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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.

World's most intense laser set to have its power doubled

The HERCULES laser holds the Guinness World Records certificate for highest intensity focused laser, and it is about to get more powerful and intense with a $2M upgrade from the National Science Foundation. [Image credit: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering]

 

 

 

 

The most intense laser in the world is about to get a power upgrade with $2 million from the National Science Foundation.

With more laser energy to focus, researchers at the University of Michigan and collaborators from around the world can make better tabletop devices that produce particle and X-ray beams for medical and national security applications -- and also explore mysteries in astrophysics and the quantum realm.

The power of the HERCULES laser comes from a series of five embedded "pump" lasers that amplify ultrashort pulses of light. To upgrade the power of HERCULES from 300 trillion watts, or terawatts (TW), to 500 or even 1,000 TW, the researchers will replace the final three of those pump lasers.

If HERCULES can achieve 1,000 TW, it would once again be among the most powerful lasers in the U.S. Regardless, the bump in power will up the ante on its intensity record -- currently 20 sextillion (2x1022) watts per centimeter squared. The improved HERCULES should be able to double or even triple that intensity.

A decade ago, when engineers at Michigan first built HERCULES, the commercial pump lasers the system relies on couldn't reach the ambitious 300 TW -- record-breaking at the time -- that the researchers had in mind. They had to build their own pump lasers. Now, driven by a demand from international projects seeking power levels north of 10,000 TW, commercial pump lasers can outstrip the homemade versions that run in HERCULES today. This new technology is what will push HERCULES to higher power and intensity than ever before.

"This upgrade enables a wide variety of different experiments," said Karl Krushelnick, U-M professor of nuclear engineering and radiological science and director of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, which houses HERCULES. "There are these exciting applications, and it also opens up a new regime at the very frontier of plasma physics, where quantum phenomena start to play an important role."

But what can you do with this super-powerful device?

Krushelnick, who is also a professor of electrical engineering and computer science and of physics, anticipates that the expanded capabilities of HERCULES will enable researchers at U-M who specialize in these areas to do experiments that were previously impossible. In addition, HERCULES powers experiments for researchers around the U.S. and abroad, so the upgrade will make it more valuable as a national scientific resource.

Researchers are looking forward to:

• Tabletop accelerators: Conventional particle accelerators are often hundreds of yards long, but laser light can power the acceleration of particles and produce other high-energy beams such as X-rays in just a few square yards or less. In the future, laser-driven particle accelerators may help reveal new physics or drive ultra-compact X-ray lasers. Particle and X-ray beams can also be used to determine the presence of nuclear materials in shipping containers arriving at ports. They are used for medical treatments such as radiation therapy.
• X-rays that differentiate among soft tissues: High-energy X-ray beams emitted by laser accelerators could enable advanced X-ray imaging that can find the boundaries between soft tissues -- as opposed to conventional X-rays, which are best at picking out dense materials like bone. When the X-rays from a laser accelerator travel through different materials, their waves get out of sync to different degrees, and this can distinguish between a lung and a heart, for example. This method of measuring would be cheaper and offer faster results than an MRI.
• Gamma ray bursts/astrophysical mysteries: How are flares of powerful electromagnetic radiation that last for no longer than a few seconds produced in space? One theory holds that very strong magnetic fields, near black holes for instance, may be breaking apart. When the magnetic field lines come back together they can accelerate particles that release these powerful bursts of electromagnetic energy in the form of gamma rays. By using the HERCULES laser in the lab, the team can create strong magnetic fields on microscopic scales that can break apart and reconnect in the same way, shedding light on whether this is really the mechanism behind gamma ray bursts.
• Questions in strong field quantum electrodynamics: Quantum electrodynamics -- the quantum description of light and its interactions with matter -- hasn't been adequately tested in some extreme situations. For example, when electric fields are strong enough, the phenomenon of "boiling the vacuum" is predicted to occur: matter and antimatter can spontaneously appear from nothing. Electric fields this strong may be found in neutron star atmospheres, for example. The upgraded HERCULES laser can simulate these environments by accelerating electrons to near the speed of light, so that -- from the vantage point of the electrons -- the fields are strong enough to generate particles from the vacuum. By looking at how the electrons behave, researchers can deduce whether the predictions of quantum electrodynamics are accurate.

Source: University of Michigan

Published December 2017

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