Already compatible with an extensive internal threaded port sealing range of 1/8” to 1/2” NPT, BSPP, BSPT as well as SAE O-Ring and ISO O-Ring Metric sizes, FasTest added several new sizing options that include 3/4″ NPT, BSPP, BSPT and -12 (1 1/16-12) SAE O-Ring to meet the growing needs of the manufacturing industry.

FasMate FN Series Connectors

The FN Series connectors are comprised of a modular design that enables rapid, effortless change outs between squeeze lever, pneumatic thumb and pneumatic pilot actuation methods to meet individual application requirements. The connectors’ inherent flexibility, durable construction and easy field maintenance will maximize the service life of the connector investment and ensure a safe, accurate and reliable performance for years.

The split collet design feature quickly and securely locks into place for instantaneous connections that will not disconnect under pressure. These new connector sizes are constructed of durable stainless steel and anodized aluminum and can withstand pressures up to 3500 psi without the burden of expensive, time-consuming thread sealant and wrench tightening.

FasTest
www.fastestinc.com

Design World

An absolute type encoder, the LC 200 offers its advantages for measuring lengths of up to 28 meters, such as ensuring that the absolute position value is available immediately upon switch on.  And due to the design and use of a smaller scanning unit with increased rigidity in measuring direction, the LC 200 is especially useful in high speed machining applications using linear motors.

It is also important to note that the LC 200 is assembled on a machine from individual components. The housing sections feature an improved mounting and sealing technology.  An integrated seal on the face and a tongue and groove system make it possible to slide the housing sections together with ease.  Large mounting tolerances facilitate easy assembly of the entire system.

System accuracy for the LC 200 is ±5 µm.  It is available with both HEIDENHAIN’s EnDat and Fanuc’s interfaces.

HEIDENHAIN
www.heidenhain.us

Linear Motion Tips

Design World

DTools is the central location for customers to access its 2D and 3D CAD Libraries and product configurator applications. DTools gives customers the power to:

• Select the right conveyor
• Build descriptions and part numbers
• Configure a complete conveyor including stands and drive
• Create and download 2D and 3D CAD files
• Request a quote

With DTools optimized for tablets, it’s now easier than ever to configure your own conveyor system on the go.

Dorner
www.dornerconveyors.com

Design World

“Steel Safe” is the common term for changes where material (in many cases steel) can be removed from the mold to tweak a design. Since Protomold does not necessarily use steel for our molds, we use the term “metal safe.” If you believe changes to your design may require the mold to be tweaked, you’ll want to try to make your design metal-safe. Since metal can be removed from the mold but not added, voids in your first version that may be changed should start out larger, and masses like ribs, walls and gussets should start out smaller, than they might be in a modified version. The basic rule is that we can usually add plastic in a mold mod, but we can’t ever take away plastic in a mold mod. Remember, not all changes can be accomplished by modifying an existing mold.

Minimum Cutting Depth:  When milling molds to change part geometry, there are minimum increments by which we can remove metal. For example, we can almost certainly remove .010” of metal from an existing mold, but we may have a hard time removing less than that because of minimum cutting depths needed for milling.

Parting Line Changes: Expanding a part at the parting line will almost always require a new mold, as this can affect mold features such as gating and venting. Gates are channels, often located in the parting line, where plastic enters the part cavity during injection. Vents are tiny channels cut into the parting line to release air trapped in the mold during plastic injection. Vents are located around the perimeter of the part and usually cannot be moved or altered once in place. If the parting line is non-planar, the parting line shutoff design may also preclude an outline expansion.

Undercuts: Our process is designed for speed and cost savings and does not permit extensive modification such as the addition of side-action cams to existing molds. However, it is often possible to replace an entire side action if it can be done without changing the rest of the parting line.

Resin Selection: Plastic resin shrinks as it cools, and molds are made oversize so the part will shrink to the desired final size. Different types of resin shrink different amounts. If you are planning to produce prototypes in multiple resins, don’t plan to modify a mold to accommodate different shrink rates. It is difficult, if not impossible, to adjust a mold to accommodate all the dimensional changes that occur when shrink rates change. An easier way to test different resins in one mold is to design for the resin with the highest shrink rate and machine down the parts whose resins shrink less. Then, once you have made your final resin choice, we can cut a mold to match that resin’s shrink rate.

