Case Studies: Shuttle Arm And Artificial Wine Cork

It was not surprising that Calmont Wire & Cable was contacted when the difficult task of designing the wire and flexible cable for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Robotic Arm was required. Calmont’s engineering challenge involved designing a series of cables that would allow freedom of movement across critical joints. For complex machining involved in the field of robotics, especially in a temperature-varying and zero-gravity environment of outer space, a great level of engineering skill and application is required.

Equally important was providing custom cables attaching to precision strain gauges monitoring the load. Calmont’s experience with building high reliability robotic cables as well as military wires, coupled with years of aerospace and military experience, facilitated the design of a series of cables that are still in use today. By designing a cable utilizing an extremely high strand conductor, along with the careful consideration to cable geometry, Calmont was able to effectively reduce the torque across the critical joints of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Robotic Arm.

Calmont is proud of its willingness to be challenged. A scientist hired by a California wine consortium to develop an artificial cork approached Calmont to find a way to get it done. When we asked the customer why he chose Calmont, he responded that Calmont was the first company he contacted that wasn’t intimidated by the challenge he presented. Calmont’s ability to process a variety of FDA approved materials and a willingness to work with customer-provided materials, was instrumental in developing this innovative product. It is that kind of response to difficult problems that has made Calmont the preferred supplier for the most demanding and unique applications ranging from culinary to medical wire projects and everything in between. For additional information on custom cables and wires,

Flexible Cable – Getting Cable Online

If you are the kind of person who does a lot of work around the house or does a lot of traveling and bicycling, then you are also probably the person who will need a lot of cable. When you are looking for cable, there is a lot that you have to keep in mind. Some people who are not searching for cable will wonder why it’s so difficult. They will think that you can walk into any sporting goods store and find exactly the cable you need. The truth of the matter is that it’s not so easy at all. As a matter of fact, if you are looking for the best kind of cable, then you may really be at a loss. This is why you need to know how to find the best flexible wire and other kinds of cable too.

When you are looking for the best custom cables you are going to need to make sure that you are going online first of all. As a matter of fact, this is the most important thing that you can do when it comes to getting the best cable. If you stick to the stores that are in the neighborhood, you are going to end up with some of the weakest cables on the market. The reason is that the selection at most stores is really limited. If you have heavy duty moving or traveling to do, you are going to want to make sure that you are only using the best cable. As a matter of fact, this is absolutely necessary, especially when it comes to finding the best kind of cable that you can trust.

When you are looking for military wire you are also going to need to go online. There is no better choice when it comes to finding the wire and cable that you need. Some people think that shopping online is a hassle. Others believe that they can’t trust the websites they see. This isn’t true. The truth of the matter is that you can find the absolute best websites that will also provide the best cable and wire. You can be sure about the products that you are buying because they are going to come with customer reviews that will tell you how good they are.

When you need military cable or any other kind of cable you really need to make sure that you are making the best possible decisions. You need to be able to make sure that you are making some smart decisions, otherwise you are going to end up spending a lot more money than you need to spend.

United States Air Force To Invest In “Batman” Technologies For Special Forces

United States Air Force To Invest In “Batman” Technologies For Special Forces

An Air Force program named for and inspired by the comic superhero Batman is bringing together advanced technologies and specialized miniaturized custom cables to equip U.S. Special Forces soldiers for modern warfare, according to a recent MSNBC report.

Started by the Air Force in 2004, BATMAN (an acronymn for Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge) reconfigures military wire and optic components to modernize the gear that soldiers take with them on covert missions in hostile territories.

"In the earliest stages when we were coming up with a name for the program, we were perceived as having a lot of gadgets," said Reggie Daniels, BATMAN program engineer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. "[Batman's] devices allow him to have an advantage. That is what we're trying to do." Fittingly, the motto of the program is "lighter, smarter, deadlier."

Regarding the first objective, elite Air Force soldiers often must lug up to 160 pounds (73 kilograms) of equipment during a mission, Daniels said. This equipment includes communications gear, helmet displays, a headset and a computer, plus a host of batteries and custom cables to keep all these electronics powered in the field. Special forces missions include setting up runways and landing zones as well as retrieving injured people from aircraft downed behind enemy lines. "They have a very dangerous job," said Daniels.

In many cases, Special Forces' outdated gear has overly burdened them, impeded their time-critical decision-making, or simply not been up to the task at hand, he added.

Before recent battlefield incidents spurred reform, Special Forces "were basically using paper and pencil and calculating [their positions in the field] and they had to hobble equipment together that wasn't supposed to be together," said Daniels.

In one particular disaster in Afghanistan, an improperly reinitialized piece of equipment essentially called in an airstrike on the Special Forces' position, killing a number of troops, said Daniels, though he demurred on the details.

The Department of Defense wanted to ensure that this sort of incident would never happen again, and thus BATMAN was born.

The military version of Bruce Wayne's Batcave is a laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. This is where Daniels and his colleagues devise, test and integrate technologies to boost Special Forces' effectiveness.

