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May 12, 2020Volume 16 Issue 18


Image - Meet our MVG -- Most Popular Gantry Robot
Meet our MVG -- Most Popular Gantry Robot
Should you be using a gantry? Whether you call it a Gantry or a Cartesian Robot, the A-341 XY/XYZ platform is engineered for speed, high load capacity, and accuracy, all of which are beneficial for pick and place applications, 3D printing, laser machining, and welding applications.
Find out more and see it in action >>

In this issue of Designfax

  • Army Tech: Improvements in long-range precision fires
  • Great Resources: Sheet metal design guide
  • Aerospace-grade composites made without autoclaves
  • Bugatti Divo: Ultimate in personalized style
  • How a camera auto-focus lens uses a special spring
  • Moon buggy wheel tech evolves for Mars mission
  • SUHNER redesigns tool slide assemblies
  • New programmable angle sensors
  • 50,000 lb of force: Tolomatic expands electric actuator range
  • Guard against Li-ion overcurrent and overcharging
  • Electrical components for medical equipment
  • Remote access VPN router for machines and systems
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • No Special Tool Required: Install a Spirolox ring
    • Hydraulic press vs. playing cards
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • 250-mph Speedtail is fastest McLaren road car ever
    • NASA develops ventilator in 37 days
    • Fly along with U.S. Navy Blue Angels over NYC
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: Bugatti Divo

News

Researchers demonstrate a platform for future optical transistors

What's twistronics? Twisting 2D materials unleashes their superpowers

What if GPS goes down? Air Force investigates using quantum materials in new navigation tool

Next big thing in digital storage? Scientists work to create 'racetrack memory' technology



Image - Eliminate The Need For A Dynamic Seal
Eliminate The Need For A Dynamic Seal
BellowsTech edge welded metal bellows can eliminate the need for a dynamic seal, when used within a bearing housing to translate rotation from an input shaft to a co-linear output shaft while sealing hermetically. Linear and angular motion for "wobble stick" applications is also available.
Learn more.

Feature articles
Army Tech: Improvements in long-range precision fires support Soldiers from afar
As part of a major flagship program, Army researchers are making technology advancements for rockets and cannons that will enable long-range precision fires. The critical component technologies are energetic materials, propulsion, structures, flight, guidance, and terminal effects.
Read the full article.
Image -
An ideal solution when speeds need to be controlled precisely in the smallest of spaces, and high torques are required.


Image - Great Resources: Sheet metal design guide
Great Resources: Sheet metal design guide
If you're looking for a basic guide to sheet metal design, this one from Xometry will serve your needs well. Be sure to follow the design requirements and tolerances in this guide to ensure parts fall closer to design intent. This is the type of information you'll sock away and then refer to again and again.
Read the full article.

Image - Aerospace-grade composites made without huge ovens or autoclaves
Aerospace-grade composites made without huge ovens or autoclaves
MIT engineers have developed a method to produce aerospace-grade composites without the enormous ovens and pressure vessels. The technique may help to speed up the manufacturing of airplanes and other large, high-performance composite structures, such as blades for wind turbines. It also saves a lot of energy.
Read the full article.

Image - What is the C-Flex Pivot Bearing?
What is the C-Flex Pivot Bearing?
It's a flexure-based bearing utilizing internal flat crossed springs, capsuled in a cylindrical housing, to provide precise rotation with low hysteresis and no frictional losses. The C-Flex bearing will offer indefinite life when used within its rated load and rotation values. Applications include Medical, Industrial, Aerospace.

Advantages include: Frictionless, Backlash-free, Self-centering, Simple installation, Low hysteresis, Vacuum applications, Stock items, No lubrication, No maintenance, Indefinite life.
Learn more from C-Flex, The Leader in Flexing Metal Technology.
View the C-Flex Pivot Bearing training page.


Image - Bugatti Divo: Ultimate in personalized style
Bugatti Divo: Ultimate in personalized style
If owning a $3-million Bugatti Chiron hyper car -- the fastest and most powerful in the brand's history in 2019 -- is just too boring for you, the French carmaker has an almost $6-million extreme version called the Divo that could get you pumped. It takes Bugatti aerodynamics to new heights, and it adapts to customization so well that even if you bought a pair of Divos, they'd look like different cars. Plus you'll do 0 to 60 mph in under 2.5 sec.
Read the full article.

Image - How a camera auto-focus lens uses a special spring
How a camera auto-focus lens uses a special spring
Ultrasonic motors are small motors, some measured in millimeters, that are being used in a variety of applications including the auto-focus feature on a camera lens, side mirrors, surgical equipment, and robots. Learn how a single-turn closed wave spring is used to maintain the necessary pressure against the motor stator in a camera, and why it is a better choice in this application over coil or washer-type springs.
Read the Rotor Clip application note.

Image - Moon buggy wheel tech evolves for Mars mission
Moon buggy wheel tech evolves for Mars mission
The wheels from the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) for the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 moon missions were made of steel piano wire and titanium treads to give them a cushioning, non-rigid structure. Now NASA has taken that technology a big step further, using shape memory alloys to create tires for Mars rovers.
Read the full article.

