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May 22, 2018Volume 14 Issue 19


Image - The World's First -- and Best -- Linear Motion Guides
The World's First -- and Best -- Linear Motion Guides
THK's original technology is behind the smooth and silent movement of the "Linear Motion System." The LM Guide is our major product that put the rolling of the linear motion part into practical use for the first time in the world. This improves the accuracy, rigidity, energy saving, velocity, productivity, and service life of the machine. THK offers a full support system from the beginning design phase throughout the maintenance, and follow-up service.
Click here to learn more.

In this issue of Designfax

  • Army face recognition technology works in the dark
  • Multimaterials: NASA advances 3D printing for rockets
  • New polymer manufacturing process saves energy big time
  • Wheels: Jaguar electrified E-type classic at royal wedding
  • Mike Likes: Save time with Spirolox® retaining ring…
  • Engineer's Toolbox: 3 motor control schemes to optimize conveyor positioning
  • Micro Solutions: Getting a grip on precision
  • Polyplastics develops metal-resin bonding tech
  • Surface treatment available for strongest cast aluminum alloy
  • Motor communication is 1-2 punch for machine builders
  • New bearings for high-speed applications
  • What are the strongest adhesives for bonding titanium?
  • Be a company hero. Score a cobot on the house.
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • Piezo Actuators & Programmable Piezo Shims
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • The Big Inch: Fueling America's WWII war effort
    • Nanodiamond-based dry super lubricant
    • The 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs' is, well, a Rolls-Royce
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: A classic electrified -- 1968 Jaguar E-type Zero

News

Engineers on a roll toward smaller, more efficient radio frequency transformers

Is bio-based better? NASA helps test new engine oils

Special delivery: Add-on autonomous helicopter technology for Marines in the field wins another major award

Slashing a full year off production time, first 3D-printed wind-blade mold earns Sandia national award



Image - Watch Autodesk and Universal Robots push automation boundaries
Watch Autodesk and Universal Robots push automation boundaries
At Autodesk's Robotics Lab in San Francisco, UR robots are used in research projects that push the boundaries of traditional automation. Working in the field, interacting with the public, and learning from real-time sensor data are all made possible by UR's open APIs and built-in safety features.
What's holding back your design? See what's possible:
Ready to get your hands on one? Request a demo:

Feature articles

Image - Army perfecting face recognition technology that works in the dark
Army perfecting face recognition technology that works in the dark
U.S. Army researchers have developed an artificial intelligence and machine learning technique that produces a visible face image from a thermal image of a person's face captured in low-light or nighttime conditions. This development could lead to enhanced real-time biometrics and post-mission forensic analysis for covert nighttime operations.
Read the full article.

Image - Multimaterials: NASA advances metal additive manufacturing for rocket propulsion
Multimaterials: NASA advances metal additive manufacturing for rocket propulsion
NASA is breaking ground in the world of additive manufacturing with the Low Cost Upper Stage-Class Propulsion project. Recently, the agency successfully hot-fire tested a combustion chamber made using a new combination of 3D-printing techniques, metals, and alloys.
Read the full article.

Image - New polymer manufacturing process saves 10 orders of magnitude of energy
New polymer manufacturing process saves 10 orders of magnitude of energy
Makers of cars, planes, buses -- anything that needs strong, lightweight, and heat-resistant parts -- are poised to benefit from a new manufacturing process that requires only a quick touch from a small heat source to send a cascading hardening wave through a polymer.
Read the full article.

Image - Wheels: <br>Jaguar gets free 'plug' in for electrified E-type classic during worldwide royal wedding coverage
Wheels:
Jaguar gets free 'plug' in for electrified E-type classic during worldwide royal wedding coverage

You might not care about the designer gown Meghan Markle wore to marry Prince Harry this past weekend or knowing who attended to watch the royal proceedings at Windsor Castle, but that one-of-a-kind 1968 electric Jaguar E-type the couple drove to their evening reception festivities ... now that was something interesting.
Read the full article.

Image - Mike Likes: Save time with Spirolox<sup>®</sup> retaining rings
Mike Likes: Save time with Spirolox® retaining rings
Unlike die-stamped circlips, Spirolox retaining rings and constant section rings are coiled on edge to the exact diameter required. Spirolox rings have no protruding ears to interfere with mating components in an assembly and do not require special tools for removal or installation. Unlike traditional fasteners, retaining rings eliminate machining and threading, reducing costs and weight. Spiral retaining rings do not require special tools for removal and are supplied standard with removal notches for easy extraction from a groove. Smalley offers over 6,000 standard rings, which are readily available in both carbon and stainless steel. For more information, download the eBook. Visit Smalley.com to request a catalog and product samples, or contact one of Smalley's engineers with questions.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>3 control schemes for step and servo motors that optimize the operation of positioning conveyor systems
Engineer's Toolbox:
3 control schemes for step and servo motors that optimize the operation of positioning conveyor systems

Most belt conveyor applications operate at either a fixed or variable speed with velocity controlled from the main drive motor. Positioning systems such as edge-belt conveyors (used for PC board assembly and automated check weighing) require more than velocity control. Step motors and servo motors are the best solutions because of their precise positioning capabilities. Applied Motion Products presents three control systems to consider when implementing a step or servo motor for optimum use in positioning conveyors.
Read the full article.

