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October 24, 2017Volume 13 Issue 40


Image - Vampire Bite Force
Vampire Bite Force
Professional vampire hunters need to do whatever they can to protect themselves from vampire bites. To design better anti-bite countermeasures, hunters measure the bite of alligators as a comparative analysis. They recorded an astonishing 1,723 lb. of force using a 5k capacity load button load cell.
Learn how engineers use load cells to make these measurements.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Mystery of Civil War sub crew deaths solved?
  • Gun barrel honing system hits target
  • 'Air-breathing' battery stores grid electricity
  • Wheels: Duct tape a tool for Ford Mustang engineers
  • 2018 Cool Parts Calendar
  • Toolbox: Metal injection molding (MIM) in firearms
  • New multi-turn sensors with a clutch
  • Great Resources: Designing for Manufacturability
  • 3D-printing materials program for large manufacturers
  • Webinar: Explore SOLIDWORKS Systems Options
  • DIY graphene: Graphene oxide available in 3 forms
  • Smalley's new medical capacity
  • He's alive! How did Dr. Frankenstein do it?
  • Micro Plastics plastic parts
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • 20th anniversary of supersonic car record
    • Foldable drone for military is ready in 60 sec
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Developing Story: Kobe Steel scandal
    • NASA-inspired fastener tech improves golf clubs
    • Wheels: Toshiba develops 6-min. EV charge battery
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: 20th anniversary of supersonic Thrust SSC setting World Land Speed Record of 763 mph

News

Enough electricity to power an entire home: Lockheed Martin completes first flexible solar array for LM 2100 satellite

New aero radar sensor provides real-time video in any weather

Army looking into unmanned medevac, medical resupply

New sound diffuser is 10x thinner than existing designs



Feature articles
Mystery of Civil War sub crew deaths solved scientifically?
When the Confederate submarine HL Hunley was raised from the ocean floor in 2000, the skeletons of its eight crewmembers were found seated at their respective stations with no physical injuries or indications that they were attempting to escape after sinking the Union ship Housatonic on February 17, 1864 -- and then sinking themselves. What happened?
Read the full article.
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Image - Gun barrel honing system hits target for Pac-Nor Barreling
Gun barrel honing system hits target for Pac-Nor Barreling
Manufacturing precision rifle barrels has always been something of an art that involves hand lapping of the bore surface twice, before and after the rifling profile is cut or swaged in by a rifling button. But hand lapping is time consuming and labor intensive, and it may not always give the best result. Enter Sunnen's HTE honing machine.
Read the full article.

Image - 'Air-breathing' flow battery can store grid electricity for months
'Air-breathing' flow battery can store grid electricity for months
MIT researchers have developed an "air-breathing" battery that could store solar or wind power electricity for very long durations for about one-fifth the cost of current technologies. The battery could be used to make sporadic renewable power a more reliable source of electricity for the grid.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Duct tape still a valuable tool for Ford Mustang design engineers
Wheels:
Duct tape still a valuable tool for Ford Mustang design engineers

In the data-driven, computer-monitored world of vehicle testing, sometimes there is no replacing the human touch. Ford engineers Jonathan Gesek and Mike Del Zio are proof that both the objective and subjective remain integral parts of car development.
Read the full article.

Image - 2018 Cool Parts Calendar
2018 Cool Parts Calendar
Request a free Proto Labs 2018 Cool Parts Calendar and keep all your projects on track next year. Every month you'll see a custom part made possible through 3D printing, CNC machining, injection molding, and the innovative companies behind the design of those parts.
Request your free calendar today!


Image - Toolbox: Why metal injection molding (MIM) is a crucial element in the booming firearms industry
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 - New multi-turn sensors with a clutch
New multi-turn sensors with a clutch
Novotechnik, U.S. introduces the ML Series of Multi-Turn Rotary Sensors. These sensors feature a unique friction clutch instead of the end-stops typically found on mechanical multi-turn sensors. The clutch produces a click sound to let users know they have reached end-of-range, and it permits continued turn past end-scale. Compare this feature to a device simply breaking as it is turned past its end-stops. Compact in size, ML Series sensors have a 1/2-in.-sq profile and include models with 6, 10, 25, 50, or 100 turns. Applications include forklifts, sliding gates, electric drive feedback, compactors, and medical devices.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Great Resources: Smart Guide to Designing for Manufacturability
Great Resources: Smart Guide to Designing for Manufacturability
Not all mold makers were created equal. Follow the guide of the most advanced: Xcentric Mold & Engineering. Learn how to incorporate things like draft, threads, hinges, and overmolding by taking advantage of the most advanced injection molding process engine and mold-making system in the industry.
Download our Smart Guide to Designing for Manufacturability.

