Machine design, tập 84, số 17, 2012

November 8, 2012
A Penton Media Publication
Tune in to EngineeringTV.com

HOW HOT RODDERS SOUP
UP ELECTRIC MOTORS,
page 20
HOW TO MAKE CAM
FOLLOWERS IN PLASTIC,
page 38
HOW TO MAKE PLASTIC
OUT OF PLANTS,
page 46
HOW TO DODGE DANGER
WITH AIR LOGIC,
page 60


Microhydraulics.
Macro capabilities.
So much reliability and performance, in so little space.
Creating high-performance flow control on a micro scale has been
The Lee Company’s exclusive focus for more than 50 years. And
it’s been a successful mission, as evidenced by thousands of applied
Lee Microhydraulics designs – ranging from less than 0.10 in. to 1.00 in.
in diameter, and 0.1 to 68 grams, for operating pressures to 8,000 psi.
But small size and light weight are just the beginning.There’s
also absolute reliability built into every Lee component through
100 % testing and inspection. Zero defects. It’s a production benchmark
that has enabled Lee to meet demanding application needs in all
sorts of industries. Aerospace, medical instrumentation, automotive,

machine tools and oil drilling, to name a few.
The innovative problem solvers.
We don’t just satisfy requirements. We also solve problems –
whether by simple modification, or ground-zero design engineering.
The Lee Company is the world’s most capable and proven source
for hydraulic-component innovation. And we’ve documented this
claim in extensive detail with the Lee Technical Hydraulic Handbook.
An invaluable reference, the Lee handbook contains essential data
on the entire Microhydraulics product line, which includes:
Lee Shuttle Valves. Detented, spring-biased, inverse,
loose ball and zero leak shuttle valves from 50-700 Lohms.

Lee Safety Screens. Best protection for critical system
elements. 75 to 500 micron hole size. Pressures to 7,500 psid.

Lee Pri. Pressure relief valves in insert form.
50 to 400 Lohm capacity. 20 to 5,400 psid cracking pressures.

Lee Directional Flow Control. 40 to 20,000 Lohms
in metered direction. 12 to 470 Lohms in free-flow direction.

Lee Restrictors. Single and multi-orifice restrictors.
200 to 2.2 million Lohms.

Lee Shuttle
Valve. Shown
actual size.
Designed to
isolate the
normal from

the emergency
hydraulic system. So small,
it fits right
into the head
of an actuator.

Lee Plugs. The best way to seal drilled holes to 32,000 psi.
No O-rings, threads or sealants required.

Lee Cheks. All-metal and zero-leak check valves.
4 to 400 Lohms.

Innovation in miniature.

Essential reading
for designers of
hydraulic systems.
Send for your
free copy.

Westbrook

The Lee Company
2 Pettipaug Rd, Westbrook CT 06498-0424
860-399-6281 Fax: 860-399-2270
1-800-LEE PLUG
www.TheLeeCo.com

•

Gerrards

Cross

•

RS# 101

Paris

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Frankfurt

•

Milan


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RS# 102

© COPYRIGHT 2012 OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


VOLUME 84
ISSUE 17
NOVEMBER 8, 2012

MOTION CONTROL
Rollers with polymer
bearing surfaces work
with aluminum rails, which
cost far less than groundhardened-steel versions.

How to …

GET BETTER
MOTION with

plastic parts

Nylon 12: The plastic
of choice

Polymer bearing
surfaces resist
wear, don’t need
maintenance,
and can run
surprisingly fast.

FEATURES
to get better motion
38 How
with plastic parts
Rollers, cam followers, and other
components used for moving parts can make
good use of polymers to increase speeds,
reduce wear, and resist chemicals and harsh
environments. They’re also quieter than
metal components.

