Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
May 28, 2024Volume 20 Issue 20


Image - Need inserts? We make it E-Z.
Need inserts? We make it E-Z.
Founded in 1956, E-Z LOK allows users to repair damaged or worn-out threads without the need for special taps or installation tools. Our line of threaded locking inserts is used in metal, plastic, wood, composite and additive industries. Extensive inventories are maintained in four warehouses across the US, and all products are sold through industrial distributors. One source for all your needs!
Learn more
or contact Kyle Lindsly-Roach for free samples at 310.323.5613 x221.

In this issue of Designfax

  • 55 Years Ago: Apollo Lunar Module is tech leap to Moon
  • Ultra-high-temp-resistant aluminum alloy created
  • 3D-printed wood made from natural components
  • Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed concept: SL meets Formula 1
  • How the world's fastest RC drone was designed
  • Engineer's Toolbox: What is ground loop feedback?
  • Turn any hose or tube into a powerful conveyor!
  • Great design: Handle with integrated lighting
  • Automated piece-picking solution
  • More Stego enclosure heater options
  • Brakes for high-speed SCARA robots and more
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Recommended: Advanced inductive tech sensor
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Students invent leaf blower noise damper
    • Bentley Batur Convertible: Ultimate droptop
    • Air Force uses new process to make rocket engines
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed concept

News

Physicists arrange atoms in extremely close proximity to explore exotic states of matter

World first: New polystyrene recycling process is economical and energy efficient

Green hauler: SwRI demonstrates hydrogen-fueled Class-8 truck

Weird science: New gel breaks down alcohol in the body



Feature articles

Image - 55 Years Ago: Apollo's Lunar Module bridged the technological leap to the Moon
55 Years Ago: Apollo's Lunar Module bridged the technological leap to the Moon
The lunar module is mostly remembered for its role between July 1969 and December 1972, when six of the spacecraft successfully landed 12 American astronauts on the Moon. It also served as a "lifeboat" when the Apollo 13 command/service module was disabled en route to the Moon in April 1970. But why did engineers choose a "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous" plan that included linking up with a "mother ship" in orbit rather than a single spacecraft?
Read the full article.

Image - Ultra-high-temp-resistant aluminum alloy created for aerospace
Ultra-high-temp-resistant aluminum alloy created for aerospace
A research team in China says it has created an oxide-dispersion-strengthened aluminum super alloy that extends the material's service temperature range from 350 to 500 C. It addresses the longstanding challenge of utilizing aluminum alloys in environments surpassing 400 C for aerospace applications.
Read the full article.

Image - 3D-printed wood is made from its own natural components
3D-printed wood is made from its own natural components
Researchers at Rice University have unlocked the potential to use 3D printing to make sustainable wooden structures via an additive-free ink made of the fundamental building blocks of wood.
Read the full article.

Image - Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed concept: SL meets Formula 1
Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed concept: SL meets Formula 1
Can you be too rich and too cool to bother with a windscreen? Mercedes-AMG thinks so, as evidenced by the first look at the new PureSpeed concept -- a dramatically open two-seater performance car that will be produced in small numbers next year. It looks like an SL on steroids with an F1-inspired HALO safety system that replaces the conventional A-pillar on the vehicle.
Read the full article.

Image - How the world's fastest RC drone was designed
How the world's fastest RC drone was designed
Buzz along with father/son team Mike and Luke Bell in South Africa as they chronicle the design and making of Peregrine 2 -- the fastest little RC quadcopter drone in the world at 298.4 mph. It took nine months of hard trial and error with lots of fiery bumps along the way. Powered by two batteries, the bullet-like craft sports 7-in. carbon rotors and four TMOTOR 1500-kV brushless motors. Many of the parts were 3D printed or CNC machined. Motor control was paramount to achieve stability and speed while avoiding overheating. A thorough and entertaining presentation.
View the video.
Watch the companion video of how it was built.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: What is ground loop feedback?
Engineer's Toolbox: What is ground loop feedback?
Improper grounding can create problems in data logging, data acquisition, and measurement and control systems. One of the most common problems is known as ground loop feedback. Experts at CAS DataLoggers run through five ways to eliminate this problem.
Read the full article.

