Design News articles from August 2003

Design News archives from August 2003

Why every engineer needs a weblog. (My View).
August 4, 2003... I RECENTLY ATTENDED A CONFERENCE ON weblogs (www.jupiterevents.com/blog/ spring03/index.html) and I am more convinced than ever that every design engineer needs to have one. For those of you who may not be familiar with the concept, here's...

Down with wordy instruction manuals: they stifle creativity. and they're incomprehensible too. (Flipside).
August 4, 2003... I DON'T LIKE READING INSTRUCTION manuals. I know that's bad and can lead to all kinds of mistakes--and often has--but still, I just don't like reading them. They're too wordy. They're stiff in tone. They're often confusing. And, they...

Basic supply and demand. (Mail: readers sound off).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... Your editorial on engineering drop out rates (DN 06.02.03) highlights the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium for its efforts to increase the number of engineering degrees. I have another idea on how to achieve this. Let's lobby the...

Standard tests unfair measure. (Mail: readers sound off).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... Regarding your editorial in support of standardized testing (DN4/21/03), let me point out that passing a standardized test does not indicate the student has an understanding of the topics. It shows they can study to a standardized test. A...

The burner did it. (Mail: readers sound off).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... I read with interest all of the learned comments on the telephone that caught fire (DN 6.18.03, 04.07.03). However, they all missed an important point. In order to find a short circuit, or eliminate it, the telephone company sets up a "burner"...

A sizzling conversation?? (Mail: readers sound off).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... I used to have a Trimline phone, and indeed it caught fire while I was talking on it (1970). It seems that the Trimline phones had an illuminated dial which received power from a wall mounted transformer. My phone developed an internal short...

Gas mileage--what's that? (Mail: readers sound off).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... I read your editorial on car shopping (DN 04.21.03), and I have a good story, too. We went car shopping a while ago with some specific requirements, one of which was good gas mileage. Dealerships consistently had no idea about the gas mileage...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
August 4, 2003... CORRECTIONS: The article "Tune Up at Jaguar" (DN 05.05.03) incorrectly identified the Swift wind tunnel owner. Matsushita owns the tunnel. HAVE AN OPINION? * Letters: Design News, 275 Washington St., Newton, MA 02458 * e-mail:...

Electronics rule the road: safety and efficiency are the drivers. (Slant: insight from insiders).
August 4, 2003... There is an increasing amount of electronics in cars today. Why is that? There are several reasons. First, the growing use of electrical propulsion systems means that the subsystems have to be electronic too. Second is safety. Collision...

Trust yourself, not computers: they live in a perfect world. You don't. (Rant: really opinionated people).
August 4, 2003... COMPUTERS ARE AMAZING TOOLS. IN the hands of a skilled, knowledgable engineer, they make wondrous creations possible. CAD/CAE programs have enabled the building and testing of machinery without ever cutting a chip or tightening a screw. Cool...

Drag queen. (B.M.O.C.: research from the real world).(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 4, 2003... Rose McCallen, an expert in computational fluid dynamics, is a driving force behind the DOE's goat to improve the aerodynamics of heavy trucks. PRESENT POSITION: Group Leader, Applied Math Group, Center for Applied Scientific Computing,...

Roller coaster design goes global: ASTM issues new world standard for amusement ride design. (Buzz: heard on the street).(American Society for Testing and Materials' Standard Practice for the Design of Amusement Rides and Devices--Z9591Z )(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... It has been five years and literally tens of thousands of man-hours of work. Finally, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F-24 technical committee has wrestled a new standard for the amusement park industry from the clutches...

Grounded for life: keystone to offer color-coded screw terminals. (Buzz: heard on the street).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Troy David, VP of Keystone Electronics, keeps his ear to the ground for new ideas--literally. Recently, he noticed that more engineers were asking for terminal screws colored green (presumably to denote ground). Keystone offers several styles...