The polymer advantage
Many engineers still believe that heavily loaded applications need metal rollers and cam followers. They are

unaware that polymer bearing surfaces withstand enormous forces if designed properly. At Intech Power Core,
Closter, N. J., for example, we’ve delivered polymer rollers that withstand 8-ton loads. These rollers have been
used in ski lifts and rigs that can raise an entire building. But the primary task of most rollers and cam fol-

46 A biodegradable alternative to foam is grown

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

ACHINE



How to …

AVOID
ELECTRICAL
HAZARDS with

Pneumatic controls are
a viable option when
electrical hazards can’t
be tolerated.

air logic

Authored by:

Kenneth J. Korane
Managing Editor

Key points:
• Air logic functions like relays, switches, and
counters, but uses compressed air instead of
electricity.
• Air-logic controls are preferred in wet or dusty
conditions because they pose little danger of
electrical explosion or shock.

Resources:
AOP Technologies, www.aoptec.com
Clippard Instrument Laboratory,
www.clippard.com

from mushroom roots and agricultural waste.

D
’s
49 MLiterature
Express

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

FLUIDPOWER TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

clutches and brakes

How to rid foam of petroleum

MACHINE DESIGN.com

lowers is to transmit motion rather than support loads.
Regardless of their purpose, rollers and followers are
commonly hybrid designs with polymer load-bearing surfaces over metal roller bearings or structural hubs. These
hybrid components, often sized as drop-in replacements
for standard-sized all-metal components, offer compelling
technical advantages due to their use of polymers:
• Self-lubricating. Engineering polymers best suited for
rollers are self-lubricating, a property that last the life of
the component.
Bearing surfaces
Authored by:
made from these
George Bartosh
polymers never
President
require lubrica- Intech Power Core
tion between the Closter, N. J.
roller and rail.
Edited by Stephen J. Mraz
When combined

with lubed-forResources:
life bearings,
polymer surfaces Intech Power Core, www.intechpower.com
For another feature on
eliminate mainplastic parts, scan this
tenance costs
code or go to: http://
associated with
machinedesign.com/

regular lubricaarticle/plastic-gearstion, even those
outlast-metal-0506
scheduled after
washdowns.

38

to design suppression
42 How
circuits for electric
Back-EMF in clutches and brakes may lead to
erratic operation and a shortened life.

Cam followers and rollers
from Intech put a gravitycast nylon 12 bearing surface
on metal hubs and roller bearings.
Using nylon eliminates the need for
lubrication and makes the components
quieter than their all-metal counterparts.

Engineers might only glance at the dimensions and load
capacities of roller and cam followers to ensure they will
fit in their design before placing an order. But they should
pay closer attention because these components can make
or break the performance of motion subsystems critical
to a host of industrial machines.
Choose the wrong roller or cam follower and your
design can be destined for a shortened life plagued with
maintenance headaches, contamination issues, and speed
limitations. The wrong component can also drive up operating and manufacturing costs. The right components, by

contrast, will contribute to a longer life of reliable motion
that engineers and buyers expect.
But how do you pick the right roller or cam follower for
the job at hand?
The trick is considering not just sizes and loads but also
the materials that make up the roller’s bearing surface.

38

More importantly, self-lubrication puts an end to the loss
of performance and catastrophic failures common when metal rollers and rails
aren’t regularly lubricated.
• Wear resistance. Metal-on-metal contact, even when both metal surfaces
are lubricated, can result in excessive wear and galling. Metal-on-metal wear
affects rollers and rails, which are far more expensive to replace. Plastic rollers
eliminate this wear.
• Clean running. Self-lubricated polymers eliminate two potential sources of
contamination — stray
lubricant and particulates from metal-onmetal contact. For this
reason, polymer cam folFrom cheap plastics to the world’s most-exlowers and rollers are a
pensive composites, many types of polymers have
good choice for medical, been machined, molded, or cast into rollers, cam
semiconductor, foodfollowers, and other power-transmission compoprocessing, and cleannents. Engineers at Intech focused their developroom applications.
ment efforts on a proprietary, gravity-cast nylon
• Smooth and quiet oper12 called Power-Core PA12GC. It combines several
ation. Unlike metals,
advantageous material properties.
polymers can dampen
From a materials standpoint, Power-Core mainshocks and vibrations. In
tains its physical properties in a variety of operating

