Machine design, tập 83, số 18, 2011

October 20, 2011
A Penton Media Publication
Tune in to EngineeringTV.com

IR cloaking device
hides tanks in plain sight
page 22

THE LAST RUTAN AIRPLANE
DESIGN? page 28
THE RIGHT AC PLUG FOR
THE RIGHT PART OF THE
WORLD, page 50
RESINS THAT BEHAVE
THEMSELVES IN TINY
MOLDS, page 58
ANATOMY OF A HIGHPERFORMANCE ACOUSTIC
SENSOR, page 64


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VOLUME 83

ISSUE 18
OCTOBER 20, 2011

MEDICAL INDUSTRY FOCUS

Healing
wounds
with
technology

Ultrasound kickstarts healing processes

Applicator
Control box
Foot pedal

FEATURES

22

New devices and
materials help chronic
wounds heal faster and
with less risk of infection.
Physicians have been
taking advantage of technology to help wounds
heal for centuries by
using bandages, stitches,
and more recently, staples
and adhesives. And fortunately, most wounds

eventually heal themselves, But there are situations in which wounds just
wonÕt heal. These chronic
wounds Ñ usually defined
as those that show no improvement after 30 days Ñ include bed
sores in paralyzed or immobilized people,
foot and leg sores on diabetics, and large traumatic wounds due to car accidents or combat.
Fortunately, biomedical engineers and material scientists have developed several new devices and therapies that
work on chronic wounds.

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Better dressings
One of the simplest new approaches to wound therapy are bioceramic dressings from Cerdak, a South Af44

MACHINE Design.com

The dermaPACE device from
Sanuwave applies acoustic energy
to a wound site, which simulates
damage to the cells. The cells respond
by initiating a fresh healing response
and the body rushes antigens and
growth hormones to the site.

Senior Editor

Resources:
Cerdak, www.cerdak.com
ConvaTec, www.convatec.com
Innovative Therapies Inc.,
www.itinpwt.com

rican company. The FDA-approved dressing, called Cerdak, consists of a sachet of loosely packed alumina-oxide
spheres ranging in diameter from 0.2 to 1 mm. There are
many voids between the nonallergenic spheres and each
sphere has many pores. In fact, pores make up about 75%
of the spheresÕ volume. The pores average about 2 to 5 µm
in diameter, which creates capillary suction forces of about

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Kinetic Concepts Inc.,
www.kci1.com
Sanuwave Health Inc.,
www.sanuwave.com
For a look at the low-cost
NPWT device in action, go to
/>
56 kPA when in contact
with liquids.
When placed in or near
a wound, the spheres attract
and retain fluid. As they remove older fluid, the body
reacts by supplying more,

which contains fresh antigens and the growth hormones
and proteins needed to fight infection, grow new tissue
and blood vessels, and heal the wound. And studies show
the spheres reduce the amount of bacterial toxins and free
radicals, which are both inimical to healing.
The standard Cerdak dressing is about the size of a
tea bag, but the company makes specialized dressings for
OCTOBER 20, 2011

MACHINE Design.com

Biomedical engineers and doctors
have developed several new methods
for healing wounds.

Injection molding for small and microscopic
parts can mean different requirements than
those cited by manufacturers.
ELECTRICAL

& Instrumentation
64 Test
Technology Guide
Precise solar measurements; measuring the
shake, rattle, and roll during shuttle liftoffs;
and conditioning sensor signals.

PLUGGING IN
Navigating international
power-connection standards

The simple task of specifying
an ac electrical plug takes
on numerous intricacies
in equipment destined for
different parts of the world.
Look at an electrical outlet outside the U. S. and you’ll
probably see an unfamiliar plug pattern. There
are 18 different plug patterns used around the
world. In addition, countries around the world
use different ac mains voltages and frequencies.
North America, part of South America, and a
few other countries that run on 60 Hz. Most of the
rest of the world runs on 50 Hz. However, some
countries, such as Japan, run on both. While
the voltages in most industrialized countries are
typically 120 or 230 Vac, voltages can run anywhere from 100 to 250 Vac. Again, some countries
use multiple voltages.
When configuring electrically powered equipment for
use outside the U. S., cutting off the “wrong” plug and rewiring the “right” plug or using an adapter does not solve
the problem. Once you change the cord, as when rewiring
the “right” plug onto it, the cord loses its regulatory approval — which could also affect the approvals on your
equipment. Use of country-specific adapters is fine for
traveling, but they are not recommended for use on a piece
of industrial equipment; the adapters are not approved, so
your cord and equipment may lose approvals.
All developed countries and many of the developing countries have electrical safety standards. As a result,
most have electriWANT MORE? cal testing agenFocus on this code image
cies. The U. S. has
using your smartphone and