Motor torque going up and up: double density in the offing? (Buzz: heard on the street).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Achieving higher torque is a never-ending goal for motor engineers. Pacific Scientific, for example, introduced a high torque step motor earlier this year. And Oriental Motor just announced a new hybrid step motor that has higher torque for a...

(1) One tough PC. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... DAP Technologies CE8460 MICROFLEX Mobile Computer. Get a better grip on this ruggedized PC package running Windows[R] CE.net (4.0). "We added 'soft touch' overmolded elastomer (TPE) bumpers on a high-impact plastic casing to provide shock...

(2) Scooter gets a brake. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... Assembled Products Browser[TM] Vehicle. Based on its electric carts popular with seniors, Assembled Products' Browser is powered by the company's 24VXti Hub Motors[TM], which are 76% efficient, compared to 63% for a separate motor and...

(3) Throw away phone. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... Hop-On Disposable Cell Phone. With 60 minutes of prepaid calling built in, users of this disposable cell phone don't have to worry about long-distance and roaming charges. But disposable products must be inexpensive to make. Thus engineers...

(4) Infrared imaging made easy. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... Infrared Solutions IR FlexCam[TM]. When it comes to using infrared cameras, operators may require weeks-long training because many of them run on less familiar platforms. To ease the hassle, Infrared Solutions engineers developed FlexCam, which...

(5) Record in real-time. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... AVerMedia DVD EZMaker[TM] USB 2.0. This palm-sized device allows users to convert home videos to CDs and DVDs during real-time playback, compared to two to three times longer with previous conversion systems. Using software encoding rather than...

(6) Primed fire protection. (New And Notable Product Design).
August 4, 2003... MIJA Inc. EN-Gauge[TM]Fire Extinguisher Monitor. About one quarter of all fire extinguishers in the field are fully or partially discharged, a fact of which building owners are often unaware. Engineers of the EN-Gauge monitoring system look to...

(1) Six axis, high-res positioner. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Aerotech FiberMax[TM] Nano Positioner. Developed for high-volume manufacturing and testing of fiber optic components, the FiberMax positioner directs four to six drive axes with resolutions of 10 nm (X-Z axes), 2 nm (Y axis), and 0.027-0.058...

(2) Diminutive dc brushed motor. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).(from Faulhaber Co.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Faulhaber Group DC Micromotor Series 0615. This may be the world's smallest brushed dc motor at 6 mm in diameter and 15 mm long. What allows such a small size are neodymium (NdFeB) rare earth magnets and a coreless rotor with the...

(3) More torque, same gearmotor volume. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).(SLG Series Gearmotor from Exlar Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Exlar SLG Series Gearmotor. The T-LAM[TM] individual-phase, segmented-lamination stator design in the SLG Series' brushless servo motor results in 35-50% more torque/volume than conventional brushless servos, according to John Walker, engineer...

(1) High speed and torque rotation. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).(from Bayside Controls Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Bayside Motion Group RD Series Direct Drive Rotary Stages. Featuring a resolution clown to 1.37 arc sec (R200D, 200-mm diameter model), brushless dc servo motors crank up the rotation of these rotary stages to 700 rpm (R100D). Key to the design...

(2) Low profile, high precision stage. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Primatics PDR Rotary Stage. Fitting a precise rotary stage into a volume 55-60 mm high, with table diameters of 110-210 mm, was a challenge for mechanical engineer Darren Froschel. He was able to do it, relying on a "good glass, high res...

(3) Precise velocity and position control. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Anorad RDR-160 Direct Drive Rotary Positioning Stage. The brushless rotary motor in the RDR- 160 rotary stage eliminates gear drives for smoother motion in a compact 80-mm-high envelope. A high-res optical encoder (18,000 lines/rev for 0.36...

Fuel cell scooter. (News: trends breakthroughs developments).(from Palcan Fuel Cells Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Canada-based Palcan Fuel Cells (www.palcan.com) has unveiled a prototype scooter that is powered by the company's metal hydride hydrogen storage technology and 2 kW fuel cell stack system. Designed as a low-end mass transport vehicle and aimed...

