Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

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.

New thermostat helps find happy middle between home temps and what users want to pay

University of Arizona researchers have created a first-of-its-kind thermostat add-on that reliably predicts electricity costs, putting consumers in control of balancing their comfort and budget.

By Karina Barrentine, UA College of Engineering

Researchers at the University of Arizona, with the support of Tech Launch Arizona, are one step closer to giving consumers something they've never had before: a way to easily and instantly make informed decisions about the tradeoff between comfort and the cost of electricity for heating and cooling, which typically accounts for half of a home's electricity bill.

Associate professor Jonathan Sprinkle and a team of researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a monitor that works with a Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat to automatically manage temperature settings based on how much consumers choose to spend on electricity, not just on how cool or warm they want to be at any given time.

Unlike smart thermostats that expect consumers to reduce energy consumption by choosing set points based on how much they think they might save, this technology translates thermostat changes into dollars before the electricity bill lands in the mailbox.

The Acomni mobile app interface allows users to make informed decisions about the tradeoffs between comfort and the cost of electricity.

 

 

 

 

"Many people do not understand how much energy and money they could be saving," Sprinkle says. "They just set their thermostat in the desired temperature range, then get a bill at the end of the month with no understanding of how they correlate. With this technology, people can decide what they want their comfort levels to be depending on how much they want to spend for electricity."

How the thermostat add-on works
The monitor, which shares information between the home's thermostat and dedicated Acomni servers, learns the temperature-related characteristics of the home and then forecasts costs using information about the outside climate, residents' comfort and budget preferences, and data from the thermostat. Acomni is a new UA startup company.

Using a mobile app or website, users can get feedback on how changes in temperature settings and budget affect one another. The system automatically implements daily thermostat set points to meet the budget and tells the user how manual thermostat changes are likely to affect budget limits.

Benefits stretch beyond the wallet
The cost-limiting temperature control technology has the potential to reach beyond the wallet. As Sprinkle points out, becoming aware of energy consumption is the first step toward using energy more efficiently and minimizing a home's carbon footprint.

"Most people do not realize it, but by some measures we spend as much energy heating and cooling our homes as we do driving our cars," he said.

More efficient electric power usage means lower emissions from fossil fuels being burned to generate electricity. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that adjusting our thermostats just 2 degrees down in winter and 2 degrees up in summer would reduce our carbon footprint by 2,000 pounds a year.

"If we are going to save the environment by having more fuel-efficient cars," Sprinkle said, "we should also think about saving the environment by having more energy-efficient homes."

Startup ramps up for production
Tech Launch Arizona, the UA unit that helps faculty members commercialize their inventions, has filed for a patent on behalf of the University and recently executed a contract that licenses the technology to the startup company Acomni LLC. Now the company is looking to secure investors and partner with utility companies and heating and cooling businesses to get the device into homes.

"Tech Launch Arizona has helped us -- particularly through their Proof of Concept program -- move from having a proven idea and prototype, to licensing the invention to our company, and now toward producing a product," Sprinkle says. "They play a big role in connecting researchers with the business community."

Sprinkle's team is focusing on heating and cooling power consumption because it uses the largest portion of electricity consumed in U.S. homes -- up to half, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The company has plans to widen that focus in the future and apply the cost-limiting technology to smart energy management of the whole home.

Published July 2014

Rate this article