several, includfree software from www.
neoreader.com, and you will be
ing Under writconnected to related content
ers Laboratories
on machinedesign.com.
and CSA Interna />tional; Germany
50

MACHINE Design.com

The Argentine
plug resembles
the Australian
plug, though
the two differ
slightly.

has VDE; Sweden has Semko, and so on. Most developed
countries require some sort of a third-party test and approval before equipment can be sold internally. Many European countries will accept VDE approval on parts used
there. In most European cases, the national standard will
simply be a translation into the local language of the applicable International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
or Cenelec document. Any deviations are noted in the
front of the publication. UL and CSA have adapted some
IEC standards but, for the most part, their standards are
independent of IEC and Cenelec.
Plugs and sockets can be categorized by their class and
polarization. Class I plugs and sockets have the ability to
provide grounding. The grounded plug and socket must
have at least three pins or contact points. Class II plugs and
sockets have only two electrical contact points, line and

neutral, and use two-wire cables.
A polarized plug-and-socket configuration has two

PLUGGING IN:
Navigating
international
power connection
standards
Here’s how to work
through the numerous
standards governing
electrical plugs and
sockets in different parts
of the world.

OCTOBER 20, 2011

50
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

OCTOBER 20, 2011

45

Healing wounds
with technology

44

fit for
58 Materials
micromolding

Authored by:

Stephen J. Mraz

The healing process is actually a host of biological activities that take place in reaction to tissue damage. Inflammation, for example, might cause swelling and pain, but normally it stems
from the body rushing blood and antigens to an already injured site. Other healing activities
include a localized increase in protein production to build new tissues and skin, and growth
factors arriving at the site to promote new blood vessel growth and seal off the wound. But in
chronic wounds, this cascade of events seems to stall out, leaving a painful open sore susceptible to infection.
Researchers at Sanuwave Health Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., have discovered a way to restart
the healing process and get that cascade flowing again using ultrasound stimulation with a
device they design and manufacture called dermaPACE. (PACE stands for pulsed acoustic cellular expression). It uses a handheld transmitter to send four impulses/second of ultrasound
carrying 0.23 J/mm2. These impulses travel into the tissue or wound where they create shock
waves of about 500 bar followed by negative pressure waves of about –90 bar, according to
the company. These pressure waves travel about 10 mm into the wound where they generate rapid compression and tension forces at the cellular levels. These forces seem to imitate a
wound, which initiates the healing cascade. In fact, a single treatment, which consists of a little
over 2 min of impulses, has been shown to increase the healing response for up to 12 weeks.
Patients usually receive four treatments spread over four weeks.

The transmitter/applicator contains electronics and liquid components that cannot be sterilized, so health-care technicians encase it in a sterile sleeve while gliding it over the wound to
prevent cross contaminations between patients. The sleeve material readily transfers acoustic
energy. The technicians also apply a sterile gel on the wound to facilitate the sound waves
passing from the applicator to the tissue.
Although dermaPACE and similar devices have been
shown to initiate and accelerate healing burns, traumatic wounds, reconstructive skin grafts, and diabetic
wounds, Sanuwave is initially targeting the device for
use on foot ulcers of diabetics, one of the most common chronic wounds. One of the symptoms of diabetes
is neuropathy, nerve damage that leads to a loss of feeling.
So diabetic patients in clinical tests and trials have not
complained of pain. And patients who were treated
for other types of wounds did not report pain either.
But burns studies from Europe report they do use
lidocain, a local anesthetic, just prior to dermaPACE treatments.
The FDA is currently reviewing clinical trials
of the device for use on diabetic sores. It is evaluating time to wound closure, reduction in wound
size, rate of patient improvement, patient longterm safety, and skin appearance and pain
reduction. If all goes well, the agency could
approve the device relatively soon. And the
AMA is already looking favorably on the
device based on published clinical data and
support from several medical societies.


