Design World April 2024

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Over 6,000 top brand enclosures starting at only $7.00

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KCI 1319 and KBI 1335 Motor Encoders

Small and light for compact Servomotors

These encoders were created for the rigors of compact motor feedback in robotics applications. Meet the singleturn KCI 1319 and multiturn KBI 1335 inductive rotary encoders from HEIDENHAIN. Their simple design of a scanning unit plus circular scale gives you the benefits of low mass and a flat profile. Inductive scanning ensures

high resistance to contamination and magnetic fields. Installation is easy and secure thanks to wide mounting tolerances and mechanical fault exclusion. Simply perform a press-fit, or fasten the encoder to the motor shaft via screws. And when safety is called for, leverage the functionally safe EnDat 2.2 data interface.

robotics.heidenhain.com

Looking at digital transformation

If you follow the publication online, you’ve surely seen some of the insightful stories from our new Executive Editor, Stephanie Neil, who’s a well-known and respected journalist in the world of packaging technology. Her recent article on how packaging machinery incorporates safety in different areas is a necessary read for anyone in that segment of the industry.

But she’s also been leading us in the development of an all-new in-person event in Boston this Spring focused on digital transformation. This buzz phrase is all about the exciting times for manufacturing that we find ourselves in — the confluence of 3D printing, CAD and simulation software, and more. That said, it can be hard to find the right answers for a manufacturer looking to evolve their businesses over the coming years.

Our new Digital Transformation Forum will take place on May 1-2 and will educate manufacturers as they move into the increasingly digital future, to maximize production and strengthen supply chains. Among the topics that will be covered are:

• Analytics and artificial intelligence

• The Industrial Internet of Things

• Our future workforce

Viability of current supply chains

Infrastructure for Industry 5.0, and Engineering and the digital thread

I hope to see you in Boston next month; please visit

digitaltransformationforum.com for more information and the exciting lineup that Stephanie and our team have put together for you. There will be talks by Walker Reynolds of Intellic Integration, Richard Braatz and John Carrier of MIT, and John McEleney of PTC. There will also be speakers from Collaborative Systems Integration, Lockheed Martin, Siemens Digital Industries Software, Deloitte, and Harting.

I’d also like to call your attention to a new change here at Design World. Starting with the May issue, our Senior Editor, Rachael Pasini, will be jumping into this Insights column every other month. Rachael and I will alternate authoring this introductory opinion piece in the magazine. You’ve probably seen some of her excellent contributions to the Technology Forward column over the past year and a half, and this feels like a natural progression for us.

Lastly, I’m pleased to announce that our special Engineering Diversity + Inclusion issue from last Fall has been named a finalist for both an ASBPE Award and a Neal Award, two of the most prominent honors in the trade publication space. Kudos to our amazing editorial and design team for putting together this incredible and much-needed issue. If you know of an engineer who’s making a difference in their industry who you feel should be recognized in this year’s EDI issue, please drop a note to me at the email address below. DW

Paul J. Heney - VP, Editorial Director pheney@wtwhmedia.com

On X (formerly Twitter) @wtwh_paulheney

Stronger, quiet, reliable.

Sensitive electronics need a reliable cooling system. Our AxiForce compact fans are highly efficient, powerful, and extremely robust – in data centers, 5G power modules, electric charging stations, and many more. More

By: Rachael Pasini • Senior Editor

Wind turbine blades make artful park furniture in US communities

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), more than 72,130 wind turbines and 210,000 blades were deployed as of July 2022. The DOE expects up to 9,000 blades to be retired annually through 2026, and up to 20,000 will be retired annually by 2040. Blade waste could reach up to 370,000 tons per year by 2050, with landfilling

remaining the most cost-effective option. However, one innovative manufacturer has an alternative solution that reduces landfill waste and bridges corporations and communities.

Canvus, located in Avon, Ohio, turns decommissioned wind turbine blades into artfully designed park benches, picnic tables, and other creative furniture

for public spaces. The unique structures come from different cross-sections of the fiberglass blade, and the seating and tabletop materials are from various sources, including composite lumber made of recycled plastics, rubber made from recycled tires and shoes, and mixed plastics from carpet and plastic waste.

When communities request a bench or table, corporate donors provide funding to fulfill the request. Canvus also includes a small plaque on the product with the company’s name, a custom message, and a QR code for the company’s preferred website. Corporations connected to the renewable energy industry, such as PPG, Grainger, Chevrolet, Lincoln Electric, and Siemens Gamesa, have already participated in the request program to support communities around the U.S.

“But they’re not out there enough yet for people to drive 10 minutes and see them,” said Brian Donahue, managing partner at Canvus. “So, we built a gallery that lets people see what they look like in the wild.”

The gallery is full of tables, benches, and beautiful artwork from local artists. They went further and created everything from the chandelier, entertainment center, and bookshelves out of wind turbine blades, leveraging the original blade designs for shelving or interesting features instead of destroying and conforming them. The gallery feels like a Zen garden and encapsulates everything the company stands for and wishes to contribute to the world.

Canvus’ designs also deter vandalizers and theft — a common problem for public spaces. At an average park, mounting brackets are no match for rebellious kids with a hankering for stacking picnic tables and relocating benches. But park furniture made from wind turbine blades weighs hundreds of

This upcycled wind turbine blade bench will last for decades at the Every Child’s Playground in Avon, Ohio. | Canvus

Canvus invites customers and partners to the gallery to experience its products and get inspired.

pounds and takes heavy machinery to transport and install. If kids can lift and move a Canvus bench, Donahue recommends signing them up for the football team.

“Plus, everything we build is ADA-compliant, and the tables are wheelchair accessible from both sides. So, everybody can be included,” said Donahue. “And it’s all low maintenance. You can power wash the composite lumber, and we use all stainless steel fasteners.”

Canvus also cut the blades to create a decorative wall in its gallery, which a University of Houston team thinks could replace sound barrier walls along highways.

“If you want to upcycle 15,000 blades, that’s how you do it,” said Donahue.

The benches and tables have a smooth stone finish or can be primed and painted. The company invites Cleveland-based artists to paint custom designs as yet another way to get community members involved.

“Every city has 4.6 parks, so that gives us 100,000 parks out there to work with,” said Donahue. “The average bench lasts six to eight years. Ours will be out there for 20 to 30 years.”

With product names such as the Mimi Bench, Deborah Grand Swing, and Rose Sanctuary, the company instills a personal vibe in public spaces. It also creates a Legacy Bench to serve as a memorial or to honor notable community members.

“Tehachapi, California, received an order of benches, and one is outside their VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). A man from that community went missing in Vietnam and never came home. Every time somebody scans that QR code, they learn about him, his story, his family, and the community. It’s so magical,” said Donahue. DW

Canvus • gocanvus.com

| Canvus

Help us honor the companies that have provided the most leadership in engineering

It has been a fascinating decade for all businesses, including manufacturers. We’ve seen the difficult supply chain issues brought on by the worldwide pandemic, along with a shortage of qualified workers and the strong reshoring trends in many industries. If nothing else, this helps to show how resilient manufacturers can be.

These companies represent the best and brightest, and they reflect the continued vision, integrity, and creativity of their design (and manufacturing) engineers.

We think they deserve recognition from you, too. Vote online for one or more of the companies listed through October. leadership.designworldonline.com

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888.543.2447

ELECTRIC MOTORS GEAR PUMPS HPUs

The US has many separate electric grids and there are differences in maximum and minimum voltages, but the small differences are enough to cause problems for a company. Gaudent Technology can design an AC electric motor with winding that covers the full range of the US electric grid thus minimizing problems.

Over 35,000 quality industrial control products at great everyday prices are available on our webstore 24/7/365, and each one comes with the customer service you deserve.

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for small orders, just low motors.

Our primary focus has always been customer service — practical products, great prices, fast delivery, and helpful assistance. But the intangible value of customer service is something that cannot be faked, automated or glossed over.

Our team members here at AutomationDirect approach every day with one goal in mind - serve the customer. If the answer to any decision is “Yes, this is good for our customers”, then we do it, whether personally or via self-serve features on our site.

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need, when you need inventory, and warehouse you with quality business days (or less) within may apply; see Terms and http://go2adc.com/terms) your order.

You want to be confident in our products and our commitment to you.

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How cold can you go?

Extreme temperatures can degrade or compromise the integrity of seals not designed for harsh environments. Metal spring energized (MSE) seals can improve reliability, durability, and performance in demanding applications compared to elastomer- or polymerbased seals.

Greene Tweed recently introduced a new Canted Coil MSE sealing solution to reduce power loss and improve precision movement while maintaining leakage control and durability. The seals have broad chemical compatibility and resistance to extreme temperatures, pressure, and wear.

The company devoted two years of design, development, and in-

house testing to reduce friction and take on challenging low-temperature applications. Benchmark testing against other spring-energized seals highlighted the usual compromise in performance at extreme temperatures. Low friction at higher temperatures resulted in high leakage at low temperatures. Prioritizing leakage control at low temperatures resulted in higher friction. Greene Tweed’s new canted coil demonstrated a friction improvement across a wide temperature range while improving leakage control.

