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New nylon constant torque hinge

Southco has expanded its line of E6 Constant Torque Hinges with a compact, nylon version designed for small applications. The newest addition to the company's E6 50 Constant Torque Position Control Hinge series measures 45 mm with a torque range of 4 to 16 in./lb and is 65% lighter compared to the standard E6 50 Hinge. It provides constant resistance throughout the entire range of motion, enabling users to easily position doors, display screens, and other mounted components and hold them securely at any desired angle.
Learn more.

What injection molding material do I use?

How do you decide what type of plastic to use for your next injection molding project? Xometry can help you narrow your choices. Discover the different strengths and applications for materials that could be ideal for your application by learning about the most common plastic injection molding materials in detail.
Read this detailed Xometry article.

What are carbon composite bellows springs?

The Carbon Composite Bellows Spring (CCBS) from MW Components is a system of carbon fiber elements that combine to work as a high-performance, lightweight, and design-flexible compression spring meant to replace coil springs or metallic Belleville disc springs. A functional spring is made from several individual elements paired and joined to make a stack. The stack spring rate is determined by the number of elements, the base rate of each element, and their series or parallel orientation in the stack. Applications include motorsports, aerospace, and high-performance activities.
Learn more.

Conductive Brush Ring overcomes current leakage in EV powertrains

SKF's new Conductive Brush Ring paves the way to greater reliability and longer life in high-performance electric vehicle powertrain systems. Using pure carbon fiber bristles, it provides a reliable electrical connection between an EV eAxle rotor shaft and its housing. When used in combination with SKF Hybrid ceramic ball bearings, it helps to alleviate parasitic current effects that can lead to premature failure in bearings and other components. Available in different configurations for wet (oil-lubricated) motor designs -- and soon for dry (sealed) applications.
Learn more.

hyperMILL 2024 CAD/CAM software suite

OPEN MIND Technologies has introduced its latest hyperMILL 2024 CAD/CAM software suite, which includes a range of powerful enhancements to its core toolpath capabilities, as well as new functionality for increased NC programming efficiency in applications ranging from 2.5D machining to 5-axis milling. New and enhanced capabilities include: Optimized Deep Hole Drilling, a new algorithm for 3- and 5-axis Rest Machining, an enhanced path layout for the 3D Plane Machining cycle, better error detection, and much more.
Learn more.

One-part epoxy changes from red to clear under UV

Master Bond UV15RCL is a low-viscosity, cationic-type UV-curing system with a special color-changing feature. The red material changes to clear once exposed to UV light, indicating that there is UV light access across the adhesive material. Although this change in color from red to clear does not indicate a full cure, it does confirm that the UV light has reached the polymer. This epoxy is an excellent electrical insulator. UV15RCL adheres well to metals, glass, ceramics, and many plastics, including acrylics and polycarbonates.
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SPIROL Press-N-Lok™ Pin for plastic housings

The Press-N-Lok™ Pin was designed to permanently retain two plastic components to each other. As the pin is inserted, the plastic backfills into the area around the two opposing barbs, resulting in maximum retention. Assembly time is quicker, and it requires lower assembly equipment costs compared to screws and adhesives -- just Press-N-Lok™!
Learn more about the new Press-N-Lok™ Pin.

Why hybrid bearings are becoming the new industry standard

A combination of steel outer and inner rings with ceramic balls or rollers is giving hybrid bearings unique properties, making them suitable for use in a wide range of modern applications. SKF hybrid bearings make use of silicon nitride (twice as hard as bearing steel) rolling elements and are available as ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, and in custom designs. From electric erosion prevention to friction reduction and extended maintenance intervals, learn all about next-gen hybrid bearings.
Read the SKF technical article.

3M and Ansys train engineers on simulating adhesives

Ansys and 3M have created an advanced simulation training program enabling engineers to enhance the design and sustainability of their products when using tapes and adhesives as part of the design. Simulation enables engineers to validate engineering decisions when analyzing advanced polymeric materials -- especially when bonding components made of different materials. Understand the behavior of adhesives under real-world conditions for accurate modeling and design.
Read this informative Ansys blog.

New FATH T-slotted rail components in black from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct has added a wide assortment of black-colored FATH T-slotted hardware components to match their SureFrame black anodized T-slotted rails, including: cube connectors (2D and 3D) and angle connectors, joining plates of many types, brackets, and pivot joints. Also included are foot consoles, linear bearings in silver and black, cam lever brakes, and L-handle brakes. FATH T-slotted hardware components are easy to install, allow for numerous T-slotted structure configurations, and have a 1-year warranty against defects.
Learn more.

Weird stuff: Moon dust simulant for 3D printing

Crafted from a lunar regolith simulant, Basalt Moon Dust Filamet™ (not a typo) available from The Virtual Foundry closely mirrors the makeup of lunar regolith found in mare regions of the Moon. It enables users with standard fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers to print with unparalleled realism. Try out your ideas before you go for that big space contract, or help your kid get an A on that special science project.
Learn more.

