Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
November 28, 2023Volume 19 Issue 44


Image - Great Resource: Unit Conversion Tool
Great Resource: Unit Conversion Tool
With Smalley's engineering tools, convert popular spring units such as force or retaining ring thrust capacities into metric units. Convert units such as mass and weight, angular measurements, velocities, temperatures, pressures, densities, and more!
Learn more. You should bookmark this one.

In this issue of Designfax

  • NASA receives laser data from 10 million miles away
  • How Toyota is using Generative AI
  • 3D-printed robots get bones, ligaments with new polymer
  • Lucid Motors Gravity: 800-hp premium all-electric SUV
  • Position sensor real-world applications
  • Heavy duty: Actuators for 3-ton bunker doors
  • Standard parts with signal feedback included
  • Hybrid actuation system reduces energy usage
  • Machine tending solution compatible with any CNC
  • Particle foam perfectly distributed: Ultrasim simulation
  • Create smarter control systems with relays
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • See Optimus Primal get 3D printed
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Ram 1500 Ramcharger: V-6 hybrid 690-mile range
    • NASA 3D prints aluminum rocket engine nozzle
    • Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Lucid Motors Gravity all-electric SUV

News

Fastest computer in the world: U.S. national lab's Frontier uses super speeds for super AI

Scientists identify hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics, say safe circular economy is not possible

U.S. Department of Defense releases AI adoption strategy

Weird science: New kind of magnetism discovered



Feature articles
NASA receives laser data from 10 million miles away
In a technology first, NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications experiment aboard the Psyche spacecraft has beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data from nearly 10 million miles away -- about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth -- to Caltech's Palomar Observatory in California. This is the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications and is even more complicated than you may think.
Read the full article.
Image -
Ultra-Reliable Hydraulic/Pneumatic Position Sensors: TM1 Series touchless sensors are hermetically sealed to work inside cylinders up to 5,000 psi/350 bar as well as outside environments. Electrical stroke lengths are 2 to 78 in./50 to 2,000 mm. Repeatability is ≤ 0.004 in./0.1 mm. Linearity is to 0.04%. Learn more.


Image - How Toyota is using Generative AI
How Toyota is using Generative AI
The news about artificial intelligence (AI) can be alarming, sounding like robots are taking over the world. That is not reality. Toyota has been using AI for years, within the enterprise as well as in the products they offer. See what the company is up to now and has plans for in the future.
Read the full article.

Image - 3D-printed robots get bones, ligaments, and tendons made with new polymer in one pass
3D-printed robots get bones, ligaments, and tendons made with new polymer in one pass
Researchers in Switzerland and the United States have succeeded in printing a robotic hand with bones, ligaments, and tendons made of different polymers using a new laser scanning technique and slow-​curing plastics. The new technology makes it easy to combine soft, elastic, and rigid materials in a single print.
Read the full article.

Image - Lucid Motors Gravity: 800-hp premium all-electric SUV
Lucid Motors Gravity: 800-hp premium all-electric SUV
After winning the 2023 World Luxury Car Award for its Lucid Air sedan, newbie American electric car company Lucid Motors has announced its latest creation: an 800-hp full-size, seven-seat SUV called Gravity that they claim will go 440 miles on a single charge. Available in 2024.
Read the full article.

Image - Position sensor real-world applications: Automotive and mobile equipment
Position sensor real-world applications: Automotive and mobile equipment
From firetruck nozzle positioning and race car steering to accelerator control and wheel vector sensing, learn how position sensors from Novotechnik are used in real-world applications. Sensor types include non-contacting rotary sensors, angle sensors, and magnetic encoders. We love when manufacturers provide examples of their products in action.
Learn more.

Image - Heavy duty: Electric actuators open 3-ton bunker doors
Heavy duty: Electric actuators open 3-ton bunker doors
Converting a 1960s nuclear-proof bunker into a museum is full of challenges, one of which was to repurpose 3-ton, all-metal nuclear-safe doors as fire doors. But how do you open and close such massive doors safely? Luckily, Thomson Industries' Electrak HD electric linear actuators were up for the challenge.
Read the full article.