What's next? (News: trends breakthroughs developments).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Technology, entertainment, and design leaders have affirmed that technology's next big wave would be its intersection with medicine. At the recent Tedmed conference (www.tedmed.com), America Online Founder Stephen M. Case told the New York...

Online wizard. (News: trends breakthroughs developments).
August 4, 2003... Samtec (www.samtec.com) has recently unveiled Connector Wizard, its new online signal integrity resource for immediate access to expert technical support with design, search, communication, and reference tools for the development of high-speed...

Quick shooter: Web-based mold design and high-speed CNC slash lead times. (Plastics).
August 4, 2003... Injection molding just got a whole lot faster. No, not the part of the process that takes place on the molding machine. Those aspects of injection molding that really take time--tooling design, mold making, and startup--just got quicker. The...

A new way to see. (Electronics).(terahertz radiation (T-rays) used to examine space shuttles)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (www.rpi.edu) have successfully located defects on a space shuttle foam sample by using terahertz radiation (T-rays). Lying within the far-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, T-rays...

Magic mirror. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... Philips (www.philips.com) has unveiled a wall-mounted mirror that can convert into a television or computer monitor. The Mirror TV, which will be marketed to the hotel industry by the end of the year, is actually a 17, 23, or 30-inch liquid...

LED lamps to secure water delivery. (Electronics).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... The Castaic Lake Pressure Control Structure, which maintains water delivery along the California Aqueduct, has purchased LED lamps from LEDtronics (www.ledtronics. com) to replace 500 incandescent lamps in its control panels. At any given time...

Simple, low-cost vision: module leverages FireWire technology. (Imaging).
August 4, 2003... AUSTIN, TX -- National Instruments (NI, www.ni.com) is extending its reach, into machine vision, coming out with a low-cost system to bring vision to applications where it's been too expensive or difficult to implement. Though vision has...

Robot eliminates external controller: compact power electronics, FireWire help reduce size. (Integration).
August 4, 2003... NEWTON, MA -- The continued push to improve manufacturing productivity and slash expenses is prompting robot makers to make major changes, shrinking control modules in order to save space on the factory floor. Increasing capabilities of...

Any papers out there? (Fluid Power).
August 4, 2003... NFPA has put out a call for papers for the 2003 Industry/Educator Summit, October 24-25, 2003. The theme: Transforming Motion Control through Fluid Power. Topics include modeling and design, sensing and monitoring, and reliability and fault...

Standards in a snap. (Fluid Power).
August 4, 2003... The Hydraulics Institute has just introduced a new subscription-based service for engineers, which enables them to receive automatically the most recent ANSI-HI pump standards--hot off the press. Four new standards are expected to be released...

New standards out. (Fluid Power).
August 4, 2003... Two new standards have been added to the 2002 Release ANSI/HI Pump Standards: The American National Standards for Submersible Pump Tests (ANSI/HI 11.6-2001) and the American National Standards for Allowable Nozzle Loads on Centrifugal and...

Data.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... 40,000 Number of mechanical heart valves implanted each year Source: Cornell University 33 Percent of engineers who would buy new hardware every three years Source: Design News CAD survey, 2002

Bluetooth-based products debut: wireless may soon be making in roads in fluid power apps. (Wireless Technology).
August 4, 2003... Fluid power giant Parker Hannifin Corp. (www.parker.com) recently announced its new Bluetooth Wireless Moduflex valve island and three other wireless devices, including a pressure controller, pressure regulator, and rotary actuator. he...

Elastomer softy. (Materials + Joining).
August 4, 2003... The softest thermoplastic elastomers--those measured on the Shore 00 scale--haven't traditionally been easy to turn into finished products. Now GLS Corporation (www.glscorp.com) has come up with the Versaflex CL2003, which features hardness of...

Acetal stretches. (Materials + Joining).
August 4, 2003... Acetal isn't just for injection molding anymore. At the recent National Plastics Exposition in Chicago, DuPont Engineering Polymers (http://plastics.dupont.com) introduced Delrin[R] acetal sheet suitable for thermoforming. Sold under the Delrin...

