Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
May 15, 2012Volume 08 Issue 19


Image - Design tips for better plastic parts
Design tips for better plastic parts

Protomold has compiled over 90 tips for designing injection molded parts into 8 handy, downloadable volumes. Find useful tips and guidelines on everything from selecting materials to designing parts cost-effectively.

Download the design-tip compilations today.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Infrared camera buying tips
  • Get your 3D-printing Mojo on for $185 a month
  • Air Force's MUTT aircraft
  • Wheels: Predictive engine controller
  • Mike Likes: Design your own perfect wave spring
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Self-clinching fasteners
  • Quick Look: LED drivers with extended lifespan
  • Quick Look: Locking bushings handle high torque
  • Quick Look: Heavy-duty traverse drives
  • Quick Look: Composite clad metal wire
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • 3D-printed Fenway Park tours Boston
    • Mesmerizing flying inversion object
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Wheels: World's fastest hybrid semi
    • Is this the perfect glass?
    • 'Invisible wires' for solar windows
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: FLIR thermal imagers include sketch-on-image technology.

News

Navy program aims to develop solid-state laser weapons for ships

New eco-friendly method provides quick, concentrated UV protection for polycarbonate

TRW extends its motor pump technology expertise to the global transmission market

‘Phase-change' material discovery may provide much faster, larger flash drive memory



Image - Precision Flexible Shaft Couplings
Precision Flexible Shaft Couplings
Servometer® low-torque, bellows-type flexible shaft couplings offer seamless construction with maximum flexibility, and handle angular misalignment up to 31° and parallel misalignments up to .076''. They exhibit low windup due to torsional rigidity, and low side thrust because of lateral flexibility. Other couplings have either low windup or low side thrust … but not both!
Learn more about Servometer flexible shaft couplings and request
a free sample.

Feature articles
12 things to consider before buying an infrared camera
Buying an infrared camera is a big commitment. Even though prices have fallen dramatically over the past few years, you want to make sure that you're getting the best value for your money and choosing the camera that will serve you well over the long term.
Read the full article.
Get your 3D-printing Mojo on for $185 a month
3D printing innovator Statasys has been itching to let the world in on its latest creation, and now the time has come. The company unveiled its low-price, professional-grade Mojo system on May 8.
Read the full article.
Air Force's MUTT aircraft may help researchers suppress flutter
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center soon will have a new dog in the yard, and it's a real MUTT. That's short for the Multi-Use Technology Testbed, a small unmanned aircraft being developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to test technologies that will be needed for new kinds of lightweight, flexible aircraft.
Read the full article.
Wheels:
Engine control integrates energy-flow management, predicts route demands

International automotive supplier Continental has just released its Engine Management System 3 (EMS3) platform, a new generation of engine and drive controls that not only governs fuel injection and ignition with even more precision than ever before, but also coordinates electric automobile motors and monitors their battery charge. It also attempts to predict future engine load requirements based on GPS data.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Design your own perfect wave spring
Mike Likes:
Design your own perfect wave spring

Smalley's online Custom Design Tool is especially cool because it allows you to enter your application requirements and design the perfect spring for your unique application. Smalley wave springs have been used in aerospace electrical connectors, bearing preloads, clutch drives, floating gears, face seals, and pressure valves. The ability to manufacture specials quickly and economically – with the No-Tooling-Cost manufacturing process – is what really differentiates Smalley from any other manufacturer out there.
Check out how to design your perfect wave spring today.
Engineer's Toolbox: Self-clinching fasteners by design
Dozens of types and thousands of variations of self-clinching fasteners (steel, stainless steel, or aluminum) have been engineered over the years. Leon M. Attarian of PennEngineering provides three mini case studies where manufacturers benefited greatly by switching to self-clinching fasteners in their assemblies. This article is filled with insightful tips and suggestions.
Read the full article.

