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.

Green laser light that probes metals for hidden damage is in the works

Imagine being able to check the structural integrity of an airplane, ship, or bridge without having to dismantle it or remove any material for testing, which could further compromise the structure. That's the promise of a new laser-based technique that chemists are developing to reveal hidden damage in metals.

The researchers presented their work April 5 at the 253rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world's largest scientific society, hosted the five-day event in San Francisco. It featured more than 14,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

"Metals are often subjected to mechanical stress or fatigue that can weaken them structurally, but you can't tell that just by looking at them," said James E. Patterson, Ph.D.

One real-world example is a U.S. Air Force plane that was unintentionally turned upside down in flight, a feat it wasn't designed for. The maneuver exceeded the specifications for the plane's stress tolerance, Patterson said, but there was no way to know if the inversion had actually damaged components enough to cause the plane to crash during a future flight. So the entire multimillion-dollar plane had to be scrapped.

"That's where nondestructive testing comes in," said Patterson, who teaches at Brigham Young University. Nondestructive testing (or NDT, as it's known) is already a billion-dollar industry, he said. Current techniques for inspecting materials without harming them include X-ray imaging, which can detect microscopic cracks in metals. But the method is expensive, requires shielding from the X-rays, and is hard to adapt for use in the field. Other NDT techniques give equivocal results and require highly trained technicians, he said.

Patterson's team is instead relying on a spectroscopic method known as second harmonic generation (SHG), which alters the wavelength of light. One of Patterson's graduate students, Shawn Averett, realized that the technique could be adapted to look for signs of internal damage in metals. Averett and undergraduates Scott D. Smith and Alex Farnsworth are working with Patterson on the project.

They begin by shining green laser light onto a metal sample. Through SHG, the metal converts some of the incoming light into ultraviolet light, which bounces back from the metal along with the remaining green light. "The amount of conversion depends on the properties of the metal, and if those properties have been changed by some form of stress, we can detect that in the converted light," Patterson explained. Tests to date indicate the technique could distinguish between metal parts that are still intact and those that have been irreversibly damaged and require replacing. The researchers say their method is more sensitive than existing NDT techniques and could thus give earlier warning of danger.

With some further refinements, the method could have applications in the aerospace industry, where plane parts are routinely replaced after a certain amount of use to avoid catastrophic failure, Patterson said. The replacement schedule is based on the average performance of several of the same components, rather than the actual condition of that individual component. The SHG method could be used to check whether a particular component is really worn out or still has useful life, leading to savings in time, money, and material.

Patterson's team is also exploring applications with the U.S. Navy. The aluminum/magnesium alloy used in Navy vessels can undergo invisible corrosion with serious consequences. "There are stories of someone walking along a metal deck and stepping in the wrong spot, and a big chunk falling through to the deck below," he said. "Cracks also form in walls. And once visible cracks form, it's often too late to reverse the damage."

The researchers hope to develop their technique into a portable system that would indicate whether a scanned object is in good shape. "In principle, you could go around with a wand and some fiber optics and scan large areas of a ship for hidden damage," Patterson said. Other potential structures that could be evaluated with the technology include oil pipelines, building components, and bridges.

The researchers acknowledge funding from Brigham Young University and the Office of Naval Research.

Source: The American Chemical Society

Published April 2017

Rate this article