Fastening & Joining Monthly
Machine Design Fastening and Joining Monthly
January 28, 2008

In this issue of Fastening & Joining there are articles on building a tug-of-war machine, the importance of safety standards, and designing for assembly.

The highlighted products are self-clinching studs, blind rivet nuts and tools, and corrosion-resistant joints.

Be sure to check out the Industry Update to find out about free seminars on fastening.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Julie Kalista
Articles

Building a tug-of-war machine
An aluminum structural-frame assembly lets scientists, engineers, and space enthusiasts test their material might in a race to develop the world's strongest tether. With a NASA Centennial Challenge purse of $200,000 up for grabs at the Elevator:2010 Strong Tether contest in 2006, one would likely assume that the parts for building the competition's tetherpull machine would have been finalized months in advance. But that wasn't the case, says Jay Blum, a Southwest branch manager for Pacific Integrated Handling, a Bosh Rexroth Corp. distributor located in Tempe, Ariz. Blum was on the receiving end of a call for a last-minute order from Ben Shelef, aerospace engineer and cofounder and leader of the executive crew of the Spaceward Foundation, the event's host.
Full Article



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Safety standards aren't just guidelines
Whether your production line is fully staffed or semiautomated, its safety should be one of your company's highest priority. In the U.S., safety standards are not usually enforced unless there is a workplace accident or an employee injury. Many companies use safety standards and regulations merely as guidelines. They do not make them mandatory, effectively making safety a lowlevel concern for the company. Some manufacturing companies do not even consider safety a priority because they don't know enough about the safety regulations, industry standards, and safety equipment on the market. Other companies deliberately modify equipment, making the line less safe for employees.
Full Article

Joining Design and Assembly: Design For Assembly
Design-for-assembly (DFA) and design-for-manufacture (DFM) techniques can be applied to products assembled manually or automatically or manufactured by specific techniques, such as machining, die casting or injection molding. Research at the University of Massachusetts, University of Rhode Island, and by industry has been a source of information, spreadsheets, and software for those interested in DFA and DFM techniques. Design-for-assembly analysis will suggest the optimal assembly system and degree of automation for many applications. The design is analyzed for its overall efficiency and suitability for the chosen assembly method.
Full Article

New Products

Self-clinching studs
PEM Type FHP self-clinching, flush-head studs are for applications requiring corrosion resistance and light weight. They are reportedly a simpler, less-expensive alternative to weld studs. The A286 stainless-steel studs are used in stainless sheets as thin as 0.040 in. with hardness 92 HRb or less. They mount flush and become integral parts of an assembly. Only a mating nut is required to attach components. Studs are available in thread sizes #4-40 through #10-32 and M3 through M5, in 10 lengths. Typical applications include medical, foodservice, and marine equipment.
More Information
PennEngineering

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Blind rivet nuts and tools for installing threads
Pop Nut steel blind rivet nuts and installation systems provide threads in thin wall applications such as sheet metal, tubing, or sheet plastic. It includes TK thin head, knurled body, TL flat head knurled body, TH flat head hex body, and ST flat head round body rivet nuts. They can be installed using "spinspin" tools or the manufacturer's spin-pull to stroke tools. Manual installation tools are said to installation force and feature quick change mandrels for thread size change over. The pneumatic power tools has a visual stroke setting gage, auto spin on, single trigger automatic pull and reverse, as well as quick-change mandrel.
More Information
Emhart Technologies

Corrosion-resistant universal joints
Universal joints and shaft assemblies for ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) applications are made from stainless steel for corrosion resistance. The yokes, pins, and blocks are precision machined from AISI 303 (1.4305), 304 (1.4301) or 316L (1.4404) stainless steel. The assemblies are supplied without lubricant or other contaminants that can complicate UHV operations.
More Information:
Belden Inc.