Image - 3D-printing materials program for large manufacturers
3D-printing materials program for large manufacturers
Carbon, a Silicon Valley-based 3D manufacturing company, has announced a materials program that will offer some of its 3D-printing polymer resins via bulk packaging, enabling a 40 percent price reduction for high-volume manufacturers. The first material to be offered will be RPU (rigid polyurethane) 70, which Carbon will initially sell for $150/liter, down from $250/liter. Working with its network of global supply-chain partners and integrating novel approaches for dispensing and distributing resins to a fleet of printers, Carbon expects to further reduce the price to less than $100/liter over the next year. Ford and adidas are among the first companies to take advantage of these new production offerings.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Webinar: Explore SOLIDWORKS Systems Options
Webinar: Explore SOLIDWORKS Systems Options
Did you know there are over 350 settings that can be customized in the SOLIDWORKS Systems Options? That's right, over 350 opportunities to streamline the software for your business! Unfortunately, many people don't know where to start and end up diving right into the software after an install or upgrade. Join TriMech Application Engineer Laura Weismantel on Nov. 2 at 10 am EST for a live webinar as she reveals the most powerful and useful Systems Options.
Register now.

Image - DIY graphene: Graphene oxide available in 3 forms
DIY graphene: Graphene oxide available in 3 forms
Goodfellow has announced the availability of graphene oxide for use in a wide range of applications. The chemical reduction of graphene oxide is the most suitable method of mass production of graphene. Graphene oxide is easily dispersed in water, other organic solvents, and different matrices; can be embedded in different ceramic or polymeric matrices to improve electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties; and is adaptable for many applications through functionalization. Goodfellow offers this versatile product dispersed in water, reduced, or in a film.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Smalley's new medical capacity
Smalley's new medical capacity
Medical devices are shrinking, and the need for smaller medical rings and medical springs has grown. Smalley continues to push the boundaries of coiling technology, producing the smallest wave springs and retaining rings on the market. As the preferred supplier to the medical industry, Smalley's Spirolox® Retaining Rings and Wave Springs are found in medical devices from surgical instruments to implantables, imaging equipment to dental tools, and more. From prototypes to production volumes, Smalley is able to scale production to meet your manufacturing schedule. Medical-grade alloys including surgical 316 Stainless Steel, Elgiloy, and implantable Titanium are readily available. Smalley strives to provide the best engineered products, quality, service, and deliverability. Their dedication to the medical industry is evident by their certification to ISO 13485:2016.
Click here to learn more.

Image - He's alive! How did Dr. Frankenstein do it?
He's alive! How did Dr. Frankenstein do it?
Creating life is no easy task, even for Dr. Frankenstein. Before the lifeless amalgamation of human parts can be animated, they must be securely fastened together. Adequate torque must be applied to the Monster's neck bolts, lest it goes the way of the headless horseman. FUTEK's TRS series rotary torque sensor and LTH series donut load cell are combined to verify the applied torque and bolt loading is sufficient to securely fasten the Monster's head.
Check out the application setup!


Most popular last issue

Image - Developing Story: Kobe Steel admits falsifying product data, 500 companies affected
Developing Story: Kobe Steel admits falsifying product data, 500 companies affected
Japanese metals company Kobe Steel Ltd. has admitted to "improper conduct" where "data in inspection certificates had been improperly rewritten." Some materials the company produced over the past 10 years may not have been up to snuff in terms of strength and/or durability. Some inspection reports were falsified. The problem affects a ballooning number of international companies.
Read the full article.

Image - NASA-inspired fastener tech improves golf clubs
NASA-inspired fastener tech improves golf clubs
When Cobra Puma Golf wanted a "spaceport door" to screw into the bottom of its KING LTD Driver for more precise weighting, it researched NASA's techniques for dealing with intense, repeated vibration in rocket launches.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: Toshiba ups the game with 6-min. rechargeable electric vehicle battery
Wheels: Toshiba ups the game with 6-min. rechargeable electric vehicle battery
A new, next-gen lithium-ion battery design from Toshiba for compact electric cars provides a driving range just shy of 200 miles on a 6-min., ultra-rapid recharge -- triple that possible with current lithium-ion battery technology.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
20th anniversary of supersonic car land speed record
On Oct. 15, 1997, the British Thrust SSC team set the World Land Speed Record of 763.035 mph -- making it the first and only car to reach speeds faster than the speed of sound. Driver Andy green, also a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, describes in detail what it was like to make the historic final run and keep this awesome twin-engine machine on the ground in Nevada and on a straight course. Currently, Green is prepping to set a new land speed record of 1,000+ mph in the BLOODHOUND SSC jet-engine car in South Africa in 2019. Fascinating!
View the video.

Video Image
Small, foldable drone is ready for military service in 60 sec
The Snipe Nano UAS is the latest tactical unmanned aircraft system innovation from AeroVironment. Weighing less than 5 oz, Snipe requires no assembly and can be operational in less than 60 sec, providing dismounted troops with more than 15 min. of immediate tactical overwatch. With minimal training, Snipe is operated with an intuitive touchscreen tablet and can be controlled manually or programmed for GPS waypoint autonomous navigation. Each air vehicle includes both an electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) camera that transmits video in real time for day or night operation.
View the video.

Video Image

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