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January 24, 2012Volume 08 Issue 03


Image - Easy-to-install plastic spherical bearings
Easy-to-install plastic spherical bearings
igubal® spherical bearings are easy to install and compensate for misalignment. They are made from high-performance, low-cost plastics, which have excellent vibration dampening properties and are lubrication-free. The resistance of igubal® bearings to dirt and dust makes them ideal for applications where a standard greased bearing would not be suitable. Compared to their metal counterparts, igubal® spherical bearings weigh up to 80% less and help save on installation space thanks to a low profile.
Request a free bearing sample from igus.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Army next-gen helicopter design: Part 1
  • Micro Solutions: Small-but-mighty micromotors
  • Self-healing electronics get real
  • Wheels: The case of the missing gas mileage
  • Mike Likes: Incredibly durable, flat flexible cables
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Coiled pins as perfect hinges
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Smart Window is sci-fi display come to life
    • World's fastest 6-axis robots
    • Detroit Auto Show 2012
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Super car, super engine: McLaren MP4-12C
    • Wheels: CAFE standards = BIGGER cars?
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: [Photo Credit: AMRDEC]

News

Marines test new energy-efficient weapon in the war on trash

Department of Defense orders $1 million worth of Stratasys 3D printers for grade-school programs

BorgWarner's two-stage turbocharging technology drives Mercedes' first S-Class four-cylinder

Coating that stops bleeding almost instantly could prevent battlefield deaths



Image - Introducing Rogan's <br>Bondable Liquid Silicone Rubber WIDGET
Introducing Rogan's
Bondable Liquid Silicone Rubber WIDGET

Rogan Corporation can over-mold a New Generation of Bondable Liquid Silicone Rubber directly onto plastic and metal components. This process can simplify supply chain and inventory management, and improve product reliability and features. Design opportunities include: integral seals and gaskets for waterproofing complex geometries and electronic interconnects, integral membranes, diaphragms, vales, switch covers, shock and vibration protection, and sound dampening. Rogan is a Full Turn-Key Custom Contract Manufacturer.
Click here to request a FREE WIDGET sample

Feature articles
Army next-gen helicopter design
Part 1: Design considerations

The Pentagon and the U.S. Army are in the early stages of a far-reaching science and technology effort designed to engineer, build, and deliver a next-generation helicopter with vastly improved avionics, electronics, range, speed, propulsion, survivability, operating density altitudes, and payload capacity.
Read the full article
Micro Solutions:
Small-but-mighty micromotors power 5-axis CNC unit

There is a clear trend toward making components as small and compact as possible, even in mechatronic components. It saves both raw materials and costs. A new compact 5-axis CNC machine is now making the production of complex small components easier. Despite its small size, the use of brushless micro-drives means the system can offer all the properties that were previously the domain of larger systems.
Read the full article
Self-healing electronics could work longer and reduce waste
When one tiny circuit within an integrated chip cracks or fails, the whole chip – or even the whole device – is a loss. But what if the circuit could fix itself, and fix itself so fast that the user never knew there was a problem?
Read the full article
Wheels:
The case of the missing gas mileage

Automakers have made great strides in fuel efficiency in recent decades — but the mileage numbers of individual vehicles have barely increased. An MIT economist explains the conundrum.
Read the full article

Image - Mike Likes:<br>Incredibly durable, flat flexible cables
Mike Likes:
Incredibly durable, flat flexible cables

Cicoil's super-hardy flat silicone cables are designed for applications that require absolute reliability in mission-critical and extreme environments. The cables shown were made for unmanned ground-based military robotic vehicles, but we're sure that you can dream up a use for Cicoil technology too. The flat silicone cables with encapsulated conductors provide space and weight savings, enhanced flexibility, greater current-carrying capacity, reduced skewing effects, and better electrical characteristics. They are unaffected by exposure to severe vibration, G-forces, abrasion, water, extreme temps, flames, and harsh weather conditions.
Check out what Cicoil cables can offer your designs
Watch Cicoil videos
Peruse the Cicoil white papers
Engineer's Toolbox:
Fasteners: Clever seam design makes coiled pin a perfect hinge

Coiled spring pins are manufactured with a seam that is much better for hinges than spring pins. Find out why, and how this simple component can improve your designs.
Read the full article

Most popular last issue

Image - Super car, super engine: McLaren MP4-12C
Super car, super engine: McLaren MP4-12C
Insider Look: How British engineering consultancy Ricardo helped McLaren design and develop the world's greenest supercar engine – and created a super-lean assembly facility to build it in the U.K.
Read the full article
Wheels:
Study says CAFE standards create profit incentive for larger vehicles

The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards create a financial incentive for auto companies to make bigger vehicles that are allowed to meet lower targets, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Read the full article

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Smart Window is sci-fi display technology come to life
The future of display technologies was made blazingly clear at the recent 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Samsung demonstrated its Transparent Smart Window technology, which wowed participants and garnered a tradeshow innovation award. What's so cool about a solar-powered kitchen, office, or living-room window that turns into a dazzling working computer display or TV monitor at the touch of a finger? Um … just about everything.
View the video

Video Image
World's fastest 6-axis robots
The advanced-design VS-Series six-axis articulated robots from DENSO are the world's fastest in their class. See them perform with lightning speed and even take a "swim." But don't blink. These things can really move.
View the video

Video Image
Detroit Auto Show 2012: Cars make a comeback
Preview some of the hottest debut vehicles and maybe learn a little along the way. Who would have thought that Honda would make a move to build its new high-end Acura NSX sports car in Ohio, when just a few years ago the entire auto industry was super shaky? Vroom vroom.
View the ABC News video

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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Materials
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