Author: European Springs Web Team

These days, most of us don’t think twice about the towering buildings that fill our cities’ skylines; most skyscrapers barely get a second glance, and we don’t give a second thought to stepping into an elevator and travelling dozens of stories upwards. However, it wasn’t always that way.

Until the 19^th century, it was rare to find a building over six stories high. They simply weren’t practical; water pressure made it difficult to bring running water above 50m from ground level, and the sheer number of stairs made it impractical for tenants. Interestingly, this meant that higher floors were usually the domain of the poor – if you had money, you had no time for stairs – unlike today’s penthouse culture!

The Development of Skyscrapers

So what changed? There are a number of factors, but essentially it all comes down to space in the cities becoming increasingly scarce and technology advancing to make higher buildings more practical.

One invention which contributed greatly was the safety elevator. Although lifts had been in use for some time, they were largely used for hauling goods rather than people, because safety was a serious concern. If the rope broke, there was nothing stopping the car from falling to the ground. In 1852, Elisha Otis invented a safety mechanism using a wagon spring meshing with a ratchet. If the rope broke, the spring would catch and hold the car. He dramatically demonstrated its effectiveness in 1854 at the Crystal Palace exhibition in New York, ascending in an open-sided car and having the hoisting rope cut with an axe halfway up!

Next, architectural advancements allowed for the stable construction of ever-taller buildings, using steel frames to reinforce the concrete structures. The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884, is sometimes considered to be the first skyscraper, standing at a then-staggering ten stories.

Rivalry grew between Chicago and New York – both land-strapped cities with growing populations – as they competed to build the tallest buildings possible. Even once New York had thoroughly outpaced its competition, individual builders competed to build ever higher, culminating in the stunning skyscrapers of the 1930s; the Chrysler Building (which was the tallest building in the world for all of 11 months) and the Empire State Building, which held the title for almost forty years.

Tallest Buildings in the World

It’s the Chrysler Building which makes today the perfect day to talk about skyscrapers. The 10^th August was the birthday of its architect, William Van Alen, and these days it’s celebrated as Skyscraper Appreciation Day!

Competition between skyscraper buildings was fierce at the time; whilst the Chrysler Building was being built, the Manhattan Trust Bank Building was also under construction, and both aimed for the title of tallest building in the world. The Manhattan Trust Bank Building looked to be ahead in the race most of the way; first announcing that their design was two feet taller than the Chrysler building, then raising the bar from 260m (840ft) to 283m (927ft), its height at completion in April 1930. Their celebrations were short-lived, however – Van Alen had secretly obtained permission for a 38m (125 ft) long spire, which had been constructed in four parts, kept out of sight within the frame of the building. These four parts were hoisted to the top and riveted in place in just 90 minutes, taking the Chrysler Building past the 300m mark to an astounding 319m.

This made the Chrysler Building not only the tallest building in the world at that time, but the tallest structure of any kind, as it surpassed the height of the Eiffel Tower.

Van Alen’s victory was similarly short-lived; not only was his design surpassed within a year by the Empire State Building, but he also faced difficulties in getting paid. He had failed to enter into a contract for his work, and when he requested a payment of 6% of the building’s $14million construction budget – a standard rate for the time – he was refused. He had to sue Walter Chrysler for the payment, and although he won, the suit damaged his architectural reputation. Van Alen focussed instead on teaching sculpture for the rest of his career.

Of course, as spring manufacturers, we’re pleased to note that both the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building had something in common – their elevators were made by the Otis Elevator Company, meaning that both buildings were made possibly by Elisha Otis and his humble wagon spring!

So, as you appreciate the wonders of the modern skyscraper on this day of celebration, should you be struck with inspiration and require further information about our products and services, simply get in touch with us on 028 9083 8605.

At European Springs Ireland, we aren’t your average spring manufacturer and we love seeing how engineering benefits other industries, and how a single spring can really make a difference.

One engineering masterpiece that has caught our eye is the idea of robotic surgery. We’ve put together a quick slideshare to look further into this revolutionary type of surgery and discover how it works.

 

Robotic surgery is a fantastic example of how engineering can benefit other industries. With great benefits for the patients and greater control from the surgeons, we can’t wait to see how this technology progresses. Springs have been used in tools used in precision surgery for many years, so who knows where this robotic advancement will take us!

We provide only the best springs to out clients, no matter what industry you are in. If you’d like more information on how we can help you, don’t hesitate to contact us on 028 9083 8605.

Technology is evolving at an incredible rate, with new inventions constantly being developed. To see just how far technology has come, we only need to compare the tablets of today to the PCs of ten years ago. The vast majority of this accelerated technological development has come about as we have discovered new uses for some genuinely incredible materials.

Inspired by our very own passion for materials, we thought we would take a more in-depth look at some of the most incredible materials on the planet. In this article, we will take a look at 5 of the most marvellous materials, their uses and what makes them so special.

Graphene

Graphene is considered to be one of the most exciting discoveries to have emerged in recent years. It is the thinnest material known to man and is a million times thinner than the human hair, rendering it invisible to the human eye. It has been hailed by many as the ‘miracle material of the 21st century’ thanks to a number of awe-inspiring properties.

Despite being extremely thin, this material is incredibly strong and flexible. To put its strength into perspective, graphene is 200 times stronger than steel whilst also being an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. Thanks to these varied properties, the potential applications of graphene are pretty much endless, and the material is regularly used in the biomedical, electronics and engineering sectors.

It’s fair to say that graphene honestly has an unlimited potential and promises to be at the forefront of all technological developments for years to come.