The new seal exhibits broad temperature resistance — from cryogenic to 550° F (288° C). Plus,

as the sealing material wears away, the sealing and friction performance remains consistent. It is also suitable for various smaller-diameter applications, including precise robotic movement, precise valve controls, hydraulic actuation, medical dispensing, and semiconductor production. DW

Greene Tweed • www.gtweed.com

Design For Industry

3D technology creates custom TMJ implants

The human temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects the jawbone (mandible) to the skull, allowing the jaw to open and close, enabling actions such as chewing, speaking, and yawning. TMJ arthroplasty involves the reconstruction or replacement of the joint to improve function and alleviate symptoms associated with TMJ disorders.

Materialise’s Personalized TMJ

Total Arthroplasty System combines implants, guides, and digital planning to streamline patient-specific TMJ treatments. This new solution gives personalized treatment for patients facing severe TMJ complications that require a joint replacement.

A clinical study with patients who have already received the TMJ prosthesis showed improved quality of life, pain levels, satisfaction, and eating ability compared to pre-surgery, with accurate implant placement reported in 97% of cases. Within the same clinical

study, clinicians reported a 100% success rate for the TMJ system one year after surgery.

The TMJ system is based on a fully digital process based on the patient’s anatomy. Clinicians work with Materialise’s clinical engineers, who perform the digital planning process in close collaboration with the surgeon. The digitalized workflow starts with a patient’s CT scan and dental information. During an interactive online session, a Materialise clinical engineer supports the treating physician in surgical planning and device design. Once finalized, Materialise manufactures the personalized TMJ implant for the surgeon.

The TMJ Total Arthroplasty System is currently available to surgeons in Europe, the U.K., and Brazil.

Materialise • www.materialise.com

1 APS Powers

12 Devices? In 1 Week or Less?

Accessory Power Strips (APS) and IEC 60320 jumper cords make designing electrical systems worldwide EASY. The APS offers 4-12 IEC 60320 Sheet F or J outlets and one IEC 60320 C14 or C20 inlet, options on circuit protection and on/off switches, and come in white, beige, and black.

The APS plugs into the wall outlet, and the outlets on the APS are used to plug in IEC 60320 jumper cords to power multiple equipment—power up to 12 devices using only one country-specific plug! Export power cords, cord sets, and components globally using this and other accessory power systems.

Toll-Free Phone: (800) 662-2290

E-mail: info@interpower.com

Business Hours: 7 a.m.–5 p.m. CST

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« Low cost, highly efficient, elastic flat belts.

Say “ahoy” to additive’s new copper alloy

Carbon nickel alloys, CuNi30, are commonly used in offshore applications because of their corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, and ease of fabrication. CuNi30, specifically, is suitable for use in naval vessels, offshore platforms, submarine components, and other marine infrastructure.

EOS recently announced the commercial availability of its new CopperAlloy CuNi30 for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing. The material delivers high strength, around 510 MPa UTS, and more than 20% elongation. It also achieves corrosion resistance in salt water and sustained performance in low temperatures. These mechanical properties meet UNS C96400 specifications mentioned in ASTM B369-09 for mechanical performance.

In partnership with Phillips Federal and Austal USA for the submarine industrial base (SIB), EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 was developed and tested to alleviate the supply pressure of traditional castings and meet the goal of “2+1 Columbia and Virginia Class submarine platforms” for the U.S. Navy. The material’s performance and competitive cost-per-part create a strong business case for production.

Traditionally, the manufacturing of CuNi alloy applications is done by casting, which can be costly due to testing and quality requirements. Now, parts can be produced regionally, locally, and on demand. EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 is now commercially available for the mid-frame EOS M 290 and the large-frame EOS M 400, followed by the four laser EOS M 400-4 later in 2024. DW EOS

Design For Industry

Clearing the air for mobile machines

Lubricants and hydraulic oils must be protected from unwanted particles to ensure the safe operation of hydraulic systems. Additionally, as hydraulic oil degasses inside the reservoir, it releases oil particles into the air, posing a health and safety risk. Filters help mitigate these problems, protect machinery, and maximize operations.

Eaton recently complemented its tank-mounted filtration solutions with the BR210 Dirt-Gate and BR110 H2O-Gate vent breathers to remove abrasive particles from the air before they can enter the hydraulic tank. This protects the hydraulic system from external contamination and significantly extends the fluid life. The vent breather ensures no moisture enters the tank, minimizing condensation and optimizing hydraulic oil performance through continuous air exchange. The filter also inhibits oil particles from escaping into the environment.

The BR series of vent breathers feature a durable plastic housing that protects the filter media from external influences. The filters are temperature resistant up to 250° F (121° C) and with a nominal output of up to 25 cfm (708 lpm). A visual-mechanical indicator actuates when the filter capacity is exhausted or the media is clogged. The new filters are suitable for heavy commercial vehicles, agriculture, and various mobile applications in industries such as chemicals and oil and gas. DW

Eaton www.eaton.com

Interpower®

Accessory Power—

1 APS Powers

12 Devices? In 1 Week or Less?

Accessory Power Strips (APS) and IEC 60320 jumper cords make designing electrical systems worldwide EASY. The APS offers 4-12 IEC 60320 Sheet F or J outlets and one IEC 60320 C14 or C20 inlet, options on circuit protection and on/off switches, and come in white, beige, and black.

The APS plugs into the wall outlet, and the outlets on the APS are used to plug in IEC 60320 jumper cords to power multiple equipment—power up to 12 devices using only one country-specific plug! Export power cords, cord sets, and components globally using this and other accessory power systems.

®

®

Toll-Free Phone: (800) 662-2290

E-mail: info@interpower.com

Business Hours: 7 a.m.–5 p.m. CST

Order Online!

www.interpower.com

EDITED BY MIKE SANTORA

Why bearings will be essential to Agriculture 4.0

According to the European Commission (EC), “The digitalization of the European agricultural sector has the potential to revolutionize the industry, promoting efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness.” New technologies, including smart actuators and intelligent sensors, will be vital to Agriculture 4.0 and ‘precision agriculture.’ But a vital component in these technologies mustn’t be overlooked: bearings. Here, Chris Johnson, managing director at SMB Bearings, explains how specialty bearings support smoother movement, reduced friction, and great precision on Agriculture 4.0 farms.

The EC predicts that everything from artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G will all “offer invaluable support for farmers and agribusinesses.” This is reflected by changes in the markets, as reported by Forbes: “The autonomous-farming industry is beginning to boom, with approximately 200 AI-based agricultural startups in the US alone.”

The Forbes report cites “self-driving tractors and combine harvesters, robot swarms for crop inspection, and autonomous sprayers” as key Industry 4.0 technologies that will revolutionize farming — or ‘Agriculture 4.0.’ These technologies can converge with smart actuators, intelligent sensors, electric motors, and alternative drive systems.

For instance, AI can help optimize crop management thanks to real-time data analysis from intelligent sensors. This data can then guide smart actuators, which produce a motion by converting energy and signals going into a system like an autonomous sprayer. The actuators can control the

height or angle of the crop sprayer, positioning the nozzle to work more effectively. Another example would be an electric motor controlled by a variable speed drive (VSD). The motor’s performance can be guided by AI algorithms to optimize its performance and energy consumption, again based on real-time data.

These processes are called ‘precision agriculture,’ where automated Agriculture 4.0 devices operate more effectively and accurately based on a hotbed of real-time data. Essential variables like soil conditions, crop health, and other environmental factors can be monitored to optimize yield, resource efficiency, and sustainability. Moreover, this data management and remote control of equipment can be accelerated by high-speed 5G connections so farmers can make faster and more valuable decisions.

However, precision agriculture is also putting farmers under pressure. Higher

demands are also being placed on equipment; while self-driving tractors may seem like a magic solution, they are still machines that require ongoing maintenance. The onus is on maintenance engineers to guarantee high-quality equipment so modern farmers can stay competitive and get the most from Agriculture 4.0.

Precise movement

This brings us to an essential component in Agriculture 4.0, which the latest technologies like smart actuators, intelligent sensors, and alternative drive systems all rely upon: specialty bearings.

For instance, bearings are essential for providing smooth and precise linear motion in smart actuators. They support

Various types of ceramic bearings are worth considering for Agriculture 4.0 applications as they facilitate smooth movement and precise functionality.

The European Commission says Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) will “offer invaluable support” for farmers.

the movement of the actuator shaft or rod, ensuring minimal friction and efficient operation. Bearings distribute the loads applied to the actuator evenly, which prevents excessive wear and facilitates consistent performance. This is especially important in applications where precise force and positioning are required.

In electric motors, bearings support the rotor and shaft, allowing them to rotate with minimal friction. This is crucial for the efficient and reliable operation of the motor. Bearings handle both axial and radial loads in electric motors, ensuring stability and smooth rotation. This is particularly important in high-speed Agriculture 4.0 applications where precise control is necessary.

Specialty bearings can help maintain the alignment of Industry 4.0 sensor components for more accurate data collection. This information is especially useful to modern farmers. Forbes reports, “To survive today, farmers need to be experts in fertilizers and soil, insecticides specific to different crops, planting and irrigation cycles, and weather impacts, among other things.”

Elsewhere, smart bearings with builtin sensors — which gained popularity in automotive anti-lock braking systems (ABS) — are now increasingly being adopted by the industry. Smart bearings can be affixed to Agriculture 4.0 technologies to gather various data, including measuring force and torque measurements or external factors like weather conditions, crop characteristics, and more.