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RS# 103


ON THE COVER
A tank prototype, the CV90120
from BAE Systems, with Adaptive
camouflaging hexagons.

DEPARTMENTS
8 EDITORIAL

Why finance majors make more than engineers

10 EDITORIAL STAFF
12 LETTERS
18 SCANNING FOR IDEAS
Flexible, thin keypad controls access to enclosures
Bolt tensioners securely fasten large-diameter bolts

22 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
34 LOOKING BACK

40 ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
21 prototypes later, a nifty design aid for plastic resins

42 BERKE ON SAFETY
Test your instructions as thoroughly as your products

69 ORR ON ENGINEERING
Keeping up with tech

70 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
Plastics & elastomers

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72 PRODUCTS
82 DATA FILES
84 BUSINESS INDEX
85 AD INDEX
86 BUSINESS STAFF

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87 BACKTALK

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MACHINE Design.com

OCTOBER 20, 2011


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One key to producing parts to spec is proper machine alignment. Equipment not
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But which machines need alignments, and when? In this Webinar, engineers
from Faro Technologies review the different types of machines that require
alignment, traditional methods used for this process, and the benefits of using
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Phone hacking and countermeasures
At the Intel Developer Forum 2011, Cryptography Research, a semiconductor security R&D division of Rambus, demonstrated
how hackers can intercept electromagnetic emissions
from smart phones and PDAs to steal unprotected data.
Learn about countermeasures such as randomizing
computations, inserting timing delays, injecting noise,
and restructuring algorithms to
mask secrets, at www.engineeringtv.com/video/CryptographyResearch-Demonstra;OnlyEngineering-TV-Videos.

Cable Web site

EDITOR’S WEB PICKS

Lapp Group, a manufacturer of
wire, cable, and accessories such as

connectors and strain reliefs, has a
new North American Web site, www.
lappusa.com. It includes productselector tools, e-learning modules,
a technical data-resource center,
application tips, and educational
videos.

White paper on
rotary encoders
A new white paper from Heidenhain
discusses factors that influence
selecting appropriate rotary
encoders for controlled servodrives.
While positioning accuracy is
paramount, properties such as
speed stability, noise, power loss,
and bandwidth can influence the
application. Download a copy
at www.heidenhain.us/enews/
stories_0711/Rotary_Encoder_
whitepaper-au.pdf.

Switches and indicators
Wilbrecht Ledco, a subsidiary
of Microprecision Electronics,
launched a new Web site (www.
wilbrechtledco.com) covering its

microswitches, LED indicators,
and metal-foil resistors, including

product features, capabilities, and
performance specs. The site can be
read in English, French, or German.

Adhesives forum
Fabrico has launched a new forum
for engineers and manufacturers
involved with flexible materials
and adhesives for bonding, joining,
and sealing applications. Users can
connect with experts and discuss
topics such as medical-grade,
pressure-sensitive, and highperformance structural adhesives.
Find it at www.fabricoforum.com.

Expanded engineering
content
Knovel provides Web-based
technical information and analytical
search tools, and has added six new
partners, including the American
Society for Microbiology,
American Welding Society, Hobart
Institute of Welding Technology,
and Australia’s Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation. Learn more at http://
why.knovel.com.

It’s still

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www.smartestdesignengineer.com
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OCTOBER 20, 2011


