Designfax articles from December 1999

Designfax archives from December 1999

Beyond the Space Age.
December 1, 1999... Design contest aims to revolutionize space travel Who knows what life on earth would be like if ordinary people had the ability to see it from a different perspective...to view the ecosystem from space and watch our 8,000-mile-diameter...

Trilogy Part 3: Future of the World It's only the beginning.
December 1, 1999... We opened our Trilogy Series in August with the words of William Faulkner accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. He spoke of the writer's duty to write about things that help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the...

Sensor re-tunes in real time.
December 1, 1999... Like the nail that lost the war in the classic poem, the failure of an innocuous sensor in a manufacturing or packaging system can bring operations to a stand-still until the culprit is found and remedied. Many times, however, it would be...

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
December 1, 1999... The US government's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Spectrolab, Sylmar, CA, have achieved a conversion efficiency of 32.3% for a solar cell that could double the power output of terrestrial applications in operation today. The...

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
December 1, 1999... Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has dedicated the ASCI Blue Pacific supercomputer, built by IBM, Armonk, NY, while previewing an even more powerful 10-teraOPS system, ASCI White. Blue Pacific is part of DOE's Accelerated Strategic...

Reader Connection.
December 1, 1999... Issue saved Never in my 30 plus years in the engineering field have I felt so compelled to respond to a magazine article or editorial. This is my first. And the reason? I just want express my sincere praise for your magazine, your October...

Flat panel display.
December 1, 1999... The newest addition to the line of BlackLite electroluminescent displays, Model LX-I-320x240.80, uses a patented optical-interference technology known as "Black Layer" to reduce reflection and improve contrast and clarity of characters and...

Ultra-compact LCD module.
December 1, 1999... This module includes all the necessary drive electronics, an electroluminescent (EL) backlight and the backlight's DC-AC converter, enabling OEMs to integrate thin, lightweight, and low power LCD modules into their handheld and mobile...

Remote station.
December 1, 1999... The PowerStation RS (Remote Station) is a PC-based control and HMI solution for OEM machine builders. It includes a 12- or 15-in. flat panel monitor coupled with a remote PC box, and is bundled with interact HMI software. This offers a unique...

Digital readouts.
December 1, 1999... The 700 Series features a highly visible green luminescent display and offers user-friendly, plain language dialogue prompts utilizing 14-segment character capabilities. The addition of several new functions for machining tasks assist in...

Flat panel display.
December 1, 1999... The RAC6185 18.1 in. monitor uses active matrix thin film transistor technology, and combines minimal depth with a 170 degree viewing angle. The 1280 x 1024 resolution display has the clarity of a 20-in. CRT display, but was designed for...

Doing the Electric Slide...with a Forklift.
December 1, 1999... Funky wheels let AC-motored machines get sideways One of the basic tenets of design in any field is the importance of simplicity. One should avoid over-sophistication in a device, for the sake of keeping costs down, weight to a minimum,...

USER-CENTRIC.
December 1, 1999... From: Team Coordinator To: "Design Team" [Engineer, Graphic Designer, Legal Expert, Marketer, Programmer, Social Anthropologist & Team Coordinator] Subject: New Product Brainstorm Another new product launch. Well, we all know what...

Tube fittings.
December 1, 1999... The A-LOK line of fittings are leak-free connections for process, power and instrumentation applications. These two ferrule fittings are manufactured to the highest quality standards, and the versatility is made possible by a broad range of...

Pipe hanger.
December 1, 1999... The CADDY Finger-Close M-series of copper-plated pipe hangers allows for the installation of copper pipe for plumbing systems without pliers or nuts and bolts. Simply mount the clip, insert the pipe and snap closed. The hangers are sized to...

Teflon tubing.
December 1, 1999... This line of extruded tubing is for use in laboratory, medical, pharmaceutical and related instrumentation applications requiring chemically inert and nonflammable material. It comes in plain sizes from 0.010- to 1.250-in. I.D. with varying...

Jacks provide lift to world of entertainment.
December 1, 1999... World class musicians and circus performers alike are being raised to a new level by Nook Industries, Cleveland, OH. Nook ActionJac 5-ton machine screw jacks are being used to lift portions of a stage for the Cirque D'Soleil, a Canadian-based...

Servo motor software.
December 1, 1999... Cymex software simplifies servo system design and analysis, allowing engineers to more accurately design systems in less time and at a lower cost. The software contains a database of nearly 1,400 servomotors from a wide variety of...

Servo drives.
December 1, 1999... This line of compact servo drives offers a good ratio of cost to performance to size. They are designed for industrial, medical, and process control automation. They provide ideal solutions for incremental motion control, velocity loop, and...

Medical motor.
December 1, 1999... The size 11 Medical Motor is designed specifically for use with mechanical manipulators used on neurosurgery applications. They weigh 0.2 lbs. and feature a 1.1-in. diameter for performance where space is limited. Size 11 medical motors are...

Induction motors.
December 1, 1999... The IM series 1900 and 2000 induction motors can be supplied complete with EMD, GBO, or GB4 worm gearboxes to meet a variety of applications. The series comprises single-phase, split-phase capacitor, and three-phase AC models; continuous full...

