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January 17, 2017Volume 13 Issue 02


Image - 2017 Cool Parts Calendar
2017 Cool Parts Calendar
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In this issue of Designfax

  • Wheels: Elvis' BMW 507 has left the building
  • Wheels: 10 great Chevrolet racing engines
  • Wings: Cessna turboprop with jet-engine tech
  • Can incandescent bulbs make a comeback?
  • How a NASA engineer created the modern airplane wing
  • Army experiments with 'unlimited magazine'
  • Ford GT Supercar sports Gorilla Glass
  • Top Mike Likes: Revolution in roller pinion systems
  • Top Mike Likes: Mini robotic welding cell
  • Top Toolbox: Metal injection molding firearms
  • Top App Note: Quadcopter torque/thrust testing
  • Top Product: Direct metal printing with ProX DMP 320
  • Top Product: What is electroforming?
  • Top Product: 7 guidelines for cable installation
  • Top Cool Tools: Easy vibration measurements
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Yamaha shows motorcycle-riding humanoid robot
    • Inventor shows off 'Iron Man'-like diving suit
    • 5 no-nos for dual-clutch vehicles
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Most Popular Stories/Products - Part 1
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: Most popular articles, products, news of 2017 -- Part 2

News

A little bit shocking: Industry analyst puts Tesla battery Gigafactory in context

A metal that behaves like water: Graphene exhibits out-of-this-world characteristics

Wow, they could have had a V-8! Wards 10 Best Engines 2017 announced, turbos take charge

Breakthrough solar cell captures CO2 and sunlight, produces burnable fuel

Navy dive helmet display emerges as game-changer



Feature articles
Wheels: Elvis' BMW 507 has left the building

The story of Elvis' long-lost BMW 507 and its restoration is full of twists and turns. This is not simply a tale about the young GI Elvis Presley. It is also about the experienced "hillclimb champion" Hans Stuck, kissable lips daubed on white paint, a retired space engineer and a warehouse for pumpkins, and a Chevy engine that was much too big.
Read the full article.
Image -
Optimized for OEM and automation applications. Learn about the MC3/MCS motion control family.


Image - Wheels: 10 great Chevrolet racing engines
Wheels: 10 great Chevrolet racing engines
In 2016, Chevrolet began consolidating its racing engine programs under one roof at its all-new Powertrain Performance and Racing Center in Pontiac, MI. This 111,420-sq-ft state-of-the-art facility is designed to enhance the development processes for the company's diverse racing engine programs. We take a look at the new center and the 10 great Chevrolet racing engines that have gotten the brand this far.
Read the full article.

Image - Wings: Next-gen Cessna turboprop features jet-engine tech and 3D-printed engine parts
Wings: Next-gen Cessna turboprop features jet-engine tech and 3D-printed engine parts
Textron Aviation just unveiled a new business aircraft powered by a propeller engine that features many of the comforts of a private jet, but at an entry-level price. The plane, called the Cessna Denali, will have the largest cabin in its class -- seating up to eight people -- and an engine powerful and efficient enough to reach Chicago from Los Angeles or Miami from New York. GE Reports takes a look at the plane's jet-engine technology and 3D-printed engine parts.
Read the full article.

Image - Can incandescent bulbs make a comeback?
Can incandescent bulbs make a comeback?
Incandescent bulbs have always suffered from one major problem: More than 95 percent of the energy that goes into them is wasted, most of it as heat. That's why country after country has banned or is phasing out the inefficient technology. Now, researchers at MIT and Purdue University may have found a way to change all that.
Read the full article.

Image - How a NASA engineer created the modern airplane wing
How a NASA engineer created the modern airplane wing
Once dubbed "the man who could see air," NASA engineer Richard T. Whitcomb used a combination of visualization and intuition to revolutionize modern aviation -- by turning the shape of the airplane wing on its head. Today, nearly every commercial airplane bears the marks of Whitcomb's several innovations.
Read the full article.

Image - Army experiments with providing 'unlimited magazine' to 2025 Soldiers
Army experiments with providing 'unlimited magazine' to 2025 Soldiers
A swarm of experts from across the nation assembled for a two-week experiment recently at Fort Sill in Oklahoma trying out systems with the potential to provide service members with unlimited weapons capabilities. The event, called Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment, demonstrated two types of weaponry: one using lasers and the other using electricity-propelled projectiles to acquire and destroy targets.
Read the full article.

Image - Ford GT Supercar sports Gorilla Glass hybrid technology
Ford GT Supercar sports Gorilla Glass hybrid technology
When tasked with developing lightweight and advanced material vehicle applications, a team at Ford approached Corning, a recognized leader in material science that introduced light and durable Gorilla Glass to the consumer electronic market in 2007. Interested in further exploring potential automotive applications, Ford engaged Corning to help research and develop a unique formulation for exterior vehicle glass.
Read the full article.

Image - Top Mike Likes: A revolution in roller pinion systems
Top Mike Likes: A revolution in roller pinion systems
The Nexen Roller Pinion System (RPS) revolutionizes linear and rotary motion control possibilities. Based on an innovative pinion consisting of bearing-supported rollers and a unique tooth profile, this drive system provides very high positional accuracy, near-zero backlash, virtually no cumulative error, low-velocity ripple, and 99 percent efficiency. This opens up new machine design possibilities and achieves much higher levels of performance.
Learn all about this new system, including specs and worksheets, real-world applications, videos, and more.