RS# 105


EDITORIAL
Why finance majors
make more than
engineers
Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, kids coming out of college didn’t lust after
jobs in finance. The reason was simple: Finance jobs didn’t pay as well as those in
other professions. That may be hard to imagine now, with some first-year financial analysts pulling down six-figure salaries and potentially six-figure bonuses,
while newly minted engineers can only expect to earn around $70,000.
If you are wondering why things changed, you aren’t alone. Two economists
at the National Bureau of Economic Research mused about the same thing.
Controlling for education and other related qualities, they found that wages in
finance in 2006 were about 40% higher than those in the rest of the private sector. For CEOs, the difference is even greater. Between 1995 and 2005, executive
compensation in finance outstripped that of the private sector by 150% on average. The NBER economists decided to figure out why.
The two didn’t pursue this idea out of idle curiosity. Finance accounts for 15
to 25% of the overall increase in wage inequality since 1980, they say. To put it
another way, lopsided compensation in the financial industry has greatly contributed to the disappearance of the middle class and the polarization of the U. S.
into a country containing mainly people with low and high incomes.
The two economists, Thomas Philippon and Ariell Reshef, discovered something odd: There was another time in U. S. history when wages in the financial
sector outpaced those elsewhere. That period extended from 1909 to 1933
which, in a spooky echo of today, spanned the roaring twenties, the 1929 stock
market collapse, and the initiation of the Great Depression. It also casts doubt
on the concept that information technology has been the force driving higher

salaries — after all, there were no computers in the 1920s.
What the economists did find, however, was that the relative rise of salaries in
finance corresponded with progressive deregulation of the industry beginning
in the 1980s, probably because deregulation can intensify innovation and competition for talent. Similarly, salaries in finance started to fall during the 1930s,
40s, and 50s, not because of the punk economy or any nostalgic ideas about the
rise of manufacturing industries. The more probable explanation, say Philippon
and Reshef, is that that period was one of relatively heavy regulation of financial
firms and, coincidentally, much higher tax rates on higher incomes.
Well, thank goodness for that. Otherwise, many entrepreneurially minded
self-starters of the time such as Bill Hewlett, David Packard, or Bill Lear might
have wound up inventing cockamamie debt instruments instead of founding
manufacturing industries.
The economists beg off from opining about whether society is better or
worse off when “financiers are overpaid from a social point of view.” But I
contend that the real lesson learned from their results lies elsewhere: If society
wants more engineers and scientists, it should forget about beseeching kids
to pursue technical subjects and hoping they ignore the fact that such studies
lead to lower-paying careers. Instead, just regulate the financial industry so it
produces fewer “innovations” such as the credit default swaps that nearly sank
economies worldwide two years ago.
— Leland Teschler, Editor
The November World’s Smartest Design Engineer contest starts soon.
Keep your eyes open for the November 3 issue of MACHINE DESIGN with
our Fluid-Power Tech Guide and articles on mechanical, electrical/
electronics, advanced manufacturing and linear actuators.
Maybe there will be clues to answers to World’s Smartest questions
to help you in your quest!
RS# 106

OCTOBER 20, 2011

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DYNAMIC SOLUTIONS

EDITORIAL STAFF

FOR YOUR 
MEDICAL APPLICATION

A&A Manufacturing Company
is your single-source provider

of innovative protective cover
products for:
•

Medical equipment
MRI tables
• Medical tables
• Dental chairs
• Mammogram machines

Leland E. Teschler, Editor,


•

Kenneth J. Korane, Managing Editor,


SENIOR EDITORS

The widest variety of
technologies and materials
are chosen to meet your
aesthetic or environmental
requirements.

Leslie Gordon,
Stephen J. Mraz

AUTOMOTIVE &

NEWS FEATURES

A&A can design and deliver
exactly what you need to keep
your equipment in motion.

Stephen J. Mraz,


CAD/CAM
Leslie Gordon,

A Division of A&A Manufacturing
www.Gortite.com
Email:
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Fax: 262-786-3280

RS# 108

ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS
Robert J. Repas, Jr.,


FASTENING, JOINING
Jessica Shapiro,


FLUID POWER
Kenneth J. Korane,

MANUFACTURING
Leslie Gordon,

Kenneth J. Korane,


MATERIALS
Jessica Shapiro,


MECHANICAL
Kenneth J. Korane,

Jessica Shapiro,


CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Victoria Burt,

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION
Denise Greco,
Editorial Production Manager
Randall L. Rubenking, Art Director