Image - Standard parts with signal feedback included
Standard parts with signal feedback included
JW Winco standard parts are becoming even more functional -- multifunctional, to be precise. From smart stop bolts that report whether workpieces are precisely positioned in the machining process to cabinet handles with signal lights and fluid level indicators with electronic REED contact signals, intelligent standard parts from JW Winco ensure greater safety, higher efficiency, and increased stability. Many more very useful options available for a wide range of applications.
Learn more.

Image - Hybrid actuation system reduces energy consumption, simplifies designs
Hybrid actuation system reduces energy consumption, simplifies designs
Learn how a leading manufacturer of household cleaning products solved its downtime problems due to an overloaded ball screw in its production-line electromechanical automated plastic cap dumping function. A Hybrid Actuation System (HAS) did the trick, combining the controllability of traditional electromechanical actuators with the power density, longer life, and failsafe conditions commonly found on traditional hydraulic systems.
Read this informative Parker blog.

Image - Machine tending solution now compatible with any CNC machine
Machine tending solution now compatible with any CNC machine
The Robotiq Machine Tending Solution has made automation accessible to businesses of all sizes, overturning the belief that automation is too complicated. The company says their part-feeding solutions can provide up to a 30% production runtime increase -- without communication cards, expensive wiring, custom programming, or permanent modifications.
Learn how to boost your CNC productivity.

Image - Particle foam perfectly distributed thanks to simulation with Ultrasim
Particle foam perfectly distributed thanks to simulation with Ultrasim
BASF's Ultrasim simulation solution now includes Infinergy, an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU) that is used in a wide range of applications to make components with particle foam -- from bicycle tires to the soles on shoes. Identify and solve problems related to pneumatic filling when distributing particle foams in molds, even taking gravity and mold closing into consideration. Avoid those pesky air pockets.
Learn more.

Image - Create smarter control systems with relays
Create smarter control systems with relays
Control relays play a pivotal role in the world of automation and control systems. These versatile devices are designed to help you manage electrical circuits, making them indispensable for a wide range of applications. Learn the distinctive benefits of relays, including reliability and durability, versatility, ease of use, and costs. Check out the relays AA Electric has in stock too.
Learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger: V-6 hybrid with up to 690-mile range
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger: V-6 hybrid with up to 690-mile range
For light-duty truck fans who love the work utility of an EV's onboard electric power station but still want a gas engine to avoid range anxiety, Ram has you covered. The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger sports a 3.6-liter V-6, two electric motors, a huge battery pack, and a claim of up to 690 miles of range. But Ram doesn't want you calling this truck a hybrid.
Read the full article to find out why.

Image - NASA 3D prints aluminum rocket engine nozzle -- a technology first
NASA 3D prints aluminum rocket engine nozzle -- a technology first
NASA recently built and tested a 3D-printed rocket engine nozzle made of a novel aluminum alloy, making it lighter than conventional nozzles. Due to its low tolerance to extreme heat and its tendency to crack during welding, aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing of rocket engine parts -- until now.
Read the full article.

Image - Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise
Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise
With smaller gearboxes transmitting more power at higher rpm and the incumbent demands for greater efficiency, gear engineers are always searching for new ways to reduce vibration and limit noise -- without increasing costs.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
See Optimus Primal get 3D printed
Paramount Pictures, Velo3D, 3D Printing Nerd, and Adam Savage's Tested partnered up earlier this year on a very cool project that leveraged metal 3D printing to bring Transformers to the real world. To promote the new movie "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," Velo3D 3D printed the head of the character Optimus Primal using its Sapphire XC printer and Inconel 718, a high-performance nickel-based superalloy used by some of today's most innovative space companies. Host Joel Telling walks through all the steps that produced the 225-lb mega part with laser powder bed fusion. Cumulative print time was a whopping 160 hours.
View the video.

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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