Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

Torque sensors for fastening applications and more

Saelig Company has introduced the Sensor Technology SGR525/526 Series Torque Sensors to provide precision torque monitoring that is critical for performance and safety. The square drive design (for applications with non-cylindrical shafts) allows for seamless integration into power tools, test rigs, industrial machinery, and precision fastening applications, ensuring superior torque measurement without the need for additional adapters or modifications. The SGR525 offers torque measurement only, while the SGR526 provides torque, speed, and power measurement using a 360-pulse-per-revolution encoder. Industries include automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and research and development.
Learn more.

Wide-angle camera optimized for larger, faster conveyor belts

Wider conveyor belts operating at higher speeds are now commonplace in modern logistics. To keep up, SVS-Vistek is offering a cost-effective alternative to multi-camera systems with its fxo901CXGE 10-GigE color camera featuring the Sony IMX901-AQR wide-aspect global shutter 16.4-megapixel CMOS sensor. Unlike standard cameras, this unit captures targets in a wide field of view while maintaining high resolutions. The 4:1 horizontal aspect ratio allows one fxo901CXGE to replace an entire multi-camera system, removing the need for image synchronization.
Learn more.

Handheld thermal imager cuts diagnostic time

The FLIR TG268 is a next-generation thermal imager that provides professionals in the utility, manufacturing, electrical, automotive, and industrial sectors with a lightweight, handheld, affordable condition monitoring tool. Latest enhancements include higher temperature ranges, improved resolution, and larger data storage capacity. Go beyond the restrictions of single-spot IR thermometers to view and evaluate hot and cold spots that may signify potentially dangerous issues. Accurately measure temps from -25 to 400 C. Native thermal images improved with Super Resolution upscaling.
Learn more.

SOLIDWORKS 2025: Sheet metal design top features from an expert

Find out what's new in SOLIDWORKS 2025 when it comes to sheet metal and weldments, and learn some valuable tips and tricks along the way from TriMech. Topics covered include copying cut list properties, bend notches, tab and slot enhancements, groove beads (a new type of weld bead), performance enhancements, and more. When you're done, check out TriMech's full YouTube channel filled with educational material.
View the video.

Introducing ECOMO: Revolutionizing energy efficiency for transformers with the power of nature

ECOMO is ushering in a new era of energy efficiency for existing transformers. This innovative unit from Japan reduces power consumption by 5 to 15% for transformers and other electrical equipment by harnessing the natural properties of tourmaline and ferrite. Many users have achieved a return on investment in under two years, and an ROI calculator is available to estimate potential savings. Easy installation. Requires no external power source. Sound intriguing?
Learn more.

Tech Tip: How to create high-quality STL files for 3D prints

Have you ever 3D printed a part that had flat spots or faceted surfaces where smooth curves were supposed to be? You are not alone, and it's not your 3D printer's fault. According to Markforged, the culprit is likely a lack of resolution in the STL file used to create the part.
Read this detailed and informative Markforged blog.

LEDs: High-precision and focused light source

Würth Elektronik's WL-SMCW SMT Mono-color Chip LED Waterclear now includes a compact model with a footprint of just 1.6 mm x 0.8 mm, in which a dome lens focuses the light with an emission angle of just 30 degrees. With this LED, light can be precisely directed onto a small area while minimizing light scattering and energy loss. This space-saving LED is suitable for consumer electronics, medical devices, handheld products, and symbol or text displays. Available LED colors are blue, green, light green, yellow, amber, and red. A model with diffuse light (WL-SMTD) is also available.
Learn more.

Chip fuse with 'slow-blow' characteristic

SCHURTER's compact and powerful SMT chip fuse UST 1206 has enjoyed great popularity since its intro in 2008. In response to customer requests, SCHURTER has expanded this line with even more powerful versions with rated currents up to 35 A. The SCHURTER UST 1206 is a chip fuse for surface mounting with a "slow-blow" characteristic. This means it has a high melting integral, so the fuse does not trip immediately at inrush current peaks higher than the rated current. This is of great importance in many industrial applications (e.g. motors, power converters).
Learn more.

Long-life electric actuators: Improved controllability, performance

Thomson Electrak LL Linear Actuators now offer your machine designs a higher speed option, more electronic control options (including CANopen), and a 48-V option to meet the power requirements in battery-powered applications. Thomson says the new Electrak LL choices are for those who want to gain more control over the position, load, and speed of their applications, such as smart railway pantographs and couplers, AGVs, automated farming robots, movable steps, and access lifts for trains and buses.
Learn more and get the specs.

Real-world applications: FUTEK 100 sensor examples

Get inspired. FUTEK has more than 100 real-world application examples for their load cells, force transducers, torque sensors, pressure sensors, and multi-axis sensors. From a cryogenic load cell on the Mars Curiosity rover to fly-by-wire multi-axis force and torque sensors for aircraft, learn about sensor systems, their specs, and design. Automotive, manufacturing, medical, robotics, and automation are covered too. Fascinating and highly practical.
Learn more.

