines, people, and powerful analytics. "The turbine is the sensor, and we have turbines talking to turbines," Abate says. "We are able to optimize the power output of a wind farm and make it more predictable and reliable." That's exactly what utilities and grid operators want.

Like a flock of birds, the turbines can talk to other turbines and even other wind farms, and compare data about wind speed and direction over a large geographical area. "We have advanced forecasting algorithms that give us power output predictions based on the data they are receiving," Abate says. "With this technology you are able to say, I am going to give you 70 megawatts over the next 15 minutes and with 99 percent accuracy."

Abate's team is using engineers who worked on the Joint Strike Fighter engine to calibrate the algorithms with the machinery. "The simplest way to think of that is like anti-lock brakes," he says. "They allow you to stop in controlled shorter distance. It's the same thing. By controlling how we slow these turbines in a controlled fashion, we minimize the loads, which enables us to get the bigger rotor."

The turbines are also connected to batteries that can mop up excess power and release it when wind slows down. "It's predictable power," Abate says. "When you get little more wind than you need, you can store the power in the batteries. When the wind comes in a little short than you thought, you can use the batteries. It gives you a stable output. With just a small amount of storage, I can integrate hundreds of megawatts of wind power into the grid seamlessly."

Engineers like Keith Longtin, general manager for wind products at GE, say that a wind farm populated with the new turbines will generate 150,000 data points for analysis every second. The data feed algorithms that allow the turbines to operate at a record 45 percent of its full capacity factor over a year in 7 m/sec (about 15 mph) wind regimes. "This means that the technology is able to take wind farms, which were traditionally in high wind locations and away from where people lived, to more sites," Longtin says.

Abate says that as a result of the turbines' size, and their brains, the 2.5-120 turbines provide a 25 percent increase in efficiency and a 15 percent boost in power output compared to GE's current model.

GE has already successfully demonstrated the integration of wind power and batteries at its facility in California. The company will build the first prototype of the 2.5-120 turbine in the Netherlands next month.

Source: GE Reports

Read more about GE innovations at gereports.com.

Published February 2013

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