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.”
As energy efficiency becomes more and more a concern for makers of electronics devices, researchers are coming up with new ways to harvest energy from sound vibration, footsteps, and even electromagnetic fields in the air.
The government wants to study your brain, and DARPA wants to use similar information to give robots true autonomy beyond any artificial intelligence developed to date. Sound like science fiction? It's not.
By refining topologies and using new fluid technology, Moog's new peak sine drive controller increases available power without increasing controller volume.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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