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Miniature linear guides simplify mounting in tight spaces

IKO's LWLF2 linear motion rolling guide addresses the demand for device miniaturization with a compact, lightweight design that makes mounting easy in tight spaces. With an ultra-small 2.5-mm height dimension, it is designed with tapped rails for bottom mounting and stability. The LWLF2 guide is structured with two rows of balls that make contact with the raceway at four points to provide high stability and accuracy -- even in applications with varying load direction or complexity. Applications include robotics and grippers, semiconductor fabrication, life science, and aerospace.
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Just the right tension: New clamping elements

JW Winco has expanded its range of clamping elements by adding new side clamps suitable for universal and specific purposes, primarily in jig and tool construction and small series production. The standard parts come in various versions: with clamping screws, hand levers, cam levers, and matching accessories. Side clamps with clamping thread GN 9190.1 use rotary-mounted clamping jaws, while side clamp GN 9190 features a spiral tension lever. Support blocks available too. See all the new options.
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How To: Ensure bolted joint integrity when using a compression limiter in a plastic assembly

Compression limiters are used to protect plastic components in bolted joints and maintain a threaded fastener's clamp load by eliminating plastic creep. SPIROL Application Engineer Tara Meinck runs through key points about using compression limiters successfully in fastening applications and also provides a comparative cost analysis for using this option as opposed to washers or a flanged bolt, especially in automated assembly.
Read the full article.

New high-performance metals for 3D printing

3D Systems has added two new materials to its materials portfolio. Certified HX is a high-performance nickel alloy that contains a higher percentage of molybdenum (up to 9.5%) vs. other nickel alloys, which enhances strength and resistance to corrosion, creep deformation, cracking, and oxidation in hot-zone environments. Certified CuCr2.4 is a high-strength, corrosion-resistant copper alloy that is significantly stronger than pure copper and easier to process. Both materials are certified for use with the company's DMP Flex 350 and DMP Factory 350 3D printers. Applications include industrial gas turbines, consumer goods, aerospace and defense, and automotive.
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Build your own mini synchronous drive systems

With the Miniature Synchronous Drive System from Stock Drive Products/ Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI), you can put your own 1-, 2-, or 3-mm design together in a snap. The tiny timing belts and pulleys are engineered and manufactured to give high accuracy and smooth, dependable operation in 3D printers, moving security cameras, med devices, robotic surgical equipment, self-service machines, and more. Advantages include no-slip synchronization, accurate positioning, high torque transmission with low backlash, quiet operation, and long belt life.
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The best high-speed rotary bearing in THK history

THK has developed its best-performing, high-speed rotary bearing ever: the High-Speed, Double-Row Angular Contact Ring BWH. This rotary bearing has balls aligned inside a cage between the inner and outer rings and is part of the THK Rotary Series, along with the cross-roller ring. The main features of this product are its ability to receive loads in all directions as well as its high rigidity and rotational accuracy, which are equal to that of cross-roller rings. By adopting a new structure to change the rolling elements from rollers to balls, this product achieves the greatest high-speed performance ever offered by THK.
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Corrosion-resistant stainless steel shock absorbers

Corrosion Resistance Series (CRS) Stainless Steel Shock Absorbers from Enidine are adjustable and non-adjustable small bore units that provide an eco-friendly solution for various harsh-environment, industrial, food-grade, and medical washdown applications. Accessories in stainless steel and food-grade hydraulic fluid are available for this broad range of products upon request.
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Couplings solve misalignments more precisely with targeted center designs

ALS Couplings from Miki Pulley feature a simplistic, three-piece construction and are available in three different types for more precisely handling parallel, angular, or axial misalignment applications. The key feature of this coupling design is its center element. Each of the three models has a center member that has a unique and durable material and shape. Also called a "spider," the center is designed to address and resolve the type of misalignment targeted, thereby reducing reaction loads resulting from the misalignment. Ideal for unidirectional continuous movement or rapid bidirectional motion.
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Feel the difference: 2-shot injection molded knobs sample pack

In 1979, Rogan was the first knob company to mold a knob utilizing the 2-shot injection molding process, which uses a single plastic molding machine specially made to inject two materials sequentially or one on top of the other. If you've ever used a plastic toothbrush with a colorful rubber grip, it was likely 2-shot injection molded. Create a competitive advantage for your products. You can add markings, custom colors or graphics, and even glow-in-the-dark materials. Request a sample of control knobs or clamping knobs -- or both.
Request a sample pack from Rogan, and feel the difference.

ClampDisk micro fastener is new alternative for automotive and consumer electronics

Designed as a unique alternative in assemblies for the automotive and consumer electronics markets, the ClampDisk Press-on Fastener is a new offering from PennEngineering that delivers a fast, simple way to achieve sheet-to-sheet clamped fastening while replacing the use of standard screws, nuts, and adhesives. The most common challenges that can be eliminated or reduced by using ClampDisk include over installation, cross threading, stripped screw heads, broken screws, and damaged product. This fastener can be removed easily with a sharp-edged tool.
Learn more and see how ClampDisk works.

Simplify your designs with slewing ring bearings

According to Kaydon Bearings, "A slewing ring bearing has rolling elements designed to create a reactive moment within the bearing's dimensions envelope to oppose applied (overturning) moment load," so you can use one bearing instead of two, reducing the height requirements, and even improve performance. Slewing ring bearings can also simplify a drive system by utilizing gear teeth on the inner or outer race. Learn all about slewing ring bearings in this informative article.
Read the Kaydon whitepaper.

DENSO reduces component sim time by 80% using Simcenter 3D and NX integrated process

DENSO Corp., the second-largest automotive parts and systems provider in terms of sales in the world, is developing its "NX CAD and Simcenter 3D integrated process" from Siemens that allows analysts to understand the simulation processes, which are repeatable for certain types of components. The DENSO team captures modeling and process best practices and packages these up into simulation templates that are leveraged by designers using NX. This process has led to increased quality, because design problems are identified earlier and can be corrected before the project advances. DENSO estimates the average time for analysis was reduced up to 80% using this integrated process.
Read the Siemens case study.

5 new manufacturing options from Xometry

Get the parts you need made fast and at a great price. Xometry has added five new manufacturing options to their quoting engine: Die Casting, Metal Extrusion, Metal Stamping, Laser Tube Cutting, and Tube Bending. Experts will manually quote these options and work closely with you to ensure the best outcome and success. Get your quote today, and get started on your next metal production order.
Learn more.

Low-friction lightweight thermoplastic composite bearing

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions recently launched its latest lightweight thermoplastic composite bearing, the HiMod Advanced Composite Bearing Plus, which is an enhanced dual-layer bearing with a modified PEEK layer that reduces friction and increases wear performance for use in bearing, wear ring, and bushing applications. These bearings will not seize or gall. Manufactured using Trelleborg's patented Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) technology, a thin, low-friction liner is bonded to the inner diameters and can be added to the outer diameters of the bearing to create a high-quality solution for use in a wide range of industries.
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Newly developed overhung load adaptors

When fluid power and power transmission products are discontinued, finding replacements can be challenging. Zero-Max now fills this Overhung Load Adaptor void with its new 212k and 412k OHLA models for 2-bolt SAE A mount and 4-bolt non-SAE mount applications requiring a 1-1/4" output shaft. For both new and replacement applications, these new OHLA models provide overhung radial and axial load support to protect hydraulic motors and pumps from heavy application loads, extend the lifetime of the motor or pump, and alleviate the cost of downtime both from maintenance costs and loss of production.
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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