Although there is no "Batsuit" per se, the BATMAN program does center around what Daniels called the "human chassis," or the idea of the body as a scaffold for all of a mission's appropriate gear. For example, components such as communications antennas which employ miniaturized silicone wires have been placed closer to the torso rather than at distances that can tax a soldier's balance, Daniels said. A key BATMAN achievement has been reducing the weight of carried batteries by 25 percent. New fuel cells powered by methanol actually get lighter as the methanol is consumed, Daniels said, so instead of toting drained batteries, a soldier's load decreases over time.

BATMAN has additionally pioneered the use of a small, chest-mounted computer to provide soldiers with real-time logistical and tactical information. Speech recognition, or telling one's equipment what to do – which is arguably more Inspector Gadget than Batman — is also in the works.

Other technologies brought to bear in the BATMAN initiative include a device that soldiers throw over low-voltage, overhead power lines to draw electricity.

"The time spent by [Special Forces] in the field is limited by how long their batteries last," said Dave Coates, lead test engineer at Ohio-based Defense Research Associates (DRA). "When those batteries die, they've got to come back in." The DRA-developed device, the Remote Auxiliary Power System — though better known as the Bat Hook – was similarly inspired by the Dark Knight. For additional information on wiring and cables for special applications, please visit www.calmont.com to learn more.

For Every Application: Medical and Military Cables

Cable and extrusion devices for applications serve a vital role in critical fields like health and national security. In fields ranging from heart surgery to military communications, wire devices supply equipment with electrical power and transmit data. Many kinds of materials are used to transmit electrical energy, but those most frequently specified in medical wires and military wires are copper, copper-covered steel, high strength copper alloys, and aluminum. For more unusual applications, conductors are fabricated from pure nickel, pure silver, copper-covered aluminum, and a host of metals, metal alloys, and metal combinations as dictated by the application.

Here are details on the most widely-used types of materials found in silicone cables and wires for various applications.

Copper – Copper is by far the most widely used conductor material in the industry. Among its physical properties are high electrical and thermal conductivity, ductility, malleability and solderability, high melting point, and high resistance to corrosion, wear and fatigue. Copper is also cost-effective when compared to other conductive materials commonly used in military and medical cables.

Copper-covered steel – Copper-covered steel combines the conductivity and corrosion resistance of copper with the strength of steel. Three types are presently available, differing primarily in method of producing the composite metal. In one type, molten welding permanently bonds the two components; in another, a copper layer is electroplated over a steel rod; and in the third, the copper and steel are metallurgically bonded.

High-Strength Alloys - Though more expensive than copper-covered steel wires, copper alloy conductors are specified because they permit significant size and/or weight reductions especially important in computer and aerospace applications. They offer high breaking strength and greater flex life with only a small increase in DC resistance. Cadmium-chromium copper, cadmium copper, chromium copper, and zirconium copper are most frequently used.

Stainless Steel - Stainless steel is used for medical lead wires and cables. Stainless steel has poor conductivity compared to copper and may have to be gold plated to improve the conductivity.

The QPL (Qualified Products List) is a listing that identifies both materials and suppliers whose materials are approved for use on certain federal or government projects without the need for any additional documentation or testing. On the QPL, only specified manufacturers are approved to make selected parts for federal, military or airframe applications because they have proven they can produce the standard products to particular requirements. If a federal agency needs to purchase a product, it will seek out businesses that already have products on the suitable QPL. For additional information on military and medical wires, please contact www.calmont.com to learn more.

Cable and Wire – Medical Applications

The average person seldom thinks of the individual components that go into making medical devices. However, there are actually companies who specialize in crafting cables and wires specifically for medicinal purposes. Medical wire can be found in devices such as pacemakers, hearing aids, and other medical devices which must conduct some sort of electrical current. These wires often require special materials and coatings to protect electrical connections in devices placed within the human body. Likewise, the body must be protected from certain metal alloys lest it tried to reject the device as a foreign body and thus try to attack or destroy it.

Manufacturers who specialize in making cable and wires for medicinal purposes can produce a broad range of cable and wire sizes, as well as use a variety of materials in their construction. In terms of medicinal purposes, medical device manufacturers often require highly flexible cable to accommodate the smallest devices. These types of cables must have high tensile strength, be able to withstand friction, be chemical resistant, and possess excellent dielectric strength. Many of these cables are extremely small but can withstand more than heavy chains used to tow cars. The medical device manufacturing industry requires unsurpassed quality and strength.

Silicon cable is often used in medicinal applications. In part, silicone makes an excellent choice because it presents chemical inertness so necessary in medical applications. While being inert, and thus less likely to cause a chemically related problem in medical applications, silicone also presents versatility in terms of strength, flexibility, and melt forming capability. It is often the preferred material for devices intended for internal use. Silicone is used to coat metallic wires, and thus provide increased chemical resistance without sacrificing strength. It is also used as a surface material for many internal medical devices.

Likewise, silicone wire is often used in medical devices where a smaller gauge is required. It is used in such situations for all the same reasons as silicone coated cable. Manufacturers of medical wiring provide medical device manufacturers with customized solutions for their wiring and cable needs. So, if the device manufacturer requires an unusual size or gauge of wire, or requires a specific set of colors, the wire manufacturer is well-equipped to produce wire to meet the needs of the medical device industry. Many manufacturers of medical wiring solutions can provide density, tensile strength, friction resistance, and dielectric strength information for all the wires that they produce.

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