Bye, bye paint line. (Materials + Joining).
August 4, 2003... Putting painted Class A surfaces on a molded part requires a costly paint line, right? Well, maybe not for long. A developmental molding process developed by Ube Machinery Inc. (www.ubemachinery.com) applies liquid paint to injection parts...

Powder progress: manufacturing advances boost fatigue life and quality of powder metal gears. (Metal).
August 4, 2003... Powder metal technology; whose near-net-shape capabilities can cut scrap and machining steps, holds out the promise o big cost savings for mass-produced gears. But can they match cut-gear performance in the most demanding automotive...

And the winner is ... (MaterialS + Joining).
August 4, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- The winning parts in the MPIF 2003 International Powder Metallurgy Design Competition operate into automotive, power-tool, and other tough applications. Produced through conventional press and sintering, warm compaction, metal...

F1 in schools. (Motion Control + Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Jaguar North America (www. jaguar, corn) has again encouraged students to pursue an engineering career by sponsoring the Jaguar F1 Team in Schools event during the 25th national conference of the Technology Student Association (TSA) in Orlando,...

Dreams come true. (Motion Control + Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Ever wanted to help design a Boeing airplane? By checking "Yes" on the World Design Team form on the company's website (www.boeing.com), you'll become part of the group of flyers and aviation enthusiasts, and help create passenger-friendly...

Knowing motors. (Motion Control + Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Motorsoft (www.motorsoftmotors. corn) has unveiled a dynamometer kit for teaching students and engineers the operating characteristics of various precision electric motors and electronic drives. The basic kit comes with three interchangeable...

Italians tout technology: SUBFOR exhibition emphasizes motion, electronics, and materials. (Subcontracting).
August 4, 2003... STUTTGART, GERMANY -- This year's SUBFOR exhibition (May 21-22) continued the 12-year tradition of showcasing Italian subcontractors wares and skills to their largest export market--Germany. These small-to-medium sized manufacturers specialize...

Motion control's Gen4 takes shape: software quality to set the pace. (Control Systems).
August 4, 2003... MARKTHEIDENFELD GERMANY -- A Who's Who of the top European packaging machine builders gathered at automation supplier ELAU AG this past March to hear motion control visionaries describe what to expect in control systems for the next...

Smart product management. (Software + Hardware).
August 4, 2003... There is a lot of detail involved in the design of gas- and chemical-delivery process modules in manufacturing, especially for the semiconductor industry. Celerity Inc. decided to ask for help from a software company primarily known for its...

They upped the ante. (Software + Hardware).
August 4, 2003... Alibre has raised the stakes in its challenge to engineers to find designs they can't create in Alibre Design 6.0--from $500 to $1,000. The challenge first went out in March as part of the company's marketing program. Alibre wanted to get...

Engineers stick with what they know: most use only a small percentage of the features in their software. (Feature Presentations).
August 4, 2003... "I keep discovering new things all the time," says Peter Wood as he continues to-plumb the-depths of his SolidWorks program. He'd need years to learn all of the features, confesses the owner of Charlotte, NC-based ZZorco Consulting...

Software vendors want to certify engineers: they say engineers can use certification to boost job prospects. (Paper Chase).
August 4, 2003... A bargaining chip and bragging rights. Those are just two of the personal benefits engineer Eugene Matthews says he has received as a result of being among the first to pass PTC's Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire certification exam. He and sixty other...

Tubular axles ... No corrosion fastener ... Solar power ... (Ask: the Search Engineer).(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... Dear Search Engineer: I work for an auto company. I have an idea about manufacturing the front axle of a vehicle by tubular construction since forging wastes the metal. The dead axle has to carry eight tons of load. Are there any vehicles using...

No flight of fancy: flight testing takes more than a plane and a pilot--as this inside look at Lockheed Martin's flight-test instrumentation group shows. (Cover Story).
August 4, 2003... FORT WORTH, TX -- During a flight at 35,000 ft, the pilot of an F-16 puts his aircraft into a high angle of attack, greatly reducing the flow of air over the wings--a stall. Without that critical airflow, the pilot loses control of the plane...

