January 04, 2022 | Volume 18 Issue 01 |
Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight
Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops
Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants
3D-printing materials just keep getting better -- and now there are more choices than ever. Watch as Walter Voit, SVP Polymer Materials, Desktop Metal, describes the 3D printing of DuraChain Elastic ToughRubber photopolymers, which produce tough and resilient end-use parts while eliminating the need for a two-part resin. DuraChain photopolymers also demonstrate a long pot life of roughly one year, depending on environmental conditions, making them more suitable for volume production and reducing waste from spoiled, unused material. These materials are offered exclusively on the ETEC Xtreme 8K top-down DLP systems. ETEC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal.
Learn about this exciting material.
Learn about the ETEC Xtreme 8K DLP systems -- and what makes them so much better.
THK has developed its best-performing, high-speed rotary bearing ever: the High-Speed, Double-Row Angular Contact Ring BWH. This rotary bearing has balls aligned inside a cage between the inner and outer rings and is part of the THK Rotary Series, along with the cross-roller ring. The main features of this product are its ability to receive loads in all directions as well as its high rigidity and rotational accuracy, which are equal to that of cross-roller rings. By adopting a new structure to change the rolling elements from rollers to balls, this product achieves the greatest high-speed performance ever offered by THK.
Learn more.
Ruland Manufacturing has expanded its jaw coupling line to meet the demands of high-torque applications, now offering bore sizes up to 1-3/4 in. or 45 mm and torque capacities of 2,655 in.-lb (300 Nm). Target uses are in precision systems with high deceleration and acceleration curves, such as semiconductor, solar, conveyor, and warehouse automation applications. Features include zero-backlash, industry-leading misalignment capabilities, and a balanced design that reduces vibration at speeds up to 8,000 rpm.
Learn more.
Can you get a design and functional edge with a wedge? In this animated video, Nord-Lock explains the principle behind their original wedge-locking technology, which secures bolted joints even when exposed to severe vibration and dynamic loads. The company says it is impossible for this washer type to loosen unintentionally, due to the wedge created underneath the bolt head and nut.
View the video.
Copper foam from Goodfellow combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. A perennial favorite of Designfax readers.
Learn more.
Rotor Clip has just launched its new, patented InterShim™ Wave Spring design, which has been engineered for high-acceleration electric motor applications. It features alternating turns between inactive (flat) and active (waved) turns to ensure reliable performance under torsional loads and precise rotational movement. The highly customizable wave spring's advanced design addresses physical challenges such as extreme forces and vibrations, making it a versatile solution for high-speed and high-stress applications across various industries.
Learn more.
Xometry's just-launched downloadable Laser Tube Cutting and Tube Bending Design Guide covers design tips and tricks for cutting parts, including minimums, tolerances, and sizes. The guide also covers important rules for mandrel tube bending, like tolerancing, distance between bends, and bends to avoid. Interested in even more in-depth information? Watch the corresponding on-demand webinar, which introduces how Xometry is bringing AI and machine learning to provide instant pricing and lead time on tube bending and cutting to its Instant Quoting Engine.
Get the guide. No registration required.
Watch the extended Best Practices webinar.
A new additive manufacturing material from Stratasys and BASF is aimed at driving greater part quality, versatility, and cost efficiency. SAF™ PP is recognized for its exceptional chemical resistance and airtight capabilities, making it the ultimate choice for complex applications across various industries. It can also be welded to other polypropylene components.
Read the full article.
The new CFL Series cam follower from IKO International boasts a unique, space-saving outer ring design and polymer layer that exceeds the capabilities of conventional resin-type cam followers. Many conventional cam followers press-fit a layer of resin onto the unit's standard outer ring to maintain radial load capacity and provide quiet, clean, and durable operation. However, this thicker assembly makes it difficult to fit into constrained spaces. The CFL Series significantly improves on this design with a polymer layer that is molded directly onto the IKO exclusive thin-walled steel outer ring. This construction solves the dilemma of being able to install a cam follower with special polymers, offering self-lubricating and shock-absorbing properties into existing applications.
Learn more.
