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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.

U.S. Naval Research Lab increases UAV endurance with Solar-Soaring technology

Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing technology for unmanned aerial vehicles that has given them the ability to fly for more than 12 hours by harvesting energy from the atmosphere and the sun.

Solar-Soaring is a pair of endurance enhancer technologies. They aid the warfighter by enabling a UAV to fly longer without carrying extra weight in batteries.

"One of the common complaints that we hear across industry and the warfighters is that they want aircraft to fly longer," said Dr. Dan Edwards, senior aerospace engineer in NRL's Tactical Electronic Warfare Division. "One great way to do this is to capture atmospheric wind energy or solar energy to extend the endurance."

Since 2005, Edwards has been exploring how to teach an autopilot how to soar using thermals in the atmosphere, much like how a bird flies. Using special sensing and guidance algorithms, the UAV flies a waypoint route until it senses a thermal updraft, then commands the aircraft to circle in the rising air.

"Sunlight heats up the surface of the Earth, which in turn heats the lowest layer of air. That warm air eventually bubbles up as a rising air mass called a thermal, which the airplane can use to gain altitude. It's indirectly solar powered," said Edwards.

Solar power is also used directly to power the UAV using solar cells, which are semiconductor devices that convert light into electricity. While these devices have been around for some time, it was only recently that photovoltaic technology advanced to the point where a UAV could be solar powered. For an aircraft, every gram of weight has to be justified; essentially, it has to pull its own weight. Until recently, solar cells were not worth the added weight.

"For a long time, even though there has been solar aircraft since the 1990s, the efficiency of the solar cells wasn't high enough to pay the mass penalty, meaning you weren't getting enough energy to justify the additional mass," said Phil Jenkins, head of the Photovoltaics Section in NRL's Electronics Science & Technology Division. "But over the last 10 years, that has really changed. The cells have gotten more efficient and lighter."

The aircraft still carries a battery. However, the battery can be smaller because of the solar and soaring capabilities on board.

"With Solar-Soaring, the UAV doesn't need a huge battery because it is getting energy from the environment," said Edwards. "It just carries more intelligent software in the case of the autonomous soaring algorithms, or a lightweight integrated solar array that captures much more energy from the sun compared to the amount of mass."

Bringing these two technologies together, NRL found the combination works better than either individually. While soaring, the motor is turned off and the solar array can recharge the onboard battery faster. This increases the mission availability of a UAV for warfighters.

"Between the two, you have the most robust energy-harvesting platform because sometimes you'll be able to soar and sometimes you won't have the solar, and vice versa," said Jenkins.

The NRL-developed technologies are applicable to platforms that are already in use by the military, such as the Raven, a small hand-launched remote-controlled UAV, or the Predator, a larger UAV.

"In the case of Solar-Soaring, we're demonstrating the techniques to fly aircraft with a higher endurance," said Edwards. "These techniques are portable to a lot of the programs of record, like the small-size Raven or potentially the larger Predator, so it's a pretty broad application space."

Having a UAV with extended endurance capabilities is important for military information, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, or a communications relay. The technology also has important uses for civilian applications, including monitoring and inspection of railways and oil pipelines, surveying crops, and search and rescue.

"The technology could be very useful for coastal monitoring or pollution monitoring, for example," said Jenkins. "In these cases, you just want eyes up there for hours and hours, and Solar-Soaring makes that possible."

Both Edwards and Jenkins identified a hurdle that they would eventually have to overcome with Solar-Soaring; the ability to fly through the night.

"We still can't fly through the night because the batteries are just too heavy, but we currently get dawn-to-dusk enhanced endurance," said Jenkins.

For Edwards, the next step in solving this problem is swapping out the battery for a hydrogen fuel cell.

"Fuel cells have much more energy per unit mass than a battery. So we're marrying the fuel cells, which are great for getting through the night, and the Solar-Soaring, which is great in the daytime for getting energy directly from the sun and wind," said Edwards.

Although the Solar-Soaring technology was a success, it did not come without its challenges.

"There's always an interesting jump from pure math, pure theory, to the application space," said Edwards. "Some algorithms look great in simulation, but just don't give the desired results in the real world with noisy data. Real thermals are so much more complex than in simulations, so we have had to fly a lot to find out what is robust in the real world."

Jenkins spends his time at the lab developing solar cells on a small scale, so having the opportunity to take the solar cell technology and apply it was both challenging and rewarding.

"It is fun to see the application of advanced solar cells at work, as opposed to when you're developing new solar cell technology, where the end product is usually a published report. Here we have something that is very close to the end application," said Jenkins.

Source: Naval Research Lab

Published December 2018

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