The first National Design Engineering Show (NDES) of the
decade saw a packed exhibition hall at Chicago's McCormick Center in March. Here
are products Design News editors found at the show to be of interest. Further
NDES coverage can be found in the news section of this and the April 17 issue,
and at www.designnews.com .
CAD/CAM cornucopia
Unigraphics Solutions announced Solid Edge ver. 8, its mid-range 3D mechanical CAD program. As the program's eighth release in four years, it's positioned as "the easiest to learn and use MCAD package available" for 2D or 3D users
(Circle
563)
...Launched for North American sales was MechSoft-PROFI, which tracks the relationship between specific parts in an assembly throughout design revisions, alerting the designer when parts are no longer compatible
(Circle 564)
... Think3 ™heralded thinkdesign 5.0, designed to be so inexpensive and easy to learn that it will start a "mass 3D" revolution, with solid modeling on every desktop
(Circle 565)
... CADKEY previewed its Parametrics module. The release will be available for sale on the Web, so current CADKEY users can add it to their toolkits
(Circle 566)
.
Fluid power
At 8 X 9 X 23 mm, Pneutronics touted its X-valve as "the smallest valve on Planet Earth."
(Circle
567)
... Instead of smaller products, Bimba introduced larger tie-rod cylinders. In addition to 5-, 6-, and 8-inch tie-rods, the company now offers a 12-inch bore, NFPA-interchangeable aluminum tie-rod cylinder.
(Circle 568)
... ENERPAC 's new mechanical clamping line complements the company's hydraulic workholding systems
(Circle 569)
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Motion control
Del-Tron Precision introduced its Mini Posi-Drive stages that use an anti-backlash nut and flexible shaft coupling to minimize backlash
(Circle 570)
... Trilogy Systems touted the 1.25-micron resolution of its LEM (Linear Encoder Module). The technology aims for linear motor performance in the price range of a ballscrew drive
(Circle 571)
... Horner APG 's new family of distributed controllers provides conveyor control for about half the cost (starting at $99) of a central control system
(Circle 572)
... Rockwell Automation 's Allen-Bradley Pico™controller combines a miniature PLC and smart relay. With a suggested list price of $200 to $300, the 12 or 18 I/O point controller is targeted at OEMs that want to increase functionality and versatility of relay-based controls
(Circle
573)
... Cutler-Hammer introduced its PanelMate Power Pro 5000, a 24V dc operator interface with a 14-inch color TFT display 10% lighter and 40% more energy efficient than its previous flat panels
(Circle 574)
... ACS-Tech80 launched its compact Unilite motion control module with integrated digital drives for single- and dual-axis control
(Circle
575)
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Electronics
Among the many products debuted by Phoenix Contact is the PSM-ME line of DIN-rail mountable serial-data isolators and converters, 0.89-inch (22.5-mm) wide, suitable for harsh environments
(Circle 576)
... Omron Electronics showed the CQM1H rackless, modular, low-cost controller, which incorporates protocol macro and manages up to 512 I/O points with a data memory of 12k
(Circle 577)
... Fluke Corp. announced to the press its 724 Temperature Calibrator that allows simultaneously viewing input and output data on a dual display
(Circle 578)
... National Instruments displayed a CompactPCI real-time control solution based on LabVIEW RT that allows engineers to develop monitoring and control, data-acquisition, and other high-speed applications on a Windows PC
(Circle 579)
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Fasteners
3M announced a half-thickness version of its Dual Lock self-mating reclosable fasteners for use with panels, frames, electronic devices, and more. The low-profile version also features thousands of interlocking "mushroom heads" and bonds to a variety of plastic, metal, and wood surfaces
(Circle 580)
... Penn Engineering and Manufacturing Corp. rolled out a new line of self-clinching panel fasteners with optional cap colors. The PEM Type PFP fasteners combine an ABS plastic cap with a steel retainer and screw. When tightened, the plastic cap covers the retainer
(Circle
581)
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