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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.

Physicists build ultra-powerful accelerator magnet for next-gen supercollider

An international partnership to upgrade the LHC has yielded the strongest accelerator magnet ever created.

The next generation of cutting-edge accelerator magnets is no longer just an idea. Recent tests revealed that the United States and CERN have successfully co-created a prototype superconducting accelerator magnet that is much more powerful than those currently inside the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland. Engineers will incorporate more than 20 magnets similar to this model into the next iteration of the LHC, which will take the stage in 2026 and increase the LHC's luminosity by a factor of 10. That translates into a 10-fold increase in the data rate.

"Building this magnet prototype was truly an international effort," says Lucio Rossi, the head of the High-Luminosity (HighLumi) LHC project at CERN. "Half the magnetic coils inside the prototype were produced at CERN and half at laboratories in the United States."

During the original construction of the Large Hadron Collider, U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories foresaw the future need for stronger LHC magnets and created the LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP), an R&D program committed to developing new accelerator technology for future LHC upgrades.

This new type of magnet will replace about 5 percent of the LHC's focusing and steering magnets when the accelerator is converted into the High-Luminosity LHC, a planned upgrade that will increase the number and density of protons packed inside the accelerator. The HL-LHC upgrade will enable scientists to collect data at a much faster rate.

The LHC's magnets are made by repeatedly winding a superconducting cable into long coils. These coils are then installed on all sides of the beam pipe and encased inside a superfluid helium cryogenic system. When cooled to 1.9 Kelvin, the coils can carry a huge amount of electrical current with zero electrical resistance. By modulating the amount of current running through the coils, engineers can manipulate the strength and quality of the resulting magnetic field and control the particles inside the accelerator.

This 1.5-m-long model, which is a fully functioning next-gen accelerator magnet, was developed by scientists and engineers at Fermilab, Brookhaven National Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and CERN. The magnet recently underwent an intense testing program at Fermilab, which it passed in March with flying colors. It will now undergo a rigorous series of endurance and stress tests to simulate the arduous conditions inside a particle accelerator.

 

 

 

 

The magnets currently inside the LHC are made from niobium titanium, a superconductor that can operate inside a magnetic field of up to 10 teslas before losing its superconducting properties. This new magnet is made from niobium-three tin (Nb3Sn), a superconductor capable of carrying current through a magnetic field of up to 20 teslas.

"We're dealing with a new technology that can achieve far beyond what was possible when the LHC was first constructed," says Giorgio Apollinari, Fermilab scientist and Director of US LARP. "This new magnet technology will make the HL-LHC project possible and empower physicists to think about future applications of this technology in the field of accelerators."

This technology is powerful and versatile -- like upgrading from a moped to a motorcycle. But this new super material doesn't come without its drawbacks.

"Niobium-three tin is much more complicated to work with than niobium titanium," says Peter Wanderer, head of the Superconducting Magnet Division at Brookhaven National Lab. "It doesn't become a superconductor until it is baked at 650 degrees Celsius. This heat treatment changes the material's atomic structure, and it becomes almost as brittle as ceramic."

Building a moose-size magnet from a material more fragile than a teacup is not an easy endeavor. Scientists and engineers at the U.S. national laboratories spent 10 years designing and perfecting a new and internationally reproducible process to wind, form, bake, and stabilize the coils.

This model is a huge success for the engineers and scientists involved. But it is only the first step toward building the next big supercollider.

"This test showed that it is possible," Apollinari says. "The next step is it to apply everything we've learned moving from this prototype into bigger and bigger magnets."

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

Published April 2016

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