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| The latest information on engineering materials
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October 8, 2008
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Financial turmoil is hitting the pocketbooks of individuals,
businesses, and governments alike. The pressure to do more with less
brings the mantra "reduce, reuse, recycle" from neighborhod newspaper
drives to boardrooms and shop floors. Today we'll look at a steel bus
chassis that reduces weight and energy use, at lower-cost powder metals
that create performance parts from scrap, and at "upcycling" plastic
waste.
How are you incorporating the "three Rs" into your design and
manufacturing work? What changes do you think are on the horizon as
business and engineering cope with economic uncertainty? Share your
thoughts on the Machine Design forums.
Jessica Shapiro
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Powder metallurgy (PM) is a cost-effective method for producing
precision-metal consumer and industrial products. But PM parts makers
are being hit by spiraling energy costs and volatile commodity prices.
To lessen price sensitivity, Hoeganaes Corp., Cinnaminson, N.J., has
developed new formulations that lessen the pricey constituents yet
retain excellent mechanical properties.
Read the full article.
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New Technology for Prototyping and
Digital Manufacturing
Ready Part™ by RedEye is a patented part smoothing
process for 3D printed parts that gets your digitally manufactured
prototypes and parts near injection molded quality. Available in the ABS
family of materials your parts are also sealed for water-tight
applications under atmospheric pressure conditions. This process is only
available from RedEye and is another way we are positioning ourselves as
your Factory of the Future.™
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A 40-ft-long city bus built with help from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, DoE, and two Michigan companies, has twice the mileage of
conventional hybrid buses, say its developers. The bus is powered solely
by electrical motors; its gas engine recharges the batteries. At the
heart of the bus, however, is its use of Nitronic 30, a
nitrogen-strengthened stainless steel that is stronger and stiffer than
conventional steel. This means less material and weight for the bus
chassis, and it should last significantly longer.
Read the full article.
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Talking about going green has become a national pastime in recent
years. Implementing energy-saving processes, using recycled materials,
and reducing waste are often easier said than done. However, the
production of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) from recycled
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one conservation idea that is
entering the mainstream.
Read the full article.
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The 316 stainless-steel collars feature screws in the same material
to prevent corrosion. The yellow-zinc-plated shaft collars are plated
using a RoHS-compliant trivalent process. These collars have less
holding power than black-oxide-finished carbon-steel versions because of
the zinc’s reduced coefficient of friction. The high-strength-grade
aluminum shaft collars with an anodized finish are lightweight, have low
inertia, and withstand the recommended screw torque to provide the
holding power similar to carbon steel. These collars come with steel
screws for higher torque and holding power.
Ruland Mfg. Co. Inc.
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The Integral Reusable Vacuum Bag Seal (IRVBS) process uses a
pre-formed wax extrusion to let seal mold into the underside of the
reusable bag as it is made. The resulting integral seal eliminates
vacuum leaks for closed-cavity bag molding (CCBM). The process minimizes
the width of tooling flanges for using multiple-use vacuum bags.
Prairie
Technology Group
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RO4003C and RO4350B are woven-glass-reinforced, ceramic-filled,
thermoset laminates for high-frequency application. They maintain
electrical and mechanical stability over a range of temperatures with
low-loss and with low z-axis expansion. The laminates come with
low-profile reverse-treat electrodeposited copper. They are lead-free
and RoHS-compliant.
Rogers Corp.
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cutting-edge technology in
action and looks behind the scenes as today's engineers shape tomorrow's
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Rev up your interdisciplinary design skills
What happens when a microcontroller turns on a power FET, sending a
current pulse to a motor coil that develops a magnetic field which turns
the rotor shaft, advancing a timing belt that drives a pair of nip rolls
suspended on bearings in a web-processing operation on a form, fill, and
seal machine installed on a potato chip line at a Frito Lay plant in
central California? And how can you be sure that the encoders, prox
sensors, and other feedback devices you plan to use will accurately see
and report every relevant motion, machine state, and process condition?
And will the signals get through the networks fast enough, without being
corrupted, giving the controllers time to execute their algorithms as
intended? It's a lot to think about, and it only scratches the surface
of what many engineers grapple with today. If you happen to be one of
them, then the place for you — where you can find answers and meet
others with similar concerns — is www.Mechatronic-Design.com.
Backed by some of engineering's top information sources including
Machine Design, Electronic Design, Motion System Design, and Power
Electronics, Mechatronic-Design.com is the interdisciplinary engineer's
desktop, toolbox, library, and lifeline in one easily accessible
place.
