Electromechanically Actuated Valve for Controlling Flow Rate

A proposed valve for controlling the rate of flow of a fluid would include an electric-motor-driven ball-screw mechanism for adjusting the seating element of the valve to any...

Achieving Positioning Accuracy Goals

The task of choosing the correct mix of motion control components for a successful servo positioning system involves a combination of art, science, and experience. It also includes a little luck, but luck...

Alternatives to Keyways in Motion Systems

The age-old tradition of using shaft keys in mechanical drives has served the power transmission industry well for many years. When appropriately sized, it guarantees that virtually no relative...

Fastener Options for Clinching Into Stainless

Designers often turn to self-clinching fasteners when they need a practical method to provide threads in thin metal sheets. The fasteners install permanently, reduce hardware, and promote thinner...

Attaching Thermocouples by Peening or Crimping

Two simple, effective techniques for attaching thermocouples to metal substrates have been devised for high- temperature applications in which attachment by such conventional means as welding,...

Lead Screws Play Role in Case Packer Retrofit

In the industrial automation market, an increase in speed results in an increase in production rates. Increased production rates, in turn, lead to increased profit.

Flexible Cryogenic Temperature and Liquid-Level Probes

Lightweight, flexible probes have been developed for measuring temperatures at multiple locations in tanks that contain possibly pressurized cryogenic fluids. If the fluid in a given...

Alignment Stage for a Cryogenic Dilatometer

A three degree of freedom alignment stage has been designed and built for use in a cryogenic dilatometer that is used to measure thermal strains. The alignment stage enables precise adjustments of...

Fasteners for Printed Circuit Board Attachment

No matter how sophisticated or advanced, electronic components must be attached reliably and securely if they are to deliver optimum performance. Beyond this universal requirement, particular...

Threaded Hardware Offers Fastening Options for Metal and Plastic Components

For every challenge that may arise when attaching metal or plastic components, a hardware solution usually can be found. When permanently installed threaded hardware...

Inverse Tomo-Lithography for Making Microscopic 3D Parts

According to a proposal, basic x-ray lithography would be extended to incorporate a technique, called "inverse tomography," that would enable the fabrication of microscopic...

Improved Multiple-DOF SAW Piezoelectric Motors

Surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) piezoelectric motors of a proposed type would be capable of operating in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) simultaneously and would be amenable to integration into...

Three-Degree-of-Freedom Parallel Mechanical Linkage

Figure 1 depicts a mechanical linkage that converts rotational motion about three base joints (A, B, and C) to translational motion of an end effector (D) in three dimensions. The linkage...

Minimally Actuated Hopping Robot

A small robot that travels by hopping has been built and tested. This is a prototype of hopping robots that would carry video cameras and possibly other sensory devices and that are under consideration for...

Rotary Tool and Retractable Foot for Walking Robot

A mechanism has been developed to serve as an end effector for one of the legs of the Legged Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR) — a walking robot designed for demon- strating...

Fail-Safe, Continue-to-Operate Concept for Jackscrews

A fail-safe, continue-to-operate design concept for machine jackscrews calls for the incorporation of a redundant follower nut that would assume the axial jack load upon failure of the...

Multiple-DOF Surface-Acoustic-Wave Piezoelectric Motors

Surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) piezoelectric motors capable of operating in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) simultaneously have been proposed. A particularly useful motor of this type...

Differential-Pressure Relief Valve

A relief valve has been designed to limit the differential pressure between two fluids that are not allowed to be mixed. This valve offers advantages over both simple check valves and simple relief valves....

Improved Unidirectional Cell-Stretching Device

An improved stretching device has been developed for use in research on the effects of unidirectional loading on human and animal cells. The device is capable of applying or removing a load (a...

Efficient Ionizer for an Array of Mass Spectrometers

An electron-beam ionizer has been designed to deliver ions to the entrance apertures of nine miniature quadrupole mass spectrometers in an array. A similar electron-beam ionizer could also...

Magnetostrictive Micropositioner for Cryogenic Applications

A magnetostrictive linear-translation mechanism has been designed to function as a micropositioning device at any temperature from ambient down to the temperature of liquid helium...

Smoother Wing Leading-Edge Joints Would Favor Laminar Flow

Some changes in the design and construction of the leading edges of metal airplane wings have shown promise as means to suppress laminar-to-turbulent flow transitions. The...

Improved Electrical Connections for Thin-Film Thermocouples

Improved electrical connections have been developed for thin-film thermocouples used to measure temperatures on the surfaces of ceramic-matrix composite-material specimens during...