| October 18, 2016 | Volume 12 Issue 39 |
|
 | 2017 Cool Parts Calendar
Request a free 2017 Cool Parts calendar and never miss a project deadline next year. Each month, you'll be greeted by a new, innovative part made possible by rapid manufacturing processes like 3D printing, CNC machining, and injection molding.
Get your 2017 Cool Parts calendar. |
 | Robots: Ballbot now has only two moving parts!
More than a decade ago, Ralph Hollis of Carnegie Mellon University invented the ballbot, an elegantly simple robot whose tall, thin body glides atop a sphere slightly smaller than a bowling ball using multiple motors, rollers, and belts. The latest version, called SIMbot, has a new spherical induction motor design with just one moving part: the ball. The only other active moving part is the body itself. There is no traditional mechanical drive system.
Read the full article. |
 | Factory of the Future:
Schneider Electric embraces 3D printing
French multinational corporation Schneider Electric will release nearly 400 new solutions this year for electricity distribution and automation management. That's more than one a day! In a new push, Stratasys 3D printers are delivering time and cost reductions of up to 90 percent throughout the Schneider Electric manufacturing process, including injection molds, manufacturing tool prototypes, and product prototypes. 3D printing of spare parts and low-volume part production are also being explored.
Read the full article. |
 | Myoelectric robotic prosthesis puts innovation in hand
The Bebionic myoelectric hand prosthesis was recently developed to help with daily life challenges. Powerful, small FAULHABER motors ensure that the prosthesis can grip without any problems, quickly and firmly, and maintain a constant gripping force. Two electrodes integrated into the prosthesis shaft detect the myoelectric signals and forward them to the control electronics. These signals are amplified and used to activate the 5 small electric motors.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Thermal camera for industrial processes
The FV-3543-2 radiometric thermal camera from Industrial Video & Control (IVC) can aid in the detection of hot spots and abnormal hot and cold temperature changes in industrial processes and equipment. Using this camera to identify abnormalities early, customers can avoid catastrophic system upsets, improve process continuity and product quality, and maintain worker safety. The camera is ideal for a range of industrial applications, including metals manufacturing, food processing, engine testing, and flare stack monitoring. It captures temperatures and thermal images continuously in up to six user-defined zones.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Silicone: Takes the heat, fills the gap
In an effort to increase the options available to thermal engineers in the growing market for silicone thermal interface materials (TIM), Shin-Etsu Silicones of America recently premiered its SDP-5040-A/B Gap Filler product. The non-adhesive product is part of the high-performing SDP Series, which are two-part room-temperature-cure silicone-based materials with a high thermal conductivity. These products are ideal for cooling automotive electronics, power converters, LED lighting modules, communications modules, and other electronics. Cure time can be reduced with the addition of heat.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Bearings: EU fire protection-compliant plastic
In industries where special safety requirements are implemented, special component materials must be used. To comply with the EN regulation 45545, the new European fire protection standard for railway vehicles, igus has developed and released a new self-lubricating bearing material called iglide RW370. This material is also extremely resistant to wear, chemicals, and other media. Bearings made from RW370 have been extensively tested at the igus laboratory in Cologne, Germany, and they are well suited for door guides and hinges, as well as in rotating joints and adjustment mechanisms for seats and tables.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Linear Systems: Precision drive, 7 to 800 lb thrust
New from Amacoil/Uhing is the Precision Motion Drive System. This is a Model RG rolling ring linear drive integrated with a motion controller for precision linear motion applications. The Precision Motion Drive is fully programmable and meets application requirements for precision winding/spooling, pick-and-place machines, X-Y coordinate tool movement, metrology equipment, and other machinery, providing fast, accurate positioning and reciprocating linear motion. Depending on the size of the RG drive nut in the system, the Precision Motion Drive System provides from 7 to 800 lb of axial thrust.
Click here to learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Inspired by nature:
Researchers developing material for 'furry' beaver-inspired wetsuits
Beavers and sea otters lack the thick layer of blubber that insulates walruses and whales. And yet these small, semiaquatic mammals can keep warm and even dry while diving by trapping warm pockets of air in dense layers of fur. Inspired by these fuzzy swimmers, MIT engineers have now fabricated fur-like, rubbery pelts and used them to identify a mechanism by which air is trapped between individual hairs when the pelts are plunged into liquid.
Read the full article. |
 | Ballistics research goes 3D
When matching a bullet to a gun, examiners look at striations that are carved into the bullet by rifling in the gun's barrel. If the cartridge case is left behind, they can also look at impressions left on it by the weapon's breech face and firing pin. But these clues can sometimes be misleading. A new 3D forensic science database developed at NIST will provide a statistical foundation for more reliably linking bullets to the guns that fired them.
Read the full article. |
|
| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action | Are you using the right coupling for your motion control application?
Servometer® precision motion control couplings are available with both set screw and clamp style ends. Electrodeposited bellows technology offers seamless construction and the best combination of flexibility and strength among couplings technologies. These versatile, flexible nickel and stainless steel shaft couplings are capable of accommodating misalignments for parallel, angular and axial motion. Their recently released video showcases these unique characteristics, capabilities, design and various applications.
View the video. |
 |
What's so great about HCCI engines?
Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is an alternative to traditional gasoline or diesel engines that doesn't use a spark or fuel injector for ignition. Instead, a homogeneous mixture of air and fuel is ignited simply by compression, resulting in lower combustion temperatures. This translates to improved emissions and better efficiency. Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained talks about the pros and cons of this emerging technology.
View the video. |
 |
|
|
A team of scientists from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Florida has developed a novel "semi-open" natural gas-fired design that could yield lower-cost, higher-efficiency systems for water heating in residential buildings.
