Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
January 20, 2015Volume 11 Issue 03


Image - Achieve High Frequency Interconnection with Bellows Contacts
Achieve High Frequency Interconnection with Bellows Contacts
Servometer® electrodeposited gold-plated (ASTM-N-488) bellows contacts create a reliable solution for electrical connections with less signal loss versus competing technologies. Servometer bellows contacts are a reliable alternative to spring-loaded type test pins in high frequency test applications, and are designed to provide lifetime spring and force repeatability, in diameters as small as 0.020 inch.

Request a sample.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Tips for designing with multi-touch
  • Mini motors power wipers in extreme reactors
  • Smart lithium-ion battery warns of fire hazards
  • Wheels: 3D printing retrofits rare Lotus 340R
  • Mike Likes: Seal It, Protect It!
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Combat cooler engineered to survive
  • Product: World's fastest CCD color scan camera
  • Product: Next-gen operator panels
  • Product: New gasketing resin
  • Product: DC tachometer catalog
  • Software: COMSOL Server -- global hub for simulation apps
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Voxel8: World's first 3D electronics printer
    • Secrets of Wired's Comic-Con Robot
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Part 2 | Designfax Most Popular Stories
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: This retrofitted Lotus 340R begs the question: 'Is it an OEM part or a 3D-printed replacement?'

News

Laser-induced graphene proves to be 'super' for supercapacitors

Carnegie Mellon lunar rover wows XPRIZE judges, wins milestone prize

Ford GT carbon fiber supercar aims to redefine innovation in aerodynamics, EcoBoost, and lightweighting

Contact lens merges plastics, active electronics via 3D printing



Image - 42 new robots propel growth and job creation at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
42 new robots propel growth and job creation at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
Learn how this company was able to save 1.5 employees per cell per shift by deploying the flexible Universal Robots. The optimized production meant that Trelleborg was able to take in more orders, increase product quality, and hire 50 additional people.

Watch and read how this was achieved.
Meet your new robot colleague.
Locate a distributor.


Feature articles

Image - Tips for designing with multi-touch
Tips for designing with multi-touch
Multi-touch control found in smartphones and tablets is becoming a popular choice for new human machine interface (HMI) designs for industrial machines. This technology enables pinch, zoom, rotate, flick/swipe, and other functions. Scott Kortier from InduSoft and Reid Beilke from Beckhoff Automation run through design considerations and provide valuable technology selection advice.
Read the full article.

Image - Mini motors power wipers in extreme reactors
Mini motors power wipers in extreme reactors
Because many reactor vessels are set up in a potentially explosive area, special requirements apply. The Lumiglas division of Papenmeier, which specializes in sight-glass assemblies, partnered with FAULHABER and MICROMO to develop a motorized wiper. The dc motor-powered wiper device is encased in a protective pressure-resistant housing to withstand the extreme pressure and temperature conditions that frequently occur inside reactor vessels.
Read the full article.

Image - Smart lithium-ion battery warns of potential fire hazards
Smart lithium-ion battery warns of potential fire hazards
Stanford University scientists have developed a "smart" lithium-ion battery that gives ample warning before it overheats and bursts into flames. Based on an ultrathin copper sensor, the new technology is designed for conventional lithium-ion batteries now used in billions of cellphones, laptops, and other electronic devices.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br> CIDEAS uses 3D scanning and printing to retrofit 1998 Lotus 340R
Wheels:
CIDEAS uses 3D scanning and printing to retrofit 1998 Lotus 340R

Mike Littrell is a rare combination of visionary and realist. While others tilt at windmills by promising an entire car made of 3D-printed parts, Littrell's company, CIDEAS, is pursuing a more practical, but still bold, agenda: Using 3D scanning and printing technologies to create and manufacture replacement parts for rare vehicles like the Lotus 340R, a legendary concept car of which only 340 were made in 1998.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Seal It, Protect It!
Mike Likes:
Seal It, Protect It!

A Smalley Laminar Seal is a metallic labyrinth seal consisting of multiple rings in a groove. Sealing an assembly from contamination while withstanding high temperatures and corrosive environments, Laminar rings are produced from metal. The arrangement and orientation of the rings are dictated by the application/severity of the environment.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Army combat cooler engineered for helicopter drops, blast survivability
Engineer's Toolbox:
Army combat cooler engineered for helicopter drops, blast survivability

Army researchers have answered a call from Soldiers in the field for better, safer insulated bottled-water containers. The result may be a life-saving product to protect Soldiers in vehicles during combat missions when water bottles could become dangerous projectiles during explosions.
Read the full article.

