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Designer's Corner
By Design News Staff -- Design News, February 17, 1997
Binary cylinder
To provide mid-stroke positioning of a lever arm at 16 equally spaced points, an engineer devised this configuration of pneumatic cylinders. It produces quick response and a large force output.
It consists of a series of two-state devices, each successive device providing half the stroke of its neighbor. When actuated in appropriate combinations, the output rod assumes one of 16 positions. Its inventor claims the configuration is not limited to equal spacing. He also states that, using a six-cylinder device, this approach could position a load within 0.050 inch anywhere in a three-inch total stroke.
Ken Hardman, P.E., 1607 North 390 East, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062.
LED status indicator
Incandescent lamps provide 360-degree output but don't do well in environments that subject them to vibration. Also, in most applications the life of an incandescent is limited to about 2,000 hours. Conventional LEDs offer extended life, but a limited field of visibility.
LitestakTM delivers 360-degree visibility and the 100,000-hour life typical of LEDs. It consists of an array of LEDs positioned in six columns around a cylinder with a standard bayonet base. Areas of high-intensity light from each LED column intersect to fill the chamber of a signal light.
As light reaches the chamber's exterior walls, lenses diffuse it for greater visibility.
Linda Carlisle, Federal Signal Corp., 2645 Federal Signal Drive, University Park, IL 60466, (708) 534-3400.
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