Metamaterials

Whilst the use of invisibility cloaks may seem like something that is confined to fantasy films, one marvellous material could be close to making this technology a reality. Metamaterials are specifically engineered to have properties that cannot be found anywhere in the natural world, which gives them the ability to interfere with light and sound in ways you might have only thought possible in a Sci-Fi film.

Scientists and engineers are working with Metamaterials to develop cloaking devices that are able to render an object invisible. You may think this sounds a little far-fetched, but the technology has the ability to bend light waves around an object; think of it like a rock diverting water in a stream.

While this technology is still in its infancy, there is a good chance this material could find a common use in the engineering sector sometime in the near future.

Aerogel

This wonderful material recently stole the crown for being the lightest material known to man. A cubic meter of this material weighs in at 0.16 milligrams and Aerogel boasts a density lower than helium, and only twice that of hydrogen, meaning that it practically floats! To put things into perspective, you can balance a cubic inch of this material on a blade of grass or even the stamen of a flower.

Aerogel is created using a technique that involves freeze-drying solutions containing carbon nanotubes and graphene to create a sort of carbon sponge. The material produced by this process is both strong and elastic, which means Aerogel is in high demand across a wide range of industries. What’s more, it’s incredibly absorbent too, and can absorb almost 900 times its own weight in oil.

Whilst the material itself may be light, it’s hoped that it could help us to solve some pretty hefty problems in the future. One potential application of this material is in helping to clean up oil spills.

Metal Foam

This material pretty much does what it says on the tin; it’s quite literally metal foam. Simply put, it’s what you get when you add a foaming agent – titanium hydride – to a metal such as aluminium.

On the face of it, this material may not sound that incredible, but the end product provides a material that has super strength and is remarkably lightweight too. In fact, some varieties of this material are so lightweight they can even float on water.

The potential applications of this material are really rather exciting. Like metamaterials, this particular material is still being developed to uncover its full potential, but in the future, we could see metal foam being used to create floating cities and even space colonies. At present, the material is used mainly in applications including prosthetic bones and joints, construction, soundproofing and insulation.

Nanocellulose

If you ever so slightly change the chemical structure of cellulose – the material that makes up tree bark and plant stems – you will end up with nanocellulose, which happens to be one of the strongest materials on the planet. Not only is it exceptionally strong, but it’s also light and conducts electricity extremely well.

One of the most attractive benefits nanocellulose presents to businesses, is that it’s completely recyclable, as it is essentially wood pulp. It is currently being used to make lighter and more environmentally friendly vehicles, body armour and even flexible phones; however, there are plenty more applications this particular marvellous material could be used in once the technology is developed further.

While there is still a ways to go in finding the full potential of the materials mentioned in this article, the advancements they have brought about can already been seen around the world. We are confident that the engineering sector can benefit greatly from all of these marvellous materials. As leading spring manufacturers, we at European Springs Ireland know a thing or two about choosing the right materials for the job. All of our springs are made from only the highest quality materials, which are specifically chosen for their fantastic inherent properties.

Road cars have always taken a bit of technology from motorsport and Formula 1 cars, from the tyres and suspension that we mentioned in the first part of this series to some of the things that we are going mention in this part. The process of technology making its way from motorsport to road cars is called the “trickle-down” effect and this contributes to a lot of what makes up the cars we see every day.

We continue this series with something cars rely quite a lot on…

Brakes

In road cars, brakes have a very important job, and in most cases they do it very well. The brakes in motorsport cars have even more to do, with Formula 1 having to slow from speeds of over 200mph. Before the 50s, the brakes that were commonly used on road and motorsport cars were drum brakes, but these quickly heated up in use, reducing their ability to slow the car. Motorsports answer to this was the disk brakes which Jaguar used in three cars in the 1953 Le Mans where they won. Disk brakes can be cooled more readily and so are more effective at slowing a car down. Following this, disk brakes became the norm in motorsport and soon after on road cars.

Safety

At the high speeds of motorsports any crash can be devastating. This means the cars are always equipped with the best safety technologies that protect their driver in the case of any impact. All race cars have a structure that is built to protect the driver in the case of a crash. In motorsports this is more visible, especially in the roll cages NASCAR uses, but in road cars these are often hidden behind the soft interior and carpet.

Something that you probably can’t imagine ever not being on a car is the rear-view mirror but we can thank motorsport for those too. In 1911, a racer called Ray Harroun placed a rear-view mirror in his racing car to allow him to see the racers coming up behind him. Although the mirror was rendered useless in that care due to the rough road surface shaking it about too much, the usefulness of this was noted and the rear-view mirror was quickly adopted in road cars.

 

As spring manufacturers, we love this new technology starting out in the high-performance motorsports and making its way down into road cars. In fact, we love great technology being used in any area and that’s why we supply the best springs to all our clients. If you’d like more information about what we can provide, don’t hesitate to contact us on 028 9083 8605.

Seahorses are curious creatures. With a horse-like head and fish-like body they’re truly unique.

But sometimes being unique has its advantages and scientists and engineers are now turning to the seahorse to provide the inspiration for the future of robotics.

Want to know more? Then you’re in luck as here we’re going to take a closer look at the surprising story of how the seahorses tail is gripping the imagination of the engineering world.

 

 

Strength in Squares

Seahorses are strange animals. But their tails are even stranger. Most animals have a tail that features a cylindrical cross-section. But not seahorses; their tails are square in shape.

Seahorses may technically be fish, but their tails have evolved such that they now provide these animals with little assistance when it comes to swimming. Instead they function to provide these creatures with a strong, yet energy efficient grasping mechanism, allowing seahorses to cling to seaweed and coral reefs as they wait for their next meal to pass by.

Their terrific tails are also equipped with a layer of tough armour – in the form of a series of square bony plