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October 15, 2013Volume 09 Issue 39


Image - 2014 COOL PARTS CALENDAR
2014 COOL PARTS CALENDAR
Designed by designers and engineered for engineers, our annual Cool Parts Calendar features the visions of product developers across the nation and around the world. It features monthly contests, industry tradeshow dates, and (of course) those elusive days of the week.

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In this issue of Designfax

  • Powering a wireless camera controller
  • Aerospace testers use DryLin T profile guides
  • Inflatable space antenna
  • Wheels: E-bike torque sensors and bearings
  • Mike Likes: Reduce spring height by 50 percent
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Optimizing turbomachinery efficiency
  • LED for automotive headlights
  • Powerful stainless steel flat air nozzle
  • Compact vertical translation stage
  • Latest bondable-to-TPE grades
  • Cool Tools: World's first wireless 3D mouse
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • 3D-printed RoboHands shared with the world
    • Hyundai uses Artec scanners for QC
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Wheels (and wings): World's largest jet engine
    • Engineer's Toolbox: Designing a tattoo machine
    • Next-gen radar jamming
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: Torque sensor bracket from Schaeffler used in e-bike

News

Thanks to licensing deal, you may soon be able to manufacture your own Liquidmetal parts

Henkel opens world's largest adhesives factory in China

Diesel or electric? Study offers advice for owners of urban delivery truck fleets

Next-gen Alcoa armor specified by U.S. Army Research Lab for highest strength, troop protection in military vehicles



Image - Could this be the world's most effective wedge-locking washer?
Could this be the world's most effective wedge-locking washer?
You can count on one solution to meet all your bolt-securing needs using the just-introduced Nord-Lock X-series washers. They combine Nord-Lock's unrivaled wedge-effect solution (to prevent spontaneous loosening) with an exceptional spring effect (to compensate for loss of preload due to slackening). When used in pairs, each washer duo has cams on one side and radial teeth on the opposite side to secure the bolted joint with tension instead of friction. Quick and easy to install and remove with standard tools, this is a great solution for handling vibration and dynamic loads, painted or powder-coated surfaces, soft metals, and composites and polymers.
Click here to learn more.

Feature articles

Image - MICROMO motors and encoders power wireless camera controller
MICROMO motors and encoders power wireless camera controller
Many aspects of lens adjustment in film-making are art, but some have become science courtesy of motorized lens-adjustment systems from Preston Cinema Systems. Leveraging compact, high-torque, acoustically quiet motors from MICROMO, Preston systems have become the de facto standard in the industry.
Read the full article.

Image - Aerospace: University of California Irvine's Aeroacoustic Laboratory uses DryLin T profile guides
Aerospace: University of California Irvine's Aeroacoustic Laboratory uses DryLin T profile guides
Students from the University of California, Irvine, used DryLin T profile rail guides donated by igus as part of The Geared Turbofan Project, designed to study the noise attenuation effects of a hybrid wing-body in relation to the placement of an aircraft's turbofan.
Read the full article.

Image - 'Magic powder' is secret to inflatable space antenna design for CubeSats
'Magic powder' is secret to inflatable space antenna design for CubeSats
Researchers at MIT have come up with an inflatable antenna design that may significantly increase the communication range of small satellites called CubeSats, enabling them to travel much farther in the solar system. But the real story is in the "magic powder" used to inflate the device.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Schaeffler shows off precision of e-bike torque sensors and bearings at Eurobike 2013
Wheels:
Schaeffler shows off precision of e-bike torque sensors and bearings at Eurobike 2013

At Eurobike 2013, the world's largest bicycle show, Schaeffler showed off its latest contributions to providing comfort, dynamics, and efficiency to electric bicycle (e-bike) makers. At the show held in Friedrichshafen, Germany, the company demonstrated its portfolio of FAG sensor bottom brackets and a range of other bearings and components from the INA and FAG brands on an e-bike from smart (a division of Daimler). The focus was on freedom from maintenance and a long operating life with the highest possible level of smoothness.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Reduce spring height by 50 percent
Mike Likes:
Reduce spring height by 50 percent

Smalley Wave Springs can replace conventional coil springs while occupying only half the space and providing the same force and deflection. Over 4,000 springs are available from stock in carbon and stainless steel, or you can utilize Smalley's No-Tooling-Cost™ manufacturing process on special designs, available from .200" to 120". Samples available for testing.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Turbomachinery efficiency and emissions reduction through automatic optimization
Engineer's Toolbox:
Turbomachinery efficiency and emissions reduction through automatic optimization

Wouldn't it be great to automate your pump design optimization? Advanced Design Technology company founder Mehrdad Zangeneh, Ph.D., gets into the nitty gritty of what 3D inverse design software technology can do.
Read the full article.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>LED for automotive headlights provides higher performance and SMT capability
Product Spotlight:
LED for automotive headlights provides higher performance and SMT capability

