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January 24, 2017Volume 13 Issue 03


Image - Using the Right Coupling for your Motion Control Application?
Using the Right Coupling for your Motion Control Application?
Servometer® precision motion control couplings are available as both flexible bellows couplings and rugged beam couplings. Electrodeposited bellows technology offers seamless construction and the best combination of flexibility and strength among couplings technologies. These versatile, flexible nickel and stainless steel shaft couplings are capable of accommodating misalignments for parallel, angular and axial motion. Our newly released video showcases their unique characteristics, capabilities, design and various applications.
View the video.

In this issue of Designfax

  • How nanotech may revolutionize future engines
  • Directed-energy atmospheric lens for future battles
  • Researchers design strongest, lightest material
  • Space: NASA space debris destruction testing
  • Mike Likes: Smallest wave springs on the market
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Measuring marine tank fluid levels
  • Micro Solutions: Myoelectric robotic prosthesis
  • Power converter for industrial, smart grid, e-mobile
  • Remove static and dust: New anti-static ion air cannon
  • OneMount load-cell solution
  • Adapt your motor to your application
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Feel the Burn -- Combustion Simulation Video
    • Big Machines: Excavator with GPS, real-time diag.
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Most Popular Stories/Products - Part 2
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Researchers design strongest, lightest material

News

Ford and Toyota establish SmartDeviceLink Consortium to accelerate industry-driven standard for in-vehicle apps

Researchers use world's smallest diamonds to make wires three atoms wide

DARPA's diesel-powered unmanned airplane sets world endurance record

Honey, I shrunk the circuit: Sandia research could improve defense electronics, electric vehicles, electrical grids



Image - Kickstart your cobot in 10 steps
Kickstart your cobot in 10 steps
Cost-effective, safe, and flexible collaborative robots -- or cobots -- are making automation easier than ever, even for small and mid-sized companies. This ebook will help you kickstart your first cobot project, stepping you through decisions on: Throughput, Reach & Payload, Parts & Presentation, Connectivity & Integration, Grippers & End effectors, Programming and much more.
Download the ebook now:
Find the cobot that's right for you:
Locate a distributor in your area:

Feature articles
How nanotechnology may revolutionize future engines -- surprise finding about copper

At the Army Research Laboratory in Maryland, scientists are on the hunt for nanomaterials that could improve engine technology in a big way. Their latest discovery -- involving copper, of all things -- could lead to many new materials applications, including inside turbine engines, where temperatures can soar to more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Read the full article.
Image -
Piezo actuators are the gold standard when it comes to precision, speed, and force in a small package. Learn more ->


Image - Directed-energy atmospheric lens could revolutionize future battlefields
Directed-energy atmospheric lens could revolutionize future battlefields
Within the next 50 years, scientists at BAE Systems believe that battlefield commanders could deploy a new type of directed energy laser and lens system, called a Laser Developed Atmospheric Lens, capable of enhancing commanders' ability to observe adversaries' activities over much greater distances. At the same time, the lens could be used as a type of "deflector shield" to protect friendly aircraft, ships, land vehicles, and troops.
Read the full article.

Image - Researchers design one of the strongest, lightest materials known
Researchers design one of the strongest, lightest materials known
A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials known by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a strength 10 times that of steel.
Read the full article.

Image - How-To Test Application: <br>Automotive Entertainment System Force Feedback
How-To Test Application:
Automotive Entertainment System Force Feedback

As automotive entertainment systems have progressed beyond the CD player, customers are requiring more elaborate user interfaces -- haptic feedback in the form of auditory, visual, and physical cues to interact with their vehicle. By integrating load cells into the touchscreen frame, test engineers can measure the force necessary for haptic commands upon the screen's surface.
Find out how engineers do this.

Image - Space Vehicles: <br>NASA asks: Destruction junction -- What's your function?
Space Vehicles:
NASA asks: Destruction junction -- What's your function?

Why is NASA's Johnson Space Center throwing everything, with the exception of the kitchen sink, at protective shields with the express purpose of impacting them? Well, space junk poses a serious risk to all spacecraft traveling near Earth. Even small particle impacts can cause significant damage, so current tests that began late in October 2016 can help verify new shield designs and improve the associated technology.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: Smallest wave springs on the market
Mike Likes: Smallest wave springs on the market
Smalley has expanded the Crest-to-Crest® Wave Spring Series. Smalley's popular C (imperial) and CM (metric) Series have been expanded; standard sizes are now available from stock down to .188 in. and 5 mm in diameter. Smalley Wave Springs can replace conventional coil springs while occupying only half the space and providing the same force and deflection. Request complimentary samples today!
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Measuring marine tank fluid levels with pneumatics
Engineer's Toolbox:
Measuring marine tank fluid levels with pneumatics

In virtually all working vessels, from ferries to commercial trawlers, maintaining reliable and accurate fluid-level measurements of internal tanks is important. A fluid-level measuring system or sounding system is used to determine how much fuel or potable water there is on board of a ship; how much fluid there is in a storage facility; or even the ship's draft. But what measurement method is better -- electronic or pneumatic?
Read the full article.

