October 2016

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Podcasts
Edward Chow, AUDREY Program Manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

Edward Chow leads the development of AUDREY, the Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and sYnthesis. The artificial-intelligence system captures a variety of sensor data, including gases, temperature, and GPS signals. By sending alerts through...

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Network-connected devices provide many opportunities to improve and enrich people’s lives, but the “Internet of Things” has a range of definitions. A consumer’s experience with the “IoT” may be...

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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

NASA engineer Allen Parker and a team at Armstrong Flight Research Center have developed a fiber-optic-based sensing technology that accurately pinpoints and measures liquid...

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Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

A NASA-developed fiber optic sensor provides the kind of detailed feedback that could guide the direction of flexible wings and other next-generation aerospace parts. The multi-core fiber (MCF)...

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Products: Software

Mastercam 2017 machining software from CNC Software, Tolland, CT, features a new ribbon interface that groups similar functions and displays them in order, from simple to more complex. Dynamic Motion technology...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Small-Body Testbed

This technology allows one to test small-body surface mobility and sampling systems in the laboratory. It is capable of simulating a microgravity environment with relevant terrain. The magnitude of the gravity, the terrain properties, and the surface system being tested are all easily modified to allow for a broad range of...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed a neutral mounting scheme that eliminates the acceleration sensitivity of whispering...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Method of Forming Textured Silicon Substrate by Maskless Cryogenic Etching

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed an advanced energy-storage device to accommodate portable devices, minimize emissions from automobiles, and enable more challenging space missions. The use of silicon for the anode of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries is...

Briefs: Information Technology
Python Interface to T-Matrix Scattering Computations (PyTMatrix)

PyTMatrix is a Python interface to a T-matrix numerical scattering computation code originally developed at NASA GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies). It integrates into the NumPy/SciPy scientific framework. The software provides streamlined access to numerical T-matrix...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a novel method to calculate the relative position and orientation between two rigid objects using a simplified...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Directed Design of Experiments for Validating Probability of Detection Capability of a Testing System

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed new software that enables users of critical inspection systems to validate the capability of the inspection system. Traditionally, inspection systems are validated using various methodologies to...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a novel method for long-range atmospheric pressure sensing. Based on known properties involving oxygen density, the technology is able to...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement

A key goal of NASA’s aeronautics research is to help the aircraft industry transition to low-carbon propulsion. Many potential power architectures for electric...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Saturn Net Flux Radiometer (SNFR)

A Saturn Net Flux Radiometer (SNFR) is being developed as part of a payload for a future NASA-led Saturn Probe Mission. The current design has two spectral channels i.e., a solar channel (0.4-to-5 μm) and a thermal channel (4-to-50 μm). The SNFR is capable of viewing five distinct viewing angles during the...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center have been interested in using the Dynamic Inertia Measurement (DIM) method on full-scale aerospace test...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Modules for Inspection, Qualification, and Verification of Pressure Vessels

After decades of composite over-wrapped pressure vessel (COPV) development, manufacturing variance is still high, and has necessitated higher safety factors and additional mass to be flown on spacecraft, reducing overall performance. When liners are used in COPVs, they...

Briefs: Materials

Future-generation materials for use on space transportation vehicles require substantial improvements in material properties leading to increased...

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Briefs: Materials
Multi-Phase Ceramic System

Bearing surfaces are typically either metal-on-metal (MOM), ceramic-on-ceramic (COC), or metal-on-polyethylene (MOP). MOM and MOP couplings have the drawback that metallic or polyethylene particles can sometimes separate from the couplings, which can cause significant problems, particularly in a hip or joint...

Briefs: Materials
Minimally Machined HoneySiC Panels and T300 HoneySiC

The primary purpose of this work is to develop and demonstrate technologies to manufacture ultra-low-cost precision optical systems for very large x-ray, UV/optical, or infrared telescopes.

Briefs: Materials

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed composite elastic skins for covering shape-changing (morphable) structures. These skins are intended especially for use on advanced aircraft that change shapes in...

