| February 25, 2014 | Volume 10 Issue 08 |
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 | Molded Nylon Special Standard Round Spacers
Micro Plastics announces a new product line of Special Standard Round Spacers. The new line of molded nylon round spacers includes over 250 sizes, with diameters of 1/8" through 1 1/2" and lengths from 1/8" to 2 3/4". These tough, resilient spacers can be used in a variety of assemblies. Useful in electronic and electrical applications, they may also be used as bushings, bearings, rollers, gliders, and bumpers. They are resistant to vibration, abrasion, and corrosion; are electrically insulating; and have a high strength-to-weight ratio.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Design Tip Subscription
Would you like helpful advice and suggestions to efficiently and cost-effectively design your injection molded parts? Protomold's monthly Design Tips provide just that. This e-newsletter delivers useful tips, advice and guidelines on everything from selecting materials to designing injection molded parts using cams, shut-offs, living hinges and more.
Sign up for our monthly Design Tips today! |
 | Cool Tools:
Mahr Federal builds wireless data transmission into its MarCal digital calipers
Mahr Federal has built wireless data transmission into its family of MarCal Digital Calipers, making them available for the same price as a typical wired caliper. Using proven wireless technology first developed for MarCator digital indicators, new MarCal digital calipers send data to a small i-stick receiver, resembling a common USB flash drive. MarCom software makes data acquisition even simpler: just take a measurement and transmit your measuring data directly into MS Excel or via a keyboard code into any Windows program without cumbersome cables. It's even possible to apply the 16 EWRi wireless data collection capabilities to existing SPC applications. Very cool and useful technology.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Termite-inspired robotic construction crew needs no foreman
Inspired by the resilience and collective intelligence of termites, a team of computer scientists and engineers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has created an autonomous robotic construction crew. The system needs no supervisor, no eye in the sky, and no communication: just simple robots -- any number of robots -- that cooperate by modifying their environment.
Read the full article. |
 | Mike Likes:
Improved linear guide technology
igus linear guides are made from maintenance-free, self-lubricating high-performance plastics. The lubricant is incorporated into the bearing material, making the bearing materials suitable for dry-running conditions. They are maintenance-free for the entire length of their service life. Since DryLin parts operate as sliding parts, operating noise is greatly reduced when compared to the mechanical rolling of recirculating ball bearings. This technology can produce considerable cost savings over the long term.
Learn all about guides, bearing materials, and more. |
 | Product Spotlight:
Rigid, abrasion-resistant two-component epoxy
Engineered with a silicon carbide filler material, Master Bond EP21SC-1 delivers abrasion resistance for an array of chemical and mechanical processing applications. This epoxy has a smooth paste consistency and a non-critical one-to-one mix ratio by weight or volume. As a two-part system, it cures readily at room temperature or more quickly at elevated temperatures. With a Shore D hardness exceeding 95, EP21SC-1 is a rigid compound that adheres well to treated metals, ceramics, and many plastics. Its physical strength profile includes a tensile strength greater than 6,000 psi and a compressive strength of over 15,000 psi at room temperature. Since the system is 100 percent reactive and does not contain any solvents or diluents, it has minimal shrinkage upon cure.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Product Spotlight:
Outperforms pneumatics
Thomson Industries' PC Series is a new generation of precision electric linear actuators for continuous-duty applications. This unit offers the highest power density of any actuator in its class. The compact, efficient design enables machine builders clear advantages over traditional pneumatic linear actuators, including simpler machine designs, lower maintenance, higher overall performance, and substantially lower energy costs.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Wheels:
Titanium-alloy 3D-printed bike frame is a first
In the latest demonstration of what additive manufacturing can do in the finished-product (as opposed to prototyping) space, Empire Cycles of Lancashire, U.K., has created a super-cool, experimental mountain bike that features a 3D-printed titanium-alloy frame that weighs only 3 lb. The project, undertaken in tandem with British 3D-printing specialist Renishaw, used topological optimization to squeeze out every last gram of unnecessary metal in the design.
Read the full article. |
 | Mike Likes:
New Henkel coating for iron castings and ferrous materials
Henkel Corporation has introduced a new, water-based reactive autodeposition coating, Bonderite M-PP 930C, formulated specifically to deliver a uniform, defect-free surface coating on raw cast components and ferrous metals. This paintable epoxy-acrylic urethane coating easily coats both the inside and outside of complex components and delivers enhanced corrosion and abrasion resistance, excellent thermal stability, and superior edge protection, abrasion resistance, and flexibility. The coating covers the entire inner diameter of cylindrical parts, controlling warranty exposure.
Click here to learn more. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | Can the F-35 be hacked?
A computer named ALIS is the brain of the U.S. military's controversial new F-35 jet fighter, running a $500,000 Star Wars-like control helmet and a whole lot more. Is ALIS vulnerable to cyber attack? CBS reports, comparing ALIS to R2-D2 and HAL. Fascinating (and a little scary).
View the video. |
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Boeing QF-16 makes first unmanned flight
Last September, a pilotless F-16 fighter jet roared into the sky for the first time at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. The modified, remote-controlled F-16s will be used for real-world target practice by the U.S. Air Force.
View the video. |
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