cam followers, polymers
conditions. This stability lets engineers accurately
absorb the damaging
predict the material’s behavior and life even when
shocks and vibrations
it’s exposed to varying moisture, temperature, and
caused by reciprocating chemical levels.
motion. This prolongs
In particular, Power-Core’s stability despite
the life of machine bear- high-humidity and even total immersion, makes
ings, especially in high- it well suited to power-transmission applications.
speed applications.
Most high-performance polymers absorb moisIn rollers, damp- ture, swell, and lose tensile strength. Power-transing contributes to quiet
mission components made from moisture-absorbmotion. Polymer roll- ing (hygroscopic) polymers can end up too weak
ers typically run about to carry the loads they were designed for and too
10 dB quieter than their swollen to work with mating components.
metal counterparts.
Power-Core also dampens vibrations, which
They run smoothly too,
lets it reduce noise and absorb shock loads that
thanks to their precise power-transmission components commonly see.
roundness. For example,
To make these components, Intech gravity
total runout on a macasts nylon 12 over metal hubs or thermally installs
chined nylon 12 cam it over rollers bearings to create the beginnings
follower with a 1.5-in.
of a cam follower, roller, or gear. These blanks are
OD would be less than then precision machine into finished components.
±0.001-in.
Gravity casting contributes to Power-Core’s low

• Speed and efficiency.
internal stresses that gives the polymer a uniform
Polymer rollers facilitate
crystalline structure. As a result, finished compohigh-speed, energy-effinents have a consistent machining resistance that
cient motion in a three
improves precision during manufacture and use.
ways. First, polymer And under external load, the dense crystalline
rollers weigh about 40%
structure helps thwart stress-induced cracks and
less than similarly sized swelling that sometimes lead to premature failure.
metal rollers, reducing



RS# 621

Magnum Venus Plastech, www.mvpind.com

ESIGN

Electrical and electronic devices such as logic circuits,
programmable controllers, and PCs normally control
fluid-power and fluid-handling circuits. Such systems
can also operate with “air logic,” controls that function
like relays, switches, time delays, and counters. However,
while the circuitry is similar, compressed air is the control medium instead of electric current.
Air-logic controls are often preferred in wet or dusty
environments because they pose practically no danger of
explosion or electrical shock. Likewise, air controls cannot ignite explosive or flammable gases and vapors. And
they’re rugged. Water can splash on the controls without

affecting operations, and they tolerate dust and dirt. Air

to avoid electrical
60 How
hazards with air logic
Pneumatic controls are a viable option when
electrical hazards can’t be tolerated.

60

MACHINE DESIGN.com

Air-logic controls for composites
manufacturing rely on miniature valves,
manifolds, and other components from
Clippard Instrument Laboratory.

logic can also be used on machines with fluid-power components but no electrical supply.
Air logic does have disadvantages. Most common is
a lack of understanding among maintenance personnel
on how to read schematics and troubleshoot problems.
Also, air logic with long control lines responds noticeably slower than electronics. That’s because control lines
longer than 10 to 15 ft fill and exhaust slowly compared to
near-instantaneous electrical signals. In addition, it takes

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

60
Access our Reader Service
Web site to quickly find and

request information on the
products and services found
in the pages of MACHINE DESIGN.
www.machinedesign.com/rsc

2

MACHINE DESIGN.com

NOVEMBER 8, 2012


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RS# 103


DEPARTMENTS

ON THE COVER
Photo by R.L.Rubenking

8 EDITORIAL
More green cards, more H-1B visas

10 EDITORIAL STAFF
12 LETTERS
16 SCANNING FOR IDEAS
Liquid cooling for servers also supplies hot water
Gimbal mount expands drones’ view

20 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
26 LOOKING BACK
33 SENSOR SENSE
Metal-faced inductive sensors for durability

35 COMMENTARY
Google’s got nothing on Cat

36 INVENTOR’S CORNER
Compact engine packs a powerful punch

68 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Linear actuators

72 PRODUCTS
74 BUSINESS INDEX
76 STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP
77 AD INDEX
78 CLASSIFIEDS
78 BUSINESS STAFF

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EXAIR Blows Away The Competition!