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Briefs: Materials
Aeroplastic Composites

Aeroplastic refers to a family of polymeric composites with properties that provide a significant reduction in heat transfer. These composites reduce the thermal conductivity of the base polymer resin between 20%-50% without changing its mechanical properties or modifying the original techniques for processing those...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An Apparatus and Method for Communication Over Power Lines

NASA’s Glenn Research Center is offering a sensor and actuator networking innovation applicable to smart vehicle or component control. This innovation requires no additional connectivity beyond the wiring providing power. This results in lower system weight, increased ease and...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A High-Efficiency Power Module

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a microwave power module to power radar, communications, and/or navigation interchangeably. This high-efficiency, all-solid-state microwave power module (MPM) is based on a multi-stage distributed-amplifier design, which is capable of very wideband...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a revolutionary new generation of silicon...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Method and Apparatus to Detect Wire Pathologies Near Crimped Connector

NASA’s Langley Research Center has created a collection of innovations for rapid, precise, and verified crimps. Wiring crimp failures can be a threat to safety and may lead to a loss of critical functions in high-risk applications, such as aerospace. In addition to the...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NASA’s Langley Research Center has created novel flow effector technology for separation control and enhanced mixing. The technology allows for variable shape control of aircraft structure through...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a composite joint connector that is more structurally efficient than joints currently on the market. Traditionally, composite joints can...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Eddy-Current-Minimizing Flow Plug for Use in Flow Conditioning and Flow Metering

Innovators at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a suite of prototype fluid plug technologies with an array of capabilities for fluid flow metering, mixing, and conditioning. Each innovation within this suite is based upon a core technology that...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Process for Forming a High-Temperature Single Crystal Preloader

Friction has long been a thorny problem for sealing-device designers. Traditional sealing devices rely on a contacting relationship between surfaces and sealing elements to prevent fluid leakage, but in the case of moving elements, this contact produces friction that causes wearing...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a compact tuned damper to reduce vibration occurring at a fixed frequency. Tuned dampers reduce vibration of the base structure by the dissipation of energy. The...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NASA’s Langley Research Center develops innovative technologies to control fluid flow in ways that will ultimately result in improved performance and fuel efficiency....

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Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a set of unique magnetostrictive (MS) technologies for utilization in pressure regulation and valve systems. By combining MS-based sensors with a...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Langley Research Center has demonstrated a patent-pending method and apparatus for determining the position, in...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed an innovative magnetic and Raman-based method for macroscopic process control during...

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Briefs: Energy

NASA’s Glenn Research Center has developed a novel design for a fully premixed, high-pressure burner capable of operating on a variety of gaseous fuels and oxidizers, including...

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Briefs: Energy
Selenium Interlayer for High-Efficiency Multi-Junction Solar Cell

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell that uses a thin layer of selenium as the bonding material between wafers. Selenium is a semiconductor, and it is also transparent to light at photon energies below the band gap. The...

Briefs: Aerospace

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed hardware and software to track the flight of tethered vehicles, including kite-like, airborne wind energy (AWE) generation systems. The control...

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Briefs: Energy
Preventing Cell-to-Cell Thermal Runaway in Lithium-Ion Battery Modules

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells are increasingly used in high-voltage and high-capacity modules. The Li-ion chemistry has the highest energy density of all rechargeable battery chemistries, but associated with that energy is the issue of catastrophic thermal runaway with a fire....

Briefs: Software

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a space-allocation and planning software system to allow for more effective and efficient facility usage. It also provides...

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Briefs: Software
Reducing Sensor and Readout Circuitry Noise in Digital Domain Using Reference Pixels

One of the main heritage tools used in scientific and engineering data spectrum analysis is the Fourier Integral Transform and its high-performance digital equivalent — the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The Fourier view of nonlinear mechanics that has existed...

Briefs: Software

NASA has developed a new software tool for optimizing interior layout designs of highly constrained, highly integrated, and/or confined...

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Briefs: Software

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed an algorithm, Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind Lidar (APOLO), that offers highly accurate, real-time measurement of...

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Briefs: Software

The problem that motivated this work was one of analyzing hundreds of thousands of records of historical problem failure reports (aka, problem reports and corrective actions — PRACA) for improved mission safety....

