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Sound-dampening foam with an eco edge

BASF has introduced Basotect^® EcoBalanced melamine foam, a material that helps to reduce the product carbon footprint (PCF) of many sound-absorption applications in the transportation, building, and construction industries. This easy, drop-in solution has an up to 50% lower PCF than the respective BASF standard grades but demonstrates the same material performance. Applications include engine covers, wall and ceiling sound absorbers, HVAC parts, and air cleaners.
Learn more.

How to select a linear bearing pillow block

When it comes to choosing a pillow block style to help provide a secure foundation for a rotating shaft, the engineers at Lee Linear suggest using something called "P.O.S.T.L.U.D.E.S" as your guide: Precision, Orientation, Speed, Travel, Load, Unknowns, Duty Cycle, Environment, and Safety. Learn all about pillow block types, construction, and applications.
Read the Lee Linear blog.

Engineer's Toolbox: 9 considerations for specifying a slewing ring bearing

In applications that require a bearing to support a structure while it rotates (e.g., cranes, radar, tank turrets), premature bearing failure can put people and equipment at risk. While slewing ring bearings have proven themselves countless times in such applications, designers must consider many factors when specifying them. According to engineers at Kaydon, the bearing's support structure, mounting (including bolt strength, tensioning, and hole patterns), installation, and even storage are all factors in a bearing's success or failure.
Read the full article.

Engineer's Guide to Low Outgassing Adhesives

Learn all about low outgassing adhesives from the masters of making things stick at Master Bond. Outgassing from adhesives can pose significant challenges -- especially in the aerospace, electronic, and optical industries. "The Engineer's Guide to Low Outgassing Adhesives" ebook covers the ASTM E595 standard, initially developed by NASA, and guides you through the adhesive selection process. No registration required.
Learn more.

How it's made: Precision lead screw assemblies

Discover what makes the integrated lead screw systems from PCB Linear a step above the rest. From CNC manufacturing and sophisticated parts fine-tuning to PTFE coatings, innovative anti-backlash nut development with Constant Force Technology, and high-end motors to top it all off, this presentation is full of useful information about PCB Linear production and technology. We bet you will learn something new.
View the video.

Fastest large-format SLA 3D printer in the world

Built on Formlabs' next-generation Low Force Display print engine, the new Form 4L SLA 3D printer delivers unmatched reliability with a 99% print success rate compared to other SLA 3D printers. These benefits, combined with a build volume nearly 5x the size of Form 4, allow Form 4L users to solve big problems and print smaller parts at high volume. Large-scale prints finished in under six hours.
Learn more.

Adjustable monitor mounts that hold, tilt, and more

AV Monitor Mounts from Southco allow intuitive and ergonomic display positioning, enabling the operator to grab and move the screen without significant effort. These mounts also hold the screen in any position securely and resist unwanted movement when in use. Constant-torque functionality provides an arm that can withstand strong touch forces, vibration, and heavy loads. Lots of options.
Learn more.

Keypad teardown and design insights with Autodesk and Xometry

Take a deep dive into the second revision of the macro keypad developed for Autodesk University's Factory Experience 2024 in this exclusive, on-demand webinar hosted by Xometry's Greg Paulsen and Autodesk Fusion's Jonathan Odom. This presentation features a live teardown of the keypad, showcasing how the design team addressed challenges and elevated the product. No registration required.
Watch this Xometry webinar at your convenience.

Cool Tools: Portable joystick videoscope

The USAVS J-4-1500 Joystick Videoscope from USA Borescopes combines high-performance tech with user-friendly features. This advanced 4-mm-diameter scope is designed to elevate the inspection process for professionals across various industries, including automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing. One of its standout features is the responsive joystick-controlled articulation, which allows users to easily navigate the 1.5-m-long probe in multiple directions to acquire high-res images.
Learn more.

Tube cutting and bending design guide: Xometry

Xometry's no-cost tube design guide offers design tips and tricks for laser-cut tube parts, including: minimums, tolerances, and sizes. The guide also covers important rules for mandrel tube bending, such as tolerancing, distance between bends, bend center line radius, types of bends to avoid, and more. Incredibly handy. If you need parts, Xometry can help with that too. It's easy to get a quote.
Learn more.

SPEE3D develops ultra-corrosion-resistant alloy
-- a game-changer for maritime additive manufacturing

Australian manufacturer SPEE3D has developed two grades of an ultra-corrosion-resistant Nickel Aluminum Bronze alloy that are compatible with its Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing technology. The powder material is a game-changer for maritime OEMs and the U.S. Navy, as it will help with supply chain delays and keep critical maritime systems operational.
Read the full article.