S e Over
Save
Ov r $1,200
P r Year
Y r
200 Per
R p i g One
O Outdated
O d d Air Nozzle!
By Replacing
We’ve all seen flat air nozzles. Some are yellow. Others are orange. The oldest
ones are blue or metal. Those other manufacturers want you to believe you’ll
save money by conserving compressed air while protecting your workers from
harmful noise levels. In reality, those colorful air nozzles that blow the air out

of holes consume enormous amounts of air. The plastic ones often break off.
Some might even get you an OSHA fine due to the dangerous dead ended
pressures that exist if someone blocks the air exhaust.
EXAIR’s award winning 2" Super Air Nozzle™ has been engineered to replace
those outdated flat nozzles. There are no dangerous holes. EXAIR’s patented,
award winning design is efficient, maintaining a precise amount of airflow
through a thin slot. The result is a forceful stream of high velocity, laminar
airflow with minimal air consumption and noise. You can increase or decrease
the force of each flat air nozzle – using shims to tune it to the application so
you’ll never waste compressed air.
Flat nozzles from other manufacturers can consume over 30 SCFM
(a refrigerator sized compressor) and aren’t adjustable. Some manufacturers
offer different flow rates but you need to guess at which one will do the job since
you can’t adjust them once you’ve made the purchase. By default, most users feel
bigger is better and go with the highest flow rate, wasting compressed air.

COMPARE

Here’s how:
• One popular flat nozzle consumes
31 SCFM @ 80 PSIG.
• EXAIR’s 2" Super Air Nozzle with .015" shim
consumes 21.8 SCFM @ 80 PSIG.
• 31 SCFM (theirs) – 21.8 SCFM (EXAIR’s) =
9.2 SCFM compressed air saved/min.
Most large plants know their cost per 1,000
standard cubic feet of compressed air. If
you don’t know your actual cost per 1,000
SCF, 25¢ is a reasonable average to use.
• SCFM saved x 60 minutes x cost/1,000 SCF =

dollars saved per hour.
• In this case, 9.2 SCFM x 60 x .25/1,000 SCF=
13.8 cents saved per hour.
• 13.8 cents per hour x 24 hours =
$3.31 saved per day.
• $3.31 per day x 365 days =
$1,208.88 saved in one year
(in this 24/7 operation).

And, This Savings Is For One Nozzle!
Air
Nozzle
Yellow

Air Consumption Noise Level lbs. of Force
@ 80 PSIG
dBA
@ 80 PSIG
29 SCFM

83

1.7

Orange

28 SCFM

82

1.7

Blue

26 SCFM

78

1.5

Metal (machined)

29 SCFM

82

1.7

Metal (cast)

31 SCFM

EXAIR 2" Super Air Nozzle *7.3- 30 SCFM

80

1.9

62-81

0.5 – 1.9

*Air consumption dependent upon shim size.

EXAIR’s 2" Super Air Nozzle can
pay for itself in less than 15 days.
Put the 2" Super Air Nozzle to work
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that it blows away the competition!
RS# 104
11510 Goldcoast Drive • Cincinnati, OH 45249-1621
Phone (800) 903-9247 • FAX (513) 671-3363
E-mail:

www.exair.com/45/42san.htm

@EXAIR

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EDITOR’S WEB PICKS

Roller and
conveyor chains

6

A new 140-page catalog from iwis
drive systems covers the design,
selection, and application of a wide
range of chains. Content includes
roller, conveyor, accumulation, flyer,
and flat-top chains, maintenancefree and corrosion-resistant
versions, modular belts for industrial
applications, and products for timing
drives. There’s also a section on
lubricants and lubrication methods.
Request or download a copy at www.

iwis.de/catalogues.