Ultra-compact hollow-shaft angle sensor tracks angle even if power is cut

Novotechnik's WAL 200 Series of hollow shaft angle sensors provides absolute rotary position -- even if power is removed. After power is restored, this sensor provides the correct angle. With a 7-mm profile and 22-mm diameter, it is designed to fit in applications with very limited space. The WAL 200 Series has a measurement range of 0 to 340 degrees. Mechanical range is a continuous 0 to 360 degrees. Applications include volumetric dosing systems, joysticks, and more.
Learn more.

What can you do with touchless magnetic angle sensors?

Novotechnik has put together an informative video highlighting real-world applications for their RFC, RFE, and RSA Series touchless magnetic angle sensors. You may be surprised at the variety of off-highway, marine, material handling, and industrial uses. You'll learn how they work (using a Hall effect microprocessor to detect position) and their key advantages, including eliminated wear and tear on these non-mechanical components. We love when manufacturers provide such useful examples.
View the video.

EMI suppression capacitors with enhanced humidity resistance

TDK Corporation has launched the EPCOS B3292xM3/N3 series of X2 EMI suppression capacitors. These new components are 20% smaller than previous models and meet Grade III Test B standards for temperature, humidity, and bias (THB). Their compact size and enhanced durability suit space-constrained, high-humidity environments, especially for "across-the-line" applications in automotive and industrial settings. Applications include automotive on-board chargers, uninterruptible power supplies, and hybrid inverters for energy storage systems.
Learn more.

Uses of thermal cameras in manufacturing expand: This time around to papermaking

What can you so with FLIR thermal cameras to improve your industrial processes? Recent developments in thermal signature analytics have expanded the applications of thermal cameras beyond routine troubleshooting. In papermaking, they now contribute to paper machine control, energy usage benchmarking, wet streak detection, and the identification and prediction of certain classes of sheet breaks. Maybe you'll get some ideas for your applications.
Read the full article.

3-axis motion made simple using CLICK PLUS PLC

Automation-Direct CLICK PLUS PLCs, when combined with stepper motors, make advanced motion control and edge integration simple for smaller systems. Learn motion control basics, motor options, motion with micro-PLCs and steppers, and more in this informative whitepaper from AutomationDirect. No registration required.
Get the AutomationDirect whitepaper.

Spinning, twisted light could power next-generation electronics

Researchers have advanced a decades-old challenge in the field of organic semiconductors, opening new possibilities for the future of electronics.

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge (U.K) and the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), have created an organic semiconductor that forces electrons to move in a spiral pattern, which could improve the efficiency of OLED displays in television and smartphone screens or power next-generation computing technologies such as spintronics and quantum computing.

The semiconductor they developed emits circularly polarized light -- meaning the light carries information about the "handedness" of electrons. The internal structure of most inorganic semiconductors, like silicon, is symmetrical, meaning electrons move through them without any preferred direction.

However, in nature, molecules often have a chiral (left- or right-handed) structure; like human hands, chiral molecules are mirror images of one another. Chirality plays an important role in biological processes like DNA formation, but it is a difficult phenomenon to harness and control in electronics.

However, by using molecular design tricks inspired by nature, the researchers were able to create a chiral semiconductor by nudging stacks of semiconducting molecules to form ordered right-handed or left-handed spiral columns. Their results are reported in the journal Science.

Confocal microscopy images. [Credit: Images taken by Samarpita Sen, The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge. Rendered in this form by Rituparno Chowdhury]

 

 

One promising application for chiral semiconductors is in display technology. Current displays often waste a significant amount of energy due to the way screens filter light. The chiral semiconductor developed by the researchers naturally emits light in a way that could reduce these losses, making screens brighter and more energy efficient.

"When I started working with organic semiconductors, many people doubted their potential, but now they dominate display technology," said Professor Sir Richard Friend from Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, who co-led the research. "Unlike rigid inorganic semiconductors, molecular materials offer incredible flexibility, allowing us to design entirely new structures, like chiral LEDs. It's like working with a LEGO set with every kind of shape you can imagine, rather than just rectangular bricks."

The semiconductor is based on a material called triazatruxene (TAT) that self-assembles into a helical stack, allowing electrons to spiral along its structure, like the thread of a screw.

"When excited by blue or ultraviolet light, self-assembled TAT emits bright green light with strong circular polarization -- an effect that has been difficult to achieve in semiconductors until now," said co-first author Marco Preuss, from the Eindhoven University of Technology. "The structure of TAT allows electrons to move efficiently while affecting how light is emitted."

By modifying OLED fabrication techniques, the researchers successfully incorporated TAT into working circularly polarized OLEDs (CP-OLEDs). These devices showed record-breaking efficiency, brightness, and polarization levels, making them the best of their kind.

"We've essentially reworked the standard recipe for making OLEDs like we have in our smartphones, allowing us to trap a chiral structure within a stable, non-crystallizing matrix," said co-first author Rituparno Chowdhury, from Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory. "This provides a practical way to create circularly polarized LEDs, something that has long eluded the field."

The work is part of a decades-long collaboration between Friend's research group and the group of Professor Bert Meijer from the Eindhoven University of Technology.

The chiral semiconductors represent a step forward in the world of organic semiconductors, which now support an industry worth over $60 billion. Beyond displays, this development also has implications for quantum computing and spintronics, a field of research that uses the spin, or inherent angular momentum, of electrons to store and process information, potentially leading to faster and more secure computing systems.

Source: University of Cambridge

Published April 2025

Rate this article