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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.

New cooling method for supercomputers projected to save millions of gallons of water

In different parts of the country, people discuss gray-water recycling and rainwater capture to minimize the millions of gallons of groundwater required to cool large data centers. But the simple answer in many climates, said Sandia National Laboratories researcher David J. Martinez, is to use liquid refrigerant.

Sandia National Laboratories engineer David J. Martinez examines the cooling system at Sandia's supercomputing center. [Photo by Randy Montoya]

 

 

 

 

Based on that principle, Martinez -- engineering project lead for Sandia's infrastructure computing services -- is helping design and monitor a cooling system expected to save 4 million to 5 million gallons annually in New Mexico if installed next year at Sandia's computing center, and hundreds of millions of gallons nationally if the method is widely adopted. It's now being tested at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, which expects to save a million gallons annually.

The system, built by Johnson Controls and called the Thermosyphon Cooler Hybrid System, cools like a refrigerator without the expense and energy needs of a compressor.

Currently, many data centers use water to remove waste heat from servers. The warmed water is piped to cooling towers, where a separate stream of water is turned to mist and evaporates into the atmosphere. Like sweat evaporating from the body, the process removes heat from the piped water, which returns to chill the installation. But large-scale replenishment of the evaporated water is needed to continue the process. Thus, an increasing amount of water will be needed worldwide to evaporate heat from the growing number of data centers, which themselves are increasing in size as more users put information into the cloud.

"My job is to eventually put cooling towers out of business," Martinez said.

"Ten years ago, I gave a talk on the then-new approach of using water to directly cool supercomputers. There were 30 people at the start of my lecture and only 10 at the end.

"'Dave,' they said, ‘no way water can cool a supercomputer. You need air.'

"So now most data centers use water to cool themselves, but I'm always looking at the future and I see refrigerant cooling coming in for half the data centers in the U.S., north and west of Texas, where the climate will make it work."

The prototype method uses a liquid refrigerant instead of water to carry away heat. The system works like this: Water heated by the computing center is pumped within a closed system into proximity with another system containing refrigerant. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the water so that the water, now cooled, can circulate to cool again. Meanwhile the heated refrigerant vaporizes and rises in its closed system to exchange heat with the atmosphere. As heat is removed from the refrigerant, it condenses and sinks to absorb more heat, and the cycle repeats.

"There's no water loss like there is in a cooling tower that relies on evaporation," Martinez said. "We also don't have to add chemicals such as biocides, another expense. This system does not utilize a compressor, which would incur more costs. The system utilizes phase-changing refrigerant and only requires outside air that's cool enough to absorb the heat."

In New Mexico, that would occur in spring, fall, and winter, saving millions of gallons of water.

In summer, the state's ambient temperature is high enough that a cooling tower or some method of evaporation could be used. But more efficient computer architectures can raise the acceptable temperature for servers to operate and make the occasional use of cooling towers even less frequent.

"If you don't have to cool a data center to 45 degrees Fahrenheit but instead only to 65 to 80 degrees, then a warmer outside air temperature -- just a little cooler than the necessary temperature in the data center -- could do the job," Martinez said.

For indirect air cooling in a facility, better design brings the correct amount of cooling to the right location, allowing operating temperatures to be raised and allowing the refrigerant cycle to be used more during the year. "At Sandia, we used to have to run at 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Now we're at 65 to 78. We arranged for air to flow more smoothly instead of ignoring whorls as it cycled in open spaces. We did that by working with supercomputer architects and manufacturers of cooling units so they designed more efficient air-flow arrangements. Also, we installed fans sensitive to room temperature, so they slow down as the room cools from decreased computer usage and go faster as computer demand increases. This results in a more efficient and economical way to circulate air in a data center."

Big jobs that don't have to be completed immediately can be scheduled at night when temperatures are cooler.

"Improving efficiencies inside a system raises efficiencies in the overall system," Martinez said. "That saves still more water by allowing more use of the water-saving refrigerant system."

Source: Sandia

Published November 2016

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