Power-supply site
Mouser Electronics has launched
a new Power Supply site. It contains
technical and design information,
including the benefits of switchedmode power supplies such as high
efficiency, small size, and light
weight. It also provides details on
UPS and ac/dc applications. Content
includes product data, white papers,
a library of technical resources,
and info on products from major
manufacturers. Visit www.mouser.
com/power-supply-technology.

Dealing with digital
The Agilent Technologies HighSpeed Digital site (www.agilent.

MACHINE DESIGN.com

com/find/HSD) covers test and
measurement products such as
oscilloscopes, analyzers, and meters.
It delves into topics such as signal
integrity, design and simulation,
and high-speed digital analysis, and
offers debugging tips. The technical
support area includes a library,
FAQs, and discussion forums. And

a new white paper, “Crossing the
Digital-Analog Divide,” explains how
digital signals are idealized at high
data rates, as well as how to cope
with the physical nature of signals
that engineers might prefer to think
of as bits and bytes.

Bearings info
Kilian Manufacturing, an Altra
Industrial Motion company,
has a new Web site on bearings
and assemblies for demanding
automotive and industrial
applications. It covers products
such as ball, needle, roller, and
thrust bearings, as well as customengineered specialty bearings
and polymer assemblies. Content
included downloadable brochures,
catalogs, industry specific
application profiles, service manuals,
and articles. Visit www.KilianBearings.
com.

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

UPCOMING WEB
EVENTS
BASICS OF MOTION
CONTROL WITH PLCs

AND STEPPERS
Online tutorial videos detail
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A new 11-part Motion Control
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describes typical motion
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To view individual segments
of this series, visit http://learn.
automationdirect.com and look
under the Drives/Motors tab.
Four new Do-more PLC videos
focus on using the new CPU with
the latest high-speed counter
module to perform motion
applications using switches or
encoders, as well as details on
hardware setup and software
functions such as trapezoidal
moves.
To view this series, visit http://
learn.automationdirect.com and

look under the PLCs tab for Domore PLC-Live demos.
Or find them all at: www.youtube.
com/automationdirect. Become
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RS# 106


EDITORIAL

More green cards,
more H-1B visas
Microsoft was recently in the news because it came up with a new scheme
for more H-1B visas. H-1B, of course, lets U. S. companies employ foreign
workers in such highly specialized occupations as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Microsoft not only wants Congress to
permit more H-1B visas but also to reallocate 20,000 green cards for workers
with such technical skills.
In return for boosting H-1B quotas, Microsoft would have Uncle Sam
charge companies $10,000 per additional H-1B worker. It also suggests charging employers $15,000 per STEM green card over the current quota. So far, so
good. Employers should be willing to pay a stiff fee if they feel their needs are
urgent enough to hire outside the U. S. I’d even suggest setting the fee at levels
far higher than what Microsoft has in mind as a way of making employers
show they are serious.
But interestingly enough, Microsoft also wants fees collected from greencard permits to be invested in STEM education. Microsoft claims such measures are necessary because it has 3,400 open jobs for scientists and engineers
while the U. S. last year minted only 1,603 new computer science Ph.Ds.
Of course, industry has for decades leveled allegations of shortages as a rationale for letting more foreign skilled workers enter the U. S. But researchers
at the Bureau of Labor Statistics have studied the impact of letting in foreign
Ph.Ds. and concluded that the result is a downward pressure on Ph.D. salaries.
This downward pressure tends to discourage aspiring scientists from pursuing
higher degrees. The result: The smartest of them go where the money is, which,
today, is still in finance. There, new financial engineers can still earn six-figure
bonuses in the first year on the job.
Thus, Microsoft’s idea for new H-1B fees seems self-defeating. The education it funds would create more workers in areas now being filled by foreigners.
But filling jobs with foreign workers reduces pay scales and makes jobs in that
area less attractive. One might be excused for seeing this whole process as a
negative feedback loop for the process of minting STEM Ph.Ds. in the U. S.
So here is an off-the-wall idea for what to do with U. S. STEM graduates
in an era when STEM jobs get filled by foreign workers: make it easy for U. S.
technical personnel to become Canadians.
Workers with easy access to our Northern neighbor would have more options if salary levels take a hit from an influx of foreign workers. And indications are that Canada might be open to this idea. “The Government of Canada