SPIROL's new video showcases their updated Model PR and Model CR Semi-Automatic Installation Machines for Pins, Alignment Dowels, and Bushings. The video demonstrates how to operate the machine, details standard features, and optional quality and error-proofing enhancements. More than 80% of the components in this installation equipment are standard, pretested, production-proven, off-the-shelf parts. This translates into faster delivery, greater reliability, and lowest cost for equipment of comparable quality.
View the video.
Greg Paulsen and Steve Zimmerman from Xometry present a comprehensive understanding of CNC design principles, what features are considered common, and what can drive costs. The experts also go through guidance to make great technical drawings to communicate design intent to manufacturers. Lots of good info here. Flip through now and take it all in later when you have the time.
View the video. No registration required.
igus has a new and improved 24-piece iglide® sample box that engineers can request and receive gratis. All iglide components are self-lubricating, resistant to dirt and dust, and offer low rates of wear. The sample box contains bearings, gears, piston rings, and more, and includes many of the most widely used iglide materials. Nothing like having the materials in hand to really check them out.
Learn more.
Zero-Max's ServoClass-HSN Couplings address noise and vibration issues that can be experienced in high-gain, high-speed stepper/servo motor applications such as linear actuators, high-response gantry systems, pick-and-place systems, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Featuring a Highly Saturated Nitrile Rubber (HSN/HNBR) flex element, these couplings are specifically designed for maximum damping and performance. They incorporate the field-proven ServoClass clamping hub system and have a zero-backlash design.
Learn more.
UK-based company Fyous is launching the world's first infinitely reusable molding technology that can shapeshift in under 20 minutes, producing zero tooling waste and making usable parts 14 times faster than 3D printing. Sort of like a kid's pin art toy, Fyous' PolyMorphic molding can be set, used, and then reset to help create parts from carbon fiber, polyurethane, PET sheet (thermoformed), foods like chocolate, and more.
Read the full article.
Stock Drive Products/ Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) has expanded their selection of flexible couplings to include the single disk-type couplings (short-type) series S50XHSM and the double disk-type couplings (standard length-type) series S50XHWM. The disk-type flexible couplings are an economical option that provides greater torque capability and improved performance in a reduced size, with torque ratings of 0.6 up to 12 Nm -- an improvement over similar products.
Learn more.
Agricultural tractors and implements use a lot of hydraulic power. By creating new solutions to optimize their hydraulic control systems, Purdue researchers (left to right) Andrea Vacca, Xiaofan Guo, Patrick Stump, and Jake Lengacher are working to make tractors more powerful and fuel efficient. [Purdue University photo/Jared Pike]
Modern agricultural tractors contain so much cutting-edge technology, they rival even the latest spacecraft. But the back end is still old-school, relying largely on fossil fuels. So, any optimization in tractor efficiency is a huge win for the environment.
With this in mind, Purdue University researchers have undertaken a $3.2 million Department of Energy (DOE) project to optimize the hydraulic systems that connect tractors and implements.
"Fluid power is everywhere," said Andrea Vacca, Purdue's Maha Fluid Power Faculty Chair, professor of mechanical engineering and agricultural and biological engineering, and director of the Maha Fluid Power Research Center, the largest academic hydraulics lab in the country. "It's used in airplanes, in cars, and in all kinds of heavy equipment. A tractor is an example of a vehicle that uses fluid power to actuate everything from the steering and propulsion, to powering the implements it pulls behind it."
But powering the implements has proven to be a problem. The hydraulic control system of the tractor has shown only 20% efficiency when connected to the hydraulic systems of certain implements like planters, seeders, and bailers.
"There's a conflict in the controls, where the two systems are almost fighting each other," said Patrick Stump, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering. "As a result, when it's connected to a planter, the tractor always has to run at extremely high power, which wastes fuel and increases emissions."
In this study, funded through the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vacca's team focused its attention on a specific combo of tractor and planter, both provided by Case New Holland Industrial, with hydraulic systems provided by Bosch Rexroth (see video).
The planter is 40 ft wide, with 16 planting rows.
"Each row has multiple machines working together to plant the seed," said Xiaofan Guo, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering. "There's a cleaning wheel in front to remove existing vegetation. A cutting disc cuts a tiny ditch in the ground, a motor actually drives the seeds into the ground, a sprayer feeds water and fertilizer into the hole, and then a final disc covers the hole. There are 16 of these planting rows, which need specific amounts of pressure to successfully plant the seeds. And all of them are powered by a single hydraulic system."