Image - SUHNER redesigns tool slide assemblies
SUHNER redesigns tool slide assemblies
SUHNER feed slides are designed based on a modular system and are tailored for the application of the SUHNER spindle program, an ideal combination for many different drilling and milling operations. SUHNER has redesigned the entire precision slide program with an emphasis on product performance and cost benefits to the customer. Feed options include pneumatic, hydraulic, and CNC-controlled (servo motor).
Read the full article.

Image - New programmable angle sensors
New programmable angle sensors
Novotechnik U.S. has just introduced the Vert-X 37E Series of programmable touchless rotary sensors that use a magnetic pick-up secured to the rotating object, so there is no direct mechanical linkage between the shaft and the measuring system -- and therefore no wear. The hermetically sealed Vert-X 37E Series can be programmed by customers or at the factory, so customers can order angle sensors optimized for their specific application. These sensors can help achieve time and cost savings by eliminating the need for other components to specify the angle end points, choose an intermediate plateau, sense of rotation function, CW or CCW, or create V-output.
Learn more.

Image - 50,000 lb of force: Tolomatic expands hydraulic-class electric actuator range
50,000 lb of force: Tolomatic expands hydraulic-class electric actuator range
Tolomatic's expanded extreme-force electric actuator family now includes the RSX128 actuator, rated up to 50,000 lb of force (222.4 kN). Ideal for replacing hydraulic cylinders and designed for 100 percent duty cycle, the RSX actuator features Tolomatic's precision-ground planetary roller screws for long, consistent operating life in challenging environments. Applications include assembly, metal fabrication (pressing, punching, clamping), automotive manufacturing, timber processing, motion simulators, and more.
Learn more.

Image - Guard against Li-ion battery overcurrent and overcharging
Guard against Li-ion battery overcurrent and overcharging
The ITV Series from Littelfuse is a three-terminal, surface-mountable Li-ion battery protector designed to guard against the damage caused by both overcurrent and overcharging. It's a good solution for protecting power tools, robotic appliances, e-bikes and e-scooters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), emergency radios, and more. The innovative design provides fast response and reliable performance to interrupt the charging or discharging circuit before the battery pack becomes overcharged or overheated. Five packages available with current ratings from 12 A to 45 A.
Learn more.

Image - Electrical components for medical equipment
Electrical components for medical equipment
SCHURTER's high-performance AC connectors, circuit protection, switches, and EMC products safely and reliably optimize performance for critically needed COVID-19 medical equipment including ventilators, respirators, diagnostic, therapeutic, and medical laboratory equipment. Examples include the compact and versatile DG12 series power entry modules that integrate an IEC inlet, EMC filter, and rocker-style circuit breaker with optional IP67 protection, making them suitable for use in environments exposed to splashing water. The TA35 series of miniature circuit breakers, filtered Power Entry Modules, and metal line switches resistant to harsh cleaning processes are other offerings. Many more solutions available.
Learn more.

Image - Remote access VPN router for machines and systems
Remote access VPN router for machines and systems
AutomationDirect StrideLinx VPN routers provide an outgoing, secure connection from remote machines or systems to the StrideLinx platform. Routers are easily configured and have a built-in firewall to isolate company and control networks. These easy-to-use, IT-friendly industrial VPN routers minimize costly field support by providing remote programming, monitoring, and troubleshooting. Multiple router connection options are available including wired (gigabit), WiFi, and AT&T or T-Mobile 4G cellular where Internet connections are not readily available.
Learn more.

Most popular last issue

Image - 250-mph Speedtail is fastest McLaren road car ever
250-mph Speedtail is fastest McLaren road car ever
With a silhouette like something from a 1950s issue of Popular Mechanics, the new Speedtail is McLaren's fastest road car ever and its first Hyper-GT model. The 250-mph three-seater is way more than retro-futuristic chic, though. It provides a glimpse into the latest developments in lightweighting and hybrid-drive technology, featuring titanium woven into its carbon fiber, a Formula E-derived electric motor, and a special high-voltage battery design.
Read the full article.

Image - NASA develops ventilator in 37 days, gets emergency FDA approval
NASA develops ventilator in 37 days, gets emergency FDA approval
A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients was approved April 30 by the FDA under Emergency Use Authorization. It can be built faster and maintained more easily than a traditional ventilator, and it is composed of far fewer parts.
Read the full article.

Image - Fly along with U.S. Navy Blue Angels during NYC Strong
Fly along with U.S. Navy Blue Angels during NYC Strong
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, and U.S. Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, honored frontline COVID-19 first responders and essential workers with formation flights over New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia on April 28, 2020. Ride along with this 360-degree pilot view. If you want something a little more daring, roll with them in Fort Lauderdale in 2019.
Ride along in NYC.
Ride and roll in Fort Lauderdale.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
No Special Tool Required: How to install and remove an external Spirolox Retaining Ring
What's the difference between a Smalley Spirolox® Retaining Ring and a traditional stamped snap ring? Smalley's retaining rings are designed to be installed and removed by hand, so no special tooling is required. This video covers how to install and remove an External Spirolox Retaining Ring using a flathead screwdriver and a staple remover.
View the video.

Video Image
Hydraulic press vs. playing cards -- in super slow motion
You know we love the crazy team over at the Hydraulic Press channel on YouTube. When isn't it fun to see stuff get squashed -- especially when there's an unexpected result? Trying to crush playing cards is one example, and a good diversion too. Let the fun ensue. It's even better in slow motion.
View the video.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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