is committed to building an immigration system that actively recruits talent,”
said a Canadian minister recently. “This is the next frontier in Canadian immigration: looking at opportunities to attract the best talent and going out there
and getting it,” he continued.
A representative of the Canadian government even went to Ireland a few
months ago to beg STEM graduates there to try living in Canada. The labor
situation for STEM workers in Canada is so tight that its government officials
are entertaining the idea of instituting special benefits for Canadian STEM
personnel willing to work past the age of 65 — not because they lack the money
to retire, but because they are so difficult to replace.
One other point in Canada’s favor: There’s no out-of-control financial sector in that country run by individuals making obscene salaries.
— Leland Teschler, Editor

RS# 107

NOVEMBER 8, 2012


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RS# 108

Moving Assembly Lines
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EDITORIAL STAFF

Powered by Proven, Versatile Air Film Technology
EDITOR
Leland E. Teschler


MANAGING EDITOR
Kenneth J. Korane


SENIOR EDITORS

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RS# 109

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Stephen J. Mraz

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Lindsey Frick

Robert J. Repas, Jr.


INDUSTRY COVERAGE:
AUTOMOTIVE, PACKAGING,
MEDICAL
Stephen J. Mraz

CAD/CAM, MANUFACTURING
Leslie Gordon

ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS
Robert J. Repas, Jr.

FASTENING & JOINING,
MATERIALS
Lindsey Frick

FLUID POWER
Kenneth J. Korane

MECHANICAL
Lindsey Frick
Kenneth J. Korane

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION

Denise Greco
Editorial Production Manager
Randall L. Rubenking
Art Director

1300 E. 9th St. Cleveland, OH 44114-1503
10

MACHINE DESIGN.com

RS# 110
NOVEMBER 8, 2012


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RS# 111

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LETTERS

Don’t tread on Tennessee

Stop dissin’ Tennessee
After I read a letter to the editor (“Everyone Loves LA,” Sept. 6), I knew
that I would have to comment. The
reader says that the reason that only

42% of Nissan’s workforce relocated to Franklin, Tenn., is because
people don’t want to live in secondrate locations. I’m not sure what
he means by this, but it is obvious
he has never been to Franklin and
probably doesn’t know it is a suburb
of Nashville.
Franklin has consistently been
rated in the top cities in the country to live based on cost of living,
education, quality of life, and other
factors. In fact, quite a number of
large corporations are located in
or near Nashville, and many have
their headquarters in the Nashville
area. These include companies
like Mars Petcare, Caterpillar Financial, Bridgestone/Firestone,
Louisiana Pacific, Caremark, and
Asurian. It’s also home to Nissan’s
Smyrna plant and General Motors’
Spring Hill plant. And although
many of these companies do not
necessarily have a lot of engineers
located in Middle Tennessee, they
understand that the quality of life
for their employees, the low cost of
living and tax rates, and access to a
highly educated workforce make it
a great place to set up shop. (There
are 18 institutions of higher education in Middle Tennessee.) In addition, middle Tennessee is within 650
miles of over 150 million people.
And by the way, I was born

and raised in the Detroit area and
couldn’t wait to leave. I didn’t consider it a first rate place to live.
And as far as LA is concerned, you
couldn’t pay me enough to live
there.
Jim Johnson
Making snide remarks about Tennessee is not helpful. We are all in
this together, and when people talk
like that about the heartland, they
only increase the resentment felt
by Midwestern conservatives. They
are already mad enough at the rest
of us.
And as far as the comment that
12