But which specialty bearings should engineers choose for faster, more precise Agriculture 4.0 tasks?

Equipment longevity

First, engineers should consider nonconductive bearings that resist corrosion and withstand damp outdoor farming conditions. Second, the bearings should have an extended lifespan to cut down on the maintenance of precision agriculture equipment.

Plastic bearings are less suited to this environment, as this type of bearing tends to wear down quickly. Instead, ceramic bearings are a more durable option due to their non-conductive properties and the material’s stiffness. Both the rings and balls are entirely made from ceramic and are not to be confused with hybrid bearings, which have steel rings and ceramic balls.

Various types of ceramics are worth considering for precision farming applications. Zirconia is popular because of its high density and wide temperature range. Moreover, full ceramic bearings in zirconium oxide (ZrO2) typically handle 65 to 75% of the load of a steel bearing, which is crucial for heavyweight farming machinery. Unlike plastic bearings, full ceramic ones need minimal upkeep, resulting in much longer intervals between replacements.

Specialty bearings are vital in facilitating smooth movement, reducing friction, and ensuring precise functionality in smart actuators, intelligent sensors, and electric motors. Their proper selection and integration contribute significantly to the overall performance, efficiency, and longevity of these electromechanical systems and will be integral to Agriculture 4.0. DW

SMB Bearings • smbbearings.com

EDITED BY MIKE SANTORA

Hot runner systems for zinc die casting?

Hot runners have been a common manufacturing tool in the plastic injection molding industry for over 30 years. With this technology came improved efficiencies and benefits. Although hot runners for zinc die casting have surfaced occasionally, die casting with molten metal has proved to be much more challenging for this technology compared to plastics — until now.

In 2016, the German company Ferrofacta solved the challenges that hot runners faced when die casting in zinc. With new materials and a new design concept, hot runners can now be incorporated into most conventional die casting machines, regardless of manufacturer.

This technology improves zinc die casting efficiencies by significantly lowering scrap rates, decreasing cycle times, increasing die usage, improving casting quality, and lowering overall carbon footprint.

In conventional zinc die casting, a sprue bushing is incorporated into a die to direct the molten zinc from the machine through a runner and gating system and finally into the die cavities. This full “runner system” is then ejected, and the parts are separated. The remaining scrap runner system is then either remelted or sold.

The sprue and main runner system are eliminated when using a hot runner system. Depending on the size and shape of the components being cast, molten zinc can be either directly injected into a casting or indirectly into a small sub-runner that feeds molten zinc into a single or multiple cavities.

Cycle times in die casting depend on how long it takes to solidify the largest section of the entire shot. Typically, this is the sprue and runner system. With a hot runner system, the sprue and runner have been eliminated or significantly reduced, resulting in much shorter cycle times and additional cost savings.

Shown here

the hot runner system with an indirect runner eliminating the conventional sprue and runner system.

quality can also be improved, leading to higher yield levels and lower scrap rates due to quality issues.

Zinc die casting alloys are extremely fluid. Casting thickness as low as 0.2 mm (.008-in.) has been achieved, but it can be difficult to cast in normal operating conditions. Using hot runner systems can provide more control over the critical process variables that affect casting quality, such as die temperature, which is crucial for casting thin wall applications.

Case study: Ferrofacta knife

This is an example of a sprue and runner in a conventional runner system. The hot runner system will eliminate most of this processing scrap.

By keeping zinc liquid throughout the die casting process, air is almost eliminated. This means less porosity in the casting. In addition, by controlling temperatures more effectively, surface

The Ferrofacta knife is a sample piece given away at tradeshows. The tooling and hot runner system was designed to showcase the different methods of gating — direct or indirect gating — and their advantages.

The direct gating option involves feeding liquid zinc directly onto the surface of a part, resulting in the

is

complete elimination of a scrap runner system. There are also no residual traces of gate marks or overflows on the split line. However, a remnant of the gate remains on the casting surface, which may be acceptable for functional castings, or can be covered by a cap or secondary process. This gating option is used more often for medium to larger casting sizes.

The indirect gating option is where liquid zinc is fed into a small sub-runner before filling cavities. This option’s main advantage is allowing multiple cavities per nozzle, and is far more economical, especially for smaller castings.

The following theoretical scenario compares casting the Ferrofacta knife in a conventional die casting process compared to an indirect hot runner system. In each case, a total of five million sets (left- and right-hand parts) or a total of 10 million castings are made in one year. The same machine is used with an operating cost of $100/hr.

In this scenario, when using a conventional runner system, four sets of knives (eight cavities) are cast, whereas when incorporating the hot runner system, six sets of knives (12 castings) can be cast with the same size tool and die casting machine.

Table 1 conventional runner vs indirect hot runner

Because of the shorter cycle time and a higher number of cavities, it takes far less time to cast five million sets with the hot runner than the conventional system. The yearly savings in operating the machine are $324,100.

Additionally, scrap is reduced by 967,000 lb. This translates to lower energy costs (remelting less scrap) and lower WIP inventory costs. Eliminating the need to remelt scrap also decreases carbon emissions by 73 tons.

Incorporating hot runner systems into the zinc die casting process can improve casting efficiency, cost savings, lower WIP inventory costs, and a lower carbon footprint. This can be achieved by an OEM looking to receive these benefits directly, or a die casting manufacturer wanting to increase profit margins.

Hot runners can be used in conventional machines casting small components indirectly using a subrunner to feed multiple cavities or casting medium to large components feeding directly onto the casting surface, potentially eliminating up to 100% processing scrap.

This new technology is in the process of changing zinc die casting, with higher efficiencies, lower scrap rates, better quality, and more. DW

Shown here is the Ferrofacta Knife sample.

BY IAN WRIGHT

SENIOR EDITOR

ENGINEERING.COM

Top five misconceptions about 3D printing in 2024

The rapid pace of advances in 3D printing hardware, software, and materials means that many engineers still have obsolete ideas about the capabilities and benefits of additive manufacturing (AM). Those behind on 3D printing knowledge likely sacrifice innumerable opportunities for greater efficiency, product innovation, and responsiveness to customer demands.

To gain an AM edge, let’s bust five of the most common 3D printing myths.

Myth #1: 3D printing is only costeffective for prototypes and limited runs

While the flexibility and relative speed of 3D printing make it particularly

valuable for prototyping, it can be costeffective in other applications, including volume production. For example, Airbus and Boeing have been 3D-printing interior aircraft components for years. In the dental space, millions of customized aligners are produced each year using additive manufacturing.

Myth #2: 3D-printed parts are weak

As with any process, the strength of a 3D-printed part depends on its design, material selection, and post-processing. In general, a plastic part made with 3D printing will be weaker than an equivalent part made with injection molding. However, metal 3D-printed parts can perform comparably to their

machined equivalents, though typically only with additional post-processing, such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Adjusting printing parameters, such as layer height and infill density, can also improve 3D-printed part strength.

Myth #3: Material selection for 3D printing is limited

After decades of development, the materials industry for 3D printing has grown from a few filaments and resins to hundreds of options, including ceramics, composites, and biomaterials — not just plastics and metals. Of course, the material options for a given 3D-printing application will vary depending on the process. But even 3D-printed dentures are increasingly common and highly customizable to each patient’s needs. | 3D Systems

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within a single category, such as binder jetting, there is a wide array of substrates to choose from, including fullcolor and elastomeric 3D printing materials.

Myth #4: 3D printers are difficult to operate

While desktop 3D printers have become increasingly user-friendly over the years, industrial 3D printers typically require some training to operate. There are similarities between operating a CNC machine and an industrial 3D printer — both require setup, calibration, and a software interface — but there are also important differences. For example, 3D printers typically have more calibration parameters, such as the atmosphere inside the build chamber. Prior knowledge of CNC operation will put one ahead of the curve in learning to operate an industrial 3D printer, but a deeper understanding of materials, process parameters, and quality control might still be useful.

Myth #5: 3D printing will replace other manufacturing processes

3D printing technology will continue to advance, and the adoption of industrial-scale additive manufacturing will grow along with it. Nevertheless, AM will not replace conventional manufacturing processes but rather augment them. For example, 3D-printed jigs and fixtures can reduce cycle times and improve product quality in many traditional manufacturing applications. In any case, the relative costs, production speeds, and size constraints of 3D printing make it unlikely to replace other manufacturing processes completely in the foreseeable future. DW

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Advanced 3D-printing materials provide strength, weight reduction, and cost savings for industries such as aerospace. | Markforged

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EDITED BY MIKE SANTORA

Acing a custom manufacturing job

If you golf, or even attempt mini-golf, you know it all comes down to putting. Whether you are trying to lower your handicap, make the tour, or simply putt your way through the laughing clown obstacle while on a family vacation, the entire game comes down to putting.

Bruce Rearick from Burnt Edges

Consulting in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the guru of putting and is known nationally for “a better understanding of the science and art of putting.”

