Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
February 14, 2012Volume 08 Issue 06

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

  • How do you fight fire in space?
  • Building high-tech hands for wounded warriors
  • 'Whispering galleries' improve thin solar panels
  • Wheels: New LED prototypes for headlights
  • Cool Kits: SmartCamera developer's kit
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Try brushless PM motors for 60 days
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • 5 reasons why SpaceClaim is best for sheet metal
    • Bridgestone debuts airless tires
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Self-guided bullet prototype developed
    • Accelerometer-laced arrows help archers
    • Wheels: GM cooks up anti-rusting brake rotors
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Sensors , Special: Software
    Cover Image: Engineering military prosthetics [Photo: DARPA]

News

Engineers boost computer processor performance by over 20%

GE opens first new manufacturing operation in Louisville, KY, in over 50 years

Army bringing Detroit military muscle, hybrid efficiency to Chicago Auto Show

RoboCopters summoned by iPad apps are already in the works for U.S. Navy and Marines

Sandia cyber project looks to help IT professionals with complex Domain Name System (DNS) vulnerabilities


Image - Wherever Pressure is Measured, Setra Has the Solution ...		Wherever Pressure is Measured, Setra Has the Solution ...
Whether you're an end-user or OEM, Setra has a solution that will fit your application as well as your budget. Setra's industrial pressure transducers accurately measure pressure (hydraulic and pneumatic); liquids, gases, coolants, fuels, lubricants, refrigerants; and most other media. Pressure ranges extend from high to very low pressure for gauge, absolute, differential, and barometric pressures and vacuum.
Click here for more information.
Feature articles
How do you fight fire in space?
Improving fire-fighting techniques in space and getting a better understanding of fuel combustion here on Earth are the focus of a series of experiments on the International Space Station, led by a professor at the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.

A first round of experiments ran from March 2009 to December 2011. A second round kicked off in January and is set to last a year or more.

Read the full article.

Image -
Upload a 3D CAD model to get an online quote for the fastest plastic and metal machined prototype parts around. Firstcut CNC Machining Service from Proto Labs.
Building high-tech hands for wounded warriors
Top scientists and technologists are working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to give arms and hands back to warriors who lose them in battle.

Read the full article.

'Whispering galleries' improve thin solar panels
Engineers at Stanford have created photovoltaic nanoshells that harness a peculiar physical phenomenon to trap light better. The results could dramatically improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells while reducing their weight and cost.

Read the full article.

Wheels:
OSRAM introduces new LED prototypes for headlights
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has developed two LED prototypes that combine new chip and package technologies to provide high light output (even at high currents), a uniform light pattern, thermal stability, and a particularly good contrast ratio.

Read the full article.


Image - Cool Kits:<br>SmartCamera developer's kit features smallest, highest-performance imaging module		Cool Kits:
SmartCamera developer's kit features smallest, highest-performance imaging module
D3 Engineering has teamed with New Scale Technologies (precision motion) and Sunex (high-quality optics) to produce the SmartCamera kit, which allows system design engineers to quickly develop and integrate tiny, high-performance camera systems into their next-generation products for medical, biometric authentication, surveillance, machine vision, and other applications. Precision autofocus is a stand-out feature here. Kits can be customized by choosing from a wide range of standard and custom lenses.

Check out the OEM SmartCamera Developer's Kit.

Engineer's Toolbox:
Try NovaTorque brushless PM motors for 60 days
Who doesn't like "try before you buy"? NovaTorque (Sunnyvale, CA) is offering a cost-free opportunity for OEMs to evaluate and test its new, super-efficient Gen 2.0 PremiumPlus+ motors to run things like fans, pumps, or general-purpose industrial equipment.

Read the full article.

Most popular last issue
Self-guided bullet prototype can hit target a mile away
Take two Sandia National Laboratories engineers who are hunters, get them talking about the sport, and it shouldn't be surprising when the conversation leads to a patented design for a self-guided bullet that could help war fighters.

Read the full article.

MEMS accelerometers help precision archers hit their targets
Your very best shot could get way better if you are into archery. Analog Devices is providing its award-winning iMEMS technology to a first-of-its kind measurement system used in high-precision archery.

Read the full article.

Wheels:
GM cooks up recipe for anti-rusting brake rotors
A General Motors team of global brake experts is helping to make rusty brake rotors history by changing the chemical makeup of the components. The process can also double the life of rotors.
Read the full article.
Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
5 reasons why SpaceClaim is best for sheet metal
Cut your sheet metal manufacturing prep time in half. SpaceClaim's 2011 enhancements include that you can work with imported STL files, explore unbelievable sheet metal tools, manage large assemblies, access an awesome free TraceParts library, and other mind-blowing upgrades. Check out the latest that SpaceClaim engineering software has to offer for sheet metal design.
View the video.
Video Image
Bridgestone airless tires debut at Tokyo Motor Show
A thermoplastic support structure instead of air is the name of the game for Bridgestone's latest tire concept, demonstrated last December in Japan. But will a 100% recyclable, non-pneumatic wheel really scale from scooters to cars?
View the video.
Video Image
New products

Electrical/Electronics
View Products…		Mechanical
View Products…		Motion
View Products…		Sensors
View Products…		Software
View Products…
Subscribe to DesignFax
For advertising opportunities contact:

John Holmes
jholmes@nelsonpub.com
 (847) 364-7441

Dan Beck
danbeck58@gmail.com
 (518) 852-9624

Questions or comments about the eMagazine or articles? Contact us at: Designfax

www.designfax.net
PO Box 424, Alto, MI 49302

webteam@designfax.net
Privacy Statement