MACHINE DESIGN.com

Many readers volunteered
to stick up for Tennessee
against an earlier letter
writer who didn’t seem to
have too high an opinion
of that southern state. Another reader bemoans the
small print in his employment agreement.

no high-tech work gets done in Tennessee, that’s where the Manhattan
Project was carried out.
By the way, I live in New Jersey, a
part of the country that gets almost

as much abuse as the south.
Dudley M. Jones
I would advise the reader who
didn’t like Tennessee that if he
doesn’t already live in California,
then please do the rest of us a favor and move there. To insinuate
that “smart people don’t want to be
anywhere but California” shows just
how ignorant you are. And please
don’t try to imply that all engineers
share your opinion.
I believe Nissan is on the right
track by relocating. They will probably attract a substantial amount
of engineering talent that would be
much happier in Tennessee (both
on and off the job) than in the freak
show called California.
Cadiero Gregg
To paraphrase my mother, if you
can’t say something nice about a
state, don’t say anything at all. —
Editor

They’re stifling me,
and you
Most scientists, engineers, and
technical employees who have jobs
don’t control their creative brains
anymore. Their employers do.
For example, I developed a new

farm product in my own basement
shop that was totally unrelated to
my day job in the defense industry.
My employer claimed my invention based on the fine print in the

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

crippling “Employee Agreement” I
had signed earlier as a condition of
employment. He didn’t even want
the invention. He just wanted to
crush any inkling of outside entrepreneurship arising from any of his
employees. No wonder we are stuck
with millions unemployed despite
adding $3 billion to the national
debt every day.
We need a federal “Use or Return”
law to restore creative incentives
and protection intended by our
Founding Fathers when they established the U. S. Patent Office back in
1790. It might give American employees the creative freedom necessary to create the new business
and private-sector jobs we so urgently need.
Robert Nepper
It has been my experience after
working with manufacturers all
over the world, that U. S. has the
best and most-creative engineering talent in the world. Our biggest
problem is that our management
does not understand or accept
this talent. Most engineering talent is not recognized but, in fact,

repressed, is because it would involve company politics.
The head of a large manufacturing company once commented
to me, “We have been doing it our
way for 50 years, so why would
we change?” I’ve also heard: “We
tried something 30 years ago and
it didn’t work.” What they really
mean is that many manufacturing
companies want to run production
the same way they’ve always run
it. And they expect engineers to


RS# 112


LETTERS
keep fixing old equipment when it
clearly is no longer fixable.
It seems there’s always that one
guy in the big corner office that
doesn’t want to evolve and is just
waiting it out until retirement.
But that same guy will hound every employee for better production rates, less maintenance issues,
and so on. The last thing he wants
is to invest in new equipment to
run leaner and smarter production through modern engineering
ideas and technology. After all, he
might make a mistake.
Paul Pfundtner

Bring on the TechShops
I do hope this TechShop effort prospers and spreads (“Manufacturing
for the Masses,” Sept. 6).
There use to be a business called
MonkeyWrench, which rented out
tool shops to do-it-yourself auto
repairmen (and women). But the

business didn’t do as well as I had
hoped. One set of reasons for the
lack of success was the increasing difficulty of working on cars
and trucks for those not trained
to deal with the computerization
of today’s vehicles, the need for
electronic-analysis equipment,
and densely packed engine compartments in almost all new cars. I
presume and hope that TechShops
will not run into similar problems.
I would love to see them become
commonplace. In my humble
opinion, the business deserves
public funding and support. If we
are to be a more innovative country, this kind of facility ought to
help. From personal experience,
I know that getting parts from
machine shops is not easy or inexpensive. With the small budget
most inventors have, this kind of
resource could be a real boon to
me and people like me.

