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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.
Learn more.

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.

What can you secure with a retaining ring? 20 examples

From the watch dial on your wrist to a wind turbine, no application is too small or too big for a Smalley retaining ring to secure. Light to heavy-duty loads? Carbon steel to exotic materials? No problem. See how retaining rings are used in slip clutches, bike locks, hip replacements, and even the Louvre Pyramid.
See the Smalley design applications.

Load fasteners with integrated RFID

A crane, rope, or chain may be required when something needs lifting -- plus anchoring points on the load. JW Winco offers a wide range of solutions to fasten the load securely, including: lifting eye bolts and rings (with or without rotation), eye rings with ball bearings, threaded lifting pins, shackles, lifting points for welding, and more. Some, such as the GN 581 Safety Swivel Lifting Eye Bolts, even have integrated RFID tags to clearly identify specific lifting points during wear and safety inspections and manage them digitally and without system interruption.
Learn more.

Couplings solve misalignments more precisely with targeted center designs

ALS Couplings from Miki Pulley feature a simplistic, three-piece construction and are available in three different types for more precisely handling parallel, angular, or axial misalignment applications. The key feature of this coupling design is its center element. Each of the three models has a center member that has a unique and durable material and shape. Also called a "spider," the center is designed to address and resolve the type of misalignment targeted. Ideal for unidirectional continuous movement or rapid bidirectional motion.
Learn more.

What is 3D-MID? Molded parts with integrated electronics from HARTING

3D-MID (three-dimensional mechatronic integrated devices) technology combines electronic and mechanical functionalities into a single, 3D component. It replaces the traditional printed circuit board and opens up many new opportunities. It takes injection-molded parts and uses laser-direct structuring to etch areas of conductor structures, which are filled with a copper plating process to create very precise electronic circuits. HARTING, the technology's developer, says it's "Like a PCB, but 3D." Tons of possibilities.
View the video.

Air Force launches new center at Johns Hopkins to advance structural materials and design for aerospace applications

The U.S. Air Force has selected a team led by Johns Hopkins engineers to start a new materials research center of excellence in Baltimore that will develop novel computational and experimental methods to support the next generation of military aircraft.

The Center of Excellence on Integrated Material Modeling, CEIMM, will advance the Computational Integrated Materials Science and Engineering Initiative, which focuses on materials applications within a digital framework. The methods are expected to contribute to the design of high-performance devices and components in future aircraft structures and turbine engines. The long-term goal is to produce lightweight, yet durable, components for future military aircraft, from fighter jets to surveillance drones.

The center, at Johns Hopkins' Homewood campus in Baltimore, brings together the nation's top academic, military, and industry researchers under a $3 million U.S. Air Force award, to be disbursed over three years. The center includes researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California Santa Barbara. CEIMM will seek to continue operating beyond three years by seeking additional funding from the Air Force and other government and industrial sponsors.

"Our initiative seeks to shorten the time required to benefit from advantages offered by advanced materials," says Barry L. Farmer, chief scientist of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio. "We believe that a spectrum of computational tools, coupled with advances in experimental capabilities, can alter the paradigm of how materials are selected and utilized today."

Researchers will focus on developing novel modeling and experimental techniques that can be applied across several classes of structural materials. Proof of concept will be shown in alloys for high-temperature applications and polymer matrix composite materials for aerospace components such as the chassis and fuselage.

"We'll start by understanding existing materials from the atomic scale all the way to the structural scales through state-of-the-art research, and then we'll move to designing a new generation of advanced aerospace materials," says Somnath Ghosh, the Michael G. Callas professor in Johns Hopkins' departments of Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, who is director of the center.

The center will operate within the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, HEMI, which opened earlier this year. The institute focuses on the behavior of materials and systems under extreme conditions and will apply this research to a range of related areas.

"With the establishment of HEMI, and now this center, we have been able to pull together the nation's leading academic, industry, and military leaders to begin paving the way toward a 21st century generation of materials," says Nicholas P. Jones, Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering.

The center and institute will share some staffing and infrastructure. Although they will initially operate within existing space, both will be relocated to Malone Hall, a 56,000-sq-ft research building. The new building will be completed in 2014.

At CEIMM, researchers will focus on advanced computational and experimental methods of determining how different materials respond to different levels of loading and temperatures that can cause failure in aircraft engines and other components.

"For example, turbine engines produce more thrust as an aircraft takes off, and the higher loads and temperatures can produce changes in the dimensions of the components. This can cause all sort of problems; engine parts may hit the casing, setting off a fire," says Ghosh. "In cases like that, we would try to find out how to increase the material's thermal-mechanical stability so that it can perform at higher loads and temperatures."

Researchers will construct three-dimensional representations of aerospace and engine materials, from atomic configurations and beyond. Virtual tests will be conducted with powerful computational models to determine, for instance, how cracks form, what causes materials to change shape, and how well materials stand up to repeated loadings.

These computational models may bear some resemblance to those used in computational medicine, in which scientists test drugs and study medical disorders with software instead of living subjects.

"The idea is that this allows you to cut down on expensive lab experiments," Ghosh says. "In the computer you can mimic what real experiments can do."

Although there will be a strong emphasis on virtual experiments, researchers will also be evaluating material properties using multi-scale testing methods on commercial alloys and polymer composites to ensure that the computer models are accurate.

The Air Force award for the new center will also provide funding for new educational opportunities. It is expected to support research that will involve more than a dozen doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and undergraduates annually.

Source: Johns Hopkins University

Published September 2012

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