Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
September 18, 2012Volume 08 Issue 35


Image - What the heck is a hexa-kaleidocycle?
What the heck is a hexa-kaleidocycle?
It's Protogami, a 3-dimensional folding object that showcases the interaction of materials and surface finishes -- an interactive design aid from Proto Labs. Broaden your knowledge of surface finishes, materials and design techniques by requesting one today. You'll learn, you'll be endlessly amused, and you just might be inspired to come up with the next big thing.

Request a Protogami today.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Climbing foot made with laser sintering
  • 2012 Swedish Steel Prize finalists
  • Self-charging power cell developed
  • Wheels: Car horns get capacitive touch
  • Mike Likes: Shapeable LED backlights
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Torque monitoring on turbine
  • Expanded line of low-load gaskets
  • Electric actuator with reverse-parallel motor mount
  • Polymers reduce weight, improve reliability
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • NASA's next rover has 3D-printed parts
    • DARPA's amphibious transporters
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Spaceship superalloy tech in Ford turbo
    • Wheels (and rockets): NASA inflatable heat shield
    • Cheap home refueling for natural gas cars
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: Laser-sintered titanium climbing prosthetic

News

Sandia shows monitoring brain activity during study can help predict test performance

Air Force launches new center at Johns Hopkins to advance structural materials and design for aerospace applications

Turbocharged and way less polluting: Mitsubishi announces new Tier 4 diesel engines for heavy equipment

Heat-resistant camouflage makeup aims to shield Soldiers from bomb blasts



Image - Servometer Sample Request
Servometer Sample Request
Servometer's patented electroforming process is especially crafted for tolerance-critical, hollow miniature parts with walls as thin as 0.0003 in. [.008 mm]. Complimentary samples of miniature metal bellows, flexible shaft couplings, and electrical contacts are available to individuals looking to understand the benefits of, and how electrodeposited components can be applied to designs.

Click here to request your samples today!


Feature articles
If the climbing shoe doesn't fit, design a new foot
Using EOS direct metal laser sintering, Morris Technologies shows how extreme customization can team up with extreme sports so that climber C.J. Howard can scale new heights with his one-of-a-kind titanium prosthetic foot.
Read the full article.
2012 Swedish Steel Prize finalists named
Four finalists have been nominated for the award for creating leading designs in high-strength steel. The jury has chosen innovations for light and sustainable train seats, a truck suspension system, a timber transportation vehicle called a "forwarder," and a solution for the packaging and transportation of metallic scrap.
Read the full article.
Self-charging power cell converts and stores energy in a single unit
Georgia Tech researchers have developed a self-charging power cell that directly converts mechanical energy to chemical energy, storing the power until it is released as electrical current. The advance could have military applications for troops who might one day recharge battery-powered equipment as they walk.
Read the full article.
Wheels:
Car horns go the capacitive-touch route; fewer components required

New car owners of the near future might yell, "What the beep?!" when they try to pound their horns.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Shapeable LED backlights
Mike Likes:
Shapeable LED backlights

Lumex has just launched its QuantumBrite Shapeable LED Backlight, a first-in-the-industry concept that opens the door to a broad new range of LED backlight applications completely customizable in any shape, size, or color on both flat and curved surfaces.
Read the full article.
Engineer's Toolbox:
Maximizing steam turbine/compressor performance with precise torque monitoring at the coupling

Precise monitoring of turbo machinery performance with continuous torque-monitoring systems can be used to identify gradual efficiency loss, allowing a more focused maintenance scope to be developed to return the system to its optimum operation and efficiency. A system of this type was recently installed on a cracked-gas compressor train at Qenos Olefins in Australia to determine the causes of a power limitation.
Read the full article.

Image - Expanded line of low-load gaskets
Expanded line of low-load gaskets
Garlock Sealing Technologies has expanded its line of low-load gaskets with the addition of its 3504 GYLON STRESS SAVER for industrial applications and the 3505 GYLON STRESS SAVER for potable water applications. These gaskets are designed to seal lightweight metallic, plastic, and fiberglass flanges that cannot provide the proper loads required to compress conventional fiber or PTFE gaskets. The molded, raised, concentric ribs allow for a more concentrated gasket load, creating a tighter seal with less torque on both flat and raised face flanges. The gasket material, 100% GYLON PTFE with glass microspheres, provides superior cold-flow and creep resistance, eliminating the need for frequent retorquing. The field-proven Blue GYLON material gives the gaskets chemical resistance and high-temp (-450° to 500° F) and pressure capabilities.
Click here to learn more.

Image - ERD actuator with reverse-parallel motor mount creates compact, flexible package
ERD actuator with reverse-parallel motor mount creates compact, flexible package
Tolomatic's ERD electric cylinders are now available with a reverse-parallel motor mount that creates a more compact and flexible package. The new option reduces the length of the Tolomatic ERD actuator while increasing mounting flexibility and motor selection in electric actuator applications. Designed as an alternative to pneumatic cylinders and as an option for automating manual processes, the economical ERD rod-style electric actuator is ideal for product changeovers, pick-and-place, pressing, diverting, heat-staking/sonic welding, and more.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Polymers that can reduce weight, improve reliability
Polymers that can reduce weight, improve reliability
VICTREX 90-Series polymers are widely specified in applications like brackets, clamps, stand-offs, and fasteners for the aerospace industry due to the significant weight savings achieved that increase the fuel economy of the aircraft. Automotive bearings and bushings made from PEEK thermoplastics also help to reduce vehicle weight and have no creep deformation after running at 5,000 rpm continuously for more than 2,000 hr, which improves the overall fuel economy and reliability of the vehicle. In electronics, VICTREX 90-Series grades are used in connectors, capacitors, sensors, bobbins, and switches due to lower outgassing, increased ductility, higher knit line strength, and the ability to withstand the lead-free soldering process, which can reach temperatures up to 280° C (536° F).
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue
Spaceship superalloy technology aids Ford Fusion 2.0-liter turbo durability
Enthusiasts will say the all-new Ford Fusion equipped with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo engine is a rocket ship. Fusion engineers will tell you parts of its engine depend on technology from one.
Read the full article.
Wheels (and rockets):
Hypersonic inflatable heat shield successfully tested by NASA

A large inflatable heat shield developed by NASA's Space Technology Program successfully survived a trip through Earth's atmosphere while travelling at hypersonic speeds up to 7,600 mph.
Read the full article.
Affordable home refueling station for natural gas vehicles being developed by Eaton
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced late July that it will develop an affordable home refueling station for natural gas vehicles that will retail for about one-tenth of the cost of currently available systems.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
NASA's next rover is chock full of 3D-printed parts
NASA engineers are using 3D printing to build a next-generation, two-person rover to support humans exploring other worlds, such as asteroids and Mars. Designers of the galactic SUV used fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology from Stratasys to create one-off, working prototype parts quickly and efficiently.
View the video.

Video Image
DARPA developing new amphibious transporters for disaster relief
Take a 1/5-scale demonstrator of the Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT) for a spin. The CAAT has air-filled pontoons on a tank tread-like design, enabling it to carry containers over water and directly onto shore. The vehicle is part of DARPA's Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) program, which seeks new sea and air delivery systems to enable direct support to disaster zones from offshore container ships. All technologies developed under TEMP are transportable using standard 20- or 40-ft commercial shipping containers. This technology demonstrator is jointly funded with the Office of Naval Research, which is looking at it for potential use as an amphibious transport for the Marines/Navy.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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Materials
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