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March 26, 2013Volume 09 Issue 12


Image - New Line of Phillips Pan Machine Screws
New Line of Phillips Pan Machine Screws
Micro Plastics has added a new line to their inventory of 250 million parts! The Phillips Pan Machine Screws are molded in tough, resilient, and corrosion-resistant Nylon 6/6 material. Thread sizes included are: 4-40, 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20 and 1/4-28. Available in 25 standard lengths ranging from 3/32 in. up to 3 in., Micro Plastics also offers an extensive line of machine screws, including head styles such as Binder, Binder Combination, Fillister, Hex, Pan, Round, Socket, Flat, Oval, and Thumb Screws, as well as Studs, Grubs, and Flat Head Wing Screws.

Click here for more information.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Components for 3M 25-year light bulb
  • Tiny, precise lens actuator module
  • 'Cheetah' robot's lightweight electric motors
  • Wheels: SuperTruck's big fuel-economy increase
  • Mike Likes: Most powerful micromotors for their size
  • Engineer's Toolbox: The $75 exhaust header question
  • True-color, wide-view TFT LCDs
  • Friction positioning hinges
  • Motion system with unlimited track shapes
  • Reduce wasted energy in air-handling applications
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Ramp up industrial electric motor efficiency
    • LEGO paper airplane folding machine
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Wheels (and wings): Electromagnetic jet catapult
    • Military engineers teach old water can new tricks
    • Microdrives in humanoid robots
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: 3M's LED Advanced Light, a 25-year light bulb [Image: 3M]

News

Next-generation batteries eye slice of $10 billion Li-ion market

Design of hybrid powertrains for use in commercial vehicles detailed in SAE International book

Artificial muscles make for HD feel to mobile games, headphones with intense live-sound experience

New model allows engineers to test fuel system efficiency on computers



Image - How do you create a light device that saves children's lives?
How do you create a light device that saves children's lives?
With the help of SolidWorks software, the team at Design That Matters found a way to bring life-saving treatments to newborns with jaundice in developing countries.

Watch their story.


Feature articles
3M 25-year light bulb requires unique die-cast components
When 3M began the design and development of its new 25-year LED light bulb, there were a number of aluminum components in the design that, in large volumes, would ultimately be too costly to allow for secondary machining and would require net-shape, high-pressure aluminum die casting. 3M's LED Advanced Light has a unique electronics-in-bulb design, sophisticated light-guide technology, and an estimated energy cost of $1.63 per year.
Read the full article.

Image - Product Spotlight:<br> New Scale patents tiny, precise lens actuator module for micro cameras
Product Spotlight:
New Scale patents tiny, precise lens actuator module for micro cameras

A piezoelectric micro motor is coupled with innovative micro-mechanical design to minimize lens tilt, enabling extremely high-precision imaging in micro-camera formats.
Read the full article.
Cool motor technologies:
MIT 'cheetah' robot rivals running animals in efficiency

A 70-lb "cheetah" robot designed by MIT researchers may soon outpace its animal counterparts in running efficiency. The key to the robot's streamlined stride: lightweight electric motors, set into its shoulders, that produce high torque with very little heat wasted.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>SuperTruck delivers 54 percent increase in fuel economy
Wheels:
SuperTruck delivers 54 percent increase in fuel economy

Cummins Inc. and Peterbilt Motors Co. recently released test results showing their demonstration "SuperTruck" tractor-trailer achieved a 54 percent increase in fuel economy over standard trucks, averaging nearly 10 mpg under real-world driving conditions.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Most powerful  micromotors for their size
Mike Likes:
Most powerful micromotors for their size

Two new high-performance motors from MICROMO are ideal for a variety of applications in the medical device, robotics, and optics and photonics markets. They offer excellent dynamic characteristics, low weight, and high stall torque, and can be used with a variety of FAULHABER Group encoders, gearheads, and motion controllers. The 8-mm brushless 0824 motor offers speeds up to 85,000 rpm and continuous torque up to 1.09 mNm. The 10-mm 1028 motor offers speeds up to 66,000 rpm and continuous torque up to 2.1 mNm.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Flow simulation and the $75 exhaust header question
Engineer's Toolbox:
Flow simulation and the $75 exhaust header question

Is it worth the extra $75 for a long-tube vs. a short-tube exhaust header? Elite Application Support Engineer Robert Warren, 3DVision Technologies, uses SolidWorks and some in-depth modeling and calculations to find out.
Read the full article.