Osram Opto Semiconductors has introduced a new two-chip version of the Oslon Black Flat LED. As with other LEDs from the Oslon Black Flat family, the new version (KW H2L531) features a high level of brightness and is suitable for all headlight functions. The major advantage of the new LED is that, as a surface-mount component, it can be attached directly to the PCB and then processed with other components as part of a standard soldering process. The simplicity of this implementation translates into significant cost and time savings during further processing.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>Powerful stainless steel flat air nozzle saves space, saves money, resists corrosion
Product Spotlight:
Powerful stainless steel flat air nozzle saves space, saves money, resists corrosion

EXAIR's new 1-in. Stainless Steel Flat Super Air Nozzle produces a flat 1-in. (25-mm) wide airstream with a strong blowing force of 9.8 oz (278 g) when mounted 12 in. (305 mm) from the target. The unique design of this super-efficient nozzle makes it an ideal fit for both tight spaces and tight budgets, plus the Type 316 stainless steel construction makes it ideal for corrosive, high-temperature, food and pharmaceutical environments.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>Compact vertical translation stage offers super-precise incremental motion
Product Spotlight:
Compact vertical translation stage offers super-precise incremental motion

Aerotech's MPS-SV series lift stages provide high-performance elevation motion in a compact, cost-effective design. These lift stages are engineered for applications ranging from laboratory research to high-reliability production processes and are offered in two sizes: the MPS50SV and MPS75SV. The multitude of adapter brackets and mounting compatibility inherent in all MPS stages permits easy assembly of multi-axis configurations using linear, rotary, and lift MPS stages. These stages utilize a precision-ground ball screw and preloaded crossed-roller bearings (no belts!) for smooth and accurate geometric performance, exceptional accuracy and repeatability, and 0.05-μm minimum incremental motion.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>Latest bondable-to-TPE grades for grips, handles
Product Spotlight:
Latest bondable-to-TPE grades for grips, handles

A new series of overmolding (OM) grades of Maxelast TPEs for bonding onto PE used for handles, grips, cosmetic cases, and other applications is now available from APS (Alliance Polymers and Services LLC). The four new grades, available in a Shore A Hardness range of 32, 40, 60, and 70, offer an excellent chemical bond between the soft elastomeric alloy and a rigid PE (polyethylene) substrate. The results are products that are ergonomic and soft to the touch, as well as slip resistant. An additional benefit is that the TPE provides a high level of shock absorption to grips. APS is the exclusive North American distributor of Polymax Maxelast TPEs, the largest producer of TPEs in Asia.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Cool Tools: <br>World's first wireless 3D mouse
Cool Tools:
World's first wireless 3D mouse

The 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse Wireless provides precise 3D navigation in a sleek, wireless design. This tool combines 3Dconnexion's 6-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) sensor with 2.4-GHz wireless technology to deliver the reliability of a wired device without the clutter of cords. Gently manipulate the SpaceMouse Wireless' controller cap to simultaneously pan, zoom, and rotate digital models or viewports. You should get about a month's use out of the unit's lithium-ion battery before recharging.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Wheels (and wings): <br>World's largest jet engine gets bigger -- and better
Wheels (and wings):
World's largest jet engine gets bigger -- and better

The GE90 is already the largest and most powerful jet engine ever built. But that doesn't mean that GE engineers have stopped trying to make it bigger, better, and leaner.
Read the full article.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>How to design a new kind of soft-touch tattoo machine
Engineer's Toolbox:
How to design a new kind of soft-touch tattoo machine

Initially inspired by components he got from Radio Shack, Mike Snijders designed a game-changing tattoo machine that marries the nuanced performance of the dual-coil design with the ease of use, minimal maintenance, and long lifetime of DC motors.
Read the full article.

Image - Next-gen radar jamming targets fully adaptive threat response tech to protect pilots
Next-gen radar jamming targets fully adaptive threat response tech to protect pilots
The Georgia Tech Research Institute is developing a new generation of advanced radio frequency (RF) jammer technology. The project, known as Angry Kitten, is utilizing commercial electronics, custom hardware development, novel machine-learning software, and a unique test bed to evaluate unprecedented levels of adaptability in electronic warfare technology.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
3D-printed RoboHands shared with the world
After South African woodworker Richard Van As lost two full fingers and parts of two others in a work accident, he decided to create his own "trade-friendly" prosthetic. On the Internet, he found a collaborator in U.S.-based Ivan Owen, a special-effects maker who had worked on mechanical puppet hands. Even though 10,000 miles separated the pair, they worked together designing and creating prototype prosthetic hands, each using a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D-printing machine to fashion the parts. After a post on Facebook garnered interest from a needy child's parent, Van As and Owen began to share their RoboHand creations. The rest, as they say, is history.
View the video.

Video Image
Behind the scenes:
See how Hyundai uses Artec scanners for quality control

Artec scanners are used by Hyundai Motor Europe engineers to measure and compare prototype seats to meet comfort, ergonomic, shape, and contour quality. The Artec L scanner is used to create the "big-picture" 3D model of the car seat. The smaller, intricate details of a seat are scanned with the Artec MHT scanner. Then all the data is combined to make a complete, highly precise 3D model of the car seat that is ready for further refinement.
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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