Mark Stapelton

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Please include your name, address, and
daytime phone number. Letters may
be edited for brevity and to focus on
essential points.
Mail: Letters, MACHINE DESIGN,
1300 E. 9th St., Cleveland, OH 441141503, Fax: 216-621-8469
E-mail, Editorial:


Corrections:
Acquisitions — The Lord
Corp., Cary, N. C., is purchasing
MicroStrain Inc., Williston, Vt.
(“Company News,” Oct. 4).
B-2 Bomber — The fine news
item on UAVs (“More competition for carrier-based UAVs,” Sept.
20) has a small but notable error.
Northrop Grumman is the designer and developer of the B-2
Spirit, not Boeing.
Jack Fagan

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NOVEMBER 8, 2012

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/>RS# 113

MACHINE DESIGN.com

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14

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©2012

RS# 114


SCANNING FOR IDEAS
Edited by Stephen J. Mraz

Liquid cooling for servers
also supplies hot water
Heated coolant exits at top of rack
The CarnotJet from
Green Revolution
Cooling, Austin
(grcooling.com), uses

a liquid coolant to
remove heat from
CarnotJet
data-center servers,
rack
including highdensity and blade
servers. The coolant
is a nonproprietary
odorless, white
mineral oil which was
chosen for its clarity,
low viscosity, high
flash point, and high
specific heat capacity.
To ensure
servers can survive
submersion in
the coolant, GRC
removes the fans and
encapsulates the hard
drives. Also, servers
typically use thermal
grease to help heat
sinks remove heat.
In the CarnotJet, it
Coolant
gets replaced with a
pump
covering of indium,
a soft metal foil with

high-heat conductivity.
Coolant is pumped
through a heat exchanger,
where it gives up its heat to a
Coolant-to-water
stream of water. A pump module
heat exchanger
containing variable-speed, digitally
controlled pumps and heat exchangers
can handle the thermal demands of up to
four racks of servers. And the coolant should last
10 years or more, roughly the life of the system.
Using this equipment instead of an arsenal of chassis
and power-supply fans cuts a server’s energy use by 5 to 25%
and reduces the amount of energy used for cooling by 90 to 95%.
It also lets the servers be packaged in a smaller enclosure. The
closed-loop liquid cooling and pump are also significantly quieter than
the fans they replace. And water comes out of the heat exchanger at
122°F and can be sent to an evaporative cooler or serve as a source of hot
waste for a secondary purpose such as heating nearby buildings.
RS# 401
16

MACHINE DESIGN.com

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Servers
vertically
installed in

coolant bath

Evaporative
cooling tower
releases
heat to the
atmosphere

r
formation via ou
Request free in Web site at
Reader Service
c
design.com/rs
ww w.machine


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RS# 115


SCANNING FOR IDEAS

Gimbal mount expands drones’ view
Faceplate

Ball-andsocket
joints

Throughholes

Harmonic-drive
actuator

Preloaded
tapered-roller
bearings
Ball-and-socket
joint

The new gimbal designed by
engineers at Ross-Hime Design
Inc. in Minneapolis (anthrobot.
com), will give cameras and other
sensors mounted on military
UAVs 180° of horizon-to-horizon
tracking. The device, dubbed the
Omni-Wrist VI, also uses fewer
motors and other expensive

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components than previous

designs.
This version eliminates the
keyhole or gimbal lock, as well as
any rotary joints, twist capsules,
and other rotary wire-handling
devices. Instead, a simple
through-hole lets wires, cables,
and fiber optics pass through

the faceplate to the base of
the unit. The new gimbal has
a repeatability of 35 arc-sec, a
twofold improvement over its
10-year-old predecessor. The cost
and size of the Omni-Wrist VI will
be similar to those of previous
designs.
RS# 402


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NOVEMBER 8, 2012

RS# 116