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New Full Line Catalog -- Full of New Fasteners Micro Plastics introduces its new catalog #39. With 290 pages of nylon fastener items, 12 new product lines, and over 500 new items added. Contents include: standard and metric machine screws, cap screws, nuts, washers, spacers, insulators, grommets, bushings, rivets, hole plugs, clamps, printed circuit board accessories, suspended ceiling hooks, and wire routing kits. FREE samples are available upon request.
Click here for more information.
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In this issue of Designfax |
News |
Cover Image: Nelson Publishing
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'Vortex surfing' could prove revolutionary for long-haul U.S. Air Force fliers Ford and U-M researchers team up to fight microbes in new cars and trucks Inspired by squirrel behavior, deceptive robots aim to psych out the enemy Maple helps engineers design propulsion systems for some of the world's biggest ships |
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Humanoid joints simplify robot design igus has applied its plastics expertise to develop multiple-axis robot joints. No more sourcing complex custom solutions -- robolink® is a simple, easy-to-use system. The corrosion-resistant joints are controlled by cable tension -- just as the human body guides bones and tendons. Data cables are routed through the jointed arms, which act as the robot's skeleton. These same cables convey images, acoustics and forces -- the artificial senses of humanoid robots.
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| Featured Articles |
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Robotic laser system strips paint from aircraft A new autonomous robotic system uses high-powered lasers to remove coatings from fighter aircraft and can detect, classify, and record the condition of the aircraft surfaces as stripping proceeds.
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| Vacuum brazing: A way to manufacture heat exchangers for the 21st century Vacuum brazing is an attractive manufacturing method to produce lightweight and reliable assemblies and thermal products, such as heat exchangers and liquid cold plates. Learn all about the benefits of this joining technology.
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World's smallest chain robot has Swiss-army-knife qualities The little device called a milli-motein may be a harbinger of future bots that can fold themselves into almost any shape imaginable.
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Wheels (and wings): Engineers investigate rotor landing technology for space capsules A team of researchers recently brought a pair of scale-model space capsules to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to try out a rotor system that could be used in place of parachutes on returning spacecraft.
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Mike Likes: Bond metals and plastics in seconds Ultra Light-Weld 3013 from Dymax is a resilient, low-viscosity, moisture-resistant adhesive designed for rapid bonding to a wide variety of plastic and metal substrates. This solvent-free, worker-friendly product forms high-strength, environmentally resistant bonds for appliance assembly, bond joint and sealing, plastic window bonding, and plastic assembly. It fluoresces blue under low-intensity "black light," allowing for in-line quality control using optical scanners. Cures in seconds when exposed to ultraviolet and visible light -- even through UV-blocked plastics.
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| Engineer's Toolbox: Reverse-engineering cupcake icing tool spells sweet success Sometimes productivity gains lurk in unexpected places. That was the case recently when 3-Dimensional Services Group found a way to dramatically increase uptime while improving quality and decreasing costs for Freed's Bakery with one elegant and innovative new design.
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Mini flush-mount switches are sleek alternative With a choice of metal or plastic bezels and various sizes (8 mm to 30 mm), contact ratings, and mounting options, IDEC LB switches add style and safety to any application. These switches project only 2 mm when mounted on a panel and are perfect for applications requiring a smooth, clean surface appearance. IDEC switches have a powerful 5-A operating current plus an available 3PDT contact configuration for more flexibility within a small package.
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Discover the design and functional advantages of copper foam Copper foam, now available from Goodfellow, combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. The matrix of cells and ligaments is completely repeatable, regular, and uniform throughout the material. Characteristics of copper foam include: optimal heat transfer, high strength-to-weight and surface-area-to-volume ratio, controlled stress-strain characteristics, isotropic load response, and can be brazed, coated, and plated.
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World's first single-chip motor controller Precision movement and positioning systems can be quieter, smaller, lighter, simpler, and more efficient using the advanced single-chip digital motion controllers unveiled in November by STMicroelectronics. cSPIN controllers can be designed into precision machines such as robotic systems, industrial automation, and general positioning and rotation equipment. The small size and low weight of the cSPIN solution enables lower-cost and more responsive equipment. cSPIN also allows precise control over rotation speed, which is particularly important for many applications.
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Turbomachinery design, the easy way TURBOdesign Suite v. 5.2 is a unique aerodynamic and hydrodynamic 3D design software package that allows users to design, analyze, and optimize all types of turbomachinery, such as axial, mixed-flow, or centrifugal pumps, compressors, fans, turbines, and torque converters. Using the software, designers evaluate turbomachinery package size and performance predictions, perform detailed 3D blade design with 3D inverse design capabilities, analyze flow information per component, stage performances with turbomachinery-specific 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and automate exploration of the design space with automatic optimization capabilities.
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Wheels: Police cars of the future showcased at L.A. Auto Show The future of law enforcement vehicle design was on display at the L.A. Auto Show this week (Nov. 30 - Dec. 9) in the form of the show's ninth Design Challenge competition. "Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025" was the theme this year, and way-out-there concepts were the norm.
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Engineer's Toolbox: Clever engineering repairs huge, wrecked steel mill coupling When the bore on the rigid half of a high-torque steel mill coupling was badly galled during a maintenance teardown, the East Chicago, IN, mill put the damaged part in the plant's bone yard. But some clever engineering eventually repaired the part that would have cost $112,000 to replace.
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| Navy researchers look to rotating detonation engines to power the future With its strong dependence on gas-turbine engines for propulsion, the U.S. Navy is always looking for ways to improve fuel consumption.
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| Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action |
| 3D Printing: World's largest 3D-printed wrench | |
| Looking to fabricate your own 1:1-scale, really large prototype parts? Objet has you covered. Unveiled at Euromold early this month, the company's new Objet1000 system features a climb-aboard-size build tray (39.3 in. x 31.4 in. x 19.6 in.) and is able to print up to 14 different material properties within a single model. Wow. Fourteen in one model! It can also handle big jobs that you could only dream about in the past, like the world's largest 3D-printed wrench, which Objet's Sam Green says took a few days to print.
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