Bruce cut his teeth for 15 years with the Palmer organization (Yes, that one. Think lemonade and iced tea). While Bruce has many putter design ideas and concepts, such as moving the putter head, hosel placement, and customizing for each golfer (Note, every other club in the bag gets customized except the putter), the large golf club companies would not take the manufacturing risk. Enter Brian Olson, and Olson Custom Designs, also of Indianapolis, a custom manufacturer with expertise in CNC milling, turning, and fabrication. “Unlike the behemoth golf manufacturers, Brian took the time to listen. He entertained my

The Olson Custom Designs putter.

ideas, my challenges, and even made manufacturability suggestions,” said Bruce Rearick.

The Challenge

Aligning the proper manufacturing process to support the ideas Bruce had developed was of primary importance. Just getting someone to listen was a big challenge. Bruce now knows he has a responsive, engaged partner in OCD.

The Solution

Once Bruce engaged with Olson Custom Designs, everything changed. The clean shop, coupled with personal, responsive engineers, and the knowhow to run the 5-Axis CNC led to 6 different versions.

The Results

Making inroads with famous golfers and business professionals such as Joel Stalter, the BP world tour, Bo Van Pelt, and Aaron Bradley with the Korn Ferry tour, has been invaluable for the company. “One of my favorite moments was providing Charles Schwab a private lesson in his home,” said Rearick. DW

Fluid Power

BY JOSH COSFORD

How long should hydraulic fluid last?

Forever. It should last forever. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for more YouTube Shorts. I kid, of course, although there is always truth in comedy because you should treat your oil as your forever fluid. Of course, simply showering your hydraulic fluid with love will not guarantee a lifelong relationship. However, when all the proper maintenance and care are offered to your hydraulic system as a whole, you can expect your hydraulic fluid to last the life of the machine.

Of course, I’m not so extreme an optimist as to believe all oil in all conditions will age like an Okinawan. Like any Blue Zone centenarian, aging healthfully requires conscious thought and effort. Hydraulic fluid must be kept clean, cool, and dry to prevent potential side effects, and regular testing elucidates any potentially unmanageable concerns.

Clean oil, at first, may seem to benefit only the pumps, valves, and actuators that constitute most of your hydraulic system. But consider the future state of any hydraulic system making do with poor filtration — it’s a place where sludge, oxidation, and erosion lead even more self-generated contamination. Picture excessive particles acting like a honing fluid that

erodes metal, increasing clearances, and gaps, and reducing machine efficiency while increasing heat.

We’ve established that clean oil is good, so how clean is clean? Let’s just say that there is no such thing as oil that’s too clean. Always use the finest and largest filtration system you can afford and have the space to install. It's been proven that clean oil is a self-reinforcing concept that reduces the particle generation rate, thereby extending your oil's life.

You also want to ensure that your oil remains cool, and by "cool," I mean optimal operating range. What is optimal depends on the oil type, quality, and application. What's essential is preventing overheating. The rate of oil oxidation increases exponentially as the temperature rises, and the useful life of oxidized oil is precisely zero, as its actual structure is adulterated into ketones, acids, and aldehydes. Should oxidation veer out of control, conditions as bad as sludge and varnish may require replacing significant components in addition to the fluid itself.

Oxidization is natural and unpreventable, but the oxidation rate is slowed down through additives that can be monitored with regular

oil testing or even sophisticated TAN (Total Acid Number) sensors. Should the antioxidant additives degrade over time, they can be replaced, helping to ensure that your fluid life is extended indefinitely.

Keeping your oil dry also prevents hydraulic fluid morbidity, as water increases oxidation, hydrolysis, and microbial growth. We’ve discussed oxidation but hydrolysis creates similar effects and the creation of alcohols, acids, and other forms of degradation. With excessive water and a warm, cozy environment, bacteria, yeast, and fungi can sometimes proliferate, accelerating oil death while often creating unpleasant odors.

Sometimes, hydraulic fluid may be reconditioned back to life, but the process is often expensive and justified only for high reservoir volume or expensive fluids. Even if you follow my recommendations, there's still no guarantee of everlasting life. However, when you are thoughtful about fluid maintenance by keeping your oil clean, cool, and dry, you can expect a long, reliable life of not only the fluid but also the rest of the system in general. DW

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Women to lead the way at AUTOMATE 2024

Automate — the largest robotics and automation trade show in North America — is back and has big plans for this year’s upcoming event. Show organizers plan on “redefining the tech industry narrative by celebrating and empowering women in automation.” The annual trade show and conference, running May 6-9 in Chicago and hosted by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), will open its third day with an inaugural Women’s Empowerment Forum and a muchanticipated keynote address by MIT Professor Daniela Rus.

The Women’s Empowerment Forum, free for show registrants, will feature a panel of female executives in automation, including Marina Bill of ABB Robotics, Adi Leviatan of 3M, and Rashmi Misra of Microsoft. The panel will discuss breaking barriers and staying motivated to make a mark in this male-dominated industry. Following the Empowerment Forum, Professor Rus will delve into the future of automation and robotics, exploring the transformative potential of the next

60 years in the industry. The show will wrap up its final day with Wendy Tan White, CEO of Intrinsic, discussing advances at the intersection of robotics and AI to solve real problems in industrial automation.

“Automate has always been at the forefront of innovation. Yet, as technology continues to evolve and its economic impact grows at an unprecedented rate, the need for diverse voices in the conversation has never been more critical,” said Deb Kling, vice president of marketing for A3. “The Women’s Empowerment Forum, combined with our featured keynotes, not only recognizes these incredible female leaders who are driving change but also helps to strengthen awareness of the critical need for women in the industry.”

The Automate Show is free for anyone who works with, or is interested in, automation. The Chicago event will be the largest Automate Show yet, with more than 30,000 registrants from across the globe, 200 speakers, and more than 800 exhibitors occupying

over 365,000 square feet of exhibit space. Attendees will see the latest solutions in cutting-edge robotics, vision, artificial intelligence, motion control, and related automation technologies.

In conjunction with the free show, the paid Automate Conference will feature 200+ accomplished industry professionals leading classroom-style sessions. Those looking to sharpen their skills or deepen their automation knowledge should sign up for these educational conference sessions to get practical solutions, discover the latest innovations, or learn from real-world case studies. Conference attendees can also take advantage of Certified Vision Professional courses in basic and advanced tracks and Certified Motion Control Professional — Basic courses culminating in an exam to secure professional certification (exam fees are separate). DW

Don’t miss North America’s leading automation event.

With more than 800 exhibiting companies from around the world, Automate 2024 provides unparalleled access to cutting-edge robotics, AI, technology and industrial automation solutions. Experience what’s possible—only at Automate.

MICRO DRIVES BRING DYNAMICS into handling

EDITED BY MILES BUDIMIR • SENIOR EDITOR

Small dc micro drives bring dynamics into handling applications, such as swiveling-rotary modules

Miniature drives and microdrives are used in virtually all areas of automation technology and have a correspondingly wide variety of applications. These range from medical technology and laboratory automation as well as general machine construction and intralogistics through to aerospace applications. In all areas, the small drive systems play a role in ensuring that the associated automation systems function with optimum process safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness. This also applies to handling applications. In slimline, yet high-torque swiveling-rotary modules, these drives ensure that even large workpieces are moved precisely, both in the case of fast screwdrivers and also in automatic rotary handling, assembly and testing systems.

For typical movement sequences in handling and assembly technology, such

as turning, swiveling, screwing, rolling or coiling, swiveling-rotary modules answer the call. One such example comes from Jung Antriebstechnik u. Automation (JA2) based in Wettenberg, Germany. The company’s ForTorque is a kit consisting of servo-electric swivellingrotary modules compatible with the company’s linear motor actuator series and are equipped with an ac servo drive, a gearbox and backlash-free bearings. The modules are especially suitable for the highly dynamic rotation of large, high-inertia workpieces and eccentric grippers as well as for use in screwing and coiling technology.

Turning, swiveling, screwing, coiling

A typical application case for the miniature swiveling-rotary modules is, for example, screwing the caps on small cosmetics or pharmaceutics containers in constrained spaces on fully automated

packaging lines. The modules are also suitable in cases where grippers or workpieces need to be swiveled; that is, when assembling or separating products. Designed as a modular system, six sizes with diameters of 16, 20, 25, 35, 40, and 45 mm are available. This covers peak and continuous torques of 0.3 and 0.14 Nm to 4.0 and 2.6 Nm respectively. The inertias of the load may be between 2.0 and 200 kgcm2. This provides the most suitable solution for accurately angled movement and positioning for a range of different handling and assembly tasks.

To reduce the load on the output shaft of gearheads in the case of high external moments of inertia, the output plate of the four larger module has an extremely rigid bearing consisting of two thin-section bearings. Plus, the swiveling-rotary module with 40-mm diameter can be equipped with a fluidic

rotary joint for pneumatics or vacuum applications, for instance, to supply a pneumatic gripper with compressed air. This modular concept can be pushed even further. For instance, an interesting possibility is to combine the fast rotary units with linear axes, such as that of the QuickLab series, with matching adapter plates available as accessories. The result is a compact lift-rotary or lift-swiveling system through to five-axis handling systems.

