| January 29, 2019 | Volume 15 Issue 04 |
|
 | The Always-On Magnetic Encoder!
Novotechnik's RSM2800 Series measures up to 5,760° of rotation (16 turns) while measuring angles to less than 0.1° resolution. The RSM2800 continues to count turns and measure angle -- even when you lose power! There are no gears, optics, or batteries. Applications include robotics, material handling, forklifts, overhead doors, agricultural machines, and more.
Learn more. |
 | Guide to overmolding best practices
Overmolding is a great injection molded feature you can utilize in your design to capture color contrasts, add flexibility or eliminate assembly. Take advantage of this feature by learning how to design your part for overmolding.
You'll learn:
- How to set up your design for complex overmolding
- Material evaluation and best practices for proper adhesion
- Feature specifications to consider for good overmolds
Get the Xcentric overmolding guide (no registration required). |
 | Mechanical engineers develop process to 3D print piezoelectric materials
The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards -- converting strain and stress into electric charges -- may be getting an upgrade thanks to researchers at Virginia Tech. Their new design method and printing platform make it possible to freely design the sensitivity and operational modes of piezoelectric materials -- all while producing material that has sensitivities 5x higher than flexible piezoelectric polymers.
Read the full article. |
 | Toyota Supra is back! And it's sportier than ever
After 20 years out of production, Toyota is resurrecting the Supra, the sporty two-door that traces its DNA back to the Celica, but also shares a more than 50-year lineage with unique Toyota sports and GT cars. This fifth-generation Supra is a fully forward-looking sports car, brimming with a cutting-edge powertrain, chassis, and multimedia technology. The 2020 GR Supra is also the quickest Toyota-branded production vehicle to date.
Read the full article. |
 | 5-Star Product: Carbon composite bellows springs for lightweighting and more
The Carbon Composite Bellows Spring (CCBS) from MW Industries is a system of carbon fiber elements that combine to work as a high-performance, lightweight, and design-flexible compression spring meant to replace conventional coil springs or metallic Belleville disc springs. It offers value through unique dynamic characteristics and unparalleled in-the-field design flexibility. A functional spring is made from several individual elements, paired in sets and joined to make a stack. The spring rate of the stack is determined by the number of elements, the base rate of each element, and their series or parallel orientation in the stack. Applications include motorsports, aerospace, outdoor recreation, general industry, and high-performance activities.
Click here to learn more. |
 | Top Tech Tip:
6 plastic product design principles
The rapid development of modern 3D CAD systems has facilitated a move to more organic forms and ever-increasing geometry complexity. Just think about the change in design from the conventional box-shaped vacuum cleaner to the modern Dyson. This article focuses on design fundamentals like wall thickness, rib designs, and draft angles and the impact they have when it comes to complexity vs. manufacturability.
Read the full article. |
 | First Industry 4.0-ready vacuum lifter
Piab's piLIFT SMART represents a paradigm shift for the industry: It's the market's first Industry 4.0-ready vacuum lifter. Sensing and monitoring movements and responding quickly to user intentions, the user-friendly vacuum lifter will lift and weigh loads simultaneously and collect and log data, making process statistics and analyses immediately accessible to the user through a web platform log-in. Every aspect of this unit has been designed with ergonomics and natural movements in mind. It also boasts a reduced power consumption of 76 percent!
Learn more. |
 | Hoover Dam pressure-relief valves updated with unique team effort
Hoover Dam, one of the most impressive engineering feats of the 20th century, generates hydroelectricity for millions of homes and businesses across the Southwest, and it's a constant challenge to keep the vital power source running smoothly. Recently, a team of innovative engineering experts -- led by Precision Machine & Supply and including Parker Hannifin and Controlled Motion Solutions -- wrapped up a massive multi-year retrofitting and refurbishing project to make the dam safer and more operationally efficient.
Read the Parker Hannifin blog. |
 | Smart Sensor checks condition of bearings
ABB has launched the ABB Ability Smart Sensor for Dodge mounted bearings, part of the ABB Ability Digital Powertrain, that enables "health checks" for bearings. The smart sensor technology provides an early indicator of any potential problems by assessing the condition of bearings from vibration and temperature information. Eighty percent of bearing failures are lubrication related, and a bearing "running hot" can indicate that proper lubrication procedures are not in place. Monitoring a bearing's vibration can also indicate potential system problems. Prevent downtime on applications such as bulk material-handling conveyors as well as applications in the food-and-beverage and air-handling sectors.
Learn more. |
 | New industrial-grade optical encoder from Quantum Devices
The Model QDH20 encoder provides an improved feedback solution in applications typically using a standard size 20 package. It features superb mechanical and environmental protection. Outputs consist of a quadrature A & B with reference pulse Z as a standard feature. The output can be configured with either the industrial standard 5- to 26-V OL7272 line driver or open collector outputs. Two heavy-duty bearing sets hold the output shaft, and two more bearings (along with an integral flexible spring mount) isolate the working pieces of the encoder from mechanical stresses. Features include 500-kHz fundamental frequency response, high operating temp option (100 C), and resolutions up to 5,000 lines per revolution direct read. Available through Servo2Go.
Learn more. |
Cool Tools: New Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+
Newark element14 is now shipping the new Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ for same-day dispatch. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ delivers the enhanced thermal performance and ease of use of Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ in a smaller form factor, with a choice of memory variants suitable for a broad range of embedded applications including IoT devices and industrial automation, monitoring, and control systems. Compute Module 3+ simplifies the design process engineers need to undertake when developing a System on Module (SoM) solution into their final product. Engineers do not need to concern themselves with the complexities of interfacing with the BCM2837B0 processer directly and instead can concentrate on designing the interfaces to their own IO board and their application software -- simplicity that fosters rapid development.
Learn more. |
| | Most popular last issue |
 | Mustang Shelby GT500: Most powerful street-legal Ford ever
We were excited last June when Ford released details of its 526-hp 2019 Mustang Shelby GT350, but now the pony car maker has gone one better. Arriving this fall, the all-new 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 is the most powerful street-legal Ford ever -- with a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 producing more than 700 hp. Capable of mid-three-second 0-60 mph and sub-11-second quarter-mile scores, Shelby GT500 owes a lot of its impressive new attributes to tech transfer from Ford GT and Mustang GT4 racing programs.
Read the full article. |
|
| | Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action |
Understanding pressure losses
Early pressure drop investigations and optimizations are crucial for today's efficient designs. This short 3-minute video from Mentor shows you how to conduct pressure drop characterizations such as determination of kv or cv coefficients in FloEFD, the leading frontloading CFD simulation solution for design engineers.
View the video. |
 |
|
|