Image - Product: World's fastest CCD color line scan camera
Product: World's fastest CCD color line scan camera
The Chromasens allPIXA pro is the world's fastest, most powerful color line scan CCD camera on the market today for high-speed machine vision applications. With line rates up to 87 kHz in standard models and up to 148 kHz in special OEM configurations, this unit allows for a maximum 300% increase in speed compared to conventional CCD line scan cameras when used in CameraLink Full mode. The compact unit can meet the throughput demands of high-speed print verification, food and fruit sorting, flat-panel inspection, and other applications, so more products can be inspected in less time.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product: Next-gen operator panels for high-end CNC applications
Product: Next-gen operator panels for high-end CNC applications
The Sinumerik blackline panels OP 015 black and OP 019 black are a new generation of operator panels for the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC system and offer new options for machine operation. The inductive sensor technology enables rapid interaction with the user interface even when the operator is wearing gloves. Similarly, it prevents incorrect entries, for example caused by the heel of the operator's hand. The operator panel can provide a basic machine display with three or four channels showing up to 13 axes. The durable LED background lighting provides 40 percent energy savings compared to conventional neon lamps.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product: Increase production, cut costs with new gasketing resin
Product: Increase production, cut costs with new gasketing resin
Dymax has introduced GA-201, a UV/Visible light-curable, tack-free, moisture- and chemical-resistant FIP/CIP gasket for sealing heat-sensitive substrates such as plastic enclosures. Used as an alternative to tapes, PSA die-cut gaskets, 2K epoxies, silicone rope, or RTV sealants, it helps reduce labor costs and part handling while increasing production throughput. GA-201 can be easily dispensed into intricate and complex configurations and can accommodate design changes without investment in additional tooling. The material cures on demand, eliminating the need for racking and the waste associated with poorly fitting or improperly aligned die-cut gaskets.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product: DC tachometer catalog
Product: DC tachometer catalog
The new Servo-Tek tachometer catalog includes detailed specifications of all Servo-Tek high-performance DC tachometers for precision speed control applications. A Servo-Tek DC tachometer generator provides a convenient and economical means of converting rotational speed into an isolated analog voltage signal suitable for remote indication and control. While the catalog contains information on their most popular models, Servo-Tek also manufactures countless special tach generators. The 8-page catalog also includes technical info, outline drawings, and assembly and maintenance information.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Software: COMSOL Server -- global hub for simulation apps
Software: COMSOL Server -- global hub for simulation apps
COMSOL Server is the engine for running COMSOL apps and the hub for controlling their deployment, distribution, and use. After creating an app with the Application Builder, the server provides engineers and researchers with a cost-effective solution for managing how the app is used, either within their organization or externally to a worldwide audience. With COMSOL Server, applications can be run in a COMSOL Client for Windows or in Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and other major Web browsers. COMSOL Server can be hosted in a corporate network or in the cloud.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Part 2 | Designfax Most Popular Stories, Products, Toolbox, And More
Part 2 | Designfax Most Popular Stories, Products, Toolbox, And More
What were the most-read stories in Designfax for the second half of 2014? What products and tools generated the most buzz? Find out these answers and more in the second of our two-part Designfax special.
Go to the Most Popular issue Part 2.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Voxel8: World's first 3D electronics printer
Voxel8 has created the world's first 3D electronics printer, allowing users to combine electronics with novel 3D mechanical forms using the same machine. Integrating embedded conductors, wires, and batteries into plastic parts doesn't happen in one super-simple step, but this machine demonstrates a key capability for the future of additive manufacturing: producing instantly usable 3D-printed parts with embedded functionality. New Autodesk software crafted for the Voxel8 printer, called Project Wire, provides a ton of options on the printed-circuit side. The printer uses highly conductive silver-based inks to make the circuits.
View the video.

Video Image
Special effects secrets of Wired's Comic-Con Robot
The secret of Wired's Comic-Con robot is ... it isn't a robot at all. It's a cleverly designed suit that employs a combination of practical effects tricks to give the illusion of a lurching heavy droid. "Tested" speaks to the makers of this amazing suit to learn about its innovations (including a whole lot of 3D printing) and how it is unlike any special effect used in movie production.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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Software
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