Image - Micro Solutions: Myoelectric robotic prosthesis puts innovation in hand
Micro Solutions: Myoelectric robotic prosthesis puts innovation in hand
The Bebionic myoelectric hand prosthesis was recently developed to help with daily life challenges. Powerful, small FAULHABER motors ensure that the prosthesis can grip without any problems, quickly and firmly, and maintain a constant gripping force. Two electrodes integrated into the prosthesis shaft detect the myoelectric signals and forward them to the control electronics. These signals are amplified and used to activate the 5 small electric motors.
Read the full article.

Image - Power converter for industrial, smart grid, e-mobile applications
Power converter for industrial, smart grid, e-mobile applications
Siemens has a new addition to its popular Sinamics DCP product family of scalable (4X), bi-directional DC-DC drives. The DCP 120 kW facilitates the integration of larger energy-storage systems such as batteries and supercapacitors into multi-generator applications for a wide variety of industrial, smart grid, marine, and e-mobile uses, including photovoltaics, fuel cells, wind power, and high-dynamic uses such as peak shaving. This new drive features combined buck/boost capability in a single device for optimized interconnection between DC sources and energy-storage devices plus the DC link for both motor inverter and infeed/grid inverter.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Remove static and dust: New anti-static ion air cannon
Remove static and dust: New anti-static ion air cannon
EXAIR's new Ion Air Cannon eliminates static electricity and cleans at distances up to 15 ft -- with no moving parts. It is ideal for bench-tops, machine mounting, and hard-to-reach spaces that require a concentrated flow of static-eliminating ions. The Ion Air Cannon incorporates EXAIR's patented Super Air Amplifier that minimizes compressed air use by inducing surrounding airflow at a ratio of 22:1. The unique amplified airflow carries the ions to the target, making it possible for the Ion Air Cannon to eliminate static charges in less than a half second. New design features include a metal-armored high-voltage cable to protect against abrasion and cuts, a replaceable emitter point, integrated ground connection, and electromagnetic shielding. CE, UL, and RoHS certified.
Click here to learn more.

Image - OneMount load-cell solution for low-capacity applications
OneMount load-cell solution for low-capacity applications
Hardy Process Solutions has expanded its OneMount line to include a model designed for small hoppers, tank weighing systems, and bagging machines, as well as other dynamic low-capacity applications such as checkweighing and conveyor scales. The Hardy OneMount with Advantage beam sensors allows a vessel or hopper to be installed, bolted, and welded using the mount itself -- without installation accessories that can increase a customer's capital investment by thousands of dollars and labor costs associated with removing components after installation. The OneMount's integral spacers carry the full-rated capacity without the load cells installed, eliminating the need for expensive dummy load cells or welding fixtures typically used to avoid damaging the load sensor during the welding process.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Adapt your motor to your application: Integrated 400-W servo motor with battery supply
Adapt your motor to your application: Integrated 400-W servo motor with battery supply
The MAC402 from JVL Industri Elektronik is a complete 400-W solution for medium power ratings with battery supply 12-48 VDC. This solution features: peak power up to 1,200 W, absolute multiturn encoder without battery, real-time industrial Ethernet (Profinet, Ethernet/IP, MODBUS TCP, EtherCAT, Powerlink, and SercosIII), two RS422 channels for encoder in/output and SSI encoder, and six I/O. Choose between models with or without brakes. IP55 standard. IP66 optional. Wireless, industrial Ethernet connectivity, or PLC built in. Distributed by Electromate.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Most Popular Stories/Products/Cool Tools - Part 2
Most Popular Stories/Products/Cool Tools - Part 2
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: Gorilla Glass For Cars, Chevy Racing Engines, Army Unlimited Magazine, more.
Go to the Most Popular issue Part 2.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Feel the Burn -- Combustion Simulation Video
Combustion is a complex process which can only be handled by high-performing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software such as FloEFD. Watch this 5-minute video to learn how to:
  • Optimize mixing of burning fuels and oxidizers
  • Determine flame shape, patterns, as well as temperatures
  • Minimize emissions to ensure the design meets stringent regulatory standards
View the video.

Video Image
Big Machines: Excavator with GPS, real-time sys diagnostics
What's new in the world of big equipment? SANY America recently introduced the new SY215C excavator. The 22-ton machine has always been SANY's top seller. The SY215C has a brand new Cummins Tier 4 Final engine that complies with the strictest environmental standards. It is equipped with two circuits of auxiliary lines down the arm that provide ready-to-use hydraulic power and comes standard with side frame rails for machine protection and an optimized operator cabin. The SY215C is also equipped with SANYLive telematics, a GPS system that allows SANY to monitor all of their equipment from SANY America headquarters in Peachtree City, GA. This telematics portal is also a useful tool for equipment owners. SANYLive keeps track of engine hours, fuel usage, location history, alerts, and events. If there is a problem with a machine, SANY knows about it in real time.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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