| April 19, 2016 | Volume 12 Issue 15 |
 | 15,000 Stock Metric Gears
KHK USA Inc offers the largest selection of stock metric gears in North America. With over 175 types, in more than 15,000 configurations, KHK USA offers the broadest selection of spur gears, helical gears, internal ring gears, gear rack, bevel gears, worms & wormwheels and other gear types.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Feature articles | Tabletop thruster is serious contender to get humans to Mars
 The spacecraft engine that will help take humans to Mars may be based on a relatively diminutive University of Michigan prototype. NASA gave this dream new credibility earlier this year by funding a spaceflight propulsion system to be built around a tabletop-size thruster developed in the U-M Department of Aerospace Engineering. This ion propulsion system is up against two competing designs, but it has a head start.
Read the full article. |
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 | Mike Likes: Wave Spring 3D Models
CAD models of Smalley Wave Springs are downloadable at application-specific heights. Enter any height between the spring solid and free height in over 60 native and natural CAD formats. Wave springs can reduce spring height by up to 50% with the same force and deflection as coil springs.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Engineer's Toolbox:
See sensors, antennas get 3D printed
Optomec, a supplier of production-grade additive manufacturing systems for 3D-printed metals and 3D-printed electronics, recently announced that its Aerosol Jet technology is being used by LITE-ON Mobile Mechanical for high-volume production of electronic devices. What a cool way for the Albuquerque-based Optomec to show off what its fine-feature 3D-printing technology can do, like printing antennas on uneven surfaces.
Read the full article. |
 | Motion: New planetary gearhead achieves record levels
MICROMO launches the new FAULHABER 20/1R planetary gearhead, offering the most powerful transmission technology in its class. A 20-mm diameter allows the stainless steel gearhead to achieve continuous torque of 800 mNm and up to 1100 mNm in intermittent use. The input speed reaches 12,000 rpm. The 20/1R gearhead can be combined with small brush DC, brushless DC motors, and stepper motors with a diameter of 17 to 22 mm.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Special: On the tragedy's 6th anniversary, a look at how FEA aided Deepwater Horizon failure forensics
On the evening of April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon suffered a blowout while drilling in the Macondo Prospect, an area in the Gulf of Mexico 40 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana. The platform caught fire, and two days later, it sank. Eleven crewmen were killed. The spewing oil caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. In this article, engineers use Abaqus Finite Element Analysis to do some of the detective work concerning what went so terribly wrong with the rig's blowout preventer stack.
Read the full article. |
 | Forums: Learn how to Design for Manufacture and Assembly, reduce part count
Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc. will host the 31st annual International Forum on Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) on June 7-8, 2016, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Providence-Warwick, RI, USA. This year's conference theme is "DFMA Design Decision: Understanding Total Product Cost." Presenters at the Forum will discuss how making the right design decisions early in development can have a substantial impact on total product cost. The use of DFMA to help choose the right structures, materials, processes, and labor has become critical given that companies get few second chances in today's global markets. Additionally, the benefits of improved reliability and time-to-market that come with DFMA will be addressed by various speakers.
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 | Fasteners: Self-clinching nuts for ultra-thin stainless steel sheets
New PEM Type SMPP self-clinching nuts from PennEngineering install permanently in ultra-thin stainless steel sheets and provide dimensionally ideal solutions for stainless assemblies where space for attachment hardware may be limited. A minimal footprint resulting from an overall low-profile design combines low height (.065 in./1.4 mm) and small diameter (.220 in./5.6 mm) with close-to-edge mounting capabilities for installation in stainless steel sheets as thin as .025 in./0.64 mm. Their corrosion resistance will be similar to 300 Series stainless steel. Upon installation, a serrated clinching ring prevents the nut from rotating in service and, ultimately, the fasteners will not loosen, fall out, or otherwise adversely affect the end-product integrity or performance.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Auto: Chokeless high-speed CAN transceivers with industry-leading EMC performance
Texas Instruments has introduced two families of controller area network (CAN) transceivers that meet all industry requirements for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) from U.S. and European automotive manufacturers. Delivering high bus-fault protection, fast CAN flexible data rate (FD) speeds, and the industry's shortest loop delay, the TCAN1042 and TCAN1051 CAN transceiver families provide the industry's best combination of protection and high performance for a variety of automotive and industrial applications. The TCAN1042DEVM evaluation module (EVM) is a great place to start.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Two-seater electric helicopter takes first flight
Germany-based e-volo's emissions-free Volocopter VC200 took its first official manned flight this month. The all-electric flyer is made of a lightweight, fiber-composite material and features 18 rotors with motors driven by nine batteries. With a 450-kg take-off weight, the VC200 requires about 45 kW to hover, depending on the air pressure/temp. Its built-in multiple redundancies help ensure stability, even if parts of the system fail, and make the unit easy to fly using only a joystick. Unlike a helicopter, the blade angle on the VC200 cannot be adjusted. The amount of thrust produced depends solely on the rotation speed of the rotors. The copter received its permit to fly as an ultralight aircraft from German aviation authorities in February, and NASA invited e-volo to present the technology at its On-Demand Mobility workshop in Washington, DC, this past March. And did we mention it folds up too?
View the main video.
View folding mechanism video. |
 | Wheels:
GE car-battery 'digital twin' could lead to new hybrid vehicles
A GE Global Research team, partnered with Amphenol Advanced Sensors, Ford Motor Company, and the University of Michigan, is using a physics-based modeling approach called the "digital twin" to achieve its goal to markedly shrink the number of battery cells needed for hybrid vehicles and shave battery production expenses by 15 percent, all while maintaining long-term reliability and life.
Read the full article. |
 | New and novel way to 3D print metals and alloys shows real advantages
A team of Northwestern Engineers has created a new way to print three-dimensional metallic objects using rust and metal powders. While current methods rely on vast metal powder beds and expensive lasers or electron beams, Northwestern's new technique uses liquid inks and common furnaces, resulting in a cheaper, faster, and more uniform process. The new method also works for an extensive variety of metals, metal mixtures, alloys, metal oxides, and compounds.
Read the full article. |
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| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | What is Electroforming? How does it actually work?
Electroplating may have been around for centuries but only Servometer® excels at manufacturing dynamic, convoluted bellows electroforms. Watch Servometer's five-step electroforming manufacturing process and learn how they are able to deliver electroformed components that feature extreme tolerances, complex geometries, lightweight construction, structural strength, and how they can be applied to a variety of applications.
Watch the video. |
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