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April 09, 2013Volume 09 Issue 14


Image - New Full Line Catalog -- Full of New Fasteners
New Full Line Catalog -- Full of New Fasteners
Micro Plastics introduces its new catalog #39. With 290 pages of nylon fastener items, 12 new product lines, and over 500 new items added. Contents include: standard and metric machine screws, cap screws, nuts, washers, spacers, insulators, grommets, bushings, rivets, hole plugs, clamps, printed circuit board accessories, suspended ceiling hooks, and wire routing kits. FREE samples are available upon request.

Click here for more information.


In this issue of Designfax

  • All about the latest, ultra-precise hexapods
  • 'Virtual Window' for military vehicles
  • NASA Dryden tests suborbital rocket
  • Wheels: New side-mirror optics
  • Mike Likes: Design guide for bonding metals
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Carbon fiber aero brackets
  • Events: Global Product Data Interoperability Summit
  • Two-way high-flow electronic valves
  • Motor shaft voltage test kit
  • SCADA Visualization App for Windows 8
  • Maple 17 includes over 400 enhancements
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Insider's Look: Microsoft Surface tablet design
    • Making jet engine composite fan blades
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Wheels (and wings): NASA seeks high lift, low drag
    • 3D-printed cars
    • Wheels: SuperTruck big fuel-economy increase
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: Virtual window concept for armored vehicle [Photo Credit: Sketches by U.S. Army TARDEC designer James Scott]

News

Novel paintable material aims to zap ship scum

Glass as strong as steel? Researchers discover key to making glass brittle or ductile

Sikorsky, Boeing propose X2 rotorcraft design for U.S. Army's future vertical lift requirements

Autodesk announces 2014 manufacturing product portfolio



Image - Lightweight linear actuator with small mounting height
Lightweight linear actuator with small mounting height
DryLin® ZLW belt drive actuators were developed to quickly position small loads and can be employed in a number of industries from packaging to medical technology to food and beverage. These belt drives are extremely cost-effective versus ball bearing drive systems and work well in dirty, dusty environments and clean environments.

Request free samples and more information here.


Feature articles

Image - All about the latest, ultra-precise hexapods
All about the latest, ultra-precise hexapods
In the past several years, with the integration of advances in technologies like piezo actuators, virtual programmable pivot points, and system simulation, hexapod performance has taken a significant leap forward, to the extent that electromechanical and piezoelectric hexapods are now viewed as more efficient and accurate systems compared to serial linkage and hydraulic kinematic positioning systems, including those commonly used on robotic arms. Learn all about hexapods and their capabilities in this extensive article.
Read the full article.
'Virtual Window' aims to provide vital view for Soldiers
To provide better situational awareness for Bradley Fighting Vehicle Infantrymen, a cross-discipline team of U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command engineers is developing the Virtual Window -- a video display mounted to the interior of the rear ramp that provides the Soldiers a comprehensive environmental view before they dismount the vehicle.
Read the full article.

Image - NASA Dryden tests Xombie suborbital rocket for planet, asteroid landings and takeoffs
NASA Dryden tests Xombie suborbital rocket for planet, asteroid landings and takeoffs
A rocket-powered, vertical-landing space-access technology demonstrator reached its highest altitude and furthest distance to date March 25 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California using a developmental navigation system designed to land a space vehicle on other celestial bodies.

Read the full article.

Wheels:
Side-mirror blind spots disappear thanks to progressive optics

A new optical prescription for automobile side-view mirrors may eliminate the dreaded "blind spot" in traffic without distorting the perceived distance of cars approaching from behind.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Loctite Design Guide For Bonding Metals
Mike Likes:
Loctite Design Guide For Bonding Metals

This extensive 59-page resource details structural adhesives and provides in-depth discussions of the best adhesives for a range of metal substrates. Individual metal bonding chapters provide bond strength and shear strength data for each of eight substrates. Data is included on 23 of the newest structural adhesives from Loctite. Check out the Design Guide for Bonding Plastics too.
Get the .pdf guide (no registration).
Engineer's Toolbox:
Carbon fiber composite brackets replace heavy metal ones in next-gen aircraft

With the aerospace industry focusing on reducing aircraft weight and lean manufacturing, engineers are searching for reliable solutions such as thermoplastic composites that can perform with at least the same assurance as traditional metals and thermosets.
Read the full article.

