Pentair Introduces New High Thermal Performance Retainer Series and Newly Expanded High Clamp Force Family of Card Loks
High Clamp “HC” Card Lok
High Thermal “HT” Card Lok
Pentair has released a new Schroff retainer design-the Calmark High Thermal “HT” Card Lok and the newly expanded family of Calmark Series 263HC, 265HC, and 276HC High Clamp Force Card Lok Retainers.
The 280HT Card Lok provides best-in-class thermal performance by up to 15 percent over similarly sized Card Loks. The 280HT can do this by shortening the thermal path distance from the PCB to the cold wall through a unique design.
Unlike the traditional Card Lok, the 280HT Card Lok features solid brackets along the length of the Card Lok that provide a continuous and uniform surface along the printed circuit board, or heat frame, and the cold wall. The internal geometry maximizes surface contact area while minimizing heat path distance from the board to the cold wall. You can view data sheet, performance data, and CAD files here.
The newly designed 263HC, 265HC, and 276HC High Clamp Force Card Lok Retainers provide an average of three times the clamping force of similarly sized Card Loks, meeting the growing demands of shock and vibration environments. Its small and lightweight design provides industry-leading board retention that is ideal for defense, space and aerospace applications.
bisco industries – Authorized Pentair Distributor
bisco is your local authorized distributor for Calmark card loks. We also offer card guides and enclosure housings for your electronic system. Visit us online to spec in your part!
Sci-Fi Becomes Reality with Flike: The Electric Personal Flying Bike
Personal flight machines have long been an integral part of science fiction movies. Now those machines are a reality. A Hungarian team has developed a flying bike that looks very similar to the flying machines in films.
The all-electric vehicle dubbed “Flike” is powered by lithium polymer batteries, which allows it to sustain a 30-40 minute flight.
The developer of Flike, Bay Zoltan Ltd., is a state-owned applied research institute in Hungary. It recently tested its first manned flight at Miskolc Airfield in northeast Hungary. In the test flight, Flike stayed aloft for over a minute with a take-off weight of 463lb (210kg) and landed safely.
How does it work?
The lift is generated by six rotors grouped in counter-rotating pairs on three axes, equally located around a circle. The rotation speed of individual rotors can be adjusted, and an onboard computer maintains the craft’s stability.
According to Bay Zoltan, the craft’s airborne behavior is much like a helicopter…it can hover, drift, spin, turn and dive. The team claims flying the Flike will be as easy as riding a bike.
Innovation Starts In the Supply Chain
Behind innovations like Flike are supply partners who provide the top tier products and services that make these technologies possible. bisco industries frequently partners with engineers to help them find cutting-edge solutions for demanding applications. Our knowledgeable sales reps have extensive experience and access to resources from hundreds of manufacturers. In addition, bisco offers a wide range of value added services to help manufacturers reduce costs. Visit biscoind.com or contact a representative to learn more about partnering with bisco industries.
Another Step Forward for Commercial Drones
In the developing commercial drone industry, San Francisco start-up, Airware, is vying for a crucial role: the operating system. The advantage of a popularized operating system has been seen before in the tech world. Computers took off after MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows appeared. Similarly the popularity of smartphones rose after the introduction of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems. Airware anticipates the same type of success for commercial drones with the release of its Aerial Information Platform operating system.
Early Feedback
After the release of its drone operating system earlier this month it appears Airware may indeed become the Microsoft of drone operating systems. One of Airware’s beta testers, Allied Drones’ president, Josh Kornoff, says he plans to put Airware software on all of the drones they build. According to Kornoff other autopilot solutions he’s tested weren’t up to snuff — only good enough for hobbyists — or were clunky old military systems.
GE Ventures managing director, Alex Tepper, shared a similar sentiment, saying that Airware has found a sweet spot in the market between the hobby systems and the military systems. Airware is partnering with GE to provide commercial drone applications for its customers (GE’s venture arm also made an investment in Airware in late 2014). GE says that the variety of demands it gets from customers, ranging from oil and gas companies to power companies and transportation companies, requires a flexible platform such as Airware’s.
The Future of Commercial Drone Manufacturing
With exciting developments in operating software such as Airware’s Arerial Information Platform, commercial drones are closer than ever to gaining widespread commercial use. As a result commercial drone manufacturing is set to become an increasingly competitive marketplace. To stay ahead of the competition manufacturers must continue to engineer innovative solutions and reduce supply chain costs.
