Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
June 17, 2014Volume 10 Issue 23


Image - Design Tips: 12 Essentials for Moldability
Design Tips: 12 Essentials for Moldability
Ten years ago, we began publishing Protomold Design Tips to help product developers create better injection-molded plastic parts. We've covered materials, texture, draft, sink and many other design considerations. More than 100 tips later, we remain steadfast in our effort to continue informing designers and engineers in all areas of injection-molded part design. As a resource, we've gathered some of our most useful manufacturing advice from the past decade in a collection of essential tips.

Get your Protomold Design Tips today.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Navy tests sending solar power from space
  • Piezo motor technology: Questions answered
  • Enhanced autopilot could prevent accidents
  • Wheels: Winners of 3D-Printed Car Design Challenge
  • How feedback encoder devices operate
  • Engineer's Toolbox: World Cup soccer ball design
  • New family of USB power delivery controllers
  • Step-by-step guide to automate welding
  • Rolling bearings for industrial gearboxes
  • Fast and svelte 6-axis robots
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Loctite compounds help snowmobiles go extreme
    • DryLin® W linear guide construction kit
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Wheels: Alternative all-terrain vehicle polymer
    • Laser system vs. military-grade small boats
    • Ford advanced steering
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Materials
    Cover Image: Local Motors' 3D-printed car design contest: Aeroblade concept

News

New high-temp silicon carbide circuits function at 650 F and higher

Heavy metal not so cool anymore: Ford rolls out lightweight concept car

Navy: Laser weapon being readied for Marine vehicles

Liquidmetal Technologies, USC team up to develop Liquidmetal Sheets for potential NASA applications



Feature articles

Image - Navy Research Lab builds satellite module to test sending solar power from space
Navy Research Lab builds satellite module to test sending solar power from space
What if you could capture solar power in space, then send it down to Earth? Engineers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are attempting to do just that, building technologies with the aim to power a military installation or a city (even on a cloudy day, even at night) from space.
Read the full article.

Image - Piezo motor technology: Questions answered
Piezo motor technology: Questions answered
There's a new kind of piezo motor in town, and it's got legs. The Piezo LEGS® rotational motor is a direct-friction drive that provides precise motion without any mechanical play or backlash. There are no gears or transmission, so changing the direction of the motion will introduce no error. The simple Piezo LEGS® motor is also extremely stiff. Find out the answers to frequently asked questions about this exciting new motor technology.
Read the full article.

Image - Researcher says enhanced autopilot could prevent accidents like 2009 Air France 447 crash
Researcher says enhanced autopilot could prevent accidents like 2009 Air France 447 crash
Thirty lines of computer code that could detect and correct faulty airspeed readings might have saved Air France flight 447, and 228 passengers and crew aboard, from plunging into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, according to new research by Carlos Varela, an associate professor of computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Local Motors announces winners of first-ever 3D-Printed Car Design Challenge
Wheels:
Local Motors announces winners of first-ever 3D-Printed Car Design Challenge

Local Motors announced earlier this month the winners of its first 3D-Printed Car Design Challenge. The company launched the contest in April to uncover concepts that will influence the full-size Local Motors vehicle that will be 3D printed live on the floor at the IMTS show in September.
Read the full article.

Image - Basics of motion control: <br>How feedback encoder devices operate
Basics of motion control:
How feedback encoder devices operate

Feedback is used in closed-loop systems in applications all over the world to control speed and/or position, and it has an important role in keeping equipment operating smoothly and accurately. Feedback is available in a variety of devices as well as models. It is important to understand how feedback operates, so the best benefits can be used in the application. This article reviews: open-loop vs. closed-loop applications, tachometers, Hall sensors, incremental encoders, absolute encoders, and resolvers.
Read the full article.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>World Cup soccer ball design is engineering feat for adidas, Bayer MaterialScience
Engineer's Toolbox:
World Cup soccer ball design is engineering feat for adidas, Bayer MaterialScience

The most noticeable design element to the FIFA World Cup "Brazuca" soccer ball is its incredible surface piecing. Six identical star-shaped pieces make this high-tech ball a world-class example of great sports equipment engineering.
Read the full article.