Image - Turn any hose or tube into a powerful conveyor!
Turn any hose or tube into a powerful conveyor!
EXAIR's Line Vac connects to standard hose or tube to create a powerful conveyor. The design features large throat diameters for maximum throughput capability. A small amount of compressed air is injected through directed nozzles to produce a vacuum on one end and high output flows on the other.
See video online.

Image - Great design: Handle with integrated lighting/signaling
Great design: Handle with integrated lighting/signaling
Signaling and indicator lights, switches, and buttons -- elements that hardly any machine can do without. The new JW Winco cabinet U-handle EN 6284 integrates all these functions into a single, compact element. The new U-handle is designed to enhance the operation of systems and machines. It features an integrated button and a large, colored, backlit area on the back of the handle. These elements can be used individually or in combination, providing a versatile tool for system control and process monitoring that can be seen from across the room.
Learn more.

Image - Automated piece-picking solution
Automated piece-picking solution
The MI.RA/OnePicker is a new and fully automated intelligent piece-picking solution from Comau. The easy-to-use, AI-backed, and collaborative solution reduces upstream process times, saving time, energy, and resources for warehouse, e-commerce, and other applications while increasing overall productivity and cost efficiency. Designed to autonomously pick miscellaneous objects from the same bin, it's a smart way to eliminate unsustainable sorting activities. Comes with Comau's Racer5 six-axis cobot.
Learn more.

Image - More Stego enclosure heater options from AutomationDirect
More Stego enclosure heater options from AutomationDirect
AutomationDirect has added more Stego enclosure heaters to their Enclosure Thermal Management lineup. These new 120 to 240 VAC/VDC units include small, flat versions that distribute heat evenly within compact enclosures and are available with 8- or 10-W heating capacities. Also added are compact loop heaters that feature a patented loop body design for increased natural convection airflow, reduced thermal stress on the heater, and better heat transfer. Loop heaters are available in 10- to 150-W heating capacities.
Learn more.

Image - Brakes for high-speed SCARA robots and more
Brakes for high-speed SCARA robots and more
Precise positioning of semi-conductor wafers during SCARA assembly operations requires instantaneous braking and holding power while minimizing heat in the system. The latest compact and slender Miki Pulley BXR-LE brake models provide the needed, perfectly controlled braking in a confined area of the system using minimal power. The braking response and holding power of this power-off engaged brake makes it ideal for this and other high-speed applications. The BXR-LE brake uses 24 VDC for a split second to overcome compression spring inertia to open the brake, then consumes only 7 VDC by utilizing the BEM power control module.
Learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Students invent leaf blower noise damper: Stanley Black & Decker onboard
Students invent leaf blower noise damper: Stanley Black & Decker onboard
The challenge before Johns Hopkins University engineering students: Take a leaf blower, but make it quiet. Make it work as powerfully as ever, but do not allow it to emit the ear-piercing caterwaul that has gotten leaf blowers banned in some communities and cursed in many others. Shocking their sponsors, their advisers, and even themselves a little, the students did it.
Read the full article.

Image - Bentley Batur Convertible: Ultimate customizable droptop
Bentley Batur Convertible: Ultimate customizable droptop
Bentley is winding down the use of its iconic W12 engine with the ultra-exclusive and ultra-customizable Batur Convertible, which furthers the innovative design DNA introduced by its coupe sibling. Sporting a 740-hp hand-assembled 6.0-L twin-turbocharged engine, loads of driving tech, and a price tag north of 2 million smackers, it's the ultimate luxury droptop for a very select few.
Read the full article.

Image - Air Force uses new process to make rocket engines
Air Force uses new process to make rocket engines
The Air Force Research Lab's Rocket Propulsion Division recently designed, printed, built, and hot-fired a first-ever, single-block rocket-engine thrust chamber additively manufactured using a new process called laser powder directed energy deposition (DED). Impressively, the printer's build box can accommodate 7-ft-tall parts.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Recommended: Advanced inductive technology sensor with 10X faster response
See how Novotechnik's TF1 position sensor enables improved performance for your machine application. The TF1 Series provides high accuracy and speed, EMI immunity, robustness, and unimpeded operation in the presence of metal filings and flakes. This technology is the new standard replacing magnetostrictive for position measurement. Lots more to learn here!
View the video. Benefits and specs also provided on page.

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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