Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
December 13, 2011Volume 07 Issue 46


Image - New Full Line Catalog -- Full of New Fasteners
New Full Line Catalog -- Full of New Fasteners
Micro Plastics introduces its new catalog #39. With 290 pages of nylon fastener items, 12 new product lines, and over 500 new items added. Contents include: standard and metric machine screws, cap screws, nuts, washers, spacers, insulators, grommets, bushings, rivets, hole plugs, clamps, printed circuit board accessories, suspended ceiling hooks, and wire routing kits. FREE samples are available upon request.
Click here for more information.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Laser sintering: EOS envisions new age of manufacturing
  • Software helps NASA find glitches
  • Incredibly flexible, sticky nanowire electronics
  • Wheels: Plug-in benefits depend on battery size
  • Mike Likes: 20+ retaining ring applications
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Increase speeds with plastic bearings
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • NEW! 3D med device prototypes are big hit
    • 'Cinder blocks' made from recycled paper
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Paper-based sensor detects explosives
    • Wheels: Tiny plastic cells win Ford an award
    • Mike Likes: SpaceMouse Pro
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software , Special: Fluid Power
    Cover Image: Stanford researchers make super flexible, sticky electronics

News

Solar power blooms in Michigan after GM deploys Tracking Solar Tree

Got $290 a month? Stratasys is first to offer monthly lease option for complete 3D printing package

U.S. Army successfully launches Advanced Hypersonic Weapon demonstrator

Printed body parts? WSU researchers use a 3D printer to make bone-like material

International celebration aims to recognize pumps as ‘heart of industry'



Image - Plain, Spherical and Linear Bearings Catalog
Plain, Spherical and Linear Bearings Catalog
A catalog for igus®' lines of iglide® plastic plain bearings, igubal® spherical bearings, and DryLin® linear bearings and guides is available. The most recent edition features a new table of contents, a selection-according-to-industry section, and a number of new product lines. Some of the new products include iglide® X6 plastic plain bearings for high-temperature applications, iglide® piston rings: drop-in, easy-to-assemble replacements for traditional PTFE bearing solutions, and DryLin® leadscrew tables with a specially designed quick-release mechanism.
Request your free catalog.

Feature articles
Laser sintering:
EOS envisions new age of manufacturing; tops 1,000 systems

Once a technology reserved for prototyping test parts, high-end equipment from EOS now produces custom designs that defy the limits of traditional manufacturing.
MDA-developed software helps med device makers, NASA find glitches
Software-assurance techniques once developed for Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) computer systems are now helping NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers to create Mars exploration systems and the Food and Drug Administration to find glitches in medical device software.
Easy-on, easy-off nanowire electronics can be shaped to fit any surface
Electronic circuitry composed of nanowires can now be fitted to a surface of almost any shape on an object made of virtually any material, using a new approach to fabrication and transfer of nanowire electronics developed by Stanford researchers.
Wheels:
Study finds benefits of plug-in vehicles depend on battery size

Thinking about buying a new plug-in vehicle? You may want to check the size of its battery first.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>20+ retaining ring application examples
Mike Likes:
20+ retaining ring application examples

What can't you do with Smalley retaining rings and snap rings? The company has put a lot of effort into the visuals to demonstrate some 23 user applications for its Spirolox retaining, constant section, and wave spring rings – and we all know how visual engineers are. What about in a slip clutch, an actuator valve, a right-angle gear, or a rotary union? How about in a pneumatic fitting, a hip replacement, or even to hold glass panels in the Louvre pyramid? If you have an unusual application challenge, Smalley can help. Obviously, they've just about seen it all.
See all that you can do with Smalley retaining rings.
Engineer's Toolbox:
How to increase speeds and accelerations using plastic bearings

Want a 20% increase in throughput on your machines? Who wouldn't? DryLin plastic bearings from igus, used instead of regular ball bearings, have delivered just that.

Most popular last issue
Paper-based wireless sensor could help detect explosive devices
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives. The device is printed on paper or paper-like material using standard inkjet technology.
Read the full article
Wheels:
Tiny cell technology used in Ford Escape wins top plastics engineering award

Microscopic cells are helping to save weight, and ultimately fuel, in Ford vehicles, starting with the instrument panel of the all-new Escape.
Read the full article

Image - Mike Likes: SpaceMouse Pro <br>Revolutionize the way you interact with digital 3D content
Mike Likes: SpaceMouse Pro
Revolutionize the way you interact with digital 3D content

SpaceMouse Pro is the newest 3D mouse for professional 3D software users. This unit combines 3Dconnexion's patented six-degrees-of-freedom sensor for intuitive and precise 3D navigation with an advanced ergonomic design and innovative on-screen display. Five QuickView keys offer one-touch access to 12 view combinations. Four large, fully customizable Intelligent Function Keys provide fingertip access to frequently used application commands. And that's just for starters. It's not too late to ask Santa for one of these. PC only.
Learn more about SpaceMouse Pro from 3Dconnexion

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
NEW! 3D med device prototypes are big hit
Kablooe Design has worked with some of the nation's largest medical technology companies creating prototypes for medical devices that have changed the way patients are treated, significantly improving quality of life for thousands of people. This insightful video explains how the company saved at least $250,000 and 12 to 14 weeks using the RedEye On Demand service and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology for only one med device prototype.
View the video

Video Image
‘Cinder blocks' made from recycled paper boast advantages
It looks similar to an ordinary cinder block, but it is only a third of the weight and just as strong. Plus, it does not crack like concrete or splinter like wood, because it is made from recycled newspapers, phone books, and lottery tickets. Zach Rabon, a 1999 graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in ecology and conservation of natural resources, is president and founder of MasonGreenstar, an alternative building company that produces a patented product called Greenstar Blox. Blox are jagged and porous, but when stacked and adhered with mortar, the walls act as insulation that is energy efficient, fire resistant, and remarkably strong. See the Lubbock construction site and learn more about the testing process.
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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Fluid Power
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