Image - Events: <i>The</i> place to be for aerospace and automotive manufacturers/R&D
Events: The place to be for aerospace and automotive manufacturers/R&D
The 5th annual Global Product Data Interoperability Summit, co-sponsored by Boeing, Northrup Grumman, and Elysium, is even bigger and better this year. The event will be held at no cost to industry professionals and supply-chain partners in aerospace, automotive, related industries, and academia September 9-12 in Chandler, AZ.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Two-way high-flow electronic valves
Two-way high-flow electronic valves
Clippard Minimatic Electronic valves and manifolds provide a complete system for efficient interface with electric and electronic circuits for many applications. The standard models provide an air flow of 1.4 scfm at 100 psig, more than twice the flow of Clippard's trusted EC/EV/ET valve series. Optional 1.1 scfm at 50 psig and 0.95 scfm at 25 psig flow models are also available. The valves are precision-built, two-way, normally closed control valves, utilizing a unique valving principle with no sliding parts. Complete poppet travel is a mere 0.007 in.
Click here to view Clippard valve options.

Image - New kit measures motor shaft voltage of VFD-controlled motors
New kit measures motor shaft voltage of VFD-controlled motors
Whether they drive the fans and pumps of commercial HVAC systems or the conveyors of industrial production lines, motors controlled by variable frequency drives (VFDs) are vulnerable to electrical bearing damage. A savvy specifier will choose new motors that are already equipped with shaft grounding rings, but for retrofits the new AEGIS Shaft Voltage Test Kit makes it easier than ever to measure and document VFD-induced voltages while there is still time to head off damage and downtime. The result of collaboration between Electro Static Technology and Fluke Corporation, the kit includes a specially tipped probe and a portable oscilloscope.
Click here for more information.

Image - InduSoft releases SCADA Visualization App for Windows 8
InduSoft releases SCADA Visualization App for Windows 8
InduSoft has created the world's first SCADA/HMI app designed specifically for Windows 8 and Windows RT. InduSoft Visualization App gives users the ability to monitor critical industrial-floor information anytime/anywhere on their tablets or laptops. Users can view alarms, alarm history, process values, trends, and historical data from any location.
Click here for more information.

Image - Maple 17 includes over 400 new commands for mathematical, engineering, and scientific problem-solving
Maple 17 includes over 400 new commands for mathematical, engineering, and scientific problem-solving
Maple 17 from Maplesoft includes ground-breaking achievements in solving a whole new class of differential equations, major advancements in solving systems of equations, new signal processing tools, expanded support for physics, statistics, dynamic systems, and more. Performance has also been enhanced with improvements to frequently called routines and algorithms as well as in the low-level infrastructure of memory management. Updates include a new advanced code editor, an embedded video component, and improvements to 2D and 3D visualizations.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Wheels (and wings): <br>NASA seeks it all: High lift, low drag
Wheels (and wings):
NASA seeks it all: High lift, low drag

NASA and its industry partners have been working to disprove an aeronautical version of the notion that you can't have your cake and eat it too. The challenge is to figure out how to design an airplane wing so that it can provide high lift during takeoff and landing, yet still be able to cruise at altitude such that the air is moving absolutely smoothly across the wing -- a concept called laminar flow.
Read the full article.

Image - 3D-printed cars edge closer to production at RedEye On Demand
3D-printed cars edge closer to production at RedEye On Demand
RedEye On Demand, a rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing service, and its parent company Stratasys, recently announced a collaboration with KOR EcoLogic to produce URBEE 2, the first road-ready, fuel-efficient car built using 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, technologies. Targeted to hit the road in two years, the 10-ft-long, 1,200-lb three-wheeler represents a significant milestone in the world of traditional assembly-line manufacturing.
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.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Insider's Look: Microsoft Surface tablet design
Take a peek behind the scenes at the designing of Microsoft's Surface Tablet. You know, that cool one on the commercials that "snaps" together with its keyboard? When the video is over, take a look at the "Making of the Touch Cover for Surface" video. It looks like Microsoft has really loosened up on letting people see the design considerations and processes behind some of their products.
View the video.

Video Image
Making GE90 and GEnx composite fan blades
Learn how CFAN, a joint venture between GE Aviation and Snecma in San Marcos, Texas, handcrafts carbon composite fan blades using more than 1,700 sheets of carbon fiber material per piece for the world's most powerful jet engines.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

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