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Why a soccer kick bends the ball path: SOLIDWORKS simulation

With SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, you can virtually test a ball's flight path and see the science behind its amazing trajectory. Visualize anything you want to test, including the physics that make a ball curve and dip, to optimize performance and reduce physical testing. See the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation study setup and learn about the Magnus effect where a spinning object moving through a fluid curves away from its straight path. [Credit: Screenshot courtesy of SOLIDWORKS]
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Lightning-fast in-line verification, high-performance barcode reading

The Omron VHV5 Barcode Reader now combines high-performance barcode reading and calibrated ISO verification in one device. Replacing offline sample checks, it delivers 100% inline verification at production speeds up to 1,200 parts per minute. With flexible lighting, the VHV5 easily inspects labels and Direct Part Marks, even on challenging curved or irregular surfaces.
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How to choose the right industrial Ethernet switch

Antaira Technologies breaks down 10 mission-critical capabilities separating industrial-grade switches from commercial compromises. Even if you aren't in IT engineering, you will find valuable networking knowledge in this guide to protect vital infrastructure.
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New CAM software cuts robotic machining deployment

At Automate (Booth #4476), RoboDK will showcase RoboDK CAM, which generates robotic machining programs directly from CAD files. Designed for easy deployment, it cuts setup time by up to 40%. Live demonstrations will show users how to create collision-free robot motion straight from CAD data, eliminating manual line-by-line coding.
Learn more about RoboDK CAM.

AI Tools You Can Use: What is OpenClaw? How do I get it and use it?

OpenClaw is trending big time right now, but what is it? The YouTubers over at Create a Pro Website run through the basics of what you need to know and how to implement it. Basically, OpenClaw is a next-gen 24/7 AI assistant that lives on your computer and can perform actions for you. You talk to it through a chat app. You can set it up to do real work such as alert you to important emails, answer emails for you, manage your calendar and travel, and so much more. There is a great intro video here and also a longer, very thorough step-by-step video to setting up OpenClaw.
View the OpenClaw intro video.
View the OpenClaw setup video.

New! 6-digit programmable display/controller

Bristol Instruments has released the OM 403UNI Series displays/ controllers, allowing users to monitor two or three simultaneous functions. Configured via OM Link software or front-panel buttons, they feature four- or six-digit displays with +/-0.05% of f.s. range accuracy. They function as numeric/bar-graph displays, controllers, data recorders, or accumulators. Additionally, they detect and alert users to error conditions like broken sensor wires.
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Mini edge AI systems for vision, generative AI

As enterprises transition from PoC to real-world edge AI deployment, Aetina has launched its Mini Series Edge AI systems. Powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and NX modules, these compact, fanless systems deliver high-performance vision and generative AI inference. Engineered for demanding industrial environments, they offer flexible camera connectivity, space-saving designs, and long-term reliability to accelerate smart infrastructure.
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Thermal imaging on the quality control line

On a high-speed food and beverage line, what you can see is not always what is happening. Thermal imaging adds a different layer of control. Instead of relying on surface appearance, it measures heat distribution as seals are formed and products move through the line, providing continuous, 100% in-line inspection instead of just sampling.
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Built for the test bench, ready for the field

FUTEK's IDC150 Signal Conditioner packages high-performance signal conditioning in a rugged aluminum enclosure. Built for engineers needing accurate, synchronized data from strain gauge sensors, it fits prototyping and lab environments. The device connects seamlessly to existing setups and pairs with SENSIT software and Python APIs. It is ideal for compact, high-performance digital sensor evaluation.
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Automotive lighting systems simplified, optimized

The new MLX81119 from Melexis is an 18-channel LIN RGB LED controller with an integrated DC/DC converter, designed to simplify and optimize automotive lighting systems. By generating the LED supply voltage locally on chip, this unit significantly reduces power dissipation, external components, and space requirements in increasingly dense vehicle applications such as door panels, dashboards, and charge-port lighting.
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How healthy is your machine? Moisture-in-Oil Sensor

iST's Moisture-in-Oil Sensor is a compact, digital RH/T module that accurately and continuously monitors the water content in oils and fuels. This sensor does not simply measure the absolute water content -- it measures the relative saturation level in % RH or water activity aw in %. This means you get a direct picture of the current oil quality and can react in time. Applications include: marine engines and gearboxes, commercial and rail vehicles, wind turbines and generators, drilling and paper machines, and more. Eval kit available.
Learn more.