Predict and Proclaim: Finally, we cannot anticipate the need for future mold modification if you don’t tell us. As long as your design can be machined into a mold, i.e., there are no “required changes” raised by ProtoQuote, we’ll build the mold according to your design. You need to plan for modification; we’ll be happy to help if you have questions. The good news is that, whether a change requires a new mold or modification of the old one, depending on the nature of the change we may only have to modify or remake one half of the mold, saving both time and money. That is why it is important to let us in on your design and make sure we are aware of the areas of possible change. Only then can we help you make special accommodations for producing a part that might need to be changed later.

Getting a Mold Mod Quoted: Once you have a mold and you’re thinking of a change, you can see whether your new design can be produced by modifying the existing mold.

The fastest and most reliable way to find out is to upload a revised model. In My Account, you can navigate to “Manage Quotes,” find the quote for the original mold, and click the “Upload a Revised Model” hyperlink. Or, you can find the original ProtoQuote email, open the ProtoQuote, and click the “Upload a Revised Model” link in Section 3. A slower and less reliable way is to just upload a new model and add a note to ask us to look for the corresponding mold. However you get us the model, if the modification is within our ability, we will provide a modification quote; otherwise we will provide a quote for a new mold.

Protomold
www.protomold.com

Make Parts Fast

Design World

“Exhibitors said this was the best event they’ve ever attended, expressing an incredible level of enthusiasm about new and existing applications for 3D printing and additive manufacturing,” said SME Business Development Manager Gary Mikola. “It generated significant media coverage and included attendees from nearly 30 countries and the U.S.”

The event was held June 10 – 13, 2013, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Penn. It included more than 100 exhibitors across a variety of industries and a technical conference that attracted more than 900 attendees – another record for RAPID, the country’s industry-leading forum on additive manufacturing.

Monday’s highlights included workshops on the fundamentals of additive manufacturing, 3D modeling and 3D scanning, RTV mold-making and polyurethane casting, and metal parts used in additive technologies. The keynote speaker was Dr. Ivan Poupyrev, director of the Interaction Group, Disney Research, Pittsburgh, who told attendees that combining the physical and virtual worlds is the future of entertainment. It was followed by “20 for 20,” a presentation by SME’s Rapid Technologies & Additive Manufacturing (RTAM) Community, which explored innovations in additive manufacturing that have changed the industry over the last 20 years. An evening reception was held at the Andy Warhol Museum, where attendees experienced “Factory 2.0,” a 2D/3D interactive stereolithography installation curated by Murray Moss.

Nearly 900 attendees were present for Tuesday’s keynote presentations by Brett Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, U.S. Department of Defense; Mike Molnar, chief manufacturing officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); and Ed Morris, director, National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII). The keynotes were followed by a presentation by Rob Gorham, deputy director of technology for NAMII, who explained the institute’s plans to achieve its mission to transition additive manufacturing the mainstream of American manufacturing.

Wednesday’s keynote, “The State of the Industry,” was presented by a respected authority on additive technologies, Terry Wohlers of Wohlers Associates. Among other points, he explained how China is making strategic investments to be the world leader in additive manufacturing in three years. Wednesday and Thursday included tours of regional manufacturing to give attendees an opportunity to see how manufacturers are using additive technologies in their operations.

RAPID’s educational component included SME’s Bright Minds Mentor Program, developed by members of SME’s RTAM Community. Each year, students from local participating schools attend RAPID toward the goal of creating future rapid technology professionals and buyers.

The RAPID Conference has been the industry-leading forum for more than 20 years. The 2014 RAPID Conference and Exposition will be held June 9-12 at Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich. For information, call 313.425.3000.

RAPID

SME
www.sme.org/rapid

Make Parts Fast

Design World

Assemblies are leak free due to the internal ferrules and an O-ring face seal design.  Contact Beswick now for the new compression fitting for use with 4mm tubing and ¼-28 threads.   M3, M4, 10-32, M5, ¼-20, and 5/16-24 thread sizes and 1/16”, 1/8”, ¼” OD tubing options are also available.

Beswick
www.beswick.com

Pneumatic Tips

Design World

How we have done work in the past versus how we will do work in the future appear to be wildly different.  In the past just getting daily rations of water would occupy a significant part of each day.  Industrialized societies do not experience this.  We have water delivered on tap anywhere people are.  In the remote areas, we have well water delivered by electric pumps.  In the past, water pumping for agriculture was done by wind mills.  So we take the availability of water for granted.

The key to water infrastructure is electricity.  Of course, because the primary means of accomplishing work is the electric motor.  If not for the basic discovery of electromagnetism by Michael Faraday and the many man-years of effort in the development of rotating machinery by Gramme, Siemens, Edison and Tesla, we would probably not have water on tap today.

