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| The latest information on engineering materials
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February 2, 2010
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Happy Groundhog Day! Even though Pennsylvania's famous groundhog
predicted six more weeks of winter, some economic predictors are
indicating a warm up in the economy. Are you seeing the light at the end
of the recession? Let us know and we'll share your thoughts in an
upcoming newsletter.
No matter what the season, there's always something new in the world of
materials. In this issue, check out FEA that predicts
stresses down to the grain level, an injection molding
process that creates lightweight parts, how to make parts quickly and cheaply, and a new resource for green polymers. Don't forget to scroll down for new products and industry
updates.
We'd love to hear from you by email, in the comments
section of any article at machinedesign.com, or on our engineering
discussion forum.
Jessica Shapiro
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Until now, missing in traditional FEA was a way to factor in how the
material itself reacts to stress forces and how reactions evolve and
change over time. Vextec
Corp., Brentwood, Tenn., addresses this shortcoming with a managed
service and software with a statistical basis called Virtual Life
Management. It links to FE structural analysis packages such as Ansys,
Nastran, or Abaqus and translates global stresses down to a metal’s
grain level. This approach is necessary because seemingly identical
components might have many different grain configurations, depending on
how the metal is heated or cooled and on other factors.
Vextec has assembled a library of how different kinds of metals under
different processing techniques respond to stress as a function of
cycles or time. “Once you have captured the nominal physics that
defines a family of metals such as steel, aluminum, and stainless steel,
it’s really just a matter of fine-tuning for the specific application
and the processing that makes one manufacturer different from
another,” says CEO Loren Nasser.
Read the full article.
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FREE FRICTION CD FROM GENERAL
MAGNAPLATE
 Increase
the life of metal components with a FREE CD-ROM from General Magnaplate.
The easy-to-use CD assists design engineers in selecting permanent
coatings that prevent wear, friction, corrosion, sticking, galling, and
chemical attack on ferrous and nonferrous metals. The CD resource
compares the static and kinetic coefficient of friction (COF) of
numerous metals with 20 Magnaplate-applied 'synergistic' coatings.
General Magnaplate's surface enhancements become an integral part of the
metal providing permanent, superior performance.
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David Bernstein, CEO of Trexel Inc., talks about the Core Back manufacturing
process. The process, combined with the company's MuCell microcellular
technology, creates lightweight plastic parts for the auto industry and
others.
See the video.
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New approaches to rapid manufacturing let almost anyone
inexpensively produce parts, products, and prototypes. So says Ted Hall,
founder of ShopBotTools in Durham, N.C. Perhaps you recall the
“Fab Labs” (fabrication laboratories) that Neil Gershenfeld of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology established a few years ago in
universities, colleges, housing projects, and mobile labs. Their goal
was to give ordinary people free access to tools such as 3D CAD, laser
cutters, and desktop milling machines.
Fast forward a few years and all the Fab Labs, as well as thousands of
other small shops, now include a digital fabrication machine — the
ShopBot CNC router. The machine provides a large three, four, and
five-axis format for making items such as a headboard for your kid’s
bed as well as industrial parts from wood, plastic, metal, and
composites.
full article.
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Polymers
from Renewable Resources, a peer-review journal, launched in
Jauary. The journal publishes research focused on the development of
renewable polymers and their application in the production of
industrial, consumer, and medical products. Subjects covered include
biopolymers, environmental impact, life-cycle analysis, materials
selection, plastics processing, product development, production
processes, end-of-life strategies, synthesis, and characterization and
properties of materials prepared using renewable resources.
Read the full article.
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F273 fluorosilicone rubber resists high pressures, jet fuels and
synthetic turbine lubricants, and temperatures from -70 to 200°C. The
material has hardness of 74 Shore A, 858-psi tensile strength, 122%
elongation, and 782-psi tensile modulus at 100% elongation. Minimal
changes in hardness, tensile strength, and elongation after 70 hrs in
200°C dry heat, after a 70-hr, room temperature fuel immersion, and
after a 70-hr, 150°C synthetic lubricant soak meet AMS-7273
requriements for use in aerospace applications.
Simrit
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UV10LV, a clear, non-conductive, UV-curing conformal coating,
protects electronics from moisture, dust, chemicals, and temperatures up
to 300°F. It has a refractive index of 1.55 and a volume resistivity of
1014 ohm/cm.
The adhesive is low viscosity and cures quickly with room-temperature
exposure to UV light. Cure continues after initial exposure and is not
oxygen-inhibited. It has a shelf life of 6 months at 70°F in original
unopened containers.
Master Bond
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TOPAS 9903D-10 cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) film extrusion resin is
an amorphous, transparent, moisture-blocking, polymer. It has a 33°C
glass transition temperature for low-temperature shrinkage, a 100 ksi
tensile modulus, and a 0.9 melt flow index.
The resin can be added to melts such as ultra linear-low-density
polyethylene in concentrations of 5 to 50% for single and double-layer
shrink films and packaging.
Topas Advanced
Polymers
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IDES Inc. published a report of the most popular plastic materials
of 2009 based on search data from the company's Prospector
plastic-material-datasheet search engine. Plastic material products from
over 700 global resin manufacturers were included in the report. The
company claims over 300,000 users downloaded 3.2 million datasheets from
its site, a 33% increase over 2008.
The top ten plastics were:
10. Delrin
9.VALOX*
8. RTP Compounds
7. Makrolon
6.
Pro-fax
5. CYCOLOY*
4. Santoprene
3. Moplen
2. Zytel
1.
LEXAN*
View the full report at IDES.com.
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Rhodia added
functionality to its MMI Confident Design technology for predicting the
mechanical behavior of filled polymers to provide information on
elasticity, elasto-plasticity, and elasto-viscoplasticity related to the
speed of deformation. The company says other more complex
functionalities will follow.
The tool is capable of precisely calculating the mechanical properties
of fiber reinforced polymers, including PA6.6. This ability to
accurately describe the behavior of short fiber composites results from
combining e-Xstream
Engineering's DIGIMAT software application and complex laws of
behavior which Rhodia developed using microstructural analysis,
high-speed advanced material characterization, and videometric
testing.
DIGIMAT, developed by e-Xstream Engineering, is a multi-scale modeling
software platform that calculates the behavior of reinforced engineering
plastic at each point of a part by integrating the properties of the
matrix and fibers, as well as their orientation, in a static or impact
condition.
For more information, contact Rhodia.
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Fast doesn't mean simple
Proto Labs created The Protomold Torus to demonstrate interesting,
complex features that can be designed into your parts for an assortment
of different purposes. "The Torus" comes with an informational user key
that describes the features and mold-making techniques used to produce
those features.
Request one today!
Boker’s 2010 Washer Catalog
Boker's free 2010 Washer Catalog features over 24,000 non-standard flat
washer sizes with ODs of 0.080" to 5.140"; numerous IDs and thicknesses;
2,000 materials; and no tooling charges. ISO 9001:2008 Registered.
www.bokers.com/mde
Plastic, silicone, ceramics and metals can all be molded into custom
components for OEM applications. Phillips Plastics has staff
expertise in each area to make sure your component is a perfect fit for
your project. Learn More
Precision plastic molding and micro-parts are quickly becoming an OEM
standard. Learn more about the technology and how it can be used in OEM
applications. www.accu-mold.com
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Contact Information
Editorial questions: Jessica Shapiro
216-931-9850
Advertising/sponsorship opportunities: Virginia Goulding
216-931-9893
Machine Design
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