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Schaefer, Hopkinton, MA, introduced the C/B 4800 Series 6U DC/DC and AC/DC converter modules ranging in output power up to 5kW. Nine DC input ranges are standard, and AC input options are 1-Phase 115VAC or 230VAC, as well as...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

North Atlantic Industries, Bohemia, NY, announced the VPX56H-6 6U rugged VPX power product that provides up to 1,000 Watts of power (CC4 temperature range, full load) with five outputs, and is compliant with MIL-STD-704F. Other...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The PS5R-V DIN-rail power supplies from IDEC Corp., Sunnyvale, CA, includes 7.5W, 10W, 15W, 30W, 60W, 90W, 120W, and 240W versions. Operating temperature ranges from -25 to +75 °C, enabling the supplies to be used in control...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Murata Americas, Smyrna, GA, released UMAL, a low-profile energy device that delivers a slim, high-capacity energy source with a nominal voltage of 2.3 VDC. It can supply 12 mAh with a maximum discharge current of 120 mA, and...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Phoenix Contact, Harrisburg, PA, offers M12 power distribution boxes designed for field-based power supply voltages of 24V. The boxes, in combination with standard M12 power cables of 4 ×10 AWG conductors, can...

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Articles: Aerospace

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) spacecraft launched on September 8 to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu to harvest...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

TDK-Lambda Americas, National City, CA, introduced the TDK-Lambda PFE1000FA series of AC-DC power modules that enables designers to utilize a single device containing power factor correction, regulation, and input-output...

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Articles: Aerospace

Born out of a desire for aircraft to be able to take off and land capably at airports with shorter runways to alleviate congestion at the major hubs, the circulation control wing...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Intermas US, Alpharetta, GA, offers cabinets, housings, sub-racks, and accessories for 19" rack systems and small form factors used in PCI, VME/VME64x, cPCI, IEEE, and communication applications with EMI- and...

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Articles: Aerospace

The technologies NASA develops don’t just blast off into space. They also improve our lives here on Earth. Life-saving search-and-rescue tools, implantable medical devices, advances in commercial aircraft safety,...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The OMEGA® OM-SGD Series panel meters from OMEGA Engineering, Stamford, CT, are bright color TFT smart graphics displays available in three screen sizes. They offer an operating power supply voltage range of 4 to 30...

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Products: Electronics & Computers

The Global Specialties DSC-5300 digital storage oscilloscope from Global Specialties, Yorba Linda, CA, is a portable benchtop instrument used for making measurements of signals and waveforms. The oscilloscope...

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Products: Energy

llinois Capacitor, a subsidiary of Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Lincolnwood, IL, offers RJD Series lithium-ion coin cell batteries that feature encapsulation technology that increases storage capacity by completely...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Rize, Inc., Woburn, MA, announced the Rize One zero-post-processing desktop 3D printer that features a patented Augmented Polymer Deposition (APD™) process and Rizium™ One engineering and medical-grade thermoplastic filament....

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Products: Motion Control

Delta Computer Systems (Battle Ground, WA) has announced the RMC200 closed-loop electro-hydraulic motion controller that has the capacity to handle closed-loop control of up to 32 motion axes. The...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Airpot® Corp. (Norwalk, CT) announced GramForce™ Accurate Force Pneumatic grippers that generate no measurable friction and provide a gentle grip for delicate operations. They operate at pressures from 0.02 MPa to 0.7 MPa, and...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Advanced Motion Controls® (Camarillo, CA) announced AxCent™ servo drives for centralized motion control schemes. The Models AB15A100, AB25A100, and AB20A200 are panel-mount servo drives that operate with brushless permanent...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Kübler (Charlotte, NC) released the Sendix F5883 Motor-Line optical hollow shaft encoder with a mounting depth of 43 mm. The encoder is based on the Sendix platform, and features Intelligent-Scan Technology . It is...

