Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
March 20, 2012Volume 08 Issue 11


Image - Get Your Protomold Design Cube
Get Your Protomold Design Cube
Our Design Cube illustrates important considerations when designing plastic injection molded parts. It showcases a range of available surface finishes and examples of bosses, gussets, and ribs. It also demonstrates the impact on part quality of overly thick or thin sections, as well as ways to incorporate holes and their potential effect on resin flow.

Get your Protomold cube today.


In this issue of Designfax

  • One-hole wonder: Rifle-barrel maker
  • GM, NASA creating robotic gloves for human use
  • Quickest path for automated underwater vehicles
  • Wheels: Ford accelerates conical joint design
  • Mike Likes: Smalley retaining ring info on the go
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Crosstalk on smartphones
  • Multiple sensors in one: New vision sensing concept
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • What's so great about piezo motors?
    • Autonomous robot arm is an attention grabber
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Navy tests electromagnetic railgun
    • Tiny electric prototype enters Pikes Peak climb
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: Ford uses Abaqus for CATIA, Isight for conical joint design

News

Experimental smart outlet aims to bring flexibility, resiliency to power grid architecture

Forklift in the sky: 3M instant adhesive stunt helps set new Guinness World Record

Naval Research Laboratory designs robot for shipboard firefighting

New energy-conversion record set for polymer solar cells: 10.6%



Image - Rogan Liquid Silicone Rubber Molding Capabilities
Rogan Liquid Silicone Rubber Molding Capabilities
Rogan specializes in producing injection molded Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) components. The company is one of a few select manufacturers that also offers Bondable Liquid Silicone Rubber (Bondable LSR) overmolding that is injection molded directly to plastic or metal parts, creating a single integrated component. Utilizing LSR's heat/chemical/shock/vibration resistance and sound dampening, design opportunities include integral seals and gaskets for waterproofing complex geometries and electronic interconnects, integral membranes, diaphragms, valves, and switch covers.
A new state-of-the-art Class 100,000 clean room enables Rogan to meet the increasing demand for LSR molding and assembly.

Request a "Widget" illustrating Rogan's Bondable LSR.


Feature articles
One-hole wonder:
Rifle-barrel maker takes hole-making to new level

Fred Feddersen is a rifle-barrel maker on a mission to do something that's never been done before: create a production barrel that can shoot successive bullets through the same hole, using an inexpensive semiautomatic rifle, not a bolt-action Olympic race gun.
Read the full article.
GM, NASA creating robotic gloves for human use
General Motors and NASA want to give space and Earth-bound workers alike a helping hand -- a bionic one, that is.
Read the full article.
For AUVs, sometimes the quickest path is not a straight line
Sometimes the fastest pathway from point A to point B is not a straight line: for example, if you're an automated underwater vehicle (AUV) and contending with strong and shifting currents. Discerning the best route in such settings is a monumentally complex problem, but that's just what a team of engineers at MIT has figured out how to do.
Read the full article.
Wheels:
Ford accelerates design for manufacturability of conical joints using Abaqus for CATIA and Isight

Developing high-quality bolted joints is an integral part of vehicle chassis design. While less understood than the design of connecting members, such as a toe-link that connects the sub frame to the knuckle, robust joints are critical to improving handling and longevity of vehicle performance.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Smalley retaining ring info on the go
Mike Likes:
Smalley retaining ring info on the go

Smalley Steel Ring Company has launched a new mobile website so its customers can make fast and easy part choices via smartphone. By using the "Quick Search" function, users can view and select Spirolox Retaining Rings, Constant Section Rings, and Wave Springs based on type and diameter, and then further research the part by viewing product specs. Once a part is chosen, free samples or a quote can be requested with just one more step. The mobile site is perfect for design engineers on the factory floor engaged in the production process.
Check out the Smalley mobile site at www.smalley.com/mobile and then be sure to bookmark it on your phone.
Engineer's Toolbox:
Crosstalk on smartphone? No problem!

A new hybrid sensor from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors eases the installation of proximity and ambient light sensor technology in smartphones and similar devices.
Read the full article.

Image - Multiple sensors in one: <br>A revolutionary concept for vision sensing
Multiple sensors in one:
A revolutionary concept for vision sensing

The new IV Vision Sensor from KEYENCE combines the functionality of machine vision and traditional sensors in a single, IP67-compliant system. This low-cost, highly versatile sensor handles a wide range of difficult presence-detection applications. With one-minute setup using "Easy Navigation," the IV is ready to tackle difficult detection applications that previously required multiple conventional or proximity sensors. High-intensity illumination, high-performance lenses, and a selection of eight different sensor heads enable sharp, clear, and stable images. Camera selection includes close-, medium-, and long-range models.
Learn more about the KEYENCE IV Vision Sensor.

Most popular last issue
Navy begins two-month-long testing of electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher
Read the full article.
Mitsubishi entering tiny i-MiEV electric prototype in 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
What's so great about piezo motors?
High-resolution, high-precision piezoelectric motors are lightweight and mighty mini solutions for your robotics, optics and photonics, medical and lab automation, and other precision-motion needs. These tiny direct-drive powerhouses from MICROMO come in standard or custom linear or rotary configurations, and with no current draw when motionless (like microstepping and servo motors), their reduced power consumption is another big plus.
View the video.

Video Image
Autonomous robot arm is an attention grabber
DARPA's Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program is developing software to perform human-level tasks quickly with minimal direction. This video shows the ARM robot performing 18 grasping and manipulation tasks using vision, force, and tactile sensing with full autonomy -- no active human control. The DARPA-supplied robot was built using commercial components that include an arm, hand, neck, and head sensors. Rigorous testing in November 2011 achieved 93% success in grasping modeled and unmodeled objects. The ARM program has entered its second phase, where the focus turns to complex bimanual manipulation scenarios.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Materials
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