| February 19, 2013 | Volume 09 Issue 07 |
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 | Rogan's Liquid Silicone Rubber Molding Capabilities
In business since 1934, Rogan Corporation is a leader in the injection molding industry, producing thermoplastic and LSR (Liquid Silicone Rubber) components and assemblies. Manufacturing LSR components is a rapidly growing segment of the business. Rogan is one of a few select manufacturers that offer Bondable LSR overmolding. This process involves the injection molding of a bondable grade silicone directly onto plastic or metal parts, creating a single integrated component. LSR's heat, chemical, shock, and vibration resistance along with its sound dampening characteristics has made it an ideal fit for integral seals and gaskets, waterproofing complex geometries and electronic interconnects, integral membranes, diaphragms, valves, and switch covers. (Picture has .008" thick fins bonded to a plastic tube.)
Our state-of-the-art Class 100,000 clean room enables Rogan to meet the increasing demand for LSR molding and assembly for the medical device market. |
 | Micro-stepper motors keep surgical viewing system small
When it comes to surgery on your eyes, who wants to skimp on precision? When Volk Optical set out to design the second-generation, automated version of its MERLIN surgical viewing system, its goal was to deliver the performance surgeons demand in the smallest possible form factor. An integrated micro-stepper-motor package from MICROMO (Clearwater, FL) made it easy.
Read the full article. |
Great potential: Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched
A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, U.K., have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. The fibers' superior mechanical properties, combined with their demonstrated color brilliance and tunability, make them very versatile. Because the fibers change color under strain, the technology could lend itself to smart sports textiles that change color in areas of muscle tension, or that sense when an object is placed under strain as a result of heat.
Read the full article. |
 | Mike Likes:
Adding a display to a Raspberry Pi is a piece of cake
Raspberry Pi fans can now easily add a display to their devices thanks to three new Adafruit Pi Plate kits available from leading electronics distributor Newark element14. The kits enable a display to be added to the Raspberry Pi without the usual wiring difficulties; they can control a 16 x 2-character LCD using only the two I2C pins on the Raspberry Pi, and I2C-based sensors and RTS can also share the same bus. Each kit includes a blue-and-white monochrome LCD or a RGB negative or positive LCD. Raspberry Pi is a $35 credit card-size Linux computer with 512 MB RAM It is incredibly flexible, design-wise, so makers and professional engineers alike can get really creative with little investment. A new tiny Adafruit breadboard is available too. Also check out raspberrypie.org and then get to Googling projects. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Linear drive with adjustable pitch enables variable speed without changing drive motor speed
All Uhing Model RG linear drives now feature a manual pitch control that permits a 10:1 adjustment of the linear pitch of the drive unit. Each of 17 Model RG drive units has a specific maximum linear pitch. This is the linear distance the drive will move on the shaft per one revolution of the shaft. The pitch control lets users turn the pitch down in 0.01 increments across 100 discrete settings. For example, the model RG30 drive has a maximum pitch of 26.0 mm (1.02 in.) and may be turned down to 2.6 mm (0.10 in.).
Click here to learn more. |
 | Ultra-narrow silicone tape saves time in assembly of appliances, electronics
To meet the assembly needs of manufacturers of appliances, electronics, lighting, and other products, Pres-On now offers a silicone tape slit-cut into narrow 3/16-in. widths and pre-packaged onto a common core. Set side-by-side on a spool, Pres-On S-600 tape is fast and easy for line workers to remove and apply, eliminating several steps in the process and reducing tape waste. UL recognized for flame retardance and gasketing, S-600 tapes are constructed of a highly versatile, medium-firmness silicone that combines the lightness of foam with the sealing of traditional sponge rubber. A pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive, lab tested to perform in environments from -25 deg F to 300 deg F, is applied to one side with a removable liner.
Click here to learn more. |
 | A new record in 3D printing:
More than 100 materials available for Objet printers
Objet has announced 39 new 'Digital Materials' available with its Objet Connex range of multi-material 3D printing systems. This development places Objet customers at the forefront of additive manufacturing in terms of range of possible printing materials to choose from. Customers can now select from 107 materials ranging from rigid to rubber-like substances in terms of texture, standard to ABS-grade engineering plastic in terms of toughness, as well as from transparent to opaque in terms of clarity and shades.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Mike Likes:
World's most energy-efficient LED light bulb?
Three young innovators got together and pitched their NanoLight project on Kickstarter. They reached their goal of $20,000 in project seed money in the first three days. What's so cool about the NanoLight? It's a super-economical, omnidirectional 12W LED bulb created from folded PCB boards that puts out the equivalent light of a traditional 100W bulb (1,600 lumens) and has a lifespan of 30,000 hr. Better yet, this device needs no heat sink. Check out this unconventional but very cool design.
View the video. |
 | What do drones see?
Wow. In this brand new PBS NOVA video clip, an engineer describes the super-secret (up to now) 1.8-billion-pixel surveillance sensor called ARGUS used by some high-level UAVs. The sensor makes for the world's highest-resolution camera. UAVs equipped with the device can see objects as small as 6 in. on the ground from 17,500 ft up, stream all their video in real time, and also record everything spotted: up to 1 million TBs of video a day. Wait a sec for video to load after clicking.
View the video. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | Flexible OLED displays create new design possibilities
During the keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 in Las Vegas in January, Samsung announced its Youm Flexible OLED Displays, which use pliability to their advantage and create new design and user-function possibilities. What if the edge of your phone, for example, could be a display too?
View the video. |
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