The Right Supply Chain Partner is Key
bisco industries frequently partners with engineers to help them find cutting-edge solutions to demanding applications. Our knowledgeable sales reps have extensive experience and access to resources from hundreds of manufacturers. In addition, bisco offers a wide range of value added services to help manufacturers reduce inventory management and purchasing costs. Visit biscoind.com or contact a representative to learn more about partnering with bisco industries.
Have you heard? It’s National Robotics Week!
National Robotics Week Highlights Advances in Robotics Technology
This week marks the 5th annual National Robotics Week. Founded to recognize and spur innovation in robotics technology, National Robotics Week is held during the second week of April each year. This year National Robotics Week will included over 250 events with universities and companies from around the country taking part. Among the events taking place this week are a Robot Block Party in Chicago, and a series of regional robotics competitions.
While National Robotics Week highlights many of the fun aspects of robotics such as the RoboGames combat competition it also displays the impact that robotics technology is having on industry. Take for example the latest robot unveiled by Boston based Rethink Robotics. Rethink’s new robot named Sawyer will join other robots in increasing efficiency in manufacturing and logistics processes. Rethink founder, Rodney Brooks, “explained that Sawyer is designed primarily for machine tending, circuit board testing, and other precise, repetitive tasks, specifically those that take place in the middle of a long assembly line of electronics products” (Source: IEEE Spectrum). Robots like Sawyer allow manufacturers cut costs and by speeding up production time while minimizing quality problems.
bisco industries is proud to be a partner in innovation for the robotics industry. We offer engineers and buyers a trusted source for the individual components that make robots like Sawyer possible. To learn more about bisco or to partner with us visit biscoind.com.
How Giant Flower Beetles and Wireless Technology Can Save Lives
Remote Controlled Bugs Could be the Future of Difficult Search and Rescues
Engineers at UC Berkeley and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have discovered the key to controlling the flight direction of giant flower beetles. Researchers at the universities worked together to create a small “backpack” that stimulates the beetle’s muscles to direct its flight path. By attaching tiny computers and wireless radios onto the backs of giant flower beetles, scientists determined that a muscle once only known for controlling the folding of wings is also imperative for steering the beetle. The ability to control the bugs’ flight path allows researchers to utilize the beetles as drones.
Research Details
The giant flower beetle (Mecynorrhina torquata) used in the study averages approximately 6 centimeters in length and about 8 grams in weight (equivalent to a one dollar coin). Since these beetles can typically carry at least 20% of their weight, the 1 to 1.5 gram backpack (about the weight of a paper clip) is not a problem for the beetle to carry. The tiny electronic backpacks are comprised of a 3.9 volt lithium battery, a wireless transmitter, and electrodes that connect to the beetle’s flight muscles and optic lobes. By stimulating the newly identified muscles with electrodes, researchers are able to control the beetle’s in-flight turns with great precision. In the study, signals were transmitted to the backpack at only 1000 Hz.
New developments in wireless technology have enabled researchers to better understand and fine-tune the control of the beetle’s muscles. Previously, the beetles had to be tethered which made it difficult for researchers to determine whether the beetle’s movements were natural muscular movements or movements being made to compensate for the interfering tether. Wireless technology has allowed the researchers to observe the results of their muscle-controlling electrodes in free-flying beetles.
What It All Means
A primary purpose of this research is to create a new way of aiding in search and rescue missions that would be too dangerous or inaccessible to humans. The idea is to equip the bug’s backpacks with a small microphone and thermal sensors and send the beetles into situations such as a collapsed building where there may be survivors buried in the rubble.
Aiding future Research & Development
The research UC Berkeley and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have done highlights the technological advances being made by universities around the globe. bisco industries frequently partners with local universities to help their engineers find the right components for demanding applications. Our knowledgeable reps have extensive experience and access to resources from hundreds of manufacturers. In addition, our partnerships with numerous manufacturers allows bisco to offer engineers the tiniest of electronic components (like those in the giant flower beetle’s backpack) as well as larger components and hardware used in flight controls. For more information on bisco industries’ catalog of electronic components or to contact a representative, visit biscoind.com.
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