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January 28, 2014Volume 10 Issue 04


Image - Molded Nylon Special Standard Round Spacers
Molded Nylon Special Standard Round Spacers
Micro Plastics announces a new product line of Special Standard Round Spacers. The new line of molded nylon round spacers includes over 250 sizes, with diameters of 1/8" through 1 1/2" and lengths from 1/8" to 2 3/4". These tough, resilient spacers can be used in a variety of assemblies. Useful in electronic and electrical applications, they may also be used as bushings, bearings, rollers, gliders, and bumpers. They are resistant to vibration, abrasion, and corrosion; are electrically insulating; and have a high strength-to-weight ratio.
Click here to learn more.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Injection Molding Tips: Laying down on the job
  • Designing a safer earbud
  • Micro-windmills recharge cell phones
  • Wheels: Ford solar car concept
  • Mike Likes: Open-thermistor temp sensors
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Smart aerospace honing tech
  • Product Spotlight: New 'tunable white' LED
  • Product Spotlight: Micro robotic tool changer
  • Product Spotlight: High-accuracy magnetic encoder
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Air-flow design that's simply a breeze
    • Turn 2D drawings to 3D models
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Triboelectric generators for energy harvesting
    • Wheels: Bosch start-stop coasting system
    • Engineer's Toolbox: Super-clever robotics gripper
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Ford's C-MAX Solar Energi Concept

News

Tech companies, auto industry leaders join forces to push for Android ecosystem in connected cars

Boeing, United Arab Emirates partner to harvest biofuel from desert plants

NASA developing (really long) legs for the Space Station's Robonaut 2 robot

IMPORTANT message for gmail users -- both personal and corporate email accounts



Image - DryLin<sup>®</sup> W from igus<sup>®</sup>: For almost unlimited design flexibility!
DryLin® W from igus®: For almost unlimited design flexibility!
DryLin® W was developed to promote design flexibility and quick assembly in single and double rail configurations. Available with enhanced iglide® J200 for reduced friction and optimized bearing life, DryLin W is lubricant and maintenance free, and is suitable for use in dirt and dust. Square or round profiles available in a variety of sizes (imperial and metric), to suit any application. Parts available from stock, same day and free samples available on request.
Click here to learn more about DryLin W.
Click here for a DryLin overview.
Click here to go to the igus Inc. homepage.

Feature articles

Image - Plastic Injection Molding Tips: <br>There's a right time to 'lay down' on the job
Plastic Injection Molding Tips:
There's a right time to 'lay down' on the job

How do you decide whether your design needs to lay down on its side for molding, and what are the benefits and drawbacks? Gus Breiland, customer service engineer manager, Proto Labs, runs through this common scenario.
Read the full article.

Image - Say what? Designing an earbud that doesn't cause hearing loss
Say what? Designing an earbud that doesn't cause hearing loss
A former teenage rocker who's been involved with the music industry in some shape or form for most of his adult life might seem like an unlikely candidate to help minimize hearing loss, but that's precisely what Stephen Ambrose is doing with his new company.
Read the full article.

Image - Micro-windmills built to recharge cell phones, provide harvested power for other electronics
Micro-windmills built to recharge cell phones, provide harvested power for other electronics
A University of Texas Arlington research associate and electrical engineering professor have designed a micro-windmill that generates wind energy and may become an innovative solution to cell phone batteries constantly in need of recharging. This story includes an intriguing look into building micro mechanical components.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Ford's solar car concept features its own concentrator car-port accessory
Wheels:
Ford's solar car concept features its own concentrator car-port accessory

Ford Motor Co., in collaboration with Georgia Tech, debuted a new solar car concept earlier this month at the 2014 International CES event in Las Vegas. It's a concentrated endeavor that involves parking the vehicle under a special magnifying-glass-like car port to harness extra sun power.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: <br>Open-thermistor temp sensors use fused glass to eliminate leakage
Mike Likes:
Open-thermistor temp sensors use fused glass to eliminate leakage

Fused glass is key to providing the leak-proof operation of these new open thermistor-type temperature sensors from Gems Sensors & Control. The TM-950 Series temp sensors use an open (exposed) thermistor design for faster response to temperature fluctuation than can be achieved with closed (encapsulated) designs. This series solves the sensed fluid leakage problem common with other open thermistor type sensors currently available. Originally designed for oil and refrigerants in HVAC and chiller systems, TM-950 sensors can be used to monitor temperatures in any non-conductive fluid.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Smart honing technology puts lift in business for aerospace hydraulic pumps
Engineer's Toolbox:
Smart honing technology puts lift in business for aerospace hydraulic pumps

