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February 21, 2023Volume 19 Issue 07


Image - American-Made Quick-Turn Injection Molded Custom Parts -- Fast, Simple, High-Quality
American-Made Quick-Turn Injection Molded Custom Parts -- Fast, Simple, High-Quality
With Xometry's new quick-turn injection molding service, you get a quote for domestically produced parts in as fast as 2 hours and receive those parts in as few as 5 business days.

Order a few parts or a few thousand, and select from dozens of production-grade materials and various mold finishing options. You'll own your tooling and save $500 on your first mold.

Explore our injection molding criteria, and use the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine® to quote your project today.


In this issue of Designfax

  • Ford returning to Formula 1: Next-gen hybrid power
  • Superalloy created using 3D printing
  • Add-on 'catalytic converter' device for home furnaces
  • New Maserati GranTurismo: ICE and electric options
  • Great Resource: Unit Conversion Tool
  • ScanCobot: Easy entry into 3D metrology automation
  • Linear shafts vs. posts vs. rotary shafts: How to choose
  • Gears and gear racks made from polyamide
  • Compact drive offers greater smoothness, precision, torque
  • How do autonomous vehicles see at night?
  • Anti-surge resistors handle surges up to 10 KV
  • Toroidal propeller: More speed, fuel savings claimed
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • 3D Printing: Learn all about GrabCAD Print
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Drako Dragon: American-made 2,000-hp SuperSUV
    • Amazon delivers on massive CAD conversion project
    • NASA turns to AI to design mission hardware
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Maserati GranTurismo Modena

News

Electronic metadevices break barriers to ultra-fast communications

Cybersteels: MIT researchers set their focus on computationally designed high-performance metals

AI flies Lockheed Martin training aircraft for 17 hours

Humidity may hold a key to creating a super-lubricity 'switch'



Feature articles

Image - Ford returning to Formula 1: Will work to develop next-gen hybrid power unit
Ford returning to Formula 1: Will work to develop next-gen hybrid power unit
After more than two decades away from the sport, Ford has entered into a long-term strategic technical partnership with Red Bull Powertrains to develop a next-gen hybrid power unit to be used from the 2026 Formula 1 season onward. [Photo credit: FIA/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool]
Read the full article.

Image - Superalloy created using 3D printing
Superalloy created using 3D printing
Researchers at Sandia used a 3D printer to create a superalloy with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than state-of-the-art materials currently used in gas turbine machinery. The findings could have broad impacts across the energy sector.
Read the full article.

Image - Add-on 'catalytic converter' device could make home furnaces cleaner, safer, longer lasting
Add-on 'catalytic converter' device could make home furnaces cleaner, safer, longer lasting
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an add-on technology that removes more than 99.9% of acidic gases, such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and methane, from natural gas furnaces. The technology can also be added to other natural gas-driven equipment.
Read the full article.

Image - New Maserati GranTurismo: ICE or electric, it's delicious either way
New Maserati GranTurismo: ICE or electric, it's delicious either way
Maserati's new GranTurismo coupe combines the high performance typical of a sports car with the comfort suitable for long distances. With two powerful internal combustion engine choices (490 and 550 hp) and the brand's first all-electric option that cranks out more than 700 hp, it's a beautiful, functional, and smartly updated classic with high-end racing tech inside.
Read the full article.

Image - Great Resource: Unit Conversion Tool
Great Resource: Unit Conversion Tool
With Smalley's engineering tools, convert popular spring units such as force or retaining ring thrust capacities into metric units. Convert units such as mass and weight, angular measurements, velocities, temperatures, pressures, densities, and more!
Go to the Unit Conversion Tool. This is a good one to bookmark.

Image - ScanCobot: Easy entry into 3D metrology automation
ScanCobot: Easy entry into 3D metrology automation
The GOM ScanCobot is a mobile measuring station with a collaborative robot, a motorized rotation table, and powerful software that is smart enough to figure out the optimal positions to scan to get the most comprehensive profile possible on a part. The system provides cleaner, more accurate data than manual scans. Exact Metrology has the ScanCobot technology at their Milwaukee area office. Learn about its impressive capabilities.
Read the full article.

Image - Linear shafts vs. posts vs. rotary shafts: How to choose
Linear shafts vs. posts vs. rotary shafts: How to choose
According to Carlicia Layosa at MISUMI, "Linear shafts, posts, and rotary shafts are used when you need to control some type of motion, either linear or rotary, or a combination of the two," but do you know the difference between these options and what applications are best for each?
Read this informative MISUMI blog.