Break the mold with custom injection molding by Rogan

With 90 years of industry experience, Rogan Corporation possesses the expertise to deliver custom injection molding solutions that set businesses apart. As a low-cost, high-volume solution, injection molding is the most widely used plastics manufacturing process. Rogan processes include single-shot, two-shot, overmolding, and assembly. Elevate your parts with secondary operations: drilling and tapping, hot stamping, special finishes, punch press, gluing, painting, and more.
Learn more.

World's first current-carrying fastening technology

PEM^® eConnect™ current-carrying pins from Penn-Engineering provide superior electrical connections in applications that demand high performance from internal components, such as automotive electronics. This first-to-market tech provides repeatable, consistent electrical joints and superior installation unmatched by traditional fastening methods. Features include quick and secure automated installation, no hot spots or poor conductivity, and captivation options that include self-clinching and broaching styles.
Learn more about eConnect pins.

New interactive digital catalog from EXAIR

EXAIR's latest catalog offers readers an incredible source of innovative solutions for common industrial problems like conveying, cooling, cleaning, blowoff, drying, coating, and static buildup. This fully digital and interactive version of Catalog 35 is designed for easy browsing and added accessibility. Customers can view, download, print, and save either the full catalog or specific pages and sections. EXAIR products are designed to conserve compressed air and increase personnel safety in the process. Loaded with useful information.
Check out EXAIR's online catalog.

5 cost-saving design tips for CNC machining

Make sure your parts meet expectations the first time around. Xometry's director of application engineering, Greg Paulsen, presents five expert tips for cutting costs when designing custom CNC machined parts. This video covers corners and radii, designing for deep pockets, thread depths, thin walls, and more. Always excellent info from Paulsen at Xometry.
View the video.

Researchers working out how to 3D print miniature permanent magnets

Miniature permanent magnets printed on a 3D printer. [Credit: Photo courtesy of UrFU/Oksana Meleshchuk ]

 

 

Scientists from the Ural Federal University and the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (both in Russia) are determining the optimal conditions for 3D printing permanent magnets from hard magnetic compounds based on rare-earth metals. This will make it possible to start small-scale production of magnets, give them any shape during manufacturing, and create complex configurations of magnets.

Creating complex and small magnets is not an easy scientific or technical task, but they are in demand in various specialized applications such as miniature electric motors, electric generators, and many more devices -- especially medical ones.

One of the most promising ways to create complex-shaped parts from magnetically hard materials is 3D printing. Making them using additive manufacturing minimizes production waste and has a shorter production cycle. A description of the method and experimental results was published recently in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials.

The scientists have managed to determine the optimal parameters for 3D printing of permanent magnets using the selective laser sintering method. This is an additive manufacturing process where magnetic material in the form of powder is sintered layer by layer into a three-dimensional product of a given shape based on a previously created 3D model. This technology makes it possible to change the internal properties of the magnet at almost any stage of production -- for example, to change the chemical composition of the compound, the degree of spatial orientation of crystallites and crystallographic texture, and to influence the coercivity (resistance to demagnetization).

"Producing small magnets is a difficult task," says Dmitry Neznakhin, associate professor at the Department of Magnetism and Magnetic Nanomaterials and Researcher at the Section of Solid State Magnetism at UrFU. "Now they are created only by cutting a large magnet into pieces. Because of the mechanical processing, about half of the used material turns into garbage. Cutting introduces a lot of defects in the near-surface layer, which causes the properties of the magnet to deteriorate enormously. Additive technologies allow us to avoid this and make complex magnets, for example, with one north pole and two spatially separated south poles or a magnet with five south poles and five north poles -- all at once."

Currently, scientists succeeded in producing thin (about 1 mm) permanent magnets with properties similar to those of industrially produced magnets. The base was a powder containing samarium, zirconium, iron, and titanium. The compound has suitable characteristics for permanent magnets, but traditional manufacturing methods deprive the compound of most of its properties. Therefore, the scientists decided to see if the properties could be preserved with the new technology.

"When creating permanent magnets based on these compounds using traditional methods, the properties of the finished products are far from the theoretically predicted ones. We found that when sintering a sample, adding a fusible powder from an alloy of samarium, copper, and cobalt allows the magnetic characteristics of the main magnetic powder to be retained. This alloy melts at temperatures lower than the properties of the main alloy change, which is why the final material retains its coercive force and density," explains Neznakhin.

At the moment, scientists are establishing the basic laws of formation of the microstructure and magnetic properties of hard magnetic materials and determining which magnetic materials can be used to manufacture permanent magnets using the laser sintering method. This includes testing how the sintering method affects the properties of another known base for magnets -- an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron. The next stage of the work will be the production of bulk permanent magnets suitable for practical applications.

Source: Ural Federal University

Published November 2022

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