1300 E. 9th St. Cleveland, OH 44114-1503
RS# 109
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OCTOBER 20, 2011


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LETTERS
R&D ROI
Look at how badly the recent economic stimulus failed (“Research
and the Debt-Ceiling Battle,” Aug.
25). It seems there are just too
many regulations that get in the
way of opening or expanding a
manufacturing operation.
That’s why so many companies
only want to write software or get
into financial services. They can
hire a bunch of brains to work in
a clean office building. No regulations over emissions or waste disposal, and no labor unions. It’s just
easier to let other countries do the
manufacturing.
As a thought experiment, imagine
our R&D came up with a new nuclearreactor design that would cost less to

build and be even safer and more efficient. What U. S. community would
ever let you build it without five years
of environmental studies and millions of dollars in legal battles?
Hollie Josephs

Such a reactor already exists. It’s
called a thorium reactor. It was backburnered because the government
needed U-238 reactors that could
produce plutonium for bombs. —
Leland Teschler
The entire country seems to be
debating whether we need more
government-run organizations or
more private companies. From my
perspective, removing government
intervention from the engineering
and science communities in the
U. S. is a terrible idea. Nowadays,
most engineers or technologists
work for institutions funded directly
or indirectly by the U. S. or a foreign

government. And it’s not only defense industries that enjoy the fruits
of publicly funded science. It’s hospitals and medical-device companies and drug companies and agriculture and the construction trades.
The Internet backbone is the government. Most universities receive
heavy public funding.
The demonization of government inefficiency in every capacity
has become more popular. When
you claim it’s smarter to choose private over public research, you have
reduced a complex relationship

into a political slogan. Your slogan
carries the same view as a proconservative, pro-Tea Party, pro-GOP

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RS# 113


LETTERS
talking point, i.e., reduce the size
of government. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate
because of government intervention, not in spite of it.
Most third-world countries have
virtually no government funded
research and I hardly consider that
a worthy model to embrace. Your
article hints that the pie is only so
big, and if the government takes a
big piece, there’s a smaller piece left
for private research. This is untrue.
As the government’s role in innovation increases at all levels, from education to application to research,
so will private opportunities. More
innovation, government or private
is a good thing. It’s not one or the
other.
Duncan MacIntosh
Private industry already funds over
70% of all U. S. R&D, according to the
National Science Foundation. And
about half of the government’s share

of funding goes toward defense R&D.

So if you are arguing for more government-funded R&D, you are basically
arguing for a larger defense budget.
As I pointed out in the editorial, this
kind of technology R&D does not
greatly impact our day to day lives,
though it certainly helps keep us free.
There is also no correlation I can
find between government R&D
spending and the public’s well being.
For example, right now in the U. S.,
the Gerd/GDP ratio (Gross expenditure on research and development
as a percentage of Gross Domestic
Product) funded by government is
0.76 and the unemployment rate is
above 9%. In Taiwan, Singapore, and
Hong Kong, the unemployment rate
is about 3.5% and the government
funded Gerd/GDP ratios are 0.73,
0.69, and 0.25%, respectively.
And please refresh my memory:
What government agency did Thomas
Edison work for? — Leland Teschler

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Where’s that

six-cycle engine?

Why does no company build sixcycle engines? The extra two cycles
would be used to pull in fresh air
(no fuel) and then push any residual unburned fuel out of the cylinder. This would let the next mix of
fuel and air burn in a cleaner environment for more-efficient combustion. It would also send more
air through the exhaust to aid in
pollution control.
Such an engine in an in-line
four-cylinder configuration would
have a power pulse every 270°
instead of every 180°. This would
give it a two-plane crankshaft instead of the single plane in conventional four-cycle engine, thus
it would be easier to balance. I
can think of other advantages too
lengthy to explain in this letter. The
six- cycle engine was proposed in
the 1930s, patented in the 1980s,
and, to my knowledge, not even a

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RS# 114
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OCTOBER 20, 2011

RS# 115


Think

all
BLIND BOLTS are alike?
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Look closely.
Unlike the competition,
Huck Magna-Lok® blind

The proprietary locking mechanism is
a function of the fastener, not the tool,
helping to eliminate tooling and
operator errors that can happen
with the competition.

Designed to help ensure published
values are actually met. Even if it looks
like the competition’s fastener is
installed correctly, you can’t be sure,
due to the lack of visual reference.

bolts have powerful
advantages. Huck offers
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Huck-engineered to ensure a
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imperfections occur. With the
competition, hole imperfections
could get in the way of a successful
installation.

