The need to keep equipment running reliably produced advances in bearing predictive maintenance. This brief reviews a class of smart bearings with built-in sensors to gather data (speed, temperature, vibration, etc.) and feed it to control units to trigger alarms, actuate operations, or download intelligence to tweak performance.

Four-point contact ball bearings are favored when a system must endure both radial and axial loads. This compact four-point doesn't disappoint for machine upgrades, providing higher load and speed capacities. Key contributors: an inner ring chamfer that improves lubrication and a lighter cage that reduces imbalance, heat, and friction.

The demand for faster, more precise manufacturing trickles down to tool and instrument suppliers. They've responded with sophistication for the shop floor. Here's a look at some of today's wireless wonders for hand-held gaging of everything from taper angles on a machined metal part, to surface inspection, and paint color.

Based on the concept that belts, like strings, vibrate at a specific natural frequency that matches their mass and length, a new meter uses sound waves instead of force deflection to measure belt tension. Users simply key in belt data, hold the unit against the span, and strum the belt to make it vibrate — then adjust accordingly.

Trying to prevent contamination in food or drug making? This manufacturer produces plastics that are metal detectable, helping ensure tools or fragments can be caught by inline metal detectors and X-ray machines. Full range of products includes reusable cable ties, scoops, suction cups, and gloves.

Think sensitive robots. One projected use of a rubber-like material that conducts electricity: e-skin for robots, filled with pressure and temperature sensors. Bendable, stretchable electronics are close, per Japanese scientists who developed the elastic material, which stretches 38% without conductivity loss and 134% while still conducting current.

Corrosion resistance vs budget. Shaft collar choices should be broad enough to prevent under and over-specifying. This line of corrosion-resistant shaft collars broadens choices from anodized aluminum to yellow zinc, with 316 stainless steel and more thrown in to cover apps from food and pharma to medical and marine.

Do frequent seal failures have you blowing gaskets? Trying to tighten shaft alignments? These high-strength wear rings might eliminate your hand wringing. Being made from a blend of glass fiber, nylon, and PTFE gives them strength to improve both alignment and concentric operation of rods and pistons.

Think that pre-testing market acceptance of a proposed product is fuzzy logic? No sure-fired method exists to gauge acceptance of a new product. That doesn't keep folks from trying to develop such a prize. One creative mechanical engineer proposes mining data from the World Wide Web's 60+ million registered domains to automate the innovation process and predict success of a concept before big investments are sunk. The process calls upon a series of algorithms and, you guessed it, fuzzy logic.

Do you love to tinker with mechanical components? It's enough to make engineers teary-eyed, this sentimental look back at Blendo, the first robot considered too dangerous to compete in Robot Wars. However, it was clearly the best in BattleBots. For those who haven't explored what made Blendo great, check out this innovative, killer use of a dastardly dozen of Bishop Wisecarver's DualVee bearings.

Design for Costing: Can It Make the Cut?

Design for Costing starts with a fixed price, then has engineers create a product at the target price. Is this realistic? Does it inspire or stifle creativity? Should it be inherent in all design engineering?