High dynamics and precision

"The drives are the heart of our modular automation system and the requirements placed on them are very high," explained Wilhelm Jung, Managing Director at JA2. "The motors must operate highly dynamically, be precisely controllable

and have suitable dimensions." In the case of the ForTorque modules, for example, brushless dc motors of the B and BX4 series from FAULHABER are used. The motors, with their two-pole and four-pole technology, are extremely compact. The ForTorque modules use motor variants of the B series with diameters of 16, 20, and 35 mm and are just 28, 36 and 68 mm long respectively, but deliver continuous torques of up to 168 mNm in the case of the largest variant. In the case of the BX4 series, "here we use motors with 22 mm or 32 mm diameter and continuous torques of 18 and 53 mNm respectively," reported Jung.

The motors are used in the ForTorque modules at speeds of up to 8,000 rpm. Different gearheads,

The swiveling-rotary module with 40 mm diameter can be equipped with a fluidic rotary joint for pneumatics or vacuum to supply a pneumatic gripper with compressed air.

including zero backlash planetary gearheads from FAULHABER, provide gear reduction. Ultimately, the gearhead technology with the respective maximum input speed determines the limit for the maximum motor speed. "We then select the reduction ratio according to the application," continued Jung. This lets them influence the extent to which the external moment of inertia is reduced by the square of the reduction. The motor can then be precisely regulated unaffected by the lever. “When selecting the gearheads, we paid particular attention to the efficiency of the gearheads,” added Jung. “Because the better the efficiency is, the more precisely the torque applied at the gearhead output can be determined from the motor current. This is a key feature particularly in the case of screwing applications where delicate (plastic) parts need to be screwed on with a defined torque.”

Single-cable technology for fault-free control

All swiveling-rotary modules are connected and controlled using a standardized bayonet connector, single-cable technology, and a motion

Motion Control

The slimline infinite rotary units are suitable for the highly dynamic rotation of large workpieces and eccentric grippers as well as for use in screwing and coiling technology.

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controller. In automation systems, however, the switch cabinet is usually some distance from the actual drive. "Between the motor and the controller in the separate switch cabinet, there can then be 10, 20, or more meters," said Jung. There is therefore a special, multi-shielded cable that transfers the motor power and the position sensor signal between the motor and controller up to 30 m without interference. The cable is fastened with strain relief, can be plugged in and is also designed for use with cable chains. Moreover, thanks to the available preassembled cable sets, the single- cable technology simplifies installation.

With the motion controllers, the user has the choice because the motors are compatible with different controllers. "We also offer motion controllers from FAULHABER," said Jung. For example, the QuickLab linear axes use the LM2070 and LM1247 dc linear drives. They are not designed as classic "surface rotors" with carriages and guides. Instead, the forcer rod is guided within a 3-phase self-supporting coil. "This design produces an exceptionally good relationship between linear force and current and high dynamics. In addition, there are no cogging torques, thereby making the linear motors ideal for use in our modular QuickLab system," added Jung. DW

Jung Antriebstechnik u. Automation (JA2)

www.faulhaber.com/en/

www.ja2-gmbh.de/home-en

Vibe check: testing components for satellite-environment readiness

SPACE RACE(S): ceramic bearings are ready for takeoff Page 40

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Because they are lightweight and vacuum-compatible, ceramic bearings will be greatly relied upon in space exploration.

are most commonly used in applications where excellent corrosion resistant is required, along with exposure to extremely low or high temperatures. In other words, ceramic beings are ideal for use in space.

One of the key advantages of full ceramic bearings is that they can run constantly at speed without lubrication, which is why Si3N4 is often used in vacuum environments.

ZrO2 bearings can be used up to 400° Celsius, and Si3N4 bearings up to 800° Celsius. Also, for these temperatures, it is recommended that the bearings should be full complement. This means the bearing doesn’t have a ball retainer; instead, the free space allows additional balls to be fitted. This increase in ball complement allows for significant increases in radial bearing capacity, although maximum speed is significantly reduced. Down to approximately minus 200° Celsius, ceramics also have excellent low-temperature performance provided a suitable cage is used.

With their lightweight and vacuum-compatible properties, silicon nitride bearings will be greatly relied upon in space-exploration applications. They will particularly benefit satellites and spacecraft, which need optimal weight capacities to perform enhanced flight dynamics and acceleration. These specialist bearings, along with their stainless-steel counterparts, will be vital to ensuring that the next giant leap for humankind is a farfrom-risky business. AD

SMB Bearings

• smbbearings.com

Edited by Mike Santora

Vibe check: testing components for satellite-environment readiness

The European Space Agency (ESA) has added a microvibration test instrument, developed by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), to its satellite testing facilities. NPL is the UK’s National Measurement Institute, developing and maintaining the national primary measurement standards. The instrument measures vibrations generated by satellite subsystems to quantify their effects on images and measurements made from space. This facility is the result of five years of collaboration between NPL and ESA.

Vibrations onboard a satellite can be caused by common instruments and mechanisms, such as spinning reaction wheels, solar array drives, and rotating cryocoolers. ESA needed to be able to measure and correct for these jitters and vibrations to improve the accuracy of its Earth observations. This required the simulation of satellite components under a range of controlled vibration conditions.

“The NPL won a tender to design a system for the European Space Agency, which required a very high level of performance,” said Dan Veal, Senior

Research Scientist with the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom. “The system was required to measure very low frequency related to very low force. ESA needed a better way to check satellite components for these micro-vibrations, and to what effect they might disrupt a spacecraft.”

Measurement Platform Supported by a Vibration Isolation Platform

“NPL developed a platform which can characterize any force produced by a satellite component weighing up to 150 pounds,” added Veal.

European Space Agency’s micro-vibration test platform. | National Physical Laboratory

The micro-vibration platform can measure vibrations to an unprecedented degree of accuracy. It is so sensitive it can measure the force of a single dropped feather. Sometimes housed in a vacuum chamber to simulate space conditions, when used in air, the system is enclosed in a tent to limit perturbations caused by airflow.

The platform is built as a structure of two main levels: 1) a lower vibration isolation platform to cancel disturbances coming from the ground, and 2) an upper measurement platform.

Lower Vibration Isolation Platform

The lower vibration isolation platform uses a passive Negative-Stiffness vibration isolator, coupled with three highly sensitive active seismometers that control actuators, to sense ground vibrations coming into the system. The seismometers are designed to measure up to 0.3 hertz. Coupled with the Negative-Stiffness isolators, the passive/active system enables vibration isolation down to 0.1 Hz.

This system significantly reduces the effects of the vibration coming from sources, such as footsteps and

even waves from the nearby North Sea, ensuring a quiet environment for the measurement platform that is mated on top.

“We developed the lower vibration isolation platform around Minus K’s Negative-Stiffness isolators because they are capable of passively isolating vibrations down to 0.5 Hz,” explained Veal. “This was very important for our low-frequency application. But we also selected Negative-Stiffness because it is vacuum compatible.”

“Essentially, we stripped the Negative-Stiffness isolators down to their core systems, then augmented them with active seismometers connected with a custom interface,” explained Veal. “This enabled us to get down to 0.1 Hz isolation.”

Negative-Stiffness vibration isolation was developed by Minus K Technology, an OEM supplier to manufacturers of scanning probe microscopes, micro-hardness testers, and other vibration-sensitive instruments and equipment, such as for testing zero-g simulation of spacecraft.

These vibration isolators are compact and do not require electricity

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Schematic of a Negative-Stiffness isolator. | Minus K Technology

or compressed air, enabling sensitive instruments to be located wherever a production facility or laboratory needs to be. There are no motors, pumps, or chambers, and no maintenance because there is nothing to wear out. They operate purely in a passive mechanical mode.

What is very advantageous about Negative-Stiffness isolators is that they achieve a high level of isolation in multiple directions. These isolators have the flexibility of custom tailoring resonant frequencies to 0.5 Hz* vertically and horizontally (with some versions at 1.5 Hz horizontally).

(*Note that for an isolation system with a 0.5 Hz natural frequency, isolation begins at 0.7 Hz and improves with increased vibration frequency. The natural frequency is more commonly used to describe the system performance.)

“Vertical-motion isolation is provided by a stiff spring that supports a weight load, combined with a Negative-Stiffness mechanism,” said Erik Runge, Vice President of Engineering at Minus K Technology. “The net vertical stiffness is made very low without affecting the static load-supporting capability of the spring. Beam columns connected in series with the vertical-motion isolator provide horizontal-motion isolation. A beam column behaves as a spring combined with a negative-stiffness mechanism. The result is a compact passive isolator capable of low vertical and horizontal natural frequencies and high internal structural frequencies.”

Negative-Stiffness isolators deliver very high performance, as measured by a transmissibility curve. Vibration transmissibility is a measure of the vibrations that are transmitted through the isolator relative to the input vibrations. Negative-Stiffness isolators, when adjusted to 0.5 Hz, achieve approximately 93% isolation efficiency at 2 Hz; 99% at 5 Hz; and 99.7% at 10 Hz.

Upper Measurement Platform

Resting on top of the lower vibration isolation platform is the upper measurement platform. This platform allows for two modes of operation:

Upper measurement platform. | National Physical Laboratory

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1. It can measure the forces and torques exerted by a specimen mounted on the test table to a micronewton scale.

2. It actively produces and directs a predefined micro-vibration disturbance in multiple axes simultaneously onto a specimen to test its susceptibility to such disturbances.

“Components and subsystems can be mounted on the platform and tested before the satellite is assembled and launched into space,” said Veal. “This is very important because the platform simulates what the satellite will experience from its components in space by generating small, controlled forces and torques to shake satellite instruments and components in six degrees of freedom (6DoF).”

