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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.

NIST identifies potential driver of premature solar panel failures

Unlike diamonds, solar panels are not forever. Ultraviolet rays, gusts of wind, and heavy rain wear away at them over their lifetime.

Manufacturers typically guarantee that panels will endure the elements for at least 25 years before experiencing significant drop-offs in power generation, but recent reports highlight a trend of panels failing decades before expected. For some models, there has been a spike in the number of cracked backsheets -- layers of plastic that electrically insulate and physically shield the backsides of solar panels.

Cracks often form on solar panel backsheets in straight lines, along the gaps between solar cells. [Credit: NIST]

 

 

The premature cracking has largely been attributed to the widespread use of certain plastics, such as polyamide, but the reason for their rapid degradation has been unclear. By closely examining cracked polyamide-based backsheets, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and colleagues have uncovered how interactions between these plastics, environmental factors, and solar panel architecture may be speeding up the degradation process. These findings could aid researchers in the development of improved durability tests and longer-lived solar panels.

Cracks in backsheets often show up first near certain features, such as the grid-shaped space in between the blue or black electricity-producing solar cells, and can eventually propagate through the entire thickness of a sheet. These defects make way for oxygen and moisture to infiltrate and damage the interior where the cells lie and also allow electrical current to escape, increasing risks of electrocution.

If left outside for long enough, any plastic-based backsheet will start to fall apart, but not all backsheets are created equal. Some plastics deteriorate much more rapidly than others.

"In the 2010 to 2012 timeframe, many modules were deployed containing polyamide-based backsheets, which presented dramatic cracking failure in as little as four years despite meeting standard requirements," said Xiaohong Gu, NIST materials engineer and co-author of the study.

To get to the root of polyamide's degradation problem, Gu and her team acquired backsheet samples from solar panels deployed in regions around the globe, including sites in the United States, China, Thailand, and Italy. Most of the panels, which were in use from three to six years, showed clear signs of premature cracking.

With the weathered backsheets in hand, the researchers conducted a gamut of chemical and mechanical tests to examine the patterns and severity of degradation throughout the depth of the sheets. The results, described in the journal Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, showed that the areas of the sheets that had undergone the worst cracking were those that had become the most rigid. And curiously, the most brittle areas were on the inner side of the sheets, Gu said.

How could the quality of the walled-off interior diminish more quickly than the exposed outer layer? Gu and her team speculated that the sunlight-induced degradation of the top side of the encapsulant, a film that surrounds the solar cells, produced damaging chemicals that descended toward the backsheets, speeding up their decay. If true, the proposed mechanism would explain why cracks form in between solar cells, as chemicals could find passage to the back through these regions.

The researchers identified acetic acid as a prime suspect, as it is known to be harmful to polyamide and is produced during the degradation of a polymer commonly used as an encapsulant, called ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). To test their hypothesis, the researchers stowed several polyamide strips away in vials of acetic acid and then, after five months, analyzed how they decayed compared with strips placed in either air or water.

Although moisture and water wear away at the entire outer surface of backsheets, they crack more quickly in the area between solar cells where sunlight shines through. NIST researchers propose that degradation is worse there because acetic acid, which forms when sunlight hits the the rubbery upper layers, can pass between the solar cells toward the backsheets, causing them to decay from the inside out.

Acetic acid, which forms when sunlight hits the the rubbery upper layers, can pass between solar cells toward the backsheets, causing them to decay from the inside out. [Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST]

 

 

Under the microscope, cracks mirroring those from the weathered backsheets appeared on the surface of the plastic strips exposed to acetic acid, which appeared much worse than on those that had been in air or water. Chemical analysis showed that degradation products of polyamide were higher in the acetic-acid-exposed strips, providing further evidence that the acid accelerates the deterioration of the backsheet material.

The study highlights the interplay between solar panel components (the EVA encapsulant and polyamide backsheet in this case) as a potentially critical factor to consider when designing solar panels that are built to last.

These new insights into premature failures could also become valuable to NIST researchers and others who seek to replicate the degradation process in the lab as a way to test and predict the longevity of solar panel components.

Read: "Drivers for the cracking of multilayer polyamide?based backsheets in field photovoltaic modules: In?depth degradation mapping analysis" by Y. Lyu, A. Fairbrother, M. Gong, J.H. Kim, A. Hauser, G. O'Brien, and X. Gu in Progress in Photovoltaics, Mar. 9, 2020.

Source: NIST

Published March 2020

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