Mechanical/​Mechatronics

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Access the latest news and technical advancements impacting Mechanical and Fluid systems. Explore articles and technical briefs about fastening, joining, mechanical components, fluid handling, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMs).

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Application Briefs: Imaging
Advancements in machine vision have augmented industrial automation and provided a platform to advance imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis applications. This technology, however, comes with its...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Researchers have developed an inkjet printing technique that can be used to print optical components such as waveguides. Because the printing approach can also fabricate...
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Articles: Photonics/Optics
Laser diodes are one of a number of different types of electronic devices that generate heat during normal operation. Some power applied to such devices is lost as heat energy. To ensure stable...
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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Digital Variable Impedance Transducer With its user-friendly new graphical user interface (GUI) for easier setup and connectivity, and cloud-based data access/monitoring, the digiVIT digital variable impedance transducer from Kaman...
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Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Wireless sensor networks frequently operate in hazardous areas where explosive atmospheres pose a safety risk to equipment and operators. The design of these systems must follow...
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Articles: Imaging
The increasing variety of applications for the Internet of Things is driving predictions that the sales volume for sensors will reach 75 billion units by 2025. Applications unforeseen just five...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Piezoelectric Thrust Vector Control for Hall Effect Thruster
The design of the CubeSat required precision pointing of the thrust vector through the spacecraft center of gravity to minimize fuel usage for attitude correction. Because the center of gravity shifts over the course of the mission, a means of adjusting the thrust vector was needed....
Application Briefs: Materials
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OHwww.wpafb.af.mil/afrl Mars rovers are sophisticated, multi-instrumented pieces of equipment that travel over the surface...
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Articles: Data Acquisition
While widely used for terrestrial medical applications, handheld blood analyzers are not suitable for space missions due to the short shelf-life of their...
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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Data Acquisition System The SLICE IP68 data acquisition system from DTS, Seal Beach, CA, measures physical signals in extreme test environments. It can embed in most test articles, and the rugged enclosure...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Carbon Dioxide Collection and Pressurization Technology
Mars is the ultimate destination for NASA's human exploration program. In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is a key technology required to enable such missions. The goals of using resources available at the exploration site are to reduce launch and delivered mass, reduce risk and cost, enable...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The Army uses robots that are structurally rigid, making them impractical when performing military operations in highly congested and contested urban environments where covert maneuvering is critical for...
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Briefs: Materials
High-Kinetic-Energy Penetrator Shielding and High-Wear-Resistance Materials Fabricated with Boron Nitride Nanotubes and BNNT Polymer Composites
In recent years, anti-penetration materials have been more widely used for armor, bulletproof vests, and micrometeoroid and orbital debris protection layers for space-suits, space vehicles, and structures....
Briefs: Materials
The measurement of mechanical behavior in very small samples whose dimensions are on the order of microns and below can offer advantages over conventional macroscopic testing in many instances. Motivations for investigating...
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Briefs: Medical
A device and method have been developed to conduct compression and tensile tests on soft materials such as flocculated sediments, biopolymers, biological materials, and food stuffs. The device...
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Articles: Aerospace
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
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Facility Focus: Software
In 1977, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, Golden, CO) started as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), spurred by national concern during the 1973 oil embargo that caused long lines...
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Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Cornell researchers have discovered a novel – and delicious – way to power simple robots: Popcorn.
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Podcasts: Green Design & Manufacturing
In this episode of “Here’s an Idea," we look at how vineyard owners, distillers, and brewers are finding small ways to innovate and make better beer, wine, and spirits.
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Products: Test & Measurement
Cable Carrier igus, East Providence, RI, offers the E4.1L general-purpose energy chain (e-chain) cable carrier with high dynamics that includes a honeycomb strain relief block. It also includes separators for quick...
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Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
DC Current Transducers NK Technologies, San Jose, CA, introduced DT-FD Series DC current transducers that provide a large sensing window and the ability to safely monitor circuits with voltages up to 1500 VDC,...
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Technology Leaders: Electronics & Computers
Photovoltaic systems are continually evolving to improve their efficiency and financial viability. One trend is to move to larger strings of cells giving higher dc voltages to be...
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Adhesives used for common pain-relieving bandages often do not stick properly when attached to places that encounter large, inhomogenous bending motion, like elbows and knees. To solve...
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Briefs: Materials
A method was developed for printing 3D structures composed entirely of liquids. Using a modified 3D printer, threads of water were injected into silicone oil, sculpting tubes made of one liquid within...
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Articles: Test & Measurement
By 2028, virtually all major sensing and feedback systems benefiting from continuous monitoring will connect to devices currently known as the Internet of Things (IoT). As that...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microcontroller Altimeter (uCA)
Traditional altitude switch designs for harsh environments are mechanical in nature and operate by means of an inflatable bladder or bellows that mechanically depresses a pushbutton switch. The altitude trip point is set by mechanically adjusting the distance of the switch to the bellows. The mechanical action of the...
Articles: Medical
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have devised a method for the creation of crystal-free non-oxide optical fiber preforms. Non-oxide fiber optics are extensively used in...
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Products: Motion Control
Servo Controller IC TRINAMIC Motion Control (Hamburg, Germany) announced the TMC-4671 fully integrated servo controller IC that provides field-oriented control for BLDC/PMSM and 2-phase stepper motors, as well as DC motors and...
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