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March 03, 2020Volume 16 Issue 09


Image - Custom Wave Springs from Smalley
Custom Wave Springs from Smalley
Smalley can manufacture custom Wave Springs quickly and economically to meet your specific application requirements. Because force and deflection requirements are application-specific, custom springs are often needed. With Smalley's No-Tooling-Cost™ manufacturing process, customs can be produced from .157" to 120" diameters in carbon steel, stainless steel, or other readily available exotic alloys. Prototypes can be available in as little as two weeks for testing. Free samples are available of standard parts for testing.
Learn more

In this issue of Designfax

  • WWI helmets vs. modern designs
  • New type of fuel-efficient rocket engine
  • New fast-charging, long-running supercapacitor
  • Room to roam: All-new 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban
  • 10 tips for specifying electric linear actuators
  • Engineer's Toolbox: Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise
  • Self-contained electro-hydraulic cylinders
  • Drill, grind, polish, cut with heavy-duty robot tools
  • New electronic coil AC/DC contactors
  • 21 metals, ceramics, and composites for 3D printing
  • Cable management kit pairs with any cobot arm
  • Hot Wheels radio-control Tesla Cybertruck
  • Good Reads: Biz and world views on coronavirus
  • Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
    • NASA all-electric plane structural ground tests
    • Cobot welding system is portable, easy, safe
  • Most Popular Last Issue
    • Shoot around corners? Army networked goggles
    • American-made supercar: 1,250-hp Czinger 21C
    • New process preserves lumber by infusing metal
  • New Products
    • Electrical, Mechanical, Motion
    Cover Image: All-new 2021 Chevy Tahoe

News

Even tinier transistors could be made using DNA-like rare earth element

Ames Lab's testing device speeds the way to new refrigeration technology

Boeing crew shuts off and restarts T-7A Red Hawk military jet in flight to demonstrate reliability

NASA Armstrong remembers pilots who lost their lives



Image - Highest Speeds or Highest Torque?
Highest Speeds or Highest Torque?
Discover the new FAULHABER 1660 BHx series: a high-power, slot-less brushless DC motor based on 2-pole technology that's setting new standards for performance, speed, and power. 16mm in diameter and 60mm in length, the 1660 BHx motor is ideal for handheld tools and devices requiring impressive power and high efficiency. Offered in two motor design options, optimized for high speed (BHS-version) or high torque (BHT-version) performance.
Learn more.

Feature articles

Image - WWI helmets protect against shock waves just as well as modern designs
WWI helmets protect against shock waves just as well as modern designs
Biomedical engineers from Duke University have demonstrated that, despite significant advancements in protection from ballistics and blunt impacts, modern military helmets are no better at protecting the brain from shock waves created by nearby blasts than their World War I counterparts.
Read the full article.

Image - New fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraft
New fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraft
A new type of rocket engine, called a rotating detonation engine, aims to make rockets not only more fuel efficient but also more lightweight and less complicated to construct. The design takes a different approach to how an engine combusts propellant.
Read the full article.

Image - New fast-charging, long-running, bendable supercapacitor may be energy storage breakthrough
New fast-charging, long-running, bendable supercapacitor may be energy storage breakthrough
A new discovery overcomes one of the most pressing issues faced by high-powered, fast-charging supercapacitors: They usually cannot hold a large amount of energy in a small space. While at the proof-of-concept stage, it shows enormous potential as a portable power supply for electric vehicles, phones, and wearable technology.
Read the full article.

Image - Compression Springs for Demanding Applications
Compression Springs for Demanding Applications
Compression springs are the most common spring configuration that product manufacturers turn to when enhanced product functionality is desired. Used in automotive, aerospace, general industrial, medical and technology products, this spring type is used to resist applied compression forces or to store energy in the push mode.
Download capabilities flyer.

Image - Room to roam: All-new 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban
Room to roam: All-new 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban
Legroom on planes might be getting limited, but on land the all-new 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Surburban offer the most interior space of any SUV -- and even more room than previous models. Couple that with exclusive technologies and some of the best driving dynamics in the full-size segment, and you've got yourself a pretty sweet people- and cargo-hauler with room to grow.
Read the full article.

Image - 10 tips for specifying electric linear actuators
10 tips for specifying electric linear actuators
Electric rod-style actuators offer enhanced performance, control and efficiency over their fluid power (pneumatic and hydraulic) counterparts. However, because of the higher initial cost of electric actuators and their unique characteristics vs. a fluid power cylinder, it is important to fully understand the application requirements. Learn how to analyze loads, forces, application footprint, environment and more.
Download the Tolomatic white paper.

Image - Engineer's Toolbox: <br>Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise
Engineer's Toolbox:
Gear crowning -- a cheap fix for noise

With the demands for smaller gearboxes transmitting more power at higher rpm and incumbent demands for greater efficiency, gear engineers are always searching for new ways to reduce vibration and limit noise -- without increasing costs.
Read the full article.

Image - Self-contained electro-hydraulic cylinders improve power density and shock load resistance
Self-contained electro-hydraulic cylinders improve power density and shock load resistance
For motion control applications such as snow plows and utility vehicle dump beds, designers have traditionally chosen between hydraulic and electromechanical technologies but have had to accept some tradeoffs for each. However, there is now a hybrid solution from Thomson Industries that offers the best features of both technologies without the drawbacks.
Read the full article.

Image - Drill, grind, polish, and cut with these heavy-duty robot tools
Drill, grind, polish, and cut with these heavy-duty robot tools
New end-of-arm tooling solutions from SUHNER's ROBO Tools line can help you handle those heavy-duty tasks. Ever since it was founded, SUHNER has been working on low-cost automation and is regarded today as a go-to expert in machining units for drilling, milling, and thread-cutting operations. Their automation products come with built-in flexibility, because they can be put together in a modular system that can be tailor-made for your project.
Read the full article.