World's first native color lidar sensors

Ouster Rev8 features the world's first patented native color lidar sensors. For the first time, a single lidar sensor can understand road signs, interpret brake lights, or simply capture the richness of planet Earth in survey-grade, colorized maps. Based on patented Ouster Silicon with embedded Fujifilm color science, the L4 chip boasts 42.9 GMACs of processing power, detection of up to 20 trillion photons per sec, and a 40-kHz measurement rate with picosecond timing precision. Sees up to 200 m.
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Real-world applications: 3D camera ensures precise aircraft cabin drilling

In modern aircraft production, precision is everything. In this application article, learn how an Ensenso 3D camera integrated into an automated process chain ensures accurate detection and alignment of drilling positions in aircraft cabin assembly using the CAD data of the aircraft frame.
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What are Onshape Custom Features?

Certified Onshape Professional Too Tall Toby explains how to supercharge your workflow using community-created tools. In this insightful tutorial, he dives into the world of FeatureScript -- the powerful coding language behind Onshape. Learn where to find new scripts and how to use them. Save time. Learn new skills, shortcuts, and maybe even better ways to do things. Incorporate Custom Features into your everyday work. Very useful.
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What can you do with touchless magnetic angle sensors?

Novotechnik has put together an informative video highlighting real-world applications for their RFC, RFE, and RSA Series touchless magnetic angle sensors. You may be surprised at the variety of off-highway, marine, material handling, and industrial uses. You'll learn how they work (using a Hall effect microprocessor to detect position) and their key advantages, including eliminated wear and tear on these non-mechanical components. We love when manufacturers provide such useful examples.
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Researchers use X-rays to understand the flaws of battery fast charging

A closer look reveals how speedy charging may hamper battery performance.

While gas tanks can be filled in a matter of minutes, charging the battery of an electric car takes much longer. To level the playing field and make electric vehicles more attractive, scientists are working on fast-charging technologies.

"Fast charging is very important for electric vehicles," says battery scientist Daniel Abraham of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. "We'd like to be able to charge an electric vehicle battery in under 15 minutes, and even faster if possible."

The principal problem with fast charging happens during the transport of lithium ions from the positive cathode to the negative anode. If the battery is charged slowly, the lithium ions extracted from the cathode gradually slot themselves between the planes of carbon atoms that make up the graphite anode -- a process known as lithium intercalation.

But when this process is sped up, lithium can end up depositing on the surface of the graphite as metal, which is called lithium plating. "When this happens, the performance of the battery suffers dramatically, because the plated lithium cannot be moved from one electrode to the other," Abraham says.

As lithium ions travel quickly between the electrodes of a battery, they can form inactive layers of lithium metal in a process called lithium plating. This image shows the beginning of the plating process on the graphene anode of a lithium-ion battery. [Image courtesy: Robert Horn/Argonne National Laboratory]

 

 

 

 

According to Abraham, this lithium metal will chemically reduce the battery's electrolyte, causing the formation of a solid-electrolyte interphase that ties up lithium ions so they cannot be shuttled between the electrodes. As a result, less energy can be stored in the battery over time.

To study the movement of lithium ions within the battery, Abraham partnered with postdoctoral researcher Koffi Pierre Yao and Argonne X-ray physicist John Okasinski at the laboratory's Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. There, Okasinski essentially created a 2D image of the battery by using X-rays to image each phase of lithiated graphite in the anode.

By gaining this view, the researchers were able to precisely quantify the amount of lithium in different regions of the anode during charging and discharging of the battery.

In the study, the scientists established that the lithium accumulates at regions closer to the battery's separator under fast-charging conditions.

"You might expect that just from common sense," Abraham explained. "But by seeing exactly how the lithium is distributed within the electrode, we're gaining the ability to precisely determine the inhomogeneous way in which a battery ages."

To selectively see a particular region in the heart of the battery, the researchers used a technique called energy dispersive X-ray diffraction. Instead of varying the angle of the beam to reach particular areas of interest, the researchers varied the wavelength of the incident light.

By using X-rays, Argonne's scientists were able to determine the crystal structures present in the graphite layers. Because graphite is a crystalline material, the insertion of lithium causes the graphite lattice to expand to varying degrees. This swelling of the layers is noticeable as a difference in the diffraction peaks, Okasinski says, and the intensities of these peaks give the lithium content in the graphite.

While this research focuses on small coin-cell batteries, Okasinski said that future studies could examine the lithiation behavior in larger pouch-cell batteries, like those found in smartphones and electric vehicles.

A paper based on the study, "Quantifying lithium concentration gradients in the graphite electrode of lithium-ion cells using operando energy dispersive X-ray diffraction," appeared in the Jan. 9, 2019, online issue of Energy and Environmental Science. The research was a team effort with significant contributions from former Argonne postdoctoral researcher Kaushik Kalaga and Argonne scientist Ilya Shkrob.

The research was supported by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Office of Vehicle Technologies).

Source: Argonne National Laboratory

Published February 2019

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