For the level of precision needed for the upper platform, NPL custom-

designed and manufactured many of the system’s components to strict requirements. This included such devices as actuators, which were custom-designed for magnet size, windings, coils, and linearity.

Validating Micro-Vibration Measurement of Satellite Components

The micro-vibration test platform was designed to measure very low frequency related to very low force.

| National Physical Laboratory

The micro-vibration test instrument gives the ESA confidence that a satellite’s mechanisms in space will generate verified forces and torques as displayed and confirmed on the microvibration test instrument on Earth. ESA and its contracted manufacturers, rely

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on exact specifications as developed, verified, and standardized by NPL research acquired from the microvibration test instrument. Critical to the success of this project has been Negative-Stiffness vibration isolation.

Minus K • minusk.com

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Sorbothane, Inc. –Shock and Vibration Solutions

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howtouseadhesivesfor hermetic wire feedthroughs

The hermetic sealing of electrical and optical feedthroughs is critical for the longevity and reliability of electronic devices. Depending on the degree of hermeticity required and the constraints of the application, techniques such as gasket sealing, adhesive sealing, and ceramic or glass sealing are used. By comparison, epoxy adhesive sealing or potting offers exceptional processing flexibility — particularly for hermetically sealing wire feedthroughs composed of many conductors through a small diameter housing.

Commercially available non-hermetic connectors can also be back-filled with epoxy around the conductors to provide a wire feedthrough that’s quickly fabricated while delivering hermetic performance.*

Process and adhesive requirements

The factors to consider when using epoxies to create a hermetically sealed wire feedthrough include:

• Viscosity

• Cure schedule

• Adhesion

• Chemical and temperatureresistance

• Shrinkage-upon-cure

• Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)

For back-filling wire feedthroughs, a lower viscosity is typically preferable such that the adhesive readily flows and fills the internal space of the electrical connection. There are one and two-part epoxy systems. For two-part systems, the mix ratios must be followed closely, and the components thoroughly

mixed before use. It’s also critical to vacuum degas the epoxy to avoid the entrapment of any suspended air. Improper mixing and/or an improper cure schedule will compromise the physical integrity of the epoxy seal, reducing the cross-link density and chemical resistance while potentially increasing the permeability of the epoxy.

Epoxies have a high degree of adhesion to most substrates. However, all parts bonded with an epoxy must be appropriately degreased and cleaned to ensure a strong bond and avoid the inclusion of any weak boundary layers.

For an epoxy, high-glass transition temperature, Tg (the temperature at which the adhesive will start to soften), indicates superior resistance to high-temperature resistance. The permeability of the adhesive to atmospheric gases must be minimized. Typically, epoxies offer a low permeability, making them ideal

for hermetic sealing and potting applications. They also exhibit some degree of shrinkage upon cure. Selecting an epoxy with minimal shrinkage upon cure helps alleviate stresses that may build up within the joint, which could result in debonding or the formation of cracks or channels, compromising hermeticity.

Epoxies can be formulated with various fillers tailored to their CTE for a particular application. As epoxies are inherently electrically insulative, nonconductive fillers can modify the CTE of the formulated system.

For an ideal feedthrough, there should be no major difference in the CTE between the housing material, epoxy, or conductors. A significant CTE mismatch could result in a differential in expansion and contraction while the part undergoes temperature changes. This could lead to an accumulation of stress, resulting in cracking and a loss of adhesion and hermeticity. This

Venkat Nandivada • Manager Technical Support | Rohit Ramnath • Senior Product Engineer | Master Bond

Figure 1. Cross-section of an all-epoxy seal containing a 50-ohm impedance RG178 coaxial cable. The shield is partially dismantled and electrically reconnected within the feedthrough with the outer jacket stopping inside the epoxy surface.

is relevant throughout the operating life of the part and during the initial fabrication of the wire feedthrough (i.e., during thermally catalyzed epoxy curing and the subsequent cool-down process).

Case study 1: MIT-LIGO

The LIGO Team (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) at MIT required a hermetic sealing method that allowed for a high number of electrical and optical conductors to construct their prototype five-meter vacuum system. The hermetic sealing method must be vacuum clean, bakeable, cost-effective, and use welldeveloped technology.

The conductors in question include optical fiber, instrumentation feedthroughs carrying low and high-voltage connections withstanding up to 1 kV. The traditional method of using glass-to-metal or ceramicto-metal seals was deficient regarding the efficient use of flange space, cost, and lead time. Due to these limitations and the lower conductor density provided by the traditional hermetic sealing method, the LIGO team desired an alternative solution.

Epoxy adhesives, due to their hightemperature resistance, electrical resistivity, tailorable CTE, and flexibility of use, constructed the hermetical seals through potting. Additionally, epoxies can be formulated to meet NASA’s low-outgassing requirements, rendering them suitable for vacuum applications.

Two types were tested: a stainless-steel shell with an epoxy plug and an all-epoxy version with stainless threads. The researchers found that all passthroughs leaked no helium from the factory. However, after thermal cycling and baking, leaks developed in the stainless-steel shell-type seal. The all-epoxy seal did not exhibit these problems.

Figure 1 illustrates a cross-section of the all-epoxy seal with stainless-steel threads. It can be hypothesized that the leak present in the stainless-steel shell design post-thermal baking was due to a mismatch of the CTE between the steel and the epoxy, resulting in a loss of adhesion or allowing for the development of leaks.

This work was performed in 1988, and since then, more work has been done. In particular, the inclusion of non-conductive

adhesives

fillers can be added to the epoxy to match its CTE to the seal’s housing. The LIGO team found that the all-epoxy seal with stainless-steel threads provided a cost-effective means to construct hermetic seals for isolated ground co-axial feedthroughs without causing problematic outgassing.

Case study 2: NASA

NASA employed an epoxy potting technique to address a common problem: wicking refrigerant fluid into the insulation of thermocouple wires. A feedthrough within the compressor’s casing can allow for fluid to leak into the adjacent disconnect box outside of the compressor casing — leading to fluid contamination and creating unfavorable operating conditions.

To address this, NASA constructed a customized, epoxy-based, hermetic feedthrough for thermocouple routing on a bank of Worthington compressors. Thermocouples monitor bearing temperatures. The thermocouple is routed into the compressor casing via a hermetic feedthrough and embedded within the bearings. As the casing is filled with R12 refrigerant fluid and operates at an elevated temperature, the selected epoxy was chosen to resist these conditions.

Figure 2 shows the design

epoxy after the thermal couple wires were bonded and sealed with an epoxy prep coat.

Due to the inherent flexibility of this method, NASA employed this design in various other feedthroughs with different wire-types, wire-gauges, and configurations.

The construction of epoxy-based hermetic feedthroughs accommodates a range of applications, including vacuum, pressure, or for the isolation of fluids.

*Referencesavailableuponrequest.

consisting of a stainless-steel tube potted with

Figure 2. Cutaway diagram of the customized epoxy-based thermocouple hermetic feedthrough, which includes an 8” piece of 0.500” diameter 304 stainless-steel tube with six pairs of 24-gauge, stranded, PTFE insulated type “T” thermocouple wire. Shrink tubing is used for strain relief at the tube exits.

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Wave: For obtaining loads when the load is static or the working range is small

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NBK Acquired Solid Spot’s Plastic Fastener Business and Expanded Lineup

NBK is a manufacturer of Specialty Screws including Plastic Fasteners. In this April, NBK acquired Solid Spot LLC’s plastic fastener business and then, more various product lineup are available such as PEEK, RENY, PC, PVDF, PTFE, POM, etc.

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RBR50 AWARDS RECOGNIZE INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE IN ROBOTICS

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NOTABLE WINNERS OF THE RBR50 ROBOTICS INNOVATION AWARDS

The RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards have honored industry leaders for the past 12 years. And now we’re taking the RBR50 to the next level.

We introduced three new categories in 2024 – Robot of the Year, Application of the Year, and Startup of the Year –and will be holding the inaugural RBR50 Gala on May 1 from 6-8 PM at the end of Day 1 of the Robotics Summit & Expo.

The RBR50 Gala offers a chance to connect with the world’s leading robotics innovators. It’s also an evening of celebration to honor leading roboticists and their impressive achievements.

You can find profiles of all of this year’s RBR50 winners on The Robot Report

Digit is Robot of the Year 2023 was the year of humanoids, and Agility Robotics has taken an early lead with commercial trials. The company’s Digit humanoid stole the show at ProMAT, where it demonstrated its ability to pick up totes from a shelf, walk over to a conveyor, and place the totes onto the conveyor.

At the time, Agility said the demo was based on a real customer use case. Later in 2023, the company announced pilots with two major customers:

Amazon and GXO Logistics, which claims to be the world’s largest pureplay contract logistics provider. Digit is 5 ft, 9 in. (175 cm) tall, weighs 143 lb. (64.8 kg), and can carry up to 35 lb. (15.8 kg).

Digit’s potential flexibility gives it an edge over other types of robots, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) with top modules, according to Adrian Stoch, chief automation officer at GXO.

“The real application here is endto-end product flow throughout the warehouse,” he said. “Until now, solutions have been mostly discrete applications: goods-to-person, sorters, wearable tech. Solving discrete problems in one part of the puzzle.”