Image - Micro Solutions: Getting a grip on precision
Micro Solutions: Getting a grip on precision
A gripping system for small parts that is both quick and powerful -- until now was often only possible with pneumatics. However recently, a leading expert for gripper systems developed a mechatronics-based EGP 40 gripper that easily achieves the same performance of its pneumatic counterparts. FAULHABER brushless DC servo motors with integrated motion control are what make this impressive performance possible.
Read the full article.

Image - Polyplastics develops metal-resin bonding tech for automotive and electrical/electronics
Polyplastics develops metal-resin bonding tech for automotive and electrical/electronics
Polyplastics (Tokyo), a global supplier of engineering thermoplastics, has developed an innovative technology for direct metal-resin bonding, a process that uses metal insert molding. Metal parts and resins are firmly bonded by introducing molten resin through injection molding to metal parts that have already undergone sufficient surface treatment. Metal-resin composites deliver the properties of metals (high rigidity, electrical conductivity) and engineering plastics (low density, electrical insulation). This technology has overcome the many factors that traditionally have had an adverse effect and prevented stable bonding. Polyplastics has a U.S. presence in Farmington Hills, MI.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Surface treatment available for strongest cast aluminum alloy
Surface treatment available for strongest cast aluminum alloy
General Magnaplate Corp. has made an exclusive license agreement with the U.K.'s Poeton Industries for the Apticote A20X surface enhancement process, used for treating the innovative A20X aluminum alloy. A20X is MMPDS certified (as AA205) and is the strongest cast aluminum alloy available today, with strength properties comparable to 7000 series wrought material. A20X cast and additively manufactured parts are in production today for major aerospace customers. The AptiMag-X treatment enhances the surface of A20X parts, improving wear resistance, hardening, and finish. The agreement means that General Magnaplate will become the exclusive supplier of Apticote A20X, which they will brand AptiMag-X in North America. Licensed A20X foundries, additive manufacturing companies, and aerospace customers will be able to have parts treated with AptiMag-X at the company's facilities in Linden, NJ, and Arlington, TX.
Click here to learn more.

Image - Motor-to-motor communication is 1-2 punch for machine builders
Motor-to-motor communication is 1-2 punch for machine builders
Combitronic™ is a proprietary communications protocol developed by Moog Animatics exclusively for its SmartMotor™. With Combitronic technology, any SmartMotor can read from, write to, and control any other SmartMotor, can act as the master, and can pass master control from one SmartMotor to another -- virtually eliminating the need for a PLC or other bus master. Combined with the CDS7 motor option, the technology allows a simple, single-cable, power and communications connection from motor to motor, giving the machine builder a simple, cost-effective way to build a network of Class 5 D-Style SmartMotor integrated servos.
Learn more.

Image - New bearings for high-speed applications
New bearings for high-speed applications
A clear trend in compressor and pump applications is to raise the power density by increasing the rotational speed. To fulfill this requirement, SKF has developed a new range of single-row angular contact ball bearings. The goals have been threefold: to increase the limiting speed by 40 percent, to reduce the noise levels, and to increase the robustness of the bearing in unfavorable operating conditions (shock loads, shaft misalignment, etc.). Apart from these, SKF is helping manufacturers to meet customer demands for even higher levels of energy efficiency and reliability.
Read the full article.

Image - What are the strongest adhesives for bonding titanium?
What are the strongest adhesives for bonding titanium?
Master Bond's labs recently tested the tensile lap shear strength of a variety of adhesives when bonding titanium to titanium. The surfaces were properly roughened and cleaned with acetone in preparation for the tests. Each of the 11 one- and two-part epoxies tested features different thermal, electrical, and chemical resistance properties that can make them more appealing for specific applications. Therefore, it's important to consider the operational conditions before deciding that the system with the highest strength value is the best for the titanium bonding job.
Learn more.

Image - Be a company hero. Score a cobot on the house.
Be a company hero. Score a cobot on the house.
Have a manual production task that could benefit from automation? Tell us about it and win a Universal Robot! Maybe you have a monotonous task that your employees would happily swap for one that requires robo problem-solving skills, or a task that needs to be carried out faster to stay competitive. Need some more convincing? See how easy it is to install and operate a cobot.
Enter now:

Most popular last issue

Image - The Big Inch: Fueling America's WWII war effort
The Big Inch: Fueling America's WWII war effort
Keith Martin from NIST presents the fascinating story of how the crucial work of pipeline engineer William Gillum Heltzel, who developed some of the earliest usable flow formulas, helped win the war "by an Inch."
Read the full article.

Image - Curious nanodiamond reaction creates dry super lubricant
Curious nanodiamond reaction creates dry super lubricant
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have created a very-low-friction dry lubricant that lasts so long it could almost be confused with forever. The friction in this new material is 10 times lower than that of some nonstick coatings, including fluoropolymers, and could have hundreds of industrial applications.
Read the full article.

Image - The 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs' is, well, a  Rolls-Royce
The 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs' is, well, a Rolls-Royce
If you want to roll up and ask for some Grey Poupon looking effortless and super-luxe, the new Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV will fit your town-and-country, top-shelf lifestyle. The 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 has plenty of power to handle whatever you throw at it -- just throw it with some class, please, this is a Rolls after all.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
Difference between Piezo Actuators
& Programmable Piezo Shims?

Piezo actuators provide high dynamics, but can also be used for quasi-static applications due to their high-stiffness and stability. Programmable piezo shims are a new technology, also based on the piezo effect. Once programmed to a certain displacement, they don't need a connected power source to hold position. Ideal for nanometer-precise set & forget adjustments.
Watch the video>
Read the tech blog>
Get product specs>

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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