Pittman unveiled the ELCOM(reg) II series 4400 slotless, brushless dc motors that combine brushless longevity and slotless performance with low-cost brush manufacturability ...Oriental Motor introduced its "World Standard Series" ac motors that are compatible with the voltages of all major regions and conform to world standards such as UL, CSA, CE, TUV, and EN/IEC ...Another motor on display was Thomson Airpax Mechatronics's new 15-mm permanent-magnet stepper motor ...On the controls side, Boston Gear added three new units to its ac motor controller family ranging from 1/4 through 30 hp ...And IMS's new 1.5-axis modular motion controller provides designers with distributed control and flexibility to expand as the system evolves ...igus's DryLin(reg) T linear guide replaces conventional rolling elements with friction elements that operate lubrication free in moist environments ...Other noteworthy bearing products introduced at the show include Thomson Industries' JIS (Japanese industrial standard) Metric Super Smart Ball Bushing linear bearings and pillow blocks ...Also at the show, Schenck Trebel introduced the VIBRO-IC "intelligent" machine monitoring system, which can learn a machine's normal operation behavior, anticipate when an abnormality is about to occur, diagnose the potential problem, and initiate corrective action ...And on the fluid-power side, Ingersoll-Rand unveiled new two-stage, engine-driven reciprocating compressors. Both use 9- and 11-hp Kawasaki engines for quieter, smoother, and more-fuel-efficient operation.
Sharon Glotzer and David Pine are hoping to create the first liquid hard drive with liquid nanoparticles that can store 1TB per teaspoon. They aren't the first to find potential data stores, as Harvard researchers have stored 700 TB inside a gram of DNA.
If you see a hitchhiker along the road in Canada this summer, it may not be human. That’s because a robot is thumbing its way across our neighbor to the north as part of a collaborative research project by several Canadian universities.
SpaceX has 3D printed and successfully hot-fired a SuperDraco engine chamber made of Inconel, a high-performance superalloy, using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). The company's first 3D-printed rocket engine part, a main oxidizer valve body for the Falcon 9 rocket, launched in January and is now qualified on all Falcon 9 flights.
Stanford University researchers have found a way to realize what’s been called the “Holy Grail” of battery-design research -- designing a pure lithium anode for lithium-based batteries. The design has great potential to provide unprecedented efficiency and performance in lithium-based batteries that could substantially drive down the cost of electric vehicles and solve the charging problems associated with smartphones.
UK researchers have come up with a method for machining aerospace-grade, carbon fiber-reinforced composites, along with high-strength aerospace alloys, using an ultrasonically assisted machining device. It also works on high-strength aerospace alloys.
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