We’ve never seen a humanoid perform real tasks in a commercial setting until now. Humanoids have long

Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid

been relegated to research labs, but the goalposts began to seismically shift in 2023.

Continuing the year of the humanoid, other developers made the 2024 RBR50 list, including Apptronik for Apollo, Boston Dynamics for Atlas, and Figure for Figure 01. All are taking different approaches to locomotion, manipulation, and control, so it will be interesting to continue following these innovators.

Autopicker wins Application of the Year

Cincinnati-based Brightpick, which spun out of Photoneo, was named the inaugural Application of the Year winner. In 2023, Brightpick unveiled Autopicker, which it said is the first commercially available AMR that can pick and consolidate orders directly in warehouse aisles.

Autopicker combines a mobile platform, a robotic arm, machine vision, and artificial intelligence for e-commerce fulfillment. The innovative system’s patented two-tote design enables it to retrieve orders from bins on shelving and pick items to one of its totes. This reduces the need for associates to spend time traveling with carts.

The robot can fulfill orders for everything from cosmetics and

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pharmaceuticals to e-grocery items, electronics, polybagged apparel, and spare parts. To do this, Autopicker uses proprietary 3D vision and algorithms trained on more than 500 million picks, as well as machine learning to improve over time.

“On the AI side, this was not possible five to six years ago,” Jan Zizka, co-founder and CEO of Brightpick, told The Robot Report.

“The serious breakthroughs enable machine learning to generalize to unseen items.”

Other companies recognized for warehouse systems included Amazon Robotics, Exotec, Geek+, Instock, KUKA, Mujin, Sereact, and Simbe Robotics. Not only does this demonstrate the demand in this sector, but also the potential of automating new applications.

Electric Sheep named Startup of the Year

Every year, we see robotics startups with promising technologies shut their doors for good. It’s often very difficult to find funding to keep the business running while iterating on a robot and demonstrating its value to new customers.

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its time deploying its technology. This business model led to it being named Startup of the Year.

Electric Sheep develops autonomous robots for outdoor maintenance. Its flagship robot is an autonomous mower backed by the company’s ES1 foundation model. Instead of selling or leasing the robots to commercial landscaping businesses, Electric Sheep is becoming vertically integrated by purchasing landscaping companies. This allows it to get to know how these businesses operate and where the robots can best be

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deployed while still bringing in revenue. Once Electric Sheep has decided where the robots can do the most work, its team can start integrating them into operations.

Since implementing this strategy, Electric Sheep said it has grown revenue by eight times. Last year, the company acquired four landscaping businesses, and it said this strategy is key to its long-term plan.

RBR50 winners innovate in several areas

In addition to humanoids, warehouse automation, and a new model for commercialization, this year’s RBR50 demonstrated the growing relevance of generative AI to robotics.

The availability of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT is making new breakthroughs

possible. For example, Sereact released PickGPT, a robotics transformer that combines LLMs with the company’s computer vision technology. The technology allows robot operators to instruct the company’s pickand-place robots using natural language. Agility Robotics and Boston Dynamics produced interesting demos using generative AI, while Toyota Research Institute is building large behavior models to enable robots to more quickly learn new tasks.

Other notable winners include Harvard University’s development of a soft exoskeleton that helped a 73-year-old man with Parkinson’s walk without freezing. And Seattle-based startup Glidance developed a robot that offers autonomous mobility assistance for the visually impaired. RR

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Organization Name: ABB Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: abb.com

Year Founded: 1974

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Modular industrial robot arms offer game-changing flexibility

Organization Name: Advanced Construction Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: constructionrobots.com

Year Founded: 2016

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: IronBOT makes rebar installation faster, safer

Organization Name: Agility Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: www.agilityrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Robot of the Year

Innovation: Digit humanoid gets feet wet with logistics work

Organization Name: Amazon Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: amazon.jobs/en/teams/amazon-robotics

Year Founded: 2003

Number of Employees: 501-1000

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Amazon strengthens robotics portfolio with heavy-duty mobile robot

Organization Name: Ambi Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: ambirobotics.com

Year Founded: 2018

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: AmbiSort uses real-world data to improve picking

Organization Name: Apptronik

Country: U.S.

Website: apptronik.com

Year Founded: 2016

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Apollo humanoid features bespoke linear actuators

Organization Name: Boston Dynamics

Country: U.S.

Website: www.bostondynamics.com

Year Founded: 1992

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Atlas shows off unique skills for humanoid

Organization Name: Brightpick

Country: U.S.

Website: brightpick.ai

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Application of the Year

Innovation: Autopicker applies mobile manipulation, AI to warehouses

Organization Name: Capra Robotics

Country: Denmark

Website: capra.ooo

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Hircus AMR bridges gap between indoor, outdoor logistics

Organization Name: Dexterity

Country: U.S.

Website: dexterity.ai

Year Founded: 2017

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Dexterity stacks robotics and AI for truck loading

Organization Name: Disney Research

Country: U.S.

Website: disneyresearch.com

Year Founded: 2008

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Disney brings beloved characters to life through robotics

Organization Name: Doosan Robotics

Country: South Korea

Website: www.doosanrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: App-like Dart-Suite eases cobot programming

Organization Name: Electric Sheep

Country: U.S.

Website: sheeprobotics.ai

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Category: Startup of the Year

Innovation: Vertical integration positions landscaping startup for success

Organization Name: Exotec

Country: France

Website: www.exotec.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Skypod ASRS scales to serve automotive supplier

Organization Name: FANUC

Country: Japan

Website: www.fanuc.com

Year Founded: 1958

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Business

Innovation: FANUC ships one-millionth industrial robot

Organization Name: Figure AI

Country: U.S.

Website: www.figure.ai

Year Founded: 2022

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Startup builds working humanoid within one year

Organization Name: Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics

Country: Germany

Website: www.iml.fraunhofer.de/en/fields_of_activity/ material-flow-systems/iot-and-embedded systems/evobot.html

Year Founded: 1981

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: evoBot features unique mobile manipulator design

Organization Name: Gardarika Tres

Country: Ukraine

Website: efarm.pro/demining_ukraine

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 11-20

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Develops de-mining robot for Ukraine

Organization Name: Geek+

Country: U.S.

Website: www.geekplus.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Upgrades PopPick goods-to-person system

Organization Name: Glidance

Country: U.S.

Website: glidance.io

Year Founded: 2023

Number of Employees: 2-10

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Provides independence to visually impaired individuals

Organization Name: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Country: U.S.

Website: seas.harvard.edu

Year Founded: 2007

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Exoskeleton improves walking for people with Parkinson’s disease

Organization Name: ifm efector

Country: U.S.

Website: www.ifm.com/us/en

Year Founded: 1985

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Obstacle Detection System simplifies mobile robot development

Organization Name: igus GmbH

Country: Germany

Website: www.igus.com

Year Founded: 1964

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: ReBeL cobot gets low-cost, human-like hand

Organization Name: Instock

Country: U.S.

Website: instock.com

Year Founded: 2020

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Instock turns fulfillment processes upside down with ASRS

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Organization Name: Kodama Systems

Country: U.S.

Website: kodama.ai

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Startup uses robotics to prevent wildfires

Organization Name: Kodiak Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: kodiak.ai

Year Founded: 2018

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Autonomous pickup truck to enhance U.S. military operations

Organization Name: KUKA

Country: Germany

Website: kuka.com

Year Founded: 1898

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Business

Innovation: Robotic arm leader doubles down on mobile robots for logistics

Organization Name: Locus Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: locusrobotics.com

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Mobile robot leader surpasses 2 billion picks

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Organization Name: MassRobotics

Country: U.S.

Website: www.massrobotics.org

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Business

Innovation: Equity-free accelerator positions startups for success

Organization Name: Mecademic

Country: Canada

Website: www.mecademic.com

Year Founded: 2013

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: MCS500 SCARA robot accelerates micro-automation

Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Country: U.S.

Website: www.mit.edu

Year Founded: 1861

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Robotic ventricle advances understanding of heart disease

Organization Name: Mujin

Country: Japan

Website: www.mujin-corp.com

Year Founded: 2011

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: TruckBot accelerates automated truck unloading

Organization Name: Mushiny

Country: China

Website: www.mushiny.com

Year Founded: 2016

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Intelligent 3D sorter ramps up throughput, flexibility

Organization Name: NASA JPL

Country: U.S.

Website: jpl.nasa.gov

Year Founded: 1936

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: MOXIE completes historic oxygen-making mission on Mars

Organization Name: Neya Systems

Country: U.S.

Website: neyarobotics.com

Year Founded: 2009

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Development of cybersecurity standards to harden AGVs

Organization Name: NVIDIA

Country: U.S.

Website: www.nvidia.com

Year Founded: 1993

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Nova Carter gives mobile robots all-around sight

Organization Name: Olive Robotics

Country: Germany

Website: www.olive-robotics.com

Year Founded: 2020

Number of Employees: 2-10

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: EdgeROS eases robotics development process

Organization Name: OpenAI

Country: U.S.

Website: openai.com

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: LLMs enable embedded AI to flourish

Organization Name: Opteran

Country: U.K.