News from MD

Introducing Engineering TV, an innovative online video program by engineers for engineers. Twice a week, each 5-8 minute episode shows cutting-edge technology in action and looks behind the scenes as today's engineers shape tomorrow's breakthroughs. Brought to you by the Penton Media Design and Electronics Engineering groups.
View Videos

Rev up your interdisciplinary design skills

What happens when a microcontroller turns on a power FET, sending a current pulse to a motor coil that develops a magnetic field which turns the rotor shaft, advancing a timing belt that drives a pair of nip rolls suspended on bearings in a web-processing operation on a form, fill, and seal machine installed on a potato chip line at a Frito Lay plant in central California? And how can you be sure that the encoders, prox sensors, and other feedback devices you plan to use will accurately see and report every relevant motion, machine state, and process condition? And will the signals get through the networks fast enough, without being corrupted, giving the controllers time to execute their algorithms as intended? It's a lot to think about, and it only scratches the surface of what many engineers grapple with today. If you happen to be one of them, then the place for you — where you can find answers and meet others with similar concerns — is www.Mechatronic-Design.com.

Backed by some of engineering's top information sources including Machine Design, Electronic Design, Motion System Design, and Power Electronics, Mechatronic-Design.com is the interdisciplinary engineer's desktop, toolbox, library, and lifeline in one easily accessible place.

Find. Learn. Apply.

Mechatronic-Design.com
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CAD Library offers advanced CAD Resources
The Machine Design CAD Library, includes millions of configurable 2D and 3D CAD models of components and assemblies downloadable for easy use in new and existing designs. Our models are in native CAD formats. No translation required!

It's salary survey time!
Find out how you stack up against your peers when it comes to income and workload by taking a few minutes to fill out the 2008 MACHINE DESIGN salary survey.
Your response, and the replies of other readers, will show where you fit in among other design professionals, as well as help MACHINE DESIGN magazine better serve you as an information source. The results will be highlighted in our salary survey article in the April 24 issue.
Responding to the survey automatically enters you into a drawing for a prize. To qualify for the drawing, please fill out the survey by Friday, Feb 15.

Linear Motion Components Survey
We need your input. Simply complete our brief survey and you can WIN a $500 American Express gift card.

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UPCOMING IN-PERSON EVENTS
Design-2-Part Shows are America's longest running and most trusted events for sourcing custom parts and services. Ten shows covering the country offer OEMs, engineers and purchasing personnel the opportunity to meet job shops and contract manufacturers face-to-face.

Linear Analysis Training Class
February 11-15, 2008
Students will be shown demonstrations of how to set up, analyze, and investigate typical structures. Workshops let students put this new knowledge into practice. The important features of the FEMAP GUI are introduced and, at the same time the essentials of Nastran are explored. Emphasis during the class is on the construction of proper analysis models, and the effective use of the various solution types. Additional troubleshooting techniques are discussed, as well as the various types of common error messages generated by NEiNastran. The objective of this class is to give a solid grounding in FEA basics and good practice to enable the student to carry out real world linear static analysis.

UPCOMING WEBCASTS

Power Transmission Technologies:
The Advantages and Applications of Belt Drive Solutions

Sponsored by Gates Corporation
DATE: February 19th, 2008
TIME: 2:00pm ET

Today's designers choose from a variety of technologies for transmitting power in mechanical systems. With increasing demands to optimize systems for efficiency, noise, package size and low maintenance, choosing the right power transmission technology for the job is a challenge. Brent Oman with Gates Corporation will share his knowledge about selecting power transmission solutions. The presentation will review the pros and cons of different technologies and demonstrate the various capabilities of belt drive systems in particular.

Click here to register!


ARCHIVED WEBCASTS AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING


Click Here for a list of archived Machine Design webcasts.
Industry Update

Free fastener training
Atlantic Fasteners has added two free seminars to their online educational series. The new seminars teach shortcuts for conversion from inch to metric systems and are based on the first seminar in the series, "Bolting Basics." This review describes how nuts and bolts are manufactured,compares advantages and disadvantages, and helps OEMs pair the proper nuts and bolts to handle load and shear levels. Both seminars are based on the first in the series on "Bolting Basics." Demonstrations and close-ups of fastener samples help make the technical concepts easier to understand. Each seminar is about 30 minutes long.
More Information

Featured Links

When it comes to components, we own precision.
Vlier components are high quality, low cost and in stock. Our High-Value Leveling Devices are Stud and Socket styles, Zinc/Gold Chromate and Stainless and Nickel options. Vlier-Lock Ball Lock Pins have T- and Button-handle configurations. For a complete catalog contact us at Vlier.com, or call 1-800-821-1090.

 

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Contact Information
Editorial questions:   Julie Kalista 216-931-9458
Advertising/sponsorship opportunities:   Virginia Goulding 216-931-9893

Machine Design
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