That’s not all.  Remote pumping of water for agriculture has allowed farming to expand to any point where the electric grid can reach.  Nowadays, that means pretty much everywhere.  So farming and raising livestock can be located anywhere the land is suitable, and presumably where there is access for transportation of goods to be sold.  And millions, if not billions, of people are fed and have water to drink.

Loss of electricity due to natural disasters means loss of water.  That’s why the electric power infrastructure in the US is so important.  It is almost impossible to calculate the amount of  work performed by electric motors.  According to some sources 60% of all electricity generated in the United States for industrial use is consumed by electric motors.

In the framework of long term social trends, if we have entered the “age of the semiconductor” how will the migration of technology affect how we do work in the coming generations?  The myriad of changes is hard to comprehend.  Electric motor technology is being “invaded” by dedicated microcontrollers with incredible performance that will make electric motors more efficient.

Efficiency by itself is not the only benefit.  The evolution of the Smart Motor from companies like “Animatics” will have an increasing impact on the way machinery is designed and built and reducing cost as is the nature of semiconductor based technology.  Smart robots like those from Universal Robots with high speed current sensing algorithms permit the robot to work safely in proximity to people without complex guarding systems that take up huge amounts of plant floor space and make robots cumbersome to use in the workplace.  This new robot reduces cost significantly at the same time.

These trends are in their early stages.  The opportunity to create new paradigms for machines that do work appear to be limitless.  Let’s get out there and invent the future.

Mechatronic Tips

Design World

“We are excited to see Amazon embracing 3D printing and devoting an online store to the technology,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “Being a part of Amazon takes 3D printing and the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer to a whole new level, and reaches a much broader consumer market. We’re pretty excited about this opportunity.”

The MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer is one of the more successful, affordable and accessible desktop 3D printers on the market. It is MakerBot’s fourth generation 3D printer and an easy and fast tool for making professional-quality models and prototypes. The MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer features a 100-micron layer resolution, and offers a 410 cubic inch build volume (11.2” L x 6.0” W x 6.1” H).

In addition to the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, MakerBot offers a full MakerBot 3D Printing Ecosystem that makes designing and printing in 3D even easier. The MakerBot 3D Ecosystem includes MakerBot’s 3D printers, MakerWare software, MakerCare service, Thingiverse.com with more than 100,000 available digital designs, MakerBot Filament, the MakerBot Store, a 3D Photo Booth, and strategic partnerships with Autodesk, Adafruit, Nokia, OUYA, Amazon, and others. Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, even wrote the book on 3D printing with Getting Started with MakerBot (O’Reilly, $15.99).

 MakerBot
www.MakerBot.com

Make Parts Fast

Design World

There’s a brave new world out there. The connected factory. Every machine talking to every other. Beautiful people in gleaming white coats walking spotless floors with iPads in hand, monitoring every parameter. The whole thing working in harmony to drive productivity and profitability across your organization.

And if you’ve got a pile of money and a green field site, there are plenty of vendors who can offer you just that vision. Problem is the majority of manufacturers have a factory built over decades, equipped with machines that stubbornly refuse to join the party. They talk their own protocols, and are happier to simply be left alone.

In this webinar, Automation World’s Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief David Greenfield will speak with Mike Granby, president of Red Lion Controls, about how to bridge the gap between this shiny new vision of connected manufacturing and stark reality by using industrial products that thrive in environments where automation products from multiple vendors exist side by side. This interview will focus on educating you about how to seamlessly connect, monitor and control your assets in an affordable way without starting from scratch.

Register for this free webinar here. 

Sponsored by:

Design World

Michael Caliebe was named general manager of Brennan’s Ohio distribution center, located in Solon, Ohio. Caliebe joined Brennan in 2000 as a regional sales manager and in 2007 was promoted to operations manager at the Ohio distribution center prior to becoming general manager. He has more than 20 years of experience in the hydraulic, pneumatic and construction equipment industries.

John Perone (left), general manager of Brennan’s California distribution center.
Michael Caliebe (right), general manager of Brennan’s Ohio distribution center.

Nick Longo was named general manager of Brennan’s Washington distribution center, located in Sumner, Wash. Longo joined Brennan as an OEM manager 16 years ago and prior to his promotion to general manager, he was the operations manager for the Washington distribution center.

John Perone was named general manager of Brennan’s California distribution center, located in Lake Forest, Calif. Perone joined Brennan in 2011 as operations manager for the California distribution center and has more than 25 years of sales, marketing and distribution experience.

Brennan Industries
www.brennaninc.com

Mobile Hydraulic Tips

Design World