Image - Advanced true-color, wide-view TFT LCDs
Advanced true-color, wide-view TFT LCDs
Kyocera Display America has added four TFT-LCDs to its extensive product line. The new 10.4-in. and 12.1-in. SVGA displays feature Advanced Wide Viewing (AWV) technology that enables people to view images with vivid color (no grey inversion) from any angle. One version of each display size also features super-high brightness for readability in sunlit or high-glare environments. Designed with the latest high-efficiency, long-lifetime LED backlights, the LCD panels provide an ideal solution for a range of applications, including medical, gaming, POS, ATM, and outdoor applications.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Friction positioning hinges provide constant torque for precise control
Friction positioning hinges provide constant torque for precise control
RT Series friction positioning hinges from Reell provide constant torque throughout their full 360-degree range of motion to precisely control and hold the angle of mounted components in any position. These hinges carry an industry-leading guaranteed service life exceeding 50,000 cycles. They integrate patented ReellTorq clip technology for a premium quality feel and smooth and precise position control without requiring adjustment during installation. Typical applications include motion and positioning of a display or access panel within a wide range of equipment and systems in the medical, aerospace and aviation, automotive, electronics, architectural lighting, and POP and POS industries. Three standard product families deliver successively more powerful torque capabilities.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Curvilinear motion system provides unlimited track shapes
Curvilinear motion system provides unlimited track shapes
1-Trak is a steel, single-piece, completely seamless guided motion system from Bishop-Wisecarver. Users can specify any shape with no joints. 1-Trak circuits can also accommodate much tighter bends than is possible with other systems. The design's natural strength and accuracy makes it suitable as a structural element of the machine. 1-Trak can be customized with holes, slots, and other features. Systems can be specified with a vee-profile guide section of any size to suit bearings from the extensive HepcoMotion PRT2 or Heavy Duty HDS2 ranges from 13 mm to 150 mm in diameter. Wheel plates can carry loads from 67 N to 51,000 N, and tracks can be made up to 5.5 m x 1 m or 1.9-m square. A rack-and-pinion driven wheel plate is another option.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Reduce wasted energy by 30 to 50 percent in air-handling applications
Reduce wasted energy by 30 to 50 percent in air-handling applications
NovaTorque's family of Gen2.0 PremiumPlus+ electronically commutated permanent magnet (ECPM) motors uses low-cost ferrite magnets in an innovative flux-focusing design to deliver the superior efficiency of rare-earth permanent magnet motors at a price that is competitive with induction motors. And unlike induction motors, the PremiumPlus+ ECPM motors maintain their high efficiency and high torque over a very broad speed and load range. The motors boast motor-only rated point efficiencies of 93 and 92 percent for 3- and 5-hp versions respectively, far exceeding the levels achieved with induction motors. They are available in 3- and 5-hp 1,800 rpm models (maximum speed 2,700 rpm) and high-speed 3- and 5-hp 2,400 rpm models (maximum speed 3,600 rpm).
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue
Wheels (and wings):
New electromagnetic catapult includes 'most powerful single linear motor ever energized'

Catapults incorporating GE Power Conversion's powerful new medium-voltage advanced linear induction machine will be capable of launching aircraft as large as the latest F35-C from aircraft carriers, while smaller versions will be used to launch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from mobile or fixed installations.
Read the full article.
Military engineers teach an old water can new tricks
A system developed by researchers at the Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate in Natick, MA, will help bring water to Soldiers in the field, either cool or heat it, and then keep it that way for days at a time. The system revolves around a high-stress collapsible water bag, a beverage cooling unit, and an insulated bag that holds the standard 5-gal water can or the collapsible water bag.
Read the full article.

Image - Microdrives give humanoid service robots <br>human traits
Microdrives give humanoid service robots
human traits

The more human-like a robot is, the more sophisticated the mechatronic engineering input necessary. Microdrives are often central to providing robots the means to exhibit "body language."
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Ramp up industrial electric motor efficiency with solid-state motion control
Born from NASA research, E-Save is a solid-state motion control platform from Power Efficiency Corp. that can optimize the efficiency of 3-phase electric motors by 15 to 30 percent in appropriate constant-speed/variable-load applications like those found in industrial equipment, commercial buildings, and appliances.
View the video.

Video Image
All-LEGO paper airplane folding machine
Why make a paper airplane the easy way, when you can engineer a LEGO machine to do it for you? Mindstorms user Hknssn used nearly 7,000 LEGO pieces, an array of NXT sensors, 15 motors, and a whole lot of time and attention to detail to create a fully automated LEGO paper plane folding machine. The machine is about 60 in. long by 16 in. wide. Wow, and we just sat around all weekend ...
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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