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Products: Motion Control

Danfoss Drives (Milwaukee, WI) introduced the VACON 20 AC drive that features built-in PLC functionality. It is available in all common voltages (110- 600V), and a power range up to 18.5 kW/25 HP. The built-in RS-485 interface...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Portescap (West Chester, PA) introduced the 16DCP Athlonix™ high-power-density brush DC mini motors. Available in a 16-mm diameter, the 16DCP motors feature a coreless design with an optimized self-supporting coil and...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

maxon motor (Fall River, MA) offers the EPOS4 controller module with detachable pin headers and two different power ratings. With a connector board, the modules can be combined into a ready-to-install solution. The...

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Products: Motion Control

Orion Fans (Dallas, TX) offers the OA11/22 fan speed control unit that provides precise airflow control. The field-adjustable, dual-channel phase control unit allows the user to control fan speed for single or multiple fan...

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Products: Motion Control

TE Connectivity (Pennsauken, NJ) announced the HLIR 750 intrinsically safe, 4-20 mA LVDT position sensors that are CSA listed for use in hazardous locations and where an intrinsically safe sensor is required. With stainless...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Series 6PF positioning feedback cylinder from Camozzi Pneumatics (McKinney, TX) is equipped with a potentiometric transducer of a linear position integrated inside the rod. This type of cylinder, when used with the...

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Products: Motion Control

SEPAC (Elmira, NY) announced the Thin Spring Engaged Brake, a thin-body, spring-engaged, power-off brake. The brake offers reversible mounting with the shaft extending past the brake or within the brake body. The friction disc/rotor...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Nidec Motor Corp. (St. Louis, MO) launched NMC’s ACCU-Series™ family of variable-speed products. Users can match a U.S. MOTORS® brand inverter duty motor with an NMC drive or panel, or purchase integrated motors...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Control Techniques, a business of Emerson Industrial Automation USA LLC (Eden Prairie, MN), offers Unidrive M and Powerdrive F300 variable-speed, high-power modular drives. Both are available in frame size 11, providing a...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

The Lexium Motion Module (LMM) from Schneider Electric Motion USA (Marlborough, CT) is a compact, programmable motion controller for motion applications measured in millimeters. The controller is programmed via MCode, and...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

NovaTorque (Fremont, CA) introduced 600 RPM versions of its PremiumPlus+® Electronically Commutated Permanent Magnet (ECPM) motors. The new versions are available from 0.75 HP to 3 HP, and are suited for directly...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Fabco-Air (Gainesville, FL) announced the FKHS Series 3 Jaw Parallel Motion Pneumatic Gripper line for handling small parts in tight spaces. The design is available in six different bore sizes: 25, 32, 40, 50, 63, and 80...

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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control

Hexapods — six-legged parallel-kinematic machines — are quickly gaining ground in a broad range of industrial automation applications after “learning” how to...

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Application Briefs: Motion Control

A Fortune 200 company needed a turnkey, DC voltage, agency-compliant electronic control solution capable of providing motion control with memory position capabilities and auto...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Positioning Tables and Stages

Positioning tables and nano-precision stages from Primatics (Vaughan, ON, Canada) are used in applications where high accuracy and repeatability and/or smoothness are critical. The PCL50 and PCL65 linear stages offer micron-level repeatability and integrate a precision ball-screw drive with recirculating ball linear...

Products: Motion Control

Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) offers the PRO series industrial linear motor and ball-screw positioning stages, including two new sizes of the PRO-LM (linear motor) series stage line: the PRO115LM and PRO190LM. New features include a...

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Products: Motion Control

NB Corporation of America (Hanover Park, IL) released TOPBALL® slide products that self-align. The floating wiper seal makes unrestricted self-alignment possible. A floating load plate adjusts clearance, and tolerances are achieved...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Nexen Group (Vadnais Heights, MN) introduced the Flange Mounted Clutch-Brake Enclosed (FMCBE) for any environment where cleanliness is a primary concern. A single, double-acting piston prevents simultaneous clutch and brake...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

American Control Electronics (South Beloit, IL) introduced the ACF Series of open chassis microprocessor-based variable frequency drives that offers the simplicity of a DC drive. ACF700 drives are designed for setup...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Siemens Industry (Elk Grove Village, IL) offers Simotics 1FK7 Generation II servomotors with seven shaft heights, quick-connect power connectors, and 20- and 24-bit field-replaceable encoders. The series offers three inertia...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Midwest Motion Products (Howard Lake, MN) offers the Model MMP LA3-12V-5-A-SP- 100 linear actuator that utilizes an all-steel drive pinion while maintaining a 5:1 reduction ratio that allows the unit to maintain a 2"-...