Achieve higher loads with a round wire Wave Spring

Wavo Springs are produced from round-section wire to provide higher loads while maintaining the accurate loading found in wave springs. As an alternative to Belleville Springs, the Wavo provides similar loads but with an accurate, predictable spring rate. Available in carbon and stainless steel from stock, sizes range from 1/2" to 6" diameters. Free samples are also available!
Learn more.

Conveying and guiding: One-stop shop for components

JW Winco has expanded its range of conveying and guiding components with additional practical elements designed for common industrial applications, providing everything needed -- from guides and rails to brackets and feet -- for constructing unmotorized conveyor lines using standard parts.
Read the full article.

Why hybrid bearings are becoming the new industry standard

A combination of steel outer and inner rings with ceramic balls or rollers is giving hybrid bearings unique properties, making them suitable for use in a wide range of modern applications. SKF hybrid bearings make use of silicon nitride (twice as hard as bearing steel) rolling elements and are available as ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, and in custom designs. From electric erosion prevention to friction reduction and extended maintenance intervals, learn all about next-gen hybrid bearings.
Read the SKF technical article.

What are carbon composite bellows springs?

The Carbon Composite Bellows Spring (CCBS) from MW Components is a system of carbon fiber elements that combine to work as a high-performance, lightweight, and design-flexible compression spring meant to replace coil springs or metallic Belleville disc springs. A functional spring is made from several individual elements paired and joined to make a stack. The stack spring rate is determined by the number of elements, the base rate of each element, and their series or parallel orientation in the stack. Applications include motorsports, aerospace, and high-performance activities.
Learn more.

OLEDs found in smartphone screens can be used to map magnetic fields

Hand-held magnetic field imaging equipment could be used in construction safety and medical diagnostics.

Smartphones could one day become portable quantum sensors thanks to a new chip-scale approach that uses organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to image magnetic fields, with significant implications for use in healthcare and industry settings.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales' (UNSW Sydney, Australia) ARC Center of Excellence in Exciton Science have demonstrated that OLEDs, a type of semiconductor material commonly found in flat-screen televisions, smartphone screens, and other digital displays, can be harnessed to map magnetic fields.

The latest research, led by Dr. Rugang Geng and Professor Dane McCamey from the UNSW School of Physics, has been detailed in Nature Communications.

"Our findings show that OLEDs, a commercially available technology, can be used not only for displays and lighting, but also for quantum sensing and magnetic field imaging by integrating a small piece of microwave electronics," says Geng, the first author of the study. "If this technology is properly developed, people could simply use their smartphones to map the magnetic fields around them, for example to spot defects in diamonds or jewelry. This also has applications in industry, such as finding defects in construction materials or as a biomedical sensor."

How does the technology work?
OLEDs are a newer display technology that provides some of the best-quality screens in smartphones and TVs.

"The basic working principle of an OLED device is that when a voltage is applied, electrons and holes are injected into different layers of the device," says Geng. "When the electrons and holes meet in the central layer, they form "excitons," which emit visible light when they decay, and that's what makes OLEDs useful as displays and lighting sources."

This light emission process exploits the charge characteristics of electrons, which have a negative charge, and holes, which have a positive charge. They both also have another intrinsic property called spin.

This spin either points up or down and is very sensitive to external magnetic fields. In fact, it can flip-flop (or switch direction) under magnetic resonance conditions.

The spin property of electrons and holes, which meet in the middle layer of the device, either point up or down and are very sensitive to external magnetic fields. [Credit: UNSW Sydney researchers.]

 

 

 

 

"By measuring the signal change, both in electric current and emission light, induced by such a flip-flop, we are able to detect the strength of any magnetic field the device is exposed to," says Geng.

By integrating an OLED with a microwave resonator, Geng, McCamey, and their colleagues have generated a tiny oscillating magnetic field across the OLED device, allowing each individual pixel of the OLED screen to act as a small magnetic field sensor.

"We weren't surprised at the result -- we have been pursuing this for a few years," says McCamey. "But we were surprised at the resolution of the images we could make -- we can see details on sub-micron-length scales, similar to the size of a bacteria or neuron."

Commercialization and everyday uses
This latest research represents the next step in the development of magnetic field imaging equipment. Existing quantum sensing and magnetic field imaging equipment tends to be large and expensive, requiring either additional power from a high-powered laser, or extremely low temperatures. Under these conditions, the device integration potential and commercial scalability is limited.

However, the new technique developed by the team can function at a microchip scale and doesn't require input from a laser, showing great potential for applications in scientific research, industry, and medicine.

"Next, we hope to improve the overall performance of the device including optimizing the device architecture and exploring other techniques that can significantly increase the field sensitivity," says Geng. "We are also exploring collaborations with OLED technology companies, as their experience at moving devices from the lab to commercial products will help accelerate translation of this technology."

Source: The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)

Published May 2023

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