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RS# 116


LETTERS
prototype has been built.
Don Norris

A greener vacuum cleaner
The best part of this vacuum cleaner
concept is its reuse of the packaging (“Will This Cardboard Vacuum
Cleaner Suck Up the Dirt?” (Aug.
25). Having a vacuum cleaner with
a cardboard body certainly catches
the attention, but wouldn’t it be a
lot more practical to keep the packaging-as-product concept but make
the packaging out of something
more durable than cardboard, such
as corrugated plastic?
For the sake of durabilit y,
wouldn’t it be better yet to design
the appliance for a 20-year life instead of six months? Or maybe the
real aim here is to come up with a

vacuum cleaner you never have to
empty — just throw it away.
And the objection given to injection-molded plastics, that they take

a “long time to decay in landfills,”
could be avoided by making it easy
to separate the large (and labeled)
plastic parts and then recycle them.
Tim Hunsdall

Degrees don’t
really matter
The past few issues have chronicled
many engineers talking back and
forth about the merits of expensive
educations and their real monetary
value. As the owner of a manufacturing firm, when I hire someone,
do I really care if that individual has
taken a bunch of classes that are
not germane to what he or she will
be doing at my company?
If manufacturers paid attention
to hiring people for their firm’s
specific needs and told local universities and colleges in general
what these needs are, the liberal
arts half of college requirements
could be dropped. This could re-

duce the cost of degrees and the
time it takes to earn them.

I believe a general degree is
worthless in today’s environment.
Academic institutions all need to
figure out how to control costs and
develop programs that correspond
to the local businesses needs, no
matter what they are.
If all of us parents quit sending our
kids to alleged higher-education institutions for just a couple of years,
these institutions would be forced to
clean up their act just like any poorly
run business, or disappear. And if our
government totally stopped funding
these universities and instead gave
the money directly to the states and
got out the alleged educational businesses, then each state could determine what educational criterion to
establish. Liberal arts people would
gravitate towards Hollywood while
engineers would gravitate towards
the Midwest.
John Berney

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MACHINE Design.com

OCTOBER 20, 2011

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RS# 118


RS# 119

1-8OO-243-2715


SCANNING FOR IDEAS
Edited by Stephen J. Mraz

Flexible, thin keypad controls
access to enclosures

Giving various users access to enclosures just got
easier, thanks to a flexible, membrane keypad
from Southco, Concordville, Pa. (www.southco.
com). It holds up to 120 different user codes
and can independently control keyless access
to two enclosures. The keypad is made of a
thin, flexible textured polyester film with
switches and LEDs enclosed in it. Customers
Control box
can specify any size, shape, or color keypad.
Pressure-sensitive tape on the back of the
membrane lets users stick the keypad to
doors, frames, or any other flat surface.
The keypad is powered by 12 to 24 Vdc
and 10 mA. In standby, it draws only
30 μA. The keypad sends matrix outputs
to an external controller
RS# 401

Latch 1

Keypad installs
vertically or
horizontally

Latch 2

Flexible
keypad
Power

supply
Status keys

WANT MORE?

Clear key
deletes
previous
keystrokes

Focus on this code image
using your smartphone and
free software from www.
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MACHINE Design.com

Lock key
relocks
doors

OCTOBER 20, 2011

r
formation via ou
Request free in Web site at
Reader Service

c
design.com/rs
ww w.machine


RS# 120


SCANNING FOR IDEAS

Bolt tensioners securely
fasten large-diameter bolts
It can be difficult to properly fasten
bolts larger than 1 in. in diameter
because strength increases with the
square of the diameter while the torque
needed to attach them increases with
the third power. So these large bolts
cannot be torqued with hand tools. But
torquing them with slugging, crane, or
hydraulic wrenches can be expensive,
time consuming, and dangerous. Multijackbolt tensioners (MJTs) from Superbolt, Carnegie, Pa. (www.superbolt.com),
offer an alternative.
MJTs can be installed using standard
torque wrenches or air tools, and several technicians can work on the same
MJT to speed assembly. The tensisoners
won’t loosen when properly installed,
despite vibrations, pulsations, and
reciprocating loads. They
can also be installed in