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Products: Motion Control

The GOFORM portable electric press brake from Cincinnati Incorporated (Harrison, OH), is designed for parts up to 1/4" thick and less than 50 pounds. It features a large touchscreen control, PC-based 3D graphics, and bend...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Heidenhain (Schaumburg, IL) launched MRP 2000, 5000, and 8000 encoder modules that contain bearing sets not conventionally available that can be integrated with various encoder types. These angle encoder modules merge...

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Products: Motion Control

R+W America, Coupling Technology (Bensenville, IL) offers maintenance- free disc pack couplings in seven new sizes from 350 Nm to 24,000 Nm. Additional connection methods allow for easier installation and maintenance. The spacers...

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Products: Motion Control

Suhner Industrial Products Corp., Automation Division (Rome, GA) introduced the BEX8 high-speed machining block spindle for extremely high-speed operations up to 25,000 rpm. The spindle weighs 33 pounds and mounts directly...

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Products: Motion Control

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (North Kingstown, RI) announced the 360 Flexible Measurement Cell, an automated measurement work cell suited for automotive and aerospace structure applications including...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Model 356A43, 356A44, and 356A45A miniature triaxial ICP® accelerometers were introduced by PCB Piezotronics (Depew, NY). They measure 0.4 × 0.4 × 0.75", weigh 4.2 grams, and are TEDS IEEE 1451.4 enabled. The TEDS...

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Products: Motion Control

A line of weldable shaft collars, couplings, and mounts is available from Stafford Manufacturing Corp. (North Reading, MA). The components are made from ANSI 1018 steel and stainless steel to allow users to...

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Products: Motion Control

To simplify product selection of self-lubricating linear guides, igus (East Providence, RI) has developed a modular construction kit for belt-driven DryLin ZLW linear axes. The ZLW toolkit enables users to customize their...

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Products: Motion Control

Curtiss-Wright Sensors & Controls Division (Gilbert, AZ) announced Exlar® brand FTX Series actuators. The high-force electric rod style actuators replace hydraulics in highforce, high-duty-cycle applications in harsh...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Molex, LLC (Lisle, IL) offers Flamar industrial automation cables for signal and control equipment and servomotors. The cables are available in multiple jacket materials (PVC, WSOR, PUR, TPE). The standard cables range...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Thomson Industries (Radford, VA) has introduced miniature metric precision ball screws in three interface styles: flanged, threaded, and rounded. The FSI metric ball screws are flanged, and the RSI style is rounded....

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Products: Motion Control

The MR-J4-TM multi-network servo drives from Mitsubishi Electric Automation (Vernon Hills, IL) are available with Ether Net/IP™ and EtherCAT® interfaces. The drives feature dual 100BASE-TX Ethernet ports in line, tree, and...

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Products
Translation Stages

Thorlabs (Newton, NJ) announced XR-Series cross roller bearing, aluminum-bodied translation stages. The series includes rear- and side-actuated 1" travel stages and all components needed for left- or right-handed X, XY, XZ, YZ, and XYZ configurations. A dovetail feature is incorporated into the design for stacking; it could...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The TS13102 and TS13103 solid state relays from Semtech Corp. (Camarillo, CA) support the company’s Neo-Iso™ Platform, an isolated power/switch management technology. The TS13102 autonomously harvests energy, without...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The MAN-R pressure gauge from KOBOLD (Pittsburgh, PA) uses an elastic measuring element to generate a precise, reproducible deflection when subjected to pressure. The pressure is converted into rotary motion of a pointer. The...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

