Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
May 14, 2013Volume 09 Issue 18


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

  • How budget cuts affect Army weapons buying
  • 'Intelligent' coatings protect high-value products
  • Rotary valve for Mars craft
  • Wheels: World's smallest production V8
  • Mike Likes: Incredibly versatile copper foam
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Stainless steel pressure sensors
  • LED power supply for med devices
  • Is brass obsolete for fluid power?
  • Cool Tools: CAD viewer handles 20+ formats
  • Stainless steel quarter-turn fastener
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Thinnest electro-mechanical actuators
    • Is PETMAN a warfighting droid?
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Campfire pot charges cell phones
    • Wheels: Cyclists use industrial 3D printing
    • Flywheel gets cars 25 percent fuel savings
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: Quarter-scale 1923 T-bucket powered by a mini Stinger 609 V8 Engine

News

New military RF systems get higher power, higher efficiency, and reduced size

Drive-thru tent proves to be simpler, cheaper way to test heavy-duty truck emissions

GE to launch breakthrough pump jet for offshore vessels

Mentor Graphics releases costing and production software for wire harness suppliers



Feature articles
Budget cuts mean Army must consider where it will buy weapons
With sequestration firmly in place, the U.S. Army will be buying a lot less stuff, and leaders are concerned about ensuring the businesses they buy things from don't wither.
Read the full article.

Image - 'Intelligent' coatings protect high-value products
'Intelligent' coatings protect high-value products
Smart coatings used at different stages of manufacturing can provide a competitive advantage in a number of industrial segments. These coatings can protect sensitive electronic devices by providing "intelligent" reactions to external stimuli. Learn what these Bayer MaterialScience coatings can do for you.
Read the full article.
Rotary valve could help propel craft to Mars one day
A rotary fuel-delivery valve developed by a University of Alabama team led by Dr. James Blackmon just might help us get manned space flights out of our immediate neighborhood one day, and he says it could have practical terrestrial applications.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>World's smallest production V8 optimized with precision honing
Wheels:
World's smallest production V8 optimized with precision honing

Gary Conley's 30-year quest to manufacture a true production V8 engine in quarter-scale almost went up in smoke twice: once in 2001 when a foundry fire claimed all his critical molds, and later when oil smoke proved a stubborn problem during run-offs of the engine. Conley overcame the first setback with years of sheer determination. The second issue required a Sunnen MB 1660 honing machine, abrasives, and some Sunnen know-how.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Discover the design and functional advantages of copper foam
Mike Likes:
Discover the design and functional advantages of copper foam

Copper foam, now available from Goodfellow, combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. The matrix of cells and ligaments is completely repeatable, regular, and uniform throughout the material. Characteristics of copper foam include: optimal heat transfer; high strength-to-weight and surface area-to-volume ratio; controlled stress-strain characteristics; isotropic load response; and can be brazed, coated, and plated.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>What's the difference between 17-4PH and 316L stainless steel for pressure sensors?
Engineer's Toolbox:
What's the difference between 17-4PH and 316L stainless steel for pressure sensors?

Stainless steel pressure sensors and transducers are most commonly manufactured from either 316L or 17-4 PH. Both offer good material strength and good elasticity, but there are key differences that can have significant impacts on which material you should choose for your application.
Read the full article.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>LED power supply for hand-held devices in medical and industrial applications
Product Spotlight:
LED power supply for hand-held devices in medical and industrial applications

BEAR Power Supplies has introduced a compact, high-efficiency DC-DC converter for hand-held LED devices. The 10 x 20 mm power supply features a microprocessor for programmable LED dimming. The LED power supply is designed for high-performance applications where reliability is critical, including medical lighting devices and industrial instruments. It is available in 1-W, 2-W, and 3-W versions. It is a constant-current supply and uses one or two cells (lithium or alkaline batteries).
Click here to learn more.

Image - Fluid Power Product Spotlight: <br>Is brass obsolete for fluid power?
Fluid Power Product Spotlight:
Is brass obsolete for fluid power?

There is a growing requirement in fluid power applications for specialty alloys such as 316 and 303 stainless steel, as well as high-performance elastomers. These materials provide corrosion resistance, low out-gassing, strength, weight reduction, temperature resistance, and durability -- all of which are common considerations in the medical, semiconductor, instrumentation, toxic gas detection, inkjet, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.
Click here to read Beswick's article, "High-performance materials make their mark in manufacturing."

Image - Cool Tools:<br>Powerful CAD viewer for fast viewing and markup of over two dozen CAD formats
Cool Tools:
Powerful CAD viewer for fast viewing and markup of over two dozen CAD formats

KeyMarkUp CAD from Kubotek USA views and marks up over two dozen CAD file formats -- but this product does so much more. It gives engineers a powerful method to measure, analyze, annotate, print, and export CAD data for better collaboration and more accurate quoting. A dynamic selection tool, for instance, allows users to create simple cross-sections easily of complex parts or assemblies to complete difficult measurements or geometry checks. Multiple dimensioning, measuring, and mass property features and calculating tools, as well as mold design tools, simplify quoting and estimating. And there is a lot more.
See all that KeyMarkUp CAD can do.

Image - Tough new stainless steel quarter-turn fastener
Tough new stainless steel quarter-turn fastener
Southco has just launched the stainless steel DZUS D8 PANEX Quarter-Turn Fastener, the newest line extension to the already successful DZUS D8 PANEX range of quarter-turn fasteners. The stainless steel version delivers the same quick access and fast installation as the standard D8, but enables dependable, vibration-resistant fastening in harsh environments where heat and corrosion may affect operation. The durable, formed stainless steel construction provides aesthetic appeal as well as increased total material thickness (TMT) tolerance for robust fastening. Available in size 6 with slotted, hex, and Phillips recessed head styles; has mini clip-on and rivet-on receptacle options.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Campfire pot turns heat and water into electricity -- really
Campfire pot turns heat and water into electricity -- really
Power Practical, a student startup that sprang from research at the University of Utah, is selling a portable thermoelectric cook pot that transforms heat and water into a power source to charge cellphones and other devices.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Cyclists take industrial 3D printing for a spin
Wheels:
Cyclists take industrial 3D printing for a spin

About four years ago, Russell Kappius -- mountain-bike enthusiast, winner of six Masters racing titles, and a research geophysicist/software developer -- became obsessed with bicycle hubs. After working out a design for a novel oversized hub and high-performance drive assembly that would transfer more power from pedal to chain to wheel, he looked to direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), an additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology, to produce complex parts quickly to exacting specifications.
Read the full article.
Volvo Cars says tests of its flywheel technology confirm up to 25 percent fuel savings
Volvo Car Group says that it has completed extensive testing of its kinetic flywheel technology on public roads, and the results confirm that this is a light, cheap, and very eco-efficient solution.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Thinnest electro-mechanical actuators put some lift in keystrokes
The thin-film polymer actuators from startup Strategic Polymers may give rise to more tactile keyboard strokes on smartphones, tablets, and other HMI screens, and they can even be used as speakers. The highly flexible actuators can bend 180 degrees and offer a unique combination of high strain and high mechanical modulus brought about by the high electrostrictive response of the electro-mechanical polymer (EMP) material.
View the video.

Video Image
Is PETMAN a warfighting droid in training?
Boston Dynamics, famous for its BigDog four-legged military pack-animal bot that can carry hundreds of pounds, developed the PETMAN robot for the DoD to test the performance of protective clothing designed for hazardous environments. But doesn't it look capable of so much more? PETMAN has sensors embedded in its skin that detect any chemicals leaking through the suit. The skin also maintains a micro-climate inside the clothing by sweating and regulating temperature.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

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