Tools of the Trade
High-load bearings
Fiberglide self-lubricating bearings from the Transport Dynamics Division of RBC Bearings can service high-load capabilities—up to 40,000 psi (275,790 kPa) for static loads and 20,000 psi (137,895 kPa) for dynamic load applications. Fiberglide's heavy-duty construction enables longer bearing life and is suited for material handling, agriculture, construction, trucking, and power transmission applications. The bearings are built with a fabric liner made of woven PTFE and polyester fibers bonded to a steel backing, offering inherent damping qualities to NVH vs. metal bearings. They are capable of operating in temperatures from -200 to +300°F (-128 to +150°C).
dc-power supplies
Xantrex Technology Inc. offers the XPR Series of programmable dc power supplies with power factor correction. The Xantrex 6-kW Series is suited for bulk power applications such as burn-in, electroplating, battery charging, and steering magnets. Ten models are available in the XPR 6-kW Series. Features include zero voltage "soft switching," power factor correction, remote sense with 5-V line-loss compensation, automatic voltage/current mode crossover, and remote interlock.
Data acquisition
Webster Instruments' MC104 portable hydraulic data logger has eight sensor inputs and includes four pressure inputs in addition to two temperature and two flow or speed inputs. The unit will display and print eight calculated channels and will retain the menu-driven screen prompts from previous versions as well as five modes of data logging, including real-time transfer to a PC or laptop. The standard unit has a lithium battery-backed memory with storage for up to 96,000 readings in up to 9999 different tests. Built-in printer and WEBCOMM data transfer software provide data analysis, archiving, graph printing, and importing data to spreadsheet programs capabilities. Windows software for data transfer is also available.
Polymer coating
Victrex USA Inc.'s Victrex Peek polymer and PTFE powder coating compound is used on head gaskets to prevent the dangers of micro abrasion, contact corrosion, and "welding" of the cylinder head to the cylinder block. The coating allows the gasket to last longer, seal better, and to be repeatedly reinstalled without any significant effect on cylinder head performance. The gasket is subjected to temperatures between -40 and +480°F (-40 and +250°C) and, due to distortion of the cylinder head, to compression forces of up to 29,000 psi (200,000 kPa), thus demanding high strength over a wide temperature range. The multislide coating process is used to apply the Peek polymer and PTFE compound to the gasket.
Military switches
Electroswitch's line of heavy-duty rotary switches was designed for military applications. The wide variety and modular design of detent- and snap-action switches allow for millions of configurations. All models comply with military specifications for high-shock, high-vibration environments. Detent-action switches permit multiple decks in a single switch, and each deck can contain multiple contacts. Snap-action switches have quick make-and-break action of approximately 10 ms contact transfer time, making them suitable for dc as well as ac switching.
Software solution
The Paydirt RoadWork software system from Trimble is an additional module for the existing Paydirt software that allows material estimators in the construction market to gauge or cross check material quantities and ensures a precise calculation of volumes. Using the module, earthwork estimators digitize existing and proposed substrata surfaces of the cross sections to calculate volumes. A report is then generated that provides users with cut, fill, strip, and substrata areas for each station as well as both bank and adjusted cut, fill, strip, and substrata volumes for each pair of stations. Other features and capabilities include a digitized or keyboard entry of cross section data and the ability to select stripping condition and selectively strip in cut or fill areas only, set stripping for multiple station ranges, input matchline and fold cross sections, and select stationing format.