STMicroelectronics (Coppell, TX) has introduced the LDBL20, a 200mA Low-Dropout (LDO) regulator in a 0.47 × 0.47 × 0.2 mm chip-scale package. The LDBL20 features a 200mA output. Input voltage ranges from 1.5V to 5.5V, with 200mV...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Alliance Sensors Group (Moorestown, NJ) has introduced the PG Series of linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) position sensors. The products are designed specifically for valve position sensing applications,...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Chromalox (Pittsburgh, PA) offers the IntelliTrace® Wireless system for heat trace applications in both ordinary and hazardous areas. The Chromalox temperature sensing system includes the IntelliTrace®...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

The IP67-rated Allen-Bradley ArmorBlock IO-Link master from Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, WI) allows manufacturers and industrial operators to access detailed sensor diagnostics in harsh operating environments. The...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Mountain RF Sensors (Fort Lauderdale, FL) has announced the MtRF-7501 VHF/UHF Ground-to-Air Transceiver. The model supports Single Side Band (SSB), LSB, and USB modes. Featuring frequency ranges of 116–152 MHz (VHF) and...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Velodyne LiDAR (Morgan Hill, CA) has announced the Puck Hi-Res™ sensor. Expanding on the company’s VLP-16 Puck, a 16-channel, real-time 3D lidar sensor, Puck Hi-Res provides greater resolution in the captured 3D image. Puck...

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

SignalFire Wireless Telemetry (Hudson, MA) has introduced the Pressure Scout, a wireless pressure sensor that supports pressure monitoring and alarm reporting as part of the SignalFire Remote Sensing System. The first in a...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Wireless, non-contact magnetic sensors from Steute Industrial Controls (Ridgefield, CT), in the presence of their actuating magnet, send a unique, coded telegram to one or more compatible, easily-programmed receivers. The...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

All Sensors Corporation (Morgan Hill, CA) now offers the DLHR pressure sensor series. The new devices feature lower pressure ranges of 0.5 to 60 in H2O. All error compensation is performed internally by an...

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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

The Humidity Sensor from Develco Products (Aarhus, Denmark) allows end-users to track indoor climate. Regular readings can be sent from the sensor to an app. Users control the humidity level and temperature from a distance;...

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Question of the Week: Energy
Will solar road panels catch on?

This week's Question: Solar Roadways — a startup developing solar powered road panels — will soon install the first solar road tiles in Sandpoint, Idaho. The transparent solar road panels contain colorful LEDs, which can be controlled by a computer to create the impression of signs and lines, without the need...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
Researchers Propose Modular Space Telescope

Researchers from California Institute of Technology are proposing the idea of a modular space telescope that could be assembled by robots. The space observatory would have a primary mirror with a diameter of 100 meters — 40 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope.

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Researchers Create Smallest Transistor Ever

A research team led by faculty scientist Ali Javey at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a transistor with a working 1-nanometer gate — the smallest to date.

Products: Software

National Instruments, Austin, TX, announced LabVIEW 2016 system design software that introduces new channel wires to simplify complex communication between parallel sections of code. Available on both desktop and...

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Question of the Week: Software
Will selfies become the primary mode of authentication?

This week's Question: MasterCard has tested facial biometrics for payment authentication and has now begun rolling out its MasterCard Identity Check, or "selfie pay," to a greater number of users. The biometric authentication app is available throughout Europe, including Austria, Belgium,...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
3D-Printed Robots Feature Shock-Absorbing Skins

A “programmable viscoelastic material” (PVM) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) allows users to program every single part of a 3D-printed object, including exact levels of stiffness and elasticity.

INSIDER Product: Photonics/Optics

Sierra-Olympic Technologies (Hood River, OR) recently introduced the Viento 67-640 thermal camera for perimeter surveillance, robotics, and other rugged outdoor imaging applications. The new thermal imager features a...

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INSIDER Product: Imaging

Fastec Imaging’s (San Diego, CA) IL5 High-Speed 5MP Camera enables you to record production lines moving at high speed for analysis or troubleshooting using slow motion replay. There are four models to choose from,...

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INSIDER Product: Imaging

PHOTONIS (Roden, NL) announced the release of a new single photon counting camera ideal for fast imaging under light starved conditions, such as Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC). The camera...

