E-commerce has recently experienced an enormous rise in acceptance and success. At the same time, consumers increasingly value sustainability and avoiding the use of unnecessary packaging material. To address these trends Quadient, in Drachten, the Netherlands, developed a new packaging machine for the flexible, sustainable, and cost-effective production of customized corrugated cardboard packaging. This system…
Creating a greener package design
To make sealing applications greener, ultrasonic welding offers many advantages compared to traditional heat sealing. Its precise, reliable capabilities and efficiency allow end-users to reduce energy consumption, confidently use biodegradable packaging, minimize product and packaging waste, and improve packaging recyclability and compostability. This sustainable technology can ultimately save energy by up to 25% and reduce…
The top ten free engineering math software packages
Numerous open-source software packages now provide engineering math capabilities and go easy on the pocketbook. Leland Teschler • Executive Editor The Mars Climate Orbiter made headlines back in 1999 when it approached Mars on a trajectory bringing it too close to the planet and wound up either destroyed in the Mars atmosphere or orbiting the…
Build, test and repeat: Getting your hobby projects “off the ground”
Some people have a project car. Weekends and evenings are spent tuning, working Bondo and fiberglass to patch holes, cursing the frustrations of electrical work, and relishing the feeling when the engine roars to life for the first time. My ‘project car’ is actually a Rotorway JetExec helicopter. Same journey, same payoff, slightly different license…
See a fully functional integrated packaging line at Pack Expo 2021
Pack Expo attendees are being welcomed back to Las Vegas with a special treat that is fairly rare for live events – seeing a fully functional integrated packaging line that embodies ProMach’s vision of merging two or more of its product brands together into one streamlined solution. The integrated packaging line stars three of ProMach’s…
Highly accurate laser distance sensor tracks targets up to 500 m away
The AS2100 Accurate Distance Sensor is an improved replacement product for the now retired AR2000. “For many years, the AR2000 was a great choice for distance measurement in difficult environments,” said Nick Catalano, Acuity’s General Manager. “Now we have an even stronger option in the AS2100.” A highly accurate laser distance sensor, the AS2100 is…
Laird R&F Products offer innovative thermal conductivity for aerospace and defense
Laird R&F Products, a DuPont business, now offers a series of innovative thermal products that help aerospace and defense design engineers tackle rising heat loads in advanced electronics. “With more components in tighter spaces in aerospace and defense technology, design engineers need to manage more heat than ever before while protecting sensitive components from damage…
S. White Technologies rotary shafts activate thrust reverser actuation systems on Pratt & Whitney (IAE) V2500 turbofan engines
S.S. White Technologies, provider of flexible rotary shafts for the aerospace industry, is the supplier of flexible shafts that transmit power to activate the critical Collins Aerospace Thrust Reverser Actuation Systems (TRAS) on the Pratt & Whitney (IAE) V2500 turbofan engines that just passed 250 million flight hours of service. S.S. White provides a set…
Ruggedized GNSS receivers offer high-accuracy tracking for industrial equipment
The AsteRx SB3 receiver family, enclosed in an IP68 housing, offers superior availability of RTK high-accuracy positioning due to its ability to track a wide variety of signals from all currently operating Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including not only GPS and GLONASS but also the European Galileo and Chinese BeiDou. Even in dual antenna…
Packaging expos to reunite the packaging and processing industry this September in Las Vegas
Live, in-person technology in action for the first time in 18 months is just one of the many features of the only comprehensive packaging and processing trade show in the world this year: Pack Expo Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Sept. 27-29, Las Vegas Convention Center). Show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and…
Abaco Systems announces design win for Minehunting System
Abaco Systems announces a design win which supports a customer with upgrades to a Minehunting system, which is a towed sonar array that uses multiple sensors to identify and detect mine-like objects. These upgrades will provide faster processing and the latest technology which will increase safety for warfighters. This win contains Abaco’s VP780 FPGA card,…
S.S. White’s flexible rotary shafts help power engines on first flight of Boeing’s 737 MAX 10
S.S. White Technologies is the supplier of flexible shafts that transmit power to activate the critical Thrust Reverser Actuation Systems (TRAS) on the CFM LEAP 1-B turbofan engines that powered the first flight of the B737 MAX 10 aircraft. S.S. White provides a set of flexible rotary shafts per LEAP 1-B TRAS that transfer power…
Disrupting the aerospace industry
I hope you’ve been enjoying our monthly Future of Design Engineering Series of webinars as much as I have. Recently, we had an engaging talk by Charlie Light, Program Manager for the Space Based Nuclear Detonation Detection Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Light’s discussion of the aerospace/defense sector was fascinating. Once dominated by very…
