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Proto Labs Demo Mold Our Demo Mold shows the mechanics of how the A-side and B-side of a tool work together during the injection molding process to create plastic parts. The design aid demonstrates the functionality of side-actions, sprues and runners, ejector pins and plates, and the relationship between core and cavity. It helps those new to injection molding easily visualize the process and is a great teaching device for educators. Get a free Demo Mold design aid today!
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In this issue of Designfax |
News |
Cover Image: Nelson Publishing
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New NIST challenge brings 'indoor GPS' apps closer to reality 'The day the drones stopped': U.S. Army tests counter UAV systems at Fort Sill NASA tests robotic ice tools to explore distant ocean worlds Swedish Steel Prize 2017 finalists chosen for innovative design concepts |
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Super Air Knife Replaces Noisy Blowers EXAIR's Super Air Knife delivers a uniform, high volume, high velocity sheet of air for blowoff, cooling and drying applications. Energy use is 1/3 that of typical blowoffs. Eliminates costly downtime of blowers. Noise is under 70 dBA at 80 PSIG. Web site offers detailed information.
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| Featured Articles |
| Splat! Kinetics used to make ceramic coatings | |
 By making high-velocity submicron ceramic particles slam onto surfaces at room temperature, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have found a way around using high temperatures to process ceramics. Coating at room temperature makes microelectronics design and fabrication more flexible and could someday lead to better, less expensive microelectronics components.
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Metal 3D printing gets reinvented with LLNL's Direct Metal Writing Process Metal 3D printing has enormous potential, but the most popular metal printing processes, which use lasers to fuse together fine metal powder, have their limitations, including that parts can end up with gaps or defects caused by a variety of factors. To overcome those drawbacks, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, along with collaborators at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, are taking a wholly new approach to metal 3D printing with a process they're calling Direct Metal Writing, in which semisolid metal is directly extruded from a nozzle.
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Researchers make super-strong stretchy silver Working with silver at a vanishingly small scale -- nanowires just a few hundred atoms thick -- researchers at the University of Vermont have discovered that they can make wires that are both super strong and stretchy -- like gum. This kind of silver wire could be fashioned into a mesh that conducts current, allows light to shine through, and bends so easily "you might be able to tie your smartphone into a knot."
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Wheels: 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon comes wheelie-ready As a kid playing with Hot Wheels cars, you probably dreamed of being a grown-up and pulling a wheelie when the light turned green. But that was all childlike make-believe and fun. You found out as you got older that they really don't make production cars like that. Well, that was then. The 840-hp Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the world's most powerful factory-production V-8, has arrived -- and it comes complete with wheelie-inducing Drag Mode Launch Assist.
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Mike Likes: Download Smalley's Designing with Retaining Rings eBook In response to the questions Smalley has received about designing with retaining rings, the company's engineers have put together the "Understanding the Form, Fit and Function of Retaining Rings" eBook to answer all of your retaining rings questions.
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Engineer's Toolbox: Best practices for integrating electromechanical engineering into industrial automation systems Jim Mangan from Nook Industries explains how to integrate electromechanical tech into existing and newly designed automated industrial systems successfully. He addresses the advantages these systems have over air and hydraulic systems, the change in mindset and processes that must happen to create ideal electromechanical systems, the reasons for integrating electrical and mechanical systems, benefits, and common mistakes to avoid.
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Mini but mighty high-load linear actuator Equipped with precision ground ball screws for higher speed and a longer service life, the L-239 high-force actuator from Physik Instrumente (PI) has a positioning range of 52 mm (2 in.), pushing force of 300 N (66 lb), and 50-mm/sec (2-in./sec) maximum velocity. The nonrotating tip enables uniform motion, preventing wobble, torque, and wear at the point of contact. Noncontact limit switches protect the mechanics, while a direction-sensing reference point switch speeds up the homing procedure and supports automation applications. Special versions available for vacuum applications.
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Motor Tech: UAV camera stabilization with brushless motors Today, recon is dominated by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones due largely to concerns for pilots' safety and costs. However, photos and videos obtained from UAVs are only useful if they are crisp and clear, which requires both precise focusing and extreme stabilization of the camera system. Compact and powerful FAULHABER brushless DC motors from MICROMO were selected to get the job done.
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Become a robot programmer in only 87 minutes! Learning how to set up and program a collaborative robot -- or cobot -- no longer depends on real-life access to a robot or a training class. Now everybody with a desire to learn the concepts of cobots can log in to the Universal Robots Academy and get the introduction necessary to master basic programming skills. Become a master of the cobots! (That's a pretty sweet title.)
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Alternative precision linear motion system: Faster, more accurate, zero backlash With high speeds, incredible accuracy, and zero backlash at unlimited lengths, Nexen's patented Roller Pinion System (RPS) overcomes the limitations of conventional rack and pinion, ball screw, and belt drive systems. The RPS offers longer life, less maintenance, 99% efficiency, and can run without lubrication. Nexen Group is a leading manufacturer of precision motion control components, power transmission, and web tension control products.
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Wireless and batteryless pull-wire switches Wireless pull-wire switches from Steute Industrial Controls feature an internal electrodynamic energy generator. No battery required! Displacement of the actuator generates power to send a unique, coded telegram to one or more compatible, easily programmed receivers. If the pull-wire switch does not receive a signal that the telegram was received by the receiver within 15 ms, it transmits a second telegram. Transmits at 915 MHz. Maximum nominal transmission range: 164 ft (50 m) indoors, 2,300 ft (700 m) outdoors. Check out the full range of clever wireless switches from Steute.
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| Most Popular |
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Army developing new laser-guided precision mortar The U.S. Army has closed its initial solicitation phase for designs to create a next-generation "smart" precision mortar where a laser guides the round to the physical target instead of a GPS location. The 120-mm High Explosive Guided Mortar, or HEGM, will have the potential to correct course in flight to hit a target that has moved.
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Amazing self-healing, water-repellent, durable coating created A self-healing, water-repellent, spray-on coating developed at the University of Michigan is hundreds of times more durable than its counterparts. It could enable waterproofing of vehicles, clothing, rooftops, and countless other surfaces for which current waterproofing treatments are too fragile.
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Stanford researchers debunk popular flight models by flying birds through lasers Experiments involving flying a parrotlet through lasers are challenging the accuracy of aerodynamics models long used to predict animal flight and also may impact future designs of bio-inspired drones, robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
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| Videos+: Technologies and inspiration in action |
| NY Auto Show 2017: Big vehicles that burn big fuel | |
| Autoblog's Senior Editor Greg Migliore runs through the highlights of the New York International Auto Show 2017, including the Mercedes AMG "hot-rod" trio (sweet!), roomy Subaru Ascent Concept SUV, an accessory-laden Toyota FT-4x Concept offroader, the 707-hp Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the wheelie-ready Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, and the luxurious 2018 Lincoln Navigator.
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| New products |
| Electrical/Electronics | Mechanical | Motion |
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| For advertising opportunities contact: John Holmes jholmes@nelsonpub.com Dan Beck danbeck58@gmail.com (518) 852-9624 |
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