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INSIDER Product: Software

With the new EVT (Karlsruhe, Germany) EyeScan AT 3D, the EyeVision image processing software shows its new 3C commands and display options for the point cloud when inspecting connector pins. The system works for...

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INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Through a collaboration between the University of Calgary, The City of Calgary and researchers in the United States, a group of physicists led by Wolfgang Tittel, professor in the...

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INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

From hard to malleable, from transparent to opaque, from channeling electricity to blocking it: materials come in all types. A number of their intriguing properties...

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INSIDER: Imaging

As solar cells produce a greater proportion of total electric power, a fundamental limitation remains: the dark of night when solar cells go to sleep. Lithium-ion batteries, the commonplace...

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INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed new, nonlinear, chaos-based integrated circuits that enable computer chips to perform multiple functions with...

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INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Researchers studying the behavior of nanoscale materials at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered remarkable behavior that could advance...

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INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Researchers have created an exotic 3-D racetrack for electrons in ultrathin slices of a nanomaterial they fabricated at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence...

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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

ADLINK Technology (San Jose, CA) announced new entry-level PXI and PXI Express (PXIe) platforms for PXI testing system startup users. PXES-2301 is an all-hybrid, 6-slot compact PXIe chassis with system...

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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

Solid State Disks Ltd (Reading, UK) has launched SCSIFlash-Tape, which provides a CompactFlash-based, solid state replacement for traditional SCSI-based, electro-mechanical tape drives on legacy...

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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

Littelfuse, Inc. (Chicago, IL) has introduced its first high voltage, surface-mount gas discharge tube (GDT) with two squared terminals that is capable of withstanding surge currents of 3kA@8/20μs in a...

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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

LEGIC Identsystems Ltd. (Zurich, Switzerland) recently introduced its new 6000 series reader ICs that combine RFID, BLE and a Secure Element into one chip. LEGIC’s technology platform is made up of five basic components: LEGIC...

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Question of the Week: Software
Can algorithms create a pop-music hit?

This week's Question: Sony Computer Science Laboratory (CSL) in Paris is developing a system of algorithms which can create songs that cater to the user's taste, based on styles adapted from existing music. Starting with a sheet-music database of more than 13,000 existing songs, users choose several titles...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
‘Robomussels’ Monitor Climate Change

Northeastern University scientist Brian Helmuth and other researchers have developed "robomussels" that monitor climate change. The tiny devices have miniature built-in sensor that track temperatures inside the mussel beds.

News: Aerospace

The newest Airbus and Boeing passenger jets flying today are made primarily from advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic – extremely light, durable...

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News: Aerospace

Strong vibrations from a bus engine can be felt uncomfortably through the seats. Similarly, vibrations from the propellers or rotors in propeller aircraft and helicopters can make the flight bumpy and...

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News: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated the 3D printing of shape-shifting structures that can fold or unfold to reshape themselves when exposed to...

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Who's Who: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Edward Chow leads the development of AUDREY, the Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and sYnthesis. The artificial-intelligence...

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INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New System Allows Buildings to 'Sense' Internal Damage

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a computational model that makes sense of the ambient vibrations that travel up a structure as trucks and other forces rumble by. By picking out specific features in the noise that give indications of a building’s...

INSIDER: Motion Control

In order to make plug-in electric vehicles as affordable and convenient as internal-combustion cars, their motors must be smaller, lighter, more powerful, and more cost-effective. A research team...

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INSIDER: Motion Control

The SIMbot robot features an elegant motor with just one moving part: the ball. The only other active moving part of the robot is the body itself. A spherical induction motor...

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Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Will artificial intelligence do more good than bad for humanity?

This week's Question: World-famous physicist Stephen Hawking recently warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity.” Hawking noted the risks of creating superintelligence with a will of its...

INSIDER: Imaging
Researchers Make Full-Color Holograms from Nanomaterials

Imagine cell phones with 3D floating displays, or credit cards with three-dimensional security markings.

By using just one layer of nanoscale metallic film, researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have reconstructed 3D full-color holographic images. The...

Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

Videos