Image - Gears and gear racks made from polyamide
Gears and gear racks made from polyamide
Gears and gear racks used for transmitting torque and forces within gearboxes are typically made of hardened steel. For many other uses and applications, gears and racks made from plastic are the better choice. These generally require no lubrication and are lighter, quieter, less expensive, and more resistant to corrosion than metal gears. This is why JW Winco has expanded its range with polyamide gears and racks that can transmit high forces and torques. Spur gears EN 7802 and gear racks EN 7822 are made from strong and long-lasting polyamide and are also available in gray or blue for better visual detectability.
Learn more.

Image - Compact stepper drive offers greater smoothness, precision, torque density
Compact stepper drive offers greater smoothness, precision, torque density
Kollmorgen has just released the new P80630-SDN stepper drive. Customers can now benefit from features such as smoothness, precision, and torque across the full speed range in a significantly more compact package that enables smaller, lighter, and more versatile machines. The P80630-SDN is an ideal solution for labelers, indexing tables, CNC machines, packaging systems, pumps, and other single- or multi-axis systems requiring low-speed, point-to-point motion control for fixed loads.
Learn more and get the specs.

Image - How do autonomous vehicles see at night?
How do autonomous vehicles see at night?
Owl Autonomous Imaging is offering a new whitepaper that explains how the Owl Thermal Ranger uses convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to accurately and reliably locate and classify pedestrians and animals in the dark from their own thermal signatures using just one infrared camera. This whitepaper covers the history of convolutional neural networks, how the technology works (AI/machine training), why Owl thinks the CNN approach is the best solution to address current pedestrian safety concerns, and how auto manufacturers can implement it. Very interesting.
Get the Owl AI whitepaper.

Image - Anti-surge resistors handle surges up to 10 KV
Anti-surge resistors handle surges up to 10 KV
High-voltage applications such as HVAC controls, appliance and white goods controls, metering, automation, medical devices, digital storage, and surge-protection devices typically require resistors with high working voltage that may be challenging to find. If the applications are low current or low energy, film resistors are an ideal technology. The ASR/ASRM series from Stackpole offers high working voltages, high pulse voltage handling, and well-defined pulse behavior. For applications with high-voltage surge and low-energy requirements, the ASR/ASRM is a viable replacement for carbon composition resistors, providing improved electrical and environmental stability, better tolerance and TCR, with better long-term availability.
Learn more.

Image - Toroidal propeller: More speed, fuel savings claimed
Toroidal propeller: More speed, fuel savings claimed
Is a toroidal propeller the next big thing in boating? Sharrow Marine, creator of the Sharrow Propeller, thinks so. Four years of independent and factory testing have proven this design bests standard blade technology by providing: significant speed increase at mid-range RPMs, up to 30% greater fuel efficiency, less vibration, dramatic noise reduction, more reverse thrust, superior handling in tight turns at high speeds, and more. The Sharrow Propeller has won numerous innovation awards from both boat shows and highly respected marine publications.
Learn all about the development of this very cool technology.

Most popular last issue

Image - Drako Dragon: American-made 2,000-hp SuperSUV
Drako Dragon: American-made 2,000-hp SuperSUV
If you're interested in finding out what's on the bleeding edge of the expanding electric vehicle market, take a look at the new Drako Dragon, a 2,000-hp, quad-motor luxury SuperSUV being built in San Jose, CA. From its all-carbon-fiber structure to its gull-wing doors and its use of real-time USB networking in place of traditional CAN, Dragon is an exotic limited offering that aims to set a new standard for EV manufacturing and driving.
Read the full article.

Image - Amazon delivers on massive CAD conversion project for its industrial customers
Amazon delivers on massive CAD conversion project for its industrial customers
Recently, Amazon's industrial products division decided to undertake what some are calling the largest CAD conversion project in history. The daunting task of converting millions of 2D drawings and legacy CAD files into modern 3D CAD systems has had its upsides, though, leading to new opportunities and improved processes thanks to the capable CAD outsourcing services of CAD/CAM Services.
Read the full article.

Image - NASA turns to AI to design mission hardware
NASA turns to AI to design mission hardware
Spacecraft and mission hardware designed by an artificial intelligence may resemble bones left by some alien species, but they weigh less, tolerate higher structural loads, and require a fraction of the time parts designed by humans take to develop.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
3D Printing: Learn all about GrabCAD Print -- best slicing software
The engineers at TriMech are full of incredibly useful tips when it comes to 3D printing. Learn all about GrabCAD Print, which TriMech calls "one of the most powerful 3D-printing prep tools on the market." Better yet, it's a no-cost resource. Learn about file types and updated capabilities like advanced anchoring and stabilizing, remote monitoring, and even building in collaborative schedule management. You always learn something new from TriMech.
View the video.

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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