Automated reject system helps in cheese production application
The North American cheese sector, valued at $56,976 million last year, is expected to grow annually by 2.1% CAGR between 2020-2023. Dutch imports of the dairy product make up a significant chunk of the market share, with statistics reporting a value of nearly $88 million last year. For Vepo Cheese, which serves both national and…
How to overcome micro defects for aerospace manufacturing applications
“Measure twice and cut once” is a common expression in manufacturing, but it’s easier said than done when machining difficult materials. That’s why, when a global aerospace manufacturer sought to eliminate an entire second stage from its drilling processes while also improving hole quality, it turned to metal cutting specialists. Here, James Thorpe, global product…
Curtiss-Wright awarded contract from federal equipment company to support U.S. Navy CVN-80 and -81 Ford-class aircraft carrier programs
Curtiss-Wright Actuation Division announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide Exlar® Electro-Mechanical Actuators to Federal Equipment Company in support of their weapons elevator systems for the Ford-class aircraft carrier program. Exlar actuators are used in several other mission critical areas on the Ford-class carriers, including the Jet Blast Defector, Integrated Catapult Control…
Single board computer and Avionics I/O boards for flight-certifiable applications
Abaco Systems, Inc. announced the release of two boards, the SBC314C single-board computer and RAR15XC avionics data bus communications XMC mezzanine board, for embedded flight-certifiable applications. Previously only available as part of the FORCE2C rugged line replaceable unit (LRU), the two are now each available as separate boards. The SBC314C 3U VPX single board computer,…
Zero-Max VRT Variable Ratio Transmission For agricultural seeding and fertilizing applications
Zero-Max new VRT Variable Ratio Transmissions feature an efficient and cost-effective design that ensures accurate and consistent application rates for agricultural seeding and fertilizing equipment. The Zero-Max VRT is designed to meet the performance requirements for today’s agricultural equipment. The VRT can provide a critical link between the control system and the mechanical seed and…
RFID comes to electric vehicles
RFID tags will play a role in fielding the next generation of vehicles having electric powertrains. Frank Linti • Schreiner LogiData Many suppliers to OEMs must incorporate RFID-compatible labels on components they provide, especially in prototype construction. This is especially true for RFID labels on automotive OEM components. But OEMs sometimes have trouble using these…
Piab MX suction cup family
The MX suction cup can work across an array of applications such as bin picking, order fulfillment, box depalletizing, and parcel sorting. Gone are the days where you need to change gripper or suction cup for each individual product in the application. This multi-purpose, energy-efficient suction cup boasts extreme gripping capabilities on many surfaces and…
Self-cleaning, maintenance-free ionizers remove static electricity
KOGANEI International America Inc. has introduced the DTY-ELF14HC multi-function, self-cleaning ionizer for easy and efficient static electricity removal. This high-performance AC (200 Hz) system provides excellent ion balance (±5 V) and steady long-term elimination of static electricity over an extensive range. The unit’s automatic cleaning function removes dirt on the discharge needle with a built-in…
High-pressure solenoid pump offers fluid control for rigorous needs
Spartan Scientific releases its SSDP, a miniature fixed-displacement solenoid pump. Spartan’s expert team has designed the component from the ground up to work within the rigorous environments of scientific and medical applications among others that require finite fluid control. The Spartan SSDP is highly accurate and reliable with few moving parts, making it an ideal…
High strength, NASA low outgassing approved epoxy
Supreme 10HT has demonstrated superior strength properties, proven by several research studies. Master Bond Supreme 10HT has demonstrated superior strength when used to bond surfaces under challenging conditions. It is a toughened system that is cryogenically serviceable from 4K to 400°F. It withstands mechanical and thermal shocks, meets NASA low outgassing specifications, and withstands 1,000…
Film protects nameplates in heavy-duty machinery and equipment
Color Laser Film HighResist (CLF HighResist) is a protective solution for nameplates of heavy-duty machinery and equipment. Combining stability and flexibility, CLF HighResist guards against the deterioration of nameplate readability that can occur in harsh manufacturing conditions or work environments, such as construction zones. Industrial tools and machines are persistently subjected to severe physical stress,…
Swiss precision motors handle the valuable Mars soil samples
NASA’s Perseverance rover will be landing on Mars on February 18th. Was there once life on Mars? This is the question that one of the most complex robotic systems ever built by humankind has set out to answer. Several of maxon’s electric drives are used for handling the soil samples — and to control the…