A team from Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, has been awarded the 2006 NASA Government Invention of the Year for the MacroFiber Composite Actuator and Sensor (MFC), an actuator and sensor system that is more durable than a piezoelectric system, and provides increased unidirectional control. In addition to being used in a number of NASA space structures and aeronautics programs, the technology can be used in military, automotive, medical, and consumer product applications.

Traditional actuation systems used in aerospace applications are hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical devices. The MFC is an embodiment of a new type of piezoelectric device. The system?s piezocomposite technology allows integration and distribution of piezoelectric elements on a scale larger than what was possible previously. The MFC was designed to be integrated into a system as an add-on component, or integrated during manufacturing.

Commercial applications include energy harvesting for telemetry devices, health monitoring of composite and civil engineering structures, low-frequency wound-healing for medical applications, control and feedback of robotic welding equipment, and active feedback of high-performance athletic equipment.

Find out more in the June issue of NTB, or click here.

BI Technologies Electronic Components Division (Fullerton, CA) introduced the EN line of rotary mechanical encoders. The two-bit gray code incremental encoders are housed in 11, 12, and 16 mm packages, and feature detents and push-on switch options. For more information, visit: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20070321A6
Danaher Motion (Wood Dale, IL) introduced version 3.04 for the Motion Programming Interface (“MPI”), an object-oriented C library for motion engineers. Features include software field connectivity into all system components for upgrade, debugging, and low latency command-to-motion execution. For more information, click here.

Emerson Industrial Automation (St. Louis, MO) released the Sealmaster(R) reduced maintenance bearings with lubricant circulation. The bearings have a surface that is tapered in a radial direction toward the bearing race so that lubricant is redirected back to the raceway. For more information, click here.

Haydon Switch & Instrument, Inc. (Waterbury, CT) released their size 11 hybrid linear actuators with encoder feedback. The optical incremental encoder design is available with two channel quadrature TTL squarewave outputs. The encoder is offered in resolutions ranging from 200 to 1,024 cycles per revolution or 800 to 4,096 pulses per revolution. For more information, click here.