Engineers fight SARS: a simple design change to a mechanical ventilator keeps infectious gases contained.
August 4, 2003... ZURICH -- SINCE THE FIRST REPORTED CASES OF SARS, EPIDEMIOLOGISTS AND MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS have been grabbing most of the headlines. But early on in the outbreak, a group of design engineers at Hamilton Medical (www.hamilton-medical.com), a...

Sensors: know thyself: internal data simplifies sensor setup and use. (Measurements in the design flow: a special editorial series sponsored by National Instruments).
August 4, 2003... Off-the-shelf sensors come with a lot of information that helps users make accurate measurements. That information, usually found in a data sheet, may include linearity, temperature drift, output ranges, calibration, and other characteristics....

Tough handle takes on off-highway conditions: seals, ergonomics, and strength keep control grip ticking. (Electronics).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Aimed at construction and other demanding off-road applications, the ITT Industries, Cannon MFGS3 multifunction control grip incorporates up to five momentary switches and twin optional rockers. A tough Nylon-Based housing encloses connecting...

Planetary gearhead : all-plastic version available. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... A wide range of ratios are available in a series of 10-mm planetary gearheads. Features include concentric input and output, ball or sleeve bearings, and brush or brushless motor mounting. The maximum continuous torque is 21.3 oz-inches....

Manufacturing cell: CNC station available. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... The Module-Mation[TM] 3-axis manufacturing cell series includes reconfigurable spindle, column position, and way style. Each cell is designed for stiffness in machining aluminum, cast-iron, or steel. The MM400 series accepts 40 or 50 MT, or...

Velocity controller: helps minimize motor size. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... A sensorless velocity controller reportedly boosts the efficiency of open-loop, ironless-core, brushless motor applications. According to reports, the TG2601 vControl minimizes high-current ripple by operating at high frequency. This unit...

Stepper motors: high resolution capability. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... The INS20-PF stepper motor series is available for OEM applications for automated equipment. The motors supply up to 200,000 steps per revolution and more than 187 oz-inches of holding torque. Available in NEMA sizes 17 and 23. Units perform in...

Hub motors: 110 or 220 inch-lbs torque. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... XTi Hub Motors[TM] use an integrated, changeable rubber tire and a dc, geared brush motor to drive vehicles like three-wheel electric carts. One 24V and two 12V models are available. The 12V models are available with and without a friction...

Unground bearings: burnished races offer smooth operation. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Helm Unibal[R] ball bearings handle high loads and reportedly higher load capacity than caged or split-ring bearings. Manufacturing methods produce races uninterrupted by splits or slots. Bearings are not ground but can be used in place of...

CNC controllers: UMAC, QMAC available. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... The Advantage 810 CNC application family supports high-speed machining, contouring, and 5-axis operations. The operator control panel has five user-definable function keys; embedded, pre-loaded software; and an autopilot, quick setup tool. A...

Machining center: optional 4th and 5th axes. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... RoboDrill B Space Saver machining center reportedly offers capabilities of large centers in a compact footprint. RoboDrill performs rigid tapping to 6,000 rpm, peck tapping for deep holes, and high-speed reverse tapping. Its working table has a...

Stepping motors: reduce design, assembly time. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... High-torque stepping motors with on-board electronics are available with an optional ACME screw linear actuator, in NEMA 14, 17, 23, and 34. Actuator versions include non-captive shaft, captive shaft, and external linear. The maximum thrust is...

Closed-loop controller: handles to 50 gpm. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Operators achieve instant remote control using a self-contained, closed-loop controller that offers plug 'n play connection. The controller is available with single or dual controls and is reportedly ideal for applications that require...

Stainless gas spring: offers for corrosion resistance. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Reportedly offering protection against adverse, corrosive environments, GSSX stainless steel-shafted gas spring also offers longer service life, the company reports. Contaminants are less likely to work their way inside the gas spring tube...

