| September 11, 2012 | Volume 08 Issue 34 |
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 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
| | 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. |
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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. |
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