cramped, awkward spaces,
The thrust
such as on top of heavy
force of
equipment. The MJTs apply
several
predictable loads, which
jackbolts and
can be critical for sensitive
the opposite
application such as gasreaction force
keted flanges. The elasticof the main
bolt head
ity of the MJTs lets them
put a strong
be used on joints subject
clamping
to thermal and dynamic
force on the
cycling. And because the
flange.
bolt is held in pure tension,
there is no thread galling or
stud seizure.
An MJT consists of a
round, toroidal nut body with threads on
the inside that match the stud/bolt being
tightened. A series of holes drilled and
tapped for hardened jackbolts circle the
top of the nut body and pass all the way

through it, top to bottom. When installing
an MJT, a hardened washer goes over the
bolt, rod, shaft, or stud being tightened. It
gives the jackbolts a hard surface to press
into and protects the bearing surface of the equipment being worked on. The tensioner body is screwed hand-tight
onto the stud/bolt. Jackbolts are then tightened with a
handheld torque wrench or air tool. This pushes the nut
body away from the washer, generating tension on the
bolt and stretching the main thread.
RS# 402

Jackbolts can be
tightened with a
standard torque
wrench.

Jackbolts
compressive
strength lets
them have
small friction
diameters but
create high
thrust forces
with relatively
little torque.

Hardened
washer
transfers

force while
protecting
flange face
and casing.

Main bolt

The thrust
force from the
jackbolts creates
an equally strong
reaction force
in the main bolt
head

WANT MORE?

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OCTOBER 20, 2011

RS# 121


REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

IR camouflage lets
tanks hide in plain sight
An IR camouflage scheme developed at the armored-vehicle arm of
BAE Systems in Sweden lets tanks and other armored vehicles look
like Toyota pickup trucks or blend into the background of trees and
bushes — at least, that is, to someone trying to locate or target them
using IR detectors. The system, named Adaptiv, consists of an array of
metal hexagonal plates that attaches to the outside of the vehicle. Each
panel has its own semiconductor-based cooling and heating. At the flick
of a switch, the panels activate and can be programmed to mimic the IR
signature of a variety of different vehicles or natural objects. IR images of
vegetation or rocks are available from mission libraries stored onboard
that cover desert, urban, and other terrains. The system also has a “graband-copy” feature that lets operators copy the thermal signature of a
nearby vehicle or the surrounding countryside. Moreover, Adaptiv can

be scaled to work on aircraft, warships, and even buildings.
On an Adaptiv system sized
for a battle tank, hexagons are
about 5.5-in. across. About 450
are affixed to each side of the
tank and its turret. Together, they
can realistically imitate other vehicles and objects when viewed
through IR detectors from a
range of 900 to 1,200 ft. The

image can be resized to fool observers sitting nearer or farther

A concept vehicle from BAE
systems, a tank nicknamed
the Ghost, carries Adaptiv IR
camouflaging hexagons that let it
hide from hostile forces using IR
detectors.

22

MACHINE Design.com

OCTOBER 20, 2011


Resources:

BAE Systems,
www.baesystems.com

away. A warship, for example,
would not need close-up stealth,
so it could be fitted with larger
hexagons.
The system carries self-diagnostics, and faulty or damaged
hexagons can be replaced quickly
in the field. And the hexagons can
be made strong enough to provide additional armor protection

coverage against small arms. The
panels use relatively little electrical power, which the tank can
easily provide, especially when
standing still.
Although Adaptiv provides
camouflage against IR and has
been modified to provide cover
in other segments of the electromagnetic spectrum, militar-

ies might find it most useful for
distinguishing friendly units from
hostile ones on the battlefield.
This could be done by making
the panels create easily read patterns or alphanumerics, or more
subtly, by emitting a specific signature that lets the vehicle stay
hidden from the enemy but lets
friendly forces identify it. MD

On the left is an armored
vehicle with the Adaptiv
camouflage switched
off. On the right, the
vehicle has turned on
the Adaptiv camouflage,
which is programmed
to make it look like a
small station wagon to a
person looking through
an IR detector.

OCTOBER 20, 2011

MACHINE Design.com

23