A new honing technology from Sunnen makes a 60-millionths tolerance look generous. "We don't believe it!" That's how experienced machinists reacted to their first encounter with the machine tool that had produced nine bores per part with only 0.000020 in. variation, all day long, with essentially no operator attention.
Read the full article.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>New 'tunable white' LED with high CRI
Product Spotlight:
New 'tunable white' LED with high CRI

The new Osram Ostar Medical from Osram Opto Semiconductors is the first LED component with a high color-rendering index (CRI) of 95 and the possibility of adjusting the temperature of the color white. This combination of precise chromaticity coordinate control and excellent CRI is particularly important for lighting in the medical sector. With a footprint of just 5.9 mm x 4.8 mm and a housing height of 1.2 mm, the design of the Osram Ostar Medical is only about one-quarter as high as the components ordinarily used.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>Micro robotic tool changer
Product Spotlight:
Micro robotic tool changer

The QC-001 Micro Robotic Tool Changer, recently developed by ATI Industrial Automation, is ideal for high-speed "spider" or parallel-link robots, enhancing their ability to switch end-effectors automatically. This compact and lightweight tool changer allows for multiple assembly, dispensing, sorting, and material handling operations to be performed by one robot, which can greatly increase productivity while reducing downtime for changeovers. The QC-001 Micro Tool Changer weighs less than 122 g (4.3 oz), handles payloads of up to 1.4 kg (3 lb), and features integrated pneumatic ports and electrical connections. Additional features include: patented Fail-Safe locking mechanism to ensure high-moment capacity and strength; a common Lock/Unlock air supply and a Lock/Unlock sensing method; four M5 pass-through air connections, eight 3-A/50-VAC electrical connections, and a stack height of only 16.9 mm (0.67 in.).
Click here to learn more.

Image - Product Spotlight: <br>New high-accuracy magnetic encoder
Product Spotlight:
New high-accuracy magnetic encoder

Novotechnik U.S. introduces the Vert-X 51 Series of rotary magnetic encoders that feature 12-, 14-, or 16-bit resolution and repeatability to 0.36 deg or +/-0.1 deg, depending on model. These encoders are ideal for harsh environments with ingress protection to IP 67, withstand shock up to 50 g and vibration to 20 g, and have an operating and storage temperature range of up to -40 deg C to 125 deg C. MTBF is 135+ years. Measurement range is 0 deg to 360 deg, and physical measurements of the housing are 30 mm x 50 mm. Ten output options are available.
Click here to learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - Energy harvesting's spark of innovation: <br>Triboelectric generators capture wasted power
Energy harvesting's spark of innovation:
Triboelectric generators capture wasted power

With one stomp of his foot, Zhong Lin Wang illuminates a thousand LED bulbs -- with no batteries or power cord. The current comes from essentially the same source as that tiny spark that jumps from a fingertip to a doorknob when you walk across carpet on a cold, dry day. Wang and his research team have learned to harvest this power and put it to work.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Bosch is betting its start-stop coasting system will become the norm
Wheels:
Bosch is betting its start-stop coasting system will become the norm

With its new start-stop technology, Bosch intends to have drivers coasting toward a 10 percent fuel savings. The company's latest start-stop coasting function stops the engine when the vehicle is in motion, so that it does not consume any fuel.
Read the full article.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Impressive 'coffee-filled' soft robotics gripper now available commercially
Engineer's Toolbox:
Impressive 'coffee-filled' soft robotics gripper now available commercially

An extremely clever robotic gripper invented by researchers at the University of Chicago and Cornell University a few years ago is now available commercially. Empire Robotics, the company founded to commercialize the "jamming gripper" invention, is taking orders for its product called VERSABALL, which wowed industry and academic professionals nationwide with a prototype that was a party balloon filled with vacuum-packed coffee.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Air-flow design that's simply a breeze
Autodesk Flow Design is a new simulation tool that enables designers to visualize airflow around any object. With Flow Design, designers are able to introduce air-flow simulation from the conceptual level all the way through to the completed model, ensuring they are making educated design decisions at every stage of the process. As your own personal 24/7 wind tunnel, this tool is intuitive enough that someone without any simulation expertise can run limited analysis, which makes collaboration between designers, engineers, and analysts more effective and efficient.
Learn more about this product and view the video.

Video Image
Ease your transition from 2D drawings to 3D models
See how easy it is to use DraftSight from Dassault Systemes and SolidWorks to add 3D geometry to your 2D drawings to convert them to DWG file 3D models.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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