Website: opteran.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Applies insect intelligence to mobile robot navigation

Organization Name: Renovate Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: www.renovaterobotics.com

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 1-10

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Rufus robot automates installation of roof shingles

Organization Name: ROBEL Rail Automation

Country: Germany

Website: railautomation.com/en

Year Founded: 2022

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Automates railway repairs to overcome labor shortage

Organization Name: Robust AI

Country: U.S.

Website: robust.ai

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Carter AMR joins DHL’s impressive robotics portfolio

Organization Name: Rockwell Automation

Country: U.S.

Website: www.rockwellautomation.com

Year Founded: 1903

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Business

Innovation: Adds OTTO Motors mobile robots to manufacturing lineup

Organization Name: Sereact

Country: Germany

Website: sereact.ai

Year Founded: 2021

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: PickGPT harnesses power of generative AI for robotics

Organization Name: Simbe

Country: U.S.

Website: simberobotics.com

Year Founded: 2014

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Scales inventory robotics deal with BJ’s Wholesale Club

Organization Name: Slip Robotics

Country: U.S.

Website: sliprobotics.com

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Simplifies trailer loading/unloading with heavy-duty AMR

Organization Name: Symbotic

Country: U.S.

Website: www.symbotic.com

Year Founded: 2007

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Walmart-backed company rides wave of logistics automation demand

Organization Name: Toyota Research Institute

Country: U.S.

Website: www.tri.global

Year Founded: 2015

Number of Employees: 101-500

Innovation Category: Research

Innovation: Builds large behavior models for fast robot teaching

Organization Name: ULC Technologies

Country: U.S.

Website: ulctechnologies.com

Year Founded: 2001

Number of Employees: 51-100

Innovation Category: Application

Innovation: Cable Splicing Machine improves safety, power grid reliability

Organization Name: Universal Robots

Country: Denmark

Website: universal-robots.com

Year Founded: 2005

Number of Employees: 500+

Innovation Category: Technology

Innovation: Cobot leader strengthens lineup with UR30

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With Ensenso C, IDS Imaging Development Systems has launched a stereo vision camera that not only generates 3D point clouds, but also delivers 2D color images thanks to an additional image sensor. The IP65/67 camera is delivered preconfigured and is therefore easy to integrate. It reliably detects objects even in difficult lighting conditions. High resolution, industrial quality, ready to use.

Extra Large, Hollow Shaft Speed Reducer

The new FBS Series gear unit features an extra large hollow shaft with a compact outer diameter that is ideal for robots and machines requiring complex cabling to pass through the axis of rotation. It includes large cross-roller bearings, enabling the load to be mounted directly to the output and is available in two sizes (25, 32) and three reduction ratios (30:1, 50:1, 100:1).

High Performance Joint Drive

The market demands specific robots for industrial and service applications. Together, our customers and the maxon specialists define and develop the required joint drives. A customized drive system with high power density and competitive safety functions make our drives the perfect solution for applications in robotics. Our drives are perfectly suited for wherever extreme precision and the highest quality standards are needed and where compromises cannot be tolerated.

Features at a Glance

• Continuous (RMS) torque: 34Nm

• Repeatable peak torque: 57Nm

• Hollow shaft: 20mm

• Zero-backlash gear

• Dual-encoder with absolute output encoder

• EtherCAT position controller

• 2.5kg

• Design Configuration: motor, gear, brake, encoder and controller

maxon

125 Dever Drive Taunton, MA 02780

www.maxongroup.us | 508-677-0520

POSITAL has launched a major upgrade to its IXARC family of incremental and absolute rotary encoders, featuring new magnetic sensor technology and more energy-efficient microcontrollers. Mechanically and electrically compatible with earlier models, the new encoders combine improved performance with reduced power consumption. Check

ROBOTICS

An encoder series designed for use in harsh environments

Renishaw’s FORTiS™ delivers superior repeatability, reduced hysteresis, and improved measurement performance due to an innovative non-contact mechanical design that does not require a mechanical guidance carriage. It provides high resistance to the ingress of liquids and solid debris contaminants. It features an extruded enclosure with longitudinally attached interlocking lip seals and sealed end caps. The readhead body is joined to a sealed optical unit by a blade, which travels through the lip seals along the length of the encoder. Linear axis movement causes the readhead and optics to traverse the encoder’s absolute scale (which is fixed to the inside of the enclosure), without mechanical contact.

Renishaw, Inc.

1001 Wesemann Dr. West Dundee, IL, 60118

Phone: 847-286-9953

Email: usa@renishaw.com

Website: www.renishaw.com

THK Micro Cross-Roller Ring Series RAU

The THK micro-size Cross-Roller Ring RAU features a 10mm inner diameter and a 21mm outer diameter. It is more compact, lightweight and rigid than a double row angular contact ball bearing type. RAU rollers travel on V-shaped raceways ground into the inner and outer rings. Alternating rollers are arrayed orthogonally so that one bearing can support loads and moments in any direction. Spacer retainers enable smooth movement and high rotation accuracy.

https://www.thkstore.com/products/rotation/cross-roller-rings/rau.html

216.316.6691

Jami Brownlee jbrownlee@wtwhmedia.com 224.760.1055

Mary Ann Cooke mcooke@wtwhmedia.com 781.710.4659

Jim Dempsey jdempsey@wtwhmedia.com 216.387.1916

Mike Francesconi mfrancesconi@wtwhmedia.com 630.488.9029

Jim Powers jpowers@wtwhmedia.com 312.925.7793

Ad Index

Technical Thinking

By Mark Jones

Nanoparticles in water

“Scientists find about a quarter million invisible nanoplastic particles in a liter of bottled water” was a recent AP headline. It was one of hundreds of stories prompted by a recent scientific publication. In a first in this column, I’ll give you some fun experiments you can do with the water. You’ll be able to determine what choices have the fewest particles if you desire to reduce particle exposure. Whether you should — will have to wait for another column.

The Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS) in January published work from Columbia and Rutgers using a Raman technique to identify particles in commercial bottled water samples. The technique requires filtering the water to make imaging possible. The Raman technique allows the chemical composition of the particles to be determined and counted. The paper got noticed, largely for estimating micro- and nanoplastic levels in commercial bottled water of 2.4 ± 1.3 × 105 particles per liter. 90% were previously undetected plastic nanoparticles.

Few readers will have a Raman microscope sitting around, but many will have a flashlight, a laser pointer and a camera (all you need to measure micro- and nanoparticles in liquids). In the 84 references in the Raman paper, they omitted one from the University of Minnesota. Ye and Pui published “Detection of nanoparticles suspended in a light scattering medium” in 2021. They offered a means to image both the micro- and nanoparticles present in bottled water without opening the bottles. That’s right, they counted particles in sealed bottles, right off the shelf. They measured total particles at about 107 per liter, more than the recent study. These surely include

plastic, but also can be inorganic or biological particles.

Glance at a glass or bottle of water and you might not see anything. Get a bright flashlight, preferably one that allows tight focus of the beam, as many “tactical” style LED flashlights do these days. Stir the water, but don’t shake or stir so hard that you make bubbles of air. Bubbles look like particles. Shine focused light through the water and look perpendicular to the beam. You will very likely see particles moving in and out of the light. Many samples will look like a sparsely filled snow globe with magnification. Nanoparticles can’t be seen under normal conditions because they are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Laser irradiation changes that. The intense incident electric field prompts visible Rayleigh scattering. The 5-mW red and green lasers used are commonly available as laser pointers. Look perpendicular to the beam going through your water sample and particles will look like bright spots.

Nanoparticles don’t show up well with red, but microparticles do. Green makes both visible. Comparing red and green images gives a comparison between micro- and nanoparticle levels. Aim the laser through the water bottle and snap a photo perpendicular to the beam. Count the bright scattering in the beam and apply some math, approximating the beam as a cylinder, to get the number in the beam volume. I find there are hundreds to low thousands of microparticles per liter in bottled water. I’ve fished out the microparticles. They look like plastic under the microscope, likely there from filtering and other handling equipment. Like Ye and Pui, I find millions of nanoparticles per liter. Don’t stop at bottled water. Check other beverages. I find particles in liquor and wine, all packaged in glass.

Should you be concerned about plastic micro- and nanoparticles, consider yourself armed. You can check before you drink — and make informed choices. DW

• Easy and Quick Install/Removal

• Interchangeable with Snap Rings

• Large Selection from Stock

• Easy to Customize

Spiral Retaining Rings

• Resolution ≤5 mV

• Accuracy ±0.25% of full scale

• Real-time adjustable PID control

• Integrated 0 to 10 VDC, 4-20 mA signal, or 3.3 VDC serial communication

• 0 to 10 VDC feedback pressure monitor

• Virtually silent

• No integral bleed required

• Multiple pressure ranges from vacuum to 150 psig

Take Control with Cordis

The future of proportional control has arrived— and it’s digital. The Clippard Cordis is a revolutionary microcontroller primed for escape velocity from a proportional control market that has grown stagnant.

With unparalleled performance and flexibility not possible with current analog proportional controllers, the Cordis makes everything from calibration, to sensor variety, to future development opportunities more accessible and less complicated.

Precise, Linear Digital Pressure Control

Contact your distributor today to learn more about how the Cordis can provide precise, real-time control for your application, or visit clippard.com to request more information.

• 2.7 to 65 l/min flow control 877-245-6247