Cast iron wheels: withstands higher temperatures. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... V-groove, cast-iron wheels reportedly have very low tractive resistance and high-temperature tolerance. Wheels feature a ball journal bearing for strength. Available in diameters of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 inches, cast wheels have load capacities of...

Linear drive: rolling-ring bearing assembly. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... Kinemax linear drives offer variable pitches, making it possible to spool materials of varying diameters on one winding assembly. Linear pitch is set using a control dial on the drive face. The pitch remains constant regardless of motor speed...

Conveyor clutch: no rotary air union. (Motion Control/Power Transmission).
August 4, 2003... The Air Champ[R] straight-bore conveyor clutch can be modified for a variety of sprockets, timing belts, or pulleys. The LSCC-32 is ideal for soft starts in accumulating, chain-driven, live-roller, or in-line conveyor applications, the company...

Solid state relays: touch-safe units. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... Three-phase, fully integrated solid state relays, the SSR3PH Series is supplied with heat sink and DIN-rail mounting plate. Designed to switch power to asynchronous motors and resistive loads, they have LED input and dual SCRs. Features include...

AC inverter: better speed regulation. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... The MV-4X washdown duty ac inverter series is IP66 and NEMA 4X/12 rated. The units resist chemicals, dust, and forced water, and operate using a front-panel, quick-start keypad. Reportedly compact, easy to connect, and available with a variety...

Power inverter: one transformer for one lamp. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... The MS Series inverter provides integrated power for large LCD modules. Including fully encapsulated transformers, the MS powers cold cathode fluorescent lamps in LCDs 20 inches and larger. Features include on-board pulse width modulation...

Hot swap controller: programmable supply voltage rate. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... Hot swap controllers allow boards to be safely inserted into a live backplane. The LT4254 controller handles boards to 36V and features an open circuit detect output that indicates low- or no-load presence. The unit controls the supply voltage...

Chip scale package: low-power codec device. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... The Ultra CSP[R] chip scale package offers a complete 16-bit codec for surface mounting on a tiny portion of board, the company says. Features standard mounting procedures for increased production over dies and flip chips. The XE 3000 series...

Light rods: assorted lengths and diameters. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... Rod lights for illumination, backlighting, and accent lighting for control panels and test equipment are available up to 36 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. More durable than neon and backlit LCDs, rod lights operate on lower current and use...

High-speed I/O boards: plugs into any CPU. (Electronics).
August 4, 2003... PC/104 computer systems get a boost in speed and flexibility with 3 MiniModule[R] expansion boards for I/O capabilities, the company reports. Modules include USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 FireWire interfaces, and PC card support. OEMs can include...

Structural adhesives: improve finished appearance. (Fastening/Joining/Assembly).
August 4, 2003... A line of structural adhesives replaces rivets, screws, and welds, and improves the finished appearance of many products. The line includes one- and two-part epoxies, structural acrylics, and methyl methacrylates. Available in many viscosities,...

Microvia material: meets most performance requirements. (Fastening/Joining/Assembly).
August 4, 2003... MICROLAM[R] 630 dielectric low-loss microvia material is made from BT resin in a continuous toughening matrix. Designed for high-frequency modules and PCBs, the material has a low dielectric constant and improved ratios. Laser drilling is...

Epoxy preforms: eliminate pot-life concerns. (Fastening/Joining/Assembly).
August 4, 2003... Uni-form[TM] low-cure epoxy seals components that cannot withstand high temperatures. DC-202LT cures in five minutes at 175C and in two hours at 100C. This epoxy maintains low flow during cure. Its high viscosity prevents the sealant from...

Assembly tape: water soak resistance. (Fastening/Joining/Assembly).
August 4, 2003... Unifilm[R] U650A acrylic adhesive transfer film improves aging on foams, plastics, metals, and fabrics in automotive assembly. A high-tech acrylic U650A laminates to a variety of substrates including gasket materials, nameplates, interior trim,...