Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
March 27, 2012Volume 08 Issue 12


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

  • Going lean and getting self-directed
  • Cladding gold contacts with a laser
  • Game controllers take new direction
  • Wheels (and wings): Supersonic biplane
  • Mike Likes: Lubrication-free plastic ball bearings
  • Engineer's Toolbox: When clients ask for a discount
  • Quick Look: High-speed digital data logger
  • Quick Look: Bellows Electrical Contacts brochure
  • Quick Look: Direct-drive motors for EVs
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Full airplane sim uses NI HIL tools
    • Autonomous robot arm is an attention grabber
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • One-hole wonder: Rifle-barrel maker
    • Forklift in the sky: 3M instant adhesive stunt
    • GM, NASA creating robotic gloves for human use
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: MIT's supersonic biplane concept. [Image: Christine Daniloff/MIT]

News

Johnson Controls previews 3D instrument cluster display concept

Domestic parts shortage for defense? Federal committee seeks information on domestic forging capabilities

Mitsubishi Electric develops EV motor system with built-in silicon carbide inverter

Saelig selling basic MakerBot 3D printer for $1,700



Image - World's Most Secure Fastener
World's Most Secure Fastener
Bryce high-tech security locks use cabinet-lock technology to take tamper-proofing to the next level. Vice grips, screw drivers, and drills can't get past these privately keyed fasteners, which are forged in solid stainless or CRv alloy and are ready to be power-driven. These fasteners are available in sizes from 2-56 to 5/8-11 and in metric sizes M2 to M16. Customer-specific key codes provide unmatched security. Bryce Fastener had 800 new customers last year alone with no reported security breaches!
Go directly to Bryce Fastener by clicking here.
Get a free sample by clicking here.
See these fasteners on YouTube by clicking here.

Feature articles
What happens when you go lean and get self-directed?
For Connecticut Spring & Stamping, a manufacturer of close-tolerance precision metal parts, a nearly 20-year commitment to lean manufacturing has naturally evolved into using self-directed work teams (SDWT) to achieve such ambitious objectives as 100% on-time delivery and 100% quality.
Read the full article.
New process clads gold contacts with a laser
Electroplating is the conventional method used to plate metal switches, but scientists in Germany have developed a new and novel laser-based method that involves laser-cladding gold contact spots instead of applying the gold in a thin layer on the whole surface. This new technique is fast and offers the potential to cut up to 90% of the amount of gold used.
Read the full article.
More haptic feedback provides a new direction for game controllers
University of Utah engineers have designed a new kind of video game controller that not only vibrates like existing devices, but pulls and stretches the thumb tips in different directions to simulate the tug of a fishing line, the recoil of a gun, or the feeling of ocean waves.
Read the full article.
Wheels (and wings):
Can a supersonic biplane be the new Concorde?

Cheaper, quieter, and fuel-efficient biplanes could put supersonic travel on the horizon, according to MIT engineers.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Lubrication-free plastic ball bearings for extreme applications
Mike Likes:
Lubrication-free plastic ball bearings for extreme applications

Able to withstand temps to 302°F, xiros ball bearings from igus have opened new fields of application for plastic bearing technology. The inner and outer races are made from high-performance iglide polymer materials, while the corrosion-resistant balls are made from stainless steel. Glass balls are also available for maximum corrosion resistance. Lightweight and maintenance free, these bearings are available from stock, and an FDA-compliant option is available. Calculate how long xiros ball bearings will last in your application and learn all about the xiros line, including slewing ring bearings and self-aligning flange bearings, by clicking here.
Engineer's Toolbox:
9 power questions to use when clients ask for a discount

When one of your customers calls and says, "I need a discount," author Andrew Sobel suggests that rather than respond with a yes or no, you should transform the conversation – and possibly the relationship – by asking a few power questions.
Read the full article.

Image - Quick Look: High-speed digital data logger
Quick Look: High-speed digital data logger
Saelig's LOG Storm is a dedicated hardware/software combination that can collect high-speed digital bus activity for periods of hours or even days and extract specific functional events of interest.
Learn more about this product.

Image - Quick Look: Bellows Electrical Contacts brochure
Quick Look: Bellows Electrical Contacts brochure
Servometer's new Bellows Electrical Contacts brochure features products and specifications to design and integrate bellows into electrical applications.
Get the brochure.

Image - Quick Look: Direct-drive motors for EVs
Quick Look: Direct-drive motors for EVs
Applimotion's ULT, UTH, UTS, and UTO frameless motor kits cover a wide range of applications including; robots, inspection platforms, medical diagnostic machines, satellites, and imaging systems.
Learn more about this product.

Most popular last issue
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.
Forklift in the sky: 3M instant adhesive stunt helps set new Guinness World Record
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.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Embraer performs full airplane simulation using NI hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tools
Learn how Embraer used NI VeriStand software to develop an iron-bird simulator in which the complete electrical system of the aircraft was connected to a simulation of the rest of the plane to perform simulated flight tests that accurately exercised the electronics and software.
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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Mechanical
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Motion
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