Rugged servomotor.
December 1, 1999... The BV series of fluid power servomotors has been developed for hostile and aggressive environments, particularly under water. All external components are individually nickel plated with a watertight, stainless-steel electrical connector for...

Indexing servo systems.
December 1, 1999... This addition to the existing PV family of servo systems includes a built-in indexer and a DeviceNet interface. It connects up to 64 PV indexing servo systems to a DeviceNet master. The need for a separate indexer card in the PLC or PC is...

Dolphin guides.
December 1, 1999... In order to dampen vibration, these guides contain no rolling elements or moving internal components. All metal-to-metal contact is eliminated through the use of FrelonGOLD bearing material. The Dolphin rail is a one-piece, ceramic-coated...

Rotary Kit encoder.
December 1, 1999... Ideally suited for use with 2.0 in. servo and stepper motors, the KX21 Series modular kit encoder uses a simple set screw mounting for concurrent air gap and electronics alignment. It provides a 0.030-in. air gap, minimizing problems with shaft...

Speed reducer.
December 1, 1999... The SHF-14-2UH line of miniature zero backlash harmonic drive reducers features a large through-hole design that enables shafts and wire bundles to pass directly through the center of the gearing. Output torques of 69 in-lbs., and momentary...

Double rail system.
December 1, 1999... This linear motion system is designed for low-cost and low-profile uses. Typical applications include their use in automatic assembly machines, X-Y tables, photographic enlargers, and duplicators, plus multiple torch welding and flame cutting...

Servo amplifiers.
December 1, 1999... The Power Master line has compact design, reliable surface-mount technology and low internal power dissipation. They provide high switching frequency and are available in a broad range. Brushed servo amplifier models range up to 25, peak amps,...

Motor and driver packages.
December 1, 1999... The UMK series of 2-phase motor and driver packages produces microstep-type performance with a full-step/half-step driver. This eliminates the need for a high-speed pulse generator, since step pulse counts at very high frequencies are not...

Flexible planetary gearbox.
December 1, 1999... The IP57B series is a second generation design that offers integer ratios, low backlash, and up to a 10:1 ratio in a single stage. NEMA size 23 gearboxes are available with five stock ratios from 5 to 100:1, nine standard ratios from 4 to...

Insert and couple shaft drives.
December 1, 1999... Include-A-Shaft and Insert-A-Shaft right angle drives feature 45-degree helical gears, and sealed heavy-duty ball bearings, in 2-, 3- and 4-way models. They offer a choice between coupling shafts or inserting keyed shafting through the drive....

Clutches and brakes.
December 1, 1999... Precision Tork magnetic particle clutches and brakes are available for light to medium duty applications (2 to 240 lb-in). They range in diameter from 2.1- to 6.2 in., and are particularly suitable for light tensioning applications, soft starts...

Spiroid gearboxes.
December 1, 1999... Custom right angle gearboxes can be developed with the help of this company. Commonly specified because they offer more power in a much smaller package, the units feature SPIROID and HELICON precision gearsets, available in ratios ranging from...

BIRD-DOGGIN' STUFFS YOUR STOCKING.
December 1, 1999... Last year one of our most popular columns was the end of the year roundup of fun, educational, and useful sites. In the course of cruising thousands of sites throughout the year, we are pleased to offer you another selection of what the Big Dog...

Hardware for Industry.
December 1, 1999... The Guden website makes it even easier for engineers to find the right hardware, including Continuous, butt and specialty hinges, gas springs, dampers, lid supports, handles and latches. Drawings and tables give precise details, dimensions and...

Urethane foams.
December 1, 1999... The Super Sheet line of materials are low-density urethane foams that effectively resist water and air permeation. The foam's cells require relatively little pressure to compress, yet the materials resist permanent collapse, making the ideal...

Thermoplastic elastomers.
December 1, 1999... The Santoprene and Trefsin line of TPEs perform like rubber, but process like plastic to increase design options, reduce costs, and cut processing time. During the past few years, TPEs have become popular in cosmetics packaging due to their...

Melt-processible rubber.
December 1, 1999... Alcryn MPR products exhibit great durability and weather-ability. Because of Alcryn's resistance to oil, grease and gasoline, MPR is used for seals, gaskets, foot pedals and other parts. Alcryn MPR can be used to replace vulcanized rubber in...

Rubber sleeves and tubing.
December 1, 1999... The Grip Works line of sleeves and tubing is extruded from dense rubber materials including EPDM, CPE, and Nitrile PVC. Its durable, closed-cell finish is excellent for outdoor use. Properties include resistance to heat, cold, sunlight, ozone...

Urethane elastomers.
December 1, 1999... The Durethane line is for applications requiring abrasion resistance and a high coefficient of friction. It is frequently used for rollers, pads, and other components in paper handling mechanisms for business machines such as fax machines,...

ELCOM II Series 4400 Brushless Motors.
December 1, 1999... Series 4400 brushless motors offer long life and high performance at an affordable price. Slottless construction eliminates magnetic cogging to provide smooth, quiet operation. This approach also significantly reduces inductance to improve...

MAGNETOSTRICTIVE POSITION SENSORS.
December 1, 1999... The magnetostrictive position sensor made by Temposonics Inc., Gary, NC, induces a pulse in a specially-designed magnetostrictive waveguide by the momentary interaction of two magnetic fields. One field comes from a movable magnet that passes...