| April 17, 2012 | Volume 08 Issue 15 |
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 | Get Your Protomold Design Cube
Our Design Cube illustrates important considerations when designing plastic injection molded parts. It showcases a range of available surface finishes and examples of bosses, gussets, and ribs. It also demonstrates the impact on part quality of overly thick or thin sections, as well as ways to incorporate holes and their potential effect on resin flow.
Get your Protomold cube today. |
 | Mike Likes:
Fasteners with special spacer function
PEM self-clinching, thru-hole, unthreaded standoff fasteners are an ideal solution for applications where exact spacing is required between two panels in an assembly. These PennEngineering fasteners install permanently and securely in steel, stainless steel, or aluminum sheets as thin as .040 in. (1 mm) to achieve specified panel-spacing needs using minimal hardware. These fasteners can be supplied in steel (type SO), stainless steel (type SOS), or aluminum (type SOA). All can be ordered in lengths ranging from .125 in. (3 mm) to 7.50 in. (20mm). The standoffs install quickly and easily using a PEMSERTER or other standard press.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Quick Look:
Programmable pushbuttons can display animations
The new wider-screen SmartSwitch pushbuttons from NKK Switches feature a programmable and changeable LCD module with 64 backlit colors that displays graphics, alphanumeric characters, or animated sequences, including four lines of text with as many as 10 characters per line. RGB LED backlighting operates commands supplied via the SPI communications protocol. Two resolutions: 64 x 32 and 36 x 24.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Quick Look:
Cost-effective alternative to 3M vinyl foam tape
Pres-On's VF20200 double-sided tapes are a cost-effective alternative to 3M #4400 series double-coated vinyl foam tape used in OEM applications for sealing, cushioning, and gasketing. The super-hardy, conformable tapes are particularly well suited for joining irregular surfaces where glues, fasteners, and standard tapes fail. Applications include VAC, packaging, automotive, general industrial products, weatherproofing, and electronics.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Quick Look: Copper foam
Copper foam, now available 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.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue | Wheels:
Kenworth beefs up simultaneous design and manufacturing
When engineers at big-truck maker Kenworth were first tinkering with the idea of how to produce their latest and greatest Class 8 truck, they started with a list – a wish list, that is – and a determination to break down the wall between design and manufacturing. The subsequent development of the Kenworth T680 represents a leap forward in building world-class, quality trucks.
Read the full article. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | Test the impact of motion behavior on iPhone, iPad
Autodesk ForceEffect Motion is a new, no-cost mobile simulation app for developing and testing mechanical systems with moving parts (scissor lift, windshield wipers, automobile engine, robotics, etc.). You start by importing an existing image or creating a freehand sketch and adding functional mechanical joints, actuators, constraints, and supports. Tap objects to select, move, rotate, and scale. Real-time solving capabilities provide immediate feedback on the system's performance, which you can then print, email, or view as a results report on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or any other device with an HTML-enabled browser. Also check out Autodesk ForceEffect, a simulation app that lets users calculate forces on a static object. Both available in the Apple App Store.
View the video (scroll down on page after clicking). |
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Impressive: Sand Flea robot jumps 30 ft up
The Sand Flea is an unassuming, 11-lb rolling-platform robot with one exceptionally useful trick: Normally it drives like an RC car, but when it needs to it can jump 30 ft into the air. This creation from Big Dog robot maker Boston Dynamics features an onboard stabilization system that keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control landings. Development of Sand Flea is funded by the US Army's Rapid Equipping Force. Gotta love the super-tough-plastic construction. It gets a workout.
View the video. |
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