Composites manufacturers are well aware of the potentially explosive nature of airborne dust created by secondary processes such as grinding, sawing, and finish polishing of formed parts. Most facilities utilize “closed vessel” dust collection systems to manage and collect this dust and keep it from migrating throughout the plant.

Every day, many thousands of people around the world use powder inhalers for the treatment of respiratory diseases. These devices are predominately made from plastic parts. Some are manufactured by Almirall Sofotec, one of the top 80 pharmaceutical companies in the world in terms of sales, and market leader in its native Spain.

When designing military ground vehicles, lighter is always better. Engineers in the U.S. military are well aware of the challenge of reducing weight, particularly for the next generation of military vehicles still in development. One such vehicle is the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle or JLTV. 

For more than 60 years, assemblers have been using coiled pins to assemble parts. Also known as coiled spring pins, they feature a 2-1/4 coil wrap with a cross-section shape that’s very close to the geometrical configuration of the Spiral of Archimedes.

Extreme for some is mainstream for others. Cultural examples include sports, music and reality TV shows. In the wire processing industry, extreme for some assemblers means products like very thin wire and very thick wire or cable.

Manufacturers are always looking for ways to maximize their skilled employees. One way is to free them from lower-valued tasks-such as pulling carts and delivering palletized materials. Daimler Trucks NA LLC is one such manufacturer that has found a more cost-effective way to complete these tasks: use the GT3 tugger, a vision-guided industrial mobile robot.

Crash dummies are crucial in evaluating the performance of side curtain air bags in a rollover. First Technology Safety Systems Inc. manufactures crash test dummies and computer crash simulation models for automotive, military and aerospace applications. To confirm that the new design matched dummies built from the original mold, FTSS used a hand held laser scanner.

In late 2009, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center completed a series of critical, full-scale, physical tests to help predict how the Composite Crew Module would perform under simulated flight conditions. Performed at Langley Research Center, the tests focused on material tradeoffs between metals and composites in space structures.

On Jan. 11, 2010-exactly three years to the day that the Chevrolet Volt concept car debuted-General Motors manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for the Volt at its Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant in Brownstown Township, MI. 

For many years, OEM Sunnen has designed customized, high-end bore sizing and finishing systems. In 2008, the company decided to expand its platform to include honing equipment for resurfacing and repairing hydraulic cylinders.