To tackle the problem of optimizing the tractor-planter combo, Vacca's team chose a three-phase approach. First, the researchers needed to characterize the hydraulic system and build a simulation model in the computer.
"These tractors are expensive and complex machines," said Xin Tian, a Ph.D. student who developed the models over a four-year span. "So, we started by modeling individual components and testing them in a stationary condition here in the lab. When those are accurate, we combine the component models into a system and test the system, so we can verify that the entire model is valid. The model is so big and complex, my team calls it 'The Monster!'"
Once they had validated their model, the researchers moved to phase two: developing solutions they could test.
"Different planting conditions require different amounts of pressure and flow rate," Tian said. "If the model shows promising improvements in power and efficiency, then we can begin to implement these changes under real-world conditions."
For the third phase -- real-world tests -- the team outfitted the tractor-planter combo with a variety of sensors.
"We need to know how much power the tractor is consuming, what the hydraulic pumps are doing, and what the pressure and flow rates are throughout the planter," said Jake Lengacher, a first-year Ph.D. student. "All of that wiring leads into a new data-acquisition box we installed in the cab, so we have a full picture of what's going on during a planting cycle."
VIDEO: Purdue University's Prof. Andrea Vacca has undertaken a $3.2 million Department of Energy project to optimize the hydraulic systems that connect tractors and implements.[Credit: Purdue University Mechanical Engineering]
Thankfully for the team, Purdue has plenty of places for giant tractors to roam. The College of Agriculture allotted Vacca's team a quarter-mile strip of land at the Animal Sciences Research and Education Center in West Lafayette.
"We are very fortunate at Purdue," Vacca said. "We have a lot of lab space at Maha where we can test these large machines under controlled conditions; and Agriculture also has lots of farm plots where we can conduct field research."
Since none of the team members had ever operated such a large tractor in the field, Case New Holland provided training to teach them how to drive.
"The sheer power of a 35,000-pound tractor with 435 horsepower, towing a 10,000-lb planter -- it's amazing," Stump said. "But there's also quite a lot going on in the cab, especially to operate the planter. It's definitely a two-man job, so usually Jake is also in the cab monitoring the data on a laptop."
The team conducted several runs in the spring of 2021, where they planted corn seeds at different pre-determined engine speeds and planting rates. Combing through the data, they found that their new hydraulic control systems translated into an overall 25% efficiency increase.
"Given the amount of fuel that a typical tractor consumes, that's a massive improvement," Vacca said. "And this is only the beginning. Our project goal is to double the efficiency of the overall hydraulic control system. In the future, we plan on instituting a pressure control approach for the control logic, which has never been attempted in agricultural vehicles."
What changes were made to the control system? Vacca told Designfax exclusively, "The hydraulic control system was modified so that from a traditional flow control approach, realized by the load sensing systems installed in today's tractors, we control the system on a pressure-based control approach. This allows limiting the pressure losses occurring at the flow control valves installed in the agricultural implement (a planter for the case of this project)."
Vacca added, "Proper components, under specs defined by Purdue, were provided by Bosch Rexroth and installed into the tractors. ... The project first simulated the proposed solutions replicating typical usage. Then lab tests in controlled conditions were run to validate the model, with the tractor and implement stationary. After that, a proper control strategy was developed in LabView to control with a National Instrument data-acquisition and control system the new hardware in actual field conditions."
"When I saw the data that proved our solution worked, I was so happy," Guo said. "I grew up in a city, so being out on a farm like this is a pretty exciting experience for me. My specialty is control systems, so it was so interesting to see our theories in the lab being put to the test in the real world. Fluid power is a well-established field, but there is still so much potential to propose new systems and new architectures to make things even better."
Stump said, "I never imagined I would be driving a tractor through a farm field for my Ph.D. I had plans to go into aerospace. But the hydraulics on these tractors is every bit as complex as an airplane or a rocket. Diving deep into fluid power has been hugely applicable to my future in engineering."
Source: Purdue University (Jared Pike) with updates from Designfax
Published October 2021