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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.
Learn more.

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.
Learn more.

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.
Read the full article.

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.
Learn more.

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.
Learn more.

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.
Learn more.

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.
Read the full article.

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.
View the video.

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.
View the video.

What can the new Autodesk Inventor AI Assistant do for you?

Autodesk Assistant brings industry-specific context to help execute tasks and orchestrate actions across your 3D models -- not just answer questions. Designed to understand your workflows, Assistant appears as a dockable panel alongside your Inventor workspace and includes the ability to perform complex tasks or gather information from your designs without writing a single line of code. Find out what this new AI "colleague" can do for you.
Watch this informative Autodesk video.

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.

Next-gen multi-touch panels

Beckhoff's Next line of multi-touch control panels and panel PCs is engineered for demanding human-machine interface and control tasks. These panels offer convenient operation with advanced multi-touch technology, a high-quality look and feel, anti-glare and anti-ghosting effects, and a wide choice of formats (from 7 to 23.8 in.) and options. A main draw is the line's attractive pricing.
Learn more.

Study says hybrids have lower injury odds than conventional cars

Hybrids have a safety edge over their conventional twins when it comes to shielding their occupants from injuries in crashes, new research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, shows. On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25% lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models.

A new HDLI study says that hybrid vehicles like the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid have lower injury odds than nonhybrid models. [Image courtesy: Toyota USA]

 

 

 

 

"Weight is a big factor," says Matt Moore, HLDI vice president and an author of the report. "Hybrids on average are 10% heavier than their standard counterparts. This extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes that their conventional twins don't have." He notes that other factors, such as how, when, and by whom hybrids are driven, also may contribute. Researchers included controls to reduce the impact these differences may have had on the results.

The new finding is more good news for green-minded drivers who don't want to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter. Now, consumers have more options than ever when it comes to picking an environmentally friendly – and crashworthy – vehicle

"Saving at the pump no longer means you have to skimp on crash protection," Moore says.

In the study, HLDI estimated the odds that a crash would result in injuries if people were riding in a hybrid versus the conventional version of the same vehicle. The analysis included more than 25 hybrid-conventional vehicle pairs, all 2003-11 models, with at least one collision claim and at least one related injury claim filed under personal injury protection or medical payment coverage in 2002-10.

Collision coverage pays to repair or replace an at-fault driver's vehicle after a crash with an object or another vehicle. Personal injury protection, or PIP, pays medical expenses for injuries insured drivers and other people in their vehicles sustain in a crash, no matter who is at fault in the collision. Medical payment, or MedPay, covers treatment costs when insured drivers or their passengers are hurt in crashes when the driver is at fault. PIP coverage is sold in states with no-fault insurance systems, and MedPay coverage is sold in tort states.

Hybrids' injury odds were 27% lower than their standard counterparts for collision claims with a related PIP claim and 25% lower than their twins for collision claims with a related MedPay claim.

Source HDLI

 

 

Even with advances in occupant protection, larger vehicles still are safer choices than smaller ones. That's why downsizing vehicles to improve fuel efficiency has traditionally resulted in safety tradeoffs. The trend among automakers nowadays is to boost fuel economy by designing more efficient internal combustion engines and by adding hybrids to their fleets.

Although hybrids share the same footprint and structure as their conventional counterparts, they outweigh them because of the added heft of battery packs and other components used in dual-power systems. At about 3,600 lb, a hybrid Honda Accord midsize sedan, for example, can weigh as much as 480 lb more than a conventional Accord. A hybrid Toyota Highlander, a midsize SUV, weighs about 4,500 lb, compared with about 4,170 lb for the conventional Highlander.

The Toyota Prius and Honda Insight were excluded from the study because they are only sold as hybrids. The analysis controlled for calendar year, rated driver age and gender, marital status, vehicle density (number of registered vehicles per square mile), garaging state, vehicle series, and vehicle age.

Hybrids and pedestrians: A separate analysis by HLDI shows that hybrids may be as much as 20% more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes with injuries than their conventional twins.

Analysts examined how frequently injury claims were filed for 17 hybrids and their nonhybrid counterparts when there was no related collision or property damage. Studied vehicles included 2002-10 full hybrid models and their standard twins during 2004-2010 calendar years, totaling 25,382 bodily injury liability claims and 2.9 million years of exposure.

Bodily injury liability coverage insures against medical, hospital, and other expenses for injuries that at-fault drivers inflict on occupants of other vehicles or others on the road.

Claim frequencies were defined as claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years (an insured vehicle year is one vehicle insured for one year or two for six months each, etc.). The analysis controlled for calendar year, rated driver age, rated driver gender, marital status, risk, registered vehicle density, garaging state, vehicle series, and vehicle age.

"When hybrids operate in electric-only mode, pedestrians can't hear them approaching," says Moore, "so they might step out into the roadway without checking first to see what's coming."

It's a problem that's cropped up as hybrids have become more common, and it's one the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is working to address. Earlier this year, Congress gave the agency three years to come up with a requirement for equipping hybrids and electric models with sounds to alert unsuspecting pedestrians.

Moore points out that HLDI can't definitively tell from the claims data that a crash involved a pedestrian. Likewise, some pedestrian crashes may have been unintentionally excluded. For example, a crash in which a person was struck and injured and the vehicle also was damaged would have been omitted because a collision claim would have been filed for the damaged vehicle. However, a sample of the claims studied suggests that these are mostly pedestrian injury claims.

For more information go to www.iihs.org.

Source: Highway Loss Data Institute

Published December 2011

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