Injection molding of magnesium permitted a new design for a revolutionary miniature bar code scanner and provided additional benefits in protecting sensitive internal electronic components from water and other potential environmental problems.
The MS3 scanner from Microscan Systems “may not be smallest scanner available, but it is the best combination of size and performance,” says Malinda Elien, staff mechanical engineer for Microscan, Renton, WA. “This is the most compact, high-performance mechanical design around.” The chassis had to hold tolerances of ±0.002” in very thin wall sections (0.027”). Molten magnesium can travel longer distances prior to solidification than is possible with conventional die casting. The high pressure of injection molding and careful tool design made the difference. The density of the magnesium molding process (called thixomolding) was also a critical difference. “We were able to achieve thinner wall sections without having to worry about water leaking through random pores in the metal,” said Elien, who had the final call on whether to try thixomolding or stay with die casting. “Initially we were trying to decide between Phillips Plastics and our traditional die-casting vendor,” Elien said. “We never had the question in our mind if Phillips was telling us the truth or if they were telling us what we wanted to hear...Every day I am happy that I made the decision that I did.”
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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