Click this link if you cannot read the issue below: Designfax - Tech for OEM Design Engineers
September 11, 2012Volume 08 Issue 34


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

  • Simulation in the defense industry
  • Slip clutches maximize designs
  • Quick-charging lithium-ion battery
  • Wheels (and rockets): NASA inflatable heat shield
  • Mike Likes: TI brushless DC motor control kits
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Football helmet (re)design
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • DARPA's amphibious transporters
    • Super-easy robot programming
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Army projectile-catching test system
    • MAG's 170-ton diesel engine mill machine
    • Top 10 gas-saving technologies for 2013
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion, Special: Software
    Cover Image: Fighter-jet designers use ANSYS

News

Laser revolutionizes sheet metal cutting at Army Depot

Spaceship superalloy technology aids Ford Fusion 2.0-liter turbo durability

Affordable home refueling station for natural gas vehicles being developed by Eaton

Maplesoft, VI-grade combine to bring modern modeling techniques to vehicle design



Image - Rogan Liquid Silicone Rubber Molding Capabilities
Rogan Liquid Silicone Rubber Molding Capabilities
Rogan Corporation, a full turnkey contract manufacturer of plastic components and assemblies, specializes in producing injection molded Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) components. The company is one of a few select manufacturers that also offers Bondable Liquid Silicone Rubber (Bondable LSR) overmolding that is injection molded directly to plastic or metal parts, creating a single integrated component. Utilizing LSR's heat/chemical/shock/vibration resistance and sound dampening, design opportunities include integral seals and gaskets for waterproofing complex geometries and electronic interconnects, integral membranes, diaphragms, valves, and switch covers.

A new state-of-the-art Class 100,000 clean room enables Rogan to meet the increasing demand for LSR molding and assembly.

Request a "Widget" illustrating Rogan's Bondable LSR.


Feature articles
Why the Best-In-Class will thrive in the new defense-spending environment
ANSYS' Robert Harwood and Apache Design's Dian Yang talk about the evolution and importance of simulation in defense-industry design.
Read the full article.

Image - Slip clutches maximize designs
Slip clutches maximize designs
The way they see it over at Polyclutch, there aren't a whole lot of problems you can't solve with a slip clutch. Way beyond using them for overload protection, there are a surprising number of other applications for these versatile and valuable components. From increasing machine speeds and applying constant tension on wire to indexing a conveyor and automatic screw assembly, slip clutches just may provide the design leverage that you've been seeking.
Read the full article.
Quick-charging lithium-ion battery made from world's thinnest material
Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute made a sheet of paper from the world's thinnest material, graphene, and then zapped the paper with a laser or camera flash to blemish it with countless cracks, pores, and other imperfections. The result is a graphene anode material that can be charged or discharged 10 times faster than conventional graphite anodes used in today's lithium (Li)-ion batteries.
Read the full article.
Wheels (and rockets):
Hypersonic inflatable heat shield successfully tested by NASA

A large inflatable heat shield developed by NASA's Space Technology Program successfully survived a trip through Earth's atmosphere while travelling at hypersonic speeds up to 7,600 mph.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Instantly spin YOUR brushless DC motor <br>with new TI kits
Mike Likes:
Instantly spin YOUR brushless DC motor
with new TI kits

Texas Instruments just announced four new compatible motor control kits that spin three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motors in minutes. Developers can now scale their product lines using TI's broad portfolio of microcontrollers (MCUs) ranging from 16-bit ultra-low-power MSP430 devices to 32-bit ARM floating-point Hercules safety and Stellaris MCU solutions. The kits provide all of the hardware, software, and documentation necessary to get motors spinning out of the box in minutes. Each one includes a fully protected motor driver and a plug-in controlCARD module so developers can choose the right combination of motor driver for voltage, current, and experimentation with different MCUs for control.
Click here to learn more.
Engineer's Toolbox:
Football helmet maker whips product line into shape

Schutt Sports decided to aggressively upgrade its entire helmet and faceguard line last season using reverse-engineering hardware and software. The company's Ion 4D, Schutt AiR XP, and DNA Pro+ are the world's only helmets to feature advanced TPU cushioning, the material used in U.S. fighter-pilot and paratrooper helmets.
Read the full article.

Most popular last issue
Engineer's Toolbox:
A look inside the Army's projectile-catching SCat test system

Why would the U.S. Army want to fire a 155-mm projectile into 540 ft of steel catch tubes and then recover the projectile at the other end? The answer is actually quite simple: It saves time, money, and helps to develop better products.
Read the full article.
170 tons: MAG completes mammoth portal mill built to produce large diesel engines and massive industrial components
One of MAG's newest product developments, the giant 6-axis U6 bridge-type portal mill, is completing its runoff in Hebron, KY, prior to shipping later this year.
Read the full article.
Total Car Score names top 10 gas-saving technologies for 2013
A website called Total Car Score has identified today's top 10 gas-saving innovations to consider when researching a new model, along with examples of 2013 models that offer each of these technologies.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
DARPA developing new amphibious transporters for disaster relief
Take a 1/5-scale demonstrator of the Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT) for a spin. The CAAT has air-filled pontoons on a tank tread-like design, enabling it to carry containers over water and directly onto shore. The vehicle is part of DARPA's Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) program, which seeks new sea and air delivery systems to enable direct support to disaster zones from offshore container ships. All technologies developed under TEMP are transportable using standard 20- or 40-ft commercial shipping containers. This technology demonstrator is jointly funded with the Office of Naval Research, which is looking at it for potential use as an amphibious transport for the Marines/Navy.
View the video.

Video Image
New Danish robot aims to eliminate all automation barriers
Deemed "The world's most innovative robot" by the International Federation of Robotics and IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Universal Robots' lightweight and flexible 6-axis UR5 (and its big brother UR10) totally redefine the plug-and-play-and-program concept. The robots are delivered with everything that is required for programming, including the controller box, touchscreen, and software. UR5 can handle 5-kilo loads; UR10 muscles 10 kilos.
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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