Image - Top Mike Likes: Mini on-the-go robotic welding cell features Kuka robot
Top Mike Likes: Mini on-the-go robotic welding cell features Kuka robot
A mini robotic cell developed by German integrator Paul von der Bank is in operation at Bruninghaus & Drissner in Hilden, Germany, just east of Dusseldorf. In the confined space of this portable "Welding To Go" (WTG) 1200 cell, a KUKA KR 6 R 700 sixx robot from the AGILUS series performs welding tasks with precision three shifts a day. The whole unit works in a footprint the size of a wooden pallet -- about 40 in. x 48 in.
Watch the mini robot welder in action.

Image - Top Toolbox: Why metal injection molding (MIM) is a crucial element in the booming firearms industry
Top Toolbox: Why metal injection molding (MIM) is a crucial element in the booming firearms industry
Metal injection molding (MIM) is a popular choice in the flourishing firearms market for producing relatively high precision at a low cost. MIM combines powder metal with a low-melt polymer to create a feedstock that is molded using conventional injection-molding equipment and molds. After molding, the plastic must be removed and the parts sintered. The result is a solid metal part created from powder metal to near net shape at 96 percent density of wrought metal.
Read the full article.

Image - Top Application Note: Quadcopter propeller torque/thrust testing
Top Application Note: Quadcopter propeller torque/thrust testing
The quadcopter's four propellers are designed to work in conjunction with each other to ensure that there are no torque imbalances that could send the vehicle spinning out of control. But just how would a professional developer or hobbyist perform accurate propeller torque and thrust testing? Advanced sensor specialist FUTEK has the answer.
Read the full article.

Image - Top Product: Direct metal printing with the <br>3D Systems ProX DMP 320
Top Product: Direct metal printing with the
3D Systems ProX DMP 320

The ProX DMP 320 from 3D Systems is the latest addition to the company's line of direct metal 3D printers. It is designed for high-precision, high-throughput direct metal printing and optimized for critical applications requiring complex, chemically pure titanium, stainless steel, or nickel super-alloy parts. It features preset build parameters developed from the outcome of nearly half-a-million builds, providing predictable and repeatable print quality for virtually any geometry, and offers a large 275-mm x 275-mm x 420-mm build volume.
Learn all about this incredible machine and see it in action.

Image - Top Product: What is electroforming? How does it actually work?
Top Product: What is electroforming? How does it actually work?
Electroplating may have been around for centuries but only Servometer excels at manufacturing dynamic, convoluted bellows electroforms. Watch Servometer's five-step electroforming manufacturing process and learn how they are able to deliver electroformed components that feature extreme tolerances, complex geometries, lightweight construction, structural strength, and how they can be applied to a variety of applications.
Watch the video.

Image - Top Product: 7 guidelines for cable installation
Top Product: 7 guidelines for cable installation
For dynamic applications, the use of igus continuous-flex cables can increase service life and productivity dramatically when compared to traditional cables, which are prone to failures such as corkscrewing, shield/conductor breakage, or jacket abrasion and/or splitting. In this brief tech talk, learn the seven key design features that can ensure a continuous-flex cable will work for your application for millions of cycles -- even in the most demanding environments.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Top Cool Tools: See how easy vibration measurement can be on phones or tablets
Top Cool Tools: See how easy vibration measurement can be on phones or tablets
The ability to bring high-dynamic-range vibration signals to smartphones and tablets is simplifying and broadening both predictive maintenance and process-improvement uses of sound and vibration. The Digiducer Piezoelectric USB Digital Accelerometer is rapidly gaining acceptance in both industrial and test markets. There are already more than a dozen commercially available software packages that communicate directly with the Digiducer Model 333D01. The device is finding utility in applications from balancing to electric motor monitoring to vehicle vibration. Works with Windows, iOS, Linux, Android, and Mac OS. One new application variant is ACE Controls' VibroChecker PRO native iOS app that turns iPhones and iPads into professional vibration and impact measuring devices.
Click here to learn about the Digiducer Model 333D01.
Click here to learn about the Ace Controls app for iOS.

Most popular last issue

Image - Most Popular Stories/Products/Cool Tools - Part 1
Most Popular Stories/Products/Cool Tools - Part 1
What were the most-read stories in Designfax for 2016? What products and tools generated the most buzz? Find out these answers and more in the first of our two-part Designfax special: New water heater design, Navy electric propulsion, fuel-cell military pickup, Porsche 4-cylinder engine history, more.
Go to the Most Popular issue Part 1.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Yamaha shows motorcycle-riding humanoid robot
Japan's Yamaha Motor Co. showcases a motorcycle-riding humanoid robot, with developers saying the technology could one day present an alternative to driverless cars by being a personal driver for all your vehicles. But does it enjoy a Sunday drive and feeling the wind in its hair? Matthew Stock from Reuters reports.
View the video.

Video Image
Inventor shows off 'Iron Man'-like diving suit
CNN's Thom Patterson reports on Phil Nuytten, who in 1985 designed the Newtsuit, a deep-sea diving suit so groundbreaking that it was adopted by NASA and the U.S. military. Nuytten's company also built a submarine escape system for the U.S. Navy. Then Nuytten created the Exosuit, "kind of like 'Iron Man' come to life."
View the video.

Video Image
5 things you should never do in a dual-clutch transmission vehicle
Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained runs through a litany of no-nos for owners of (and those considering owning) dual-clutch transmission vehicles. Jason always does a great job of explaining not only the "whats" but also the "whys." Check out his other channel offerings too.
View the video.

Video Image

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