Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
January 31, 2012Volume 08 Issue 04


Image - New ‘pin and keeper' quick-assembly <br>sign fastening system
New ‘pin and keeper' quick-assembly
sign fastening system

The Micro Plastics sign fastener is designed for rapid assembly and disassembly of a sign or other panel to its support structure. The reusable fastener was designed to fit a hole diameter of 5/16 in. to 3/8 in. (8 mm to 9.5 mm) and can be used to fasten two pieces together with total panel thickness from 1 in. to 1.64 in. (25.4 mm to 41.6 mm). Simply squeeze the keeper together and slide onto the pin, then release the keeper. Molded from impact-resistant and UV-stabilized nylon 6/6, the sign fastener is designed to withstand the elements in outdoor applications.
Click here for more information.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Army next-gen helicopter design: Part 2
  • 6 plastic product design principles
  • Leaping lizards inspire robot designs
  • Wheels: Fuel expert: Policy-makers need to get real
  • Mike Likes: 20+ retaining ring applications
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Laminated circuits take the heat
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Apple fans react to poor-working-conditions report
    • Smart Window is sci-fi display come to life
    • World's fastest 6-axis robots
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Army next-gen helicopter design: Part 1
    • Wheels: The case of the missing gas mileage
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: Agama lizard with Cal Tailbot robot. [Photo by Robert Full lab, UC Berkeley]

News

NIST issues cloud computing guidelines for managing security and privacy

BAE Systems, Caterpillar sign 20-year agreement to outfit heavy-duty trucks with HybriDrive parallel systems

QinetiQ receives urgent military order for micro robots

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory begins widespread adoption of Maplesoft technology



Image - Precision Electroforms Offer Limitless Geometries
Precision Electroforms Offer Limitless Geometries
Servometer® custom electroforms are thin-walled, precision components that can be made as small as .020" (0.5 mm) in diameter, with walls as thin as 0.0005", and are the ideal solution for both invasive and non-invasive applications within the medical industry requiring close tolerance, high strength, light weight, and unusual shapes.
Click here for more information and a sample.

Feature articles
Army developing next-gen helicopter
Part 2: Equipment technology considerations

The Army-led science and technology Joint Multi-Role Demonstrator effort to design a next-generation vertical-lift aircraft by 2030 is heavily focused on leveraging advanced sensors, electronics, avionics, and cutting-edge types of mission and survivability equipment. The goal is to design a vertical-lift aircraft that is faster, more capable, and better equipped than today's fleet.
Read the full article
Image -
Click the ad above to find out more about Setra's full line of high-performance sensing products.

6 plastic product design principles
The rapid development of modern 3D CAD systems has facilitated a move to more organic forms and ever-increasing geometry complexity. Just think about the change in design from the conventional box-shaped vacuum cleaner to the modern Dyson. This article focuses on design fundamentals like wall thickness, rib designs, and draft angles and the impact they have when it comes to complexity vs. manufacturability.
Read the full article
Leaping lizards inspire robot designs
University of California, Berkeley, biologists and engineers studied how lizards manage to leap successfully even when they slip and stumble. They found that lizards swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels into a rock. But after the team added a tail to a robotic car named Tailbot, they discovered that counteracting the effect of a slip is not as simple as throwing your tail in the air.
Read the full article
Wheels: Sandia fuel expert says policy-makers need to get real, 'flex'-ible
A transportation fuels expert from Sandia National Laboratories says policy-makers should consider such practical issues as the number of gas stations selling ethanol and how long it takes to get new transportation technologies to market as they introduce aggressive federal and state energy policies.
Read the full article

Image - Mike Likes: <br>20+ retaining ring application examples
Mike Likes:
20+ retaining ring application examples

What can't you do with Smalley retaining rings and snap rings? The company has put a lot of effort into the visuals to demonstrate some 23 user applications for its Spirolox retaining, constant section, and wave spring rings – and we all know how visual engineers are. What about in a slip clutch, an actuator valve, a right-angle gear, or a rotary union? How about in a pneumatic fitting, a hip replacement, or even to hold glass panels in the Louvre pyramid? If you have an unusual application challenge, Smalley can help. Obviously, they've just about seen it all.
See all that you can do with Smalley retaining rings.
Engineer's Toolbox:
Laminated circuits take the heat

Delamination caused by deteriorating adhesives that traditionally bond the layers of laminate structures such as circuit boards can lead to premature product failure. And adhesives can add up to 50% to the overall thickness and weight of a laminate structure. To solve these issues, specialty-materials manufacturer Rogers Corporation developed a proprietary technology to heat laminate, high-temperature-performance Victrex APTIV film directly to metal foils or other materials in both roll-to-roll and flat-panel laminate structures without the need for adhesives.
Read the full article

Most popular last issue
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
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 and makes some controversial proposals.
Read the full article

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Apple fans weigh in on reports of poor working conditions
Apple fans at the recent Macworld/iWorld event voiced mixed opinions to the recent New York Times' investigative story, "In China, human costs are built into an iPad." The reactions, and who some Apple fans and companion-product makers really blame, may surprise you.
View the Network World video

Video Image
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

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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Software
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