Image - New electronic coil AC/DC contactors from NOARK Electric (best kept secret in the industry)
New electronic coil AC/DC contactors from NOARK Electric (best kept secret in the industry)
The new Ex9C F-type IEC contactors from NOARK Electric provide increased protection and stable performance on any AC or DC system. Featuring an electronic coil, the Ex9C F-Type Contactor compensates for changes in voltage fluctuations, which eliminates noisy, contact-damaging chatter conditions. With a more efficient design, this contactor offers valuable integral surge protection and less energy is required to operate the coil, which translates to lower operational costs. Three frame sizes with rated current up to 100 A. Coil control voltage 24~60 VAC/DC, 48~130 VAC/DC and 100~250 VAC/DC.
Find your circuit breaker solution at NOARK.

Image - 21 metals, ceramics, and composites for 3D printing
21 metals, ceramics, and composites for 3D printing
The ExOne Co. has just announced that 15 new metal, ceramic, and composite materials have been qualified by the company and its customers for 3D printing on ExOne's family of high-speed metal 3D printers. With these additions, owners of ExOne metal 3D printers can now print 21 qualified materials: 10 single-alloy metals, six ceramics, and five composite materials. More than 24 additional powders have been qualified for 3D printing in controlled R&D environments, including aluminum and Inconel 718. Newly qualified materials include M2 Tool Steel, widely used for cutting tools, and silicon carbide, a customer-qualified ceramic that is often used in aerospace.
Learn more.

Image - Cable management kit pairs with any cobot arm
Cable management kit pairs with any cobot arm
igus, a global manufacturer of engineered plastic components, has released a new collaborative robot cable management kit with universally designed hook-and-loop mounting brackets and more than 100 links of the company's innovative triflex R cable carrier. This solution offers superior cable protection compared to corrugated tubes. triflex R is a multi-axis energy chain designed for use in a wide variety of robotic applications. It's designed with ball-and-socket links that enable individual pieces of the system to be replaced if one of them is damaged.
Learn more.

Image - Hot Wheels introduces radio-control Tesla Cybertruck
Hot Wheels introduces radio-control Tesla Cybertruck
Pre-orders were filled up in a day, but Hot Wheels says there is still a chance to get on the waitlist for its pricey 1:10-scale Tesla Cybertruck R/C vehicle. The limited-edition, hobby-grade Cybertruck has both Chill and Sport speed modes, and it can travel over 25 mph in all-wheel drive. It even includes a reusable cracked window sticker -- a fun nod to Elon Musk's unplanned glass smash at the Cybertruck's reveal last November. A tiny 3-in. 1:64 Cybertruck R/C is also available for pre-order.
Learn more.

Image - Good Reads: Biz and world views on Covid-19 (coronavirus)
Good Reads: Biz and world views on Covid-19 (coronavirus)
With cases of Covid-19 on the rise and countries taking extreme quarantine measures, how will businesses and the people who are part of them or rely on them cope? Here are a few opinions. [Image: CDC]
Read "Just-in-time manufacturing model challenged by COVID-19" (Scott Tong, Marketplace)
Read "How is Covid-19 impacting the world's supply chains?" (Odyssey Logistics & Technology)
Read "How to respond to COVID-19" (Bill Gates, Microsoft)

Most popular last issue

Image - Shoot around corners? Army networked night-vision goggles
Shoot around corners? Army networked night-vision goggles
L3Harris Technologies has developed what it says is the most advanced night-vision goggle ever, and it allows Soldiers to shoot around corners -- even at night.
Read the full article.

Image - American-made supercar aims to upend traditional manufacturing
American-made supercar aims to upend traditional manufacturing
The 1,250-hp Czinger 21C supercar is out to prove that the future is now. Designed and produced by a California startup, it is full of 3D-printed parts and is made with minimum tooling. It's a quirky, sci-fi design mash-up with blazing speed and tandem rider positions.
Read the full article.

Image - New process preserves lumber by infusing metal
New process preserves lumber by infusing metal
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new method that could one day replace conventional pressure treating as a way to make lumber not only fungal-resistant but also nearly impervious to water -- and more thermally insulating.
Read the full article.

Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action
NASA all-electric plane undergoes structural ground tests
NASA is making progress on the road to first flight for the agency's first all-electric X-plane (and first piloted X-plane in two decades), the X-57 Maxwell. Currently in its first configuration as an all-electric aircraft (called Mod II), X-57 underwent a series of structural ground tests, giving engineers at NASA a look at the vehicle's predicted characteristics during flight. These tests, which included ground vibration testing and cruise motor controller vibration testing, marked important tasks to check off as NASA moves X-57 closer to taxi tests.
View the video.

Video Image
Cobot welding system is portable, easy, safe
The Vectis Cobot Welding Tool from Vectis Automation helps manufacturers boost productivity by reducing the learning curve, deployment time, risk, and cost of robotic welding. Powered by Universal Robots' UR10e collaborative robot, the Vectis Cobot Welding Tool is a portable, safe, versatile, and extremely easy-to-use solution that is even available as a low-risk, no-capital, rent-to-own option. Typical setup can be done entirely by the customer within a few hours of system arrival, and welding can begin within 10 minutes of setup -- with no programming experience necessary. The Vectis system comes with all hardware provided fully integrated onto a 3-ft x 6-ft mobile modular fixturing cart.
See it in action.

Video Image

New products

Electrical/Electronics
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Mechanical
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Motion
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