Image - Quick Look: <br>LED drivers with extended lifespan
Quick Look:
LED drivers with extended lifespan

Phihong has developed a new series of external AC/DC LED drivers that feature extended lifespans of up to 100,000 hr. Stonehenge drivers are ideal for applications including display lighting and small strings of high-intensity bulbs. They are designed without E-caps, which dry out over time and shorten the operating life of power supplies. A subset of the broader PDA012X Series, the Stonehenge Series consists of two drivers: the PDA012A-350C-H-R, which is designed for AC inputs of 220-277 VAC, and the PDA012B-350C-H-R, which is designed for AC inputs of 100-120 VAC.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Quick Look: <br>Shaft locking bushings with high torque capacity
Quick Look:
Shaft locking bushings with high torque capacity

ETP Express (Model R stainless steel) keyless shaft locking bushings from Zero-Max handle torque ranges from 34 to 6,400 ft-lb - two-and-a-half times greater than conventional bushings. They are ideal for locking into position gears, pulleys, sprockets, and other components in a machine's power transmission system.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Quick Look: <br>New pitch control doubles linear pitch accuracy of heavy-duty traverse drives
Quick Look:
New pitch control doubles linear pitch accuracy of heavy-duty traverse drives

The Amacoil/Uhing RG50, RG60, and RG80 drives have a 10:1 linear pitch range that is adjustable over 100 discrete notched settings. Moving the pitch control lever one notch up or down changes pitch by 0.01. Previously, moving the pitch control lever resulted in only a 0.02 change. A worm gear option is available so the notched pitch settings are bypassed and linear pitch is infinitely adjustable (over the 10:1 range) using a control knob. These large RG traverse drives provide from 225 to 800 lb of axial thrust and are primarily used for traverse winding of thick cable, heavy rope, and chain onto wide, large-diameter flanged spools and reels.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Quick Look: <br>Composite clad metal wire saves up to 90%
Quick Look:
Composite clad metal wire saves up to 90%

Anomet Precious Metal Clad Wire can be formulated to meet specific OEM performance characteristics such as temperature and corrosion resistance or bio-compatibility – at about one-tenth the cost of solid wire. This smooth-finish wire is functionally equivalent to solid platinum, silver, and gold wire. These precious metals can be clad to lower-cost core materials such as copper, Kovar, nickel-iron, molybdenum, stainless steel, tantalum, and titanium.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue
Wheels:
World's fastest hybrid semi truck just got a little faster

The Volvo Mean Green hybrid truck established two new world speed records on April 27 at Utah's historic Wendover Airfield, eclipsing its previous marks in the standing kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) and flying kilometer.
Read the full article.
Is this the perfect glass?
MIT researchers find a way to make glass that is anti-fogging, self-cleaning, and free of glare.
Read the full article.
Scientists develop 'invisible wires' for transporting electricity on solar windows
New Energy Technologies has partnered with scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop SolarWindow technology.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
3D-printed Fenway Park tours Boston
To coincide with Fenway Park's 100th anniversary, Objet 3D-printed a 3-ft by 5-ft, 105-lb scale replica of America's beloved Boston ballpark, down to the smallest detail. Watch project highlights, from design to creation, assembly and unveiling at Fenway.
View the video.

Video Image
Flying inversion object aims to inspire new drive concepts
The nature-loving wizards at Festo have combined extreme lightweight construction, electric drive units, and control and regulation technology to create SmartInversion, a working helium-filled flying object that moves through the air by turning inside out. The shape is based on the geometrical band devised by Paul Schatz: its middle section, in the form of an articulated ring of six members, detaches itself from a cube and constantly turns inside out, taking on different geometrical shapes in the process. Kind of mesmerizing, don't you think?
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
View Products…
Mechanical
View Products…
Motion
View Products…
Materials
View Products…


Subscribe to DesignFax

For advertising opportunities contact:

John Holmes

jholmes@nelsonpub.com
(847) 364-7441

Dan Beck

danbeck58@gmail.com
(518) 852-9624

Questions or comments about the eMagazine or articles? Contact us at: Designfax

www.designfax.net
PO Box 424, Alto, MI 49302

webteam@designfax.net
Privacy Statement