Find. Learn. Apply.
Mechatronic-Design.com.
Experience National Instruments Technologies From
the Comfort of Your Own Computer!
 With more
than 200 on-demand webcasts, videos, interactive
tutorials and demos available for users of any experience level, it is
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available from National Instruments.
Begin your search here with a collection of
webcasts specifically chosen for design and automation engineers.
CAD Library offers advanced CAD Resources
The Machine Design CAD
Library, includes millions of configurable 2D and 3D CAD models
of
components and assemblies downloadable for easy use in new and existing
designs. Our models are in native CAD formats. No translation
required!
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Sponsored
by:
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UPCOMING IN-PERSON EVENTS
Design-2-Part Shows are America's longest running and most trusted
events for sourcing custom parts and services.
Ten shows covering the country offer OEMs, engineers and purchasing
personnel the opportunity to meet job shops and
contract manufacturers face-to-face.
UPCOMING WEBCASTS
Motion Control Cards: Options and Architectures
Advanced Features and Application Design Challenges
Sponsored by PMD
DATE: October 16th, 2008
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT
What form factor to use?
Over the years there have been a number of motion control card
implementations, mainly based on some version of a PC-bus.
Today the most common ones are based on PCI, ISA, and PC/104 formats.
In that last couple of years a stand-alone card format with serial
communication has become common, adding value by reducing the dependence
on the PC chassis and saving space.
There have also been a lot of improvements in motion control cards’
capabilities and performance that allow for much better system
optimization. In this presentation we will explore these advances in
card technology and how it affects motion control system architecture
and design.
Click here to learn more and register!
Why Vent?
Improve Reliability for Rugged Electronics
Sponsored by Gore
DATE: October 22th, 2008
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT
Your customers want to use electronics anytime, anywhere, and under any
conditions, so product reliability is crucial. Yet designing a sealed
housing to withstand harsh environments is challenging. Over time, seals
can become damaged and compromise product performance because the
underlying cause of these issues is not addressed – pressure
variations caused by the environment. This presentation investigates the
causes of product failure and how venting alleviates many of these
issues.
In this webinar you will learn about
the challenges of designing reliable products for rugged
applications
the causes and effects of pressure differentials
the impact of these issues on sealed enclosures used in harsh
environments
the latest technology to extend product life by alleviating pressure
variations
Click here to learn more and register!
ARCHIVED WEBCASTS AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING
Click Here for a list of archived Machine Design
webcasts.
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Blow-molding machines get PLC motion
control
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R&B Plastics Machinery, LLC (R&B) offers plastics extruders, molds,
and process controllers, as well as trimmers and deflashers. One
particular R&B blow-molding machine uses a S-7 PLC from Siemens Energy &
Automation, Inc. to integrate parison control, synchronized camming of
blow pins with carriages, linear positioning of shuttles, and 30 zones
of heat control.
The off-the-shelf PLC uses function blocks to speed motion-control
programming. The unit integrates motion control with sensor input for
parison control, hydraulic axis control, and, synchronized camming of
blow pins and carriages.
The coordinated, position-based motion control allowed R&B to cut
machine dry-cycle time by 20% while reducing and ruggedizing the
components used. Programming shifted from an esoteric interface to a
user-friendly HMI.
R&B
Plastics
Siemens
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Teknor Apex UK Ltd. introduced a single-source program for the
automotive industry at Fakuma 2008. The company's engineering
thermoplastics, vinyl, and thermoplastic elastomer divisions were
combined under a single business unit earlier this year.
Teknor Apex's engineering thermoplastics business includes Beetle and
Chemlon glass-reinforced, mineral-filled, impact-modified, and flame
retardant nylon compounds. Apex vinyl compounds are found in interior
trim, seals and gaskets, and SAE wire jacketing. Flexalloy vinyl
elastomers resist grease, oil, and aggressive fluids. The company's TPEs
include Uniprene thermoplastic vulcanizates; Telcar TPOs; and
Monprene®, Tekron®, and Elexar® styrenic TPEs.
Teknor Apex
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Boker's 2008 Washer Catalog
Boker's, Inc.'s FREE 2008 Washer Catalog has over 22,000 non-standard
sizes
available with no tooling charges. A wide range of ODs, IDs and
thicknesses,
plus 2,000 material variations provide millions of possibilities.
www.bokers.com/mde
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Editorial questions: Jessica Shapiro
216-931-9850
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