Image - New family of USB power delivery controllers
New family of USB power delivery controllers
Microchip Technology has created a new family of USB power delivery (UPD) controllers: the UPD100X with an industry-standard power delivery and battery charging protocol. A single USB cable can be used for data and simultaneously deliver up to 100W of power from a single standard USB port, which is 40 times the power compared to USB 2.0. Evaluation kit also available.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Step-by-step guide to automate welding
Step-by-step guide to automate welding
Are you considering automating of your welding process? Robotiq has designed a take-away guide and evaluation grid that will help you consider important aspects of the robotic welding process. This guide will also help you highlight the different points to evaluate at each stage and calculate your return on investment.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Rolling bearings for industrial gearboxes
Rolling bearings for industrial gearboxes
NKE Austria offers rolling bearings for industrial gearboxes that meet the efficiency and reliability requirements of a wide range of sectors, such as general machinery, mining, material handling systems, and heavy machinery. NKE manufactures over 3,000 different variants of bearings suitable for high radial loads and moderate to high speeds. Made from pure rolling bearing steel, they have an exceptional lifespan, while the raceways' high surface quality reduces the operating temperature and wear. The inner and outer rings of the cylindrical roller bearings can be fitted separately, simplifying installation. They can be ordered with short lead times through the main U.S. distributor Ritbearing.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Fast and svelte 6-axis robots
Fast and svelte 6-axis robots
The new Epson C4 and C4L compact 6-axis robots feature faster speeds and more payload capability than the C3 models, while keeping the popular SlimLine design. These are some of the fastest compact 6-axis arms available in the industry. The slim body and compact wrist allow for the units to easily reach into confined and restricted work spaces from many angles with a smooth motion. The tight integration of powerful motors and amplifiers along with ultra-high-resolution feedback and superior controls provide unmatched motion performance, including higher acceleration and deceleration rates as well as advanced linear interpolated motion. They are ideal for small parts assembly, dispensing, lab automation, machine tending, material handling, packaging, and more.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Wheels: <br>Advanced polymer from Victrex keeps the fun going for new kind of intense all-terrain vehicle
Wheels:
Advanced polymer from Victrex keeps the fun going for new kind of intense all-terrain vehicle

Boston and Toronto-based BPG Werks, creators of the innovative all-terrain dual-tracked vehicle (DTV) called the Shredder, have harnessed the exceptional durability and wear capabilities of a high-performance polymer from Victrex to construct a robust and efficient overmolded steel drive shaft segment gear. The material is critical to providing stable acceleration and torque characteristics for this "mini tank that you ride like a skateboard."
Read the full article.

Image - Lockheed Martin demonstrates ADAM ground-based laser system against military-grade small boats
Lockheed Martin demonstrates ADAM ground-based laser system against military-grade small boats
In tests off the California coast in May, a Lockheed Martin prototype laser system successfully disabled two small boats at a range of approximately 1.6 km (approximately 1 mile). These were the first tests of the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system against maritime targets.
Read the full article.

Image - Ford to launch advanced steering tech to make vehicles easier to maneuver
Ford to launch advanced steering tech to make vehicles easier to maneuver
Ford Motor Company is bringing to market a new generation of steering technology that will help make vehicles easier to maneuver at low speeds and in tight spaces. At higher speeds, the new technology aims to help make the vehicle more agile and fun to drive.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
How Loctite threadlockers and retaining compounds help Polaris snowmobiles go extreme
Go inside the Polaris manufacturing facility to hear company engineers explain why they use different kinds of Loctite anaerobic threadlockers and retaining compounds to enhance the durability of their snowmobiles. Polaris sleds are the choice of competitive snocross racers and X Games athletes because they are built to endure the punishment of full-out driving maneuvers, high loads, and crashes.
View the video.

Video Image
Countless design options using the DryLin® W linear guide construction kit from igus®
igus® linear guides are made from maintenance-free, self-lubricating high-performance plastics. The lubricant is incorporated into the bearing material, making the bearing materials suitable for dry-running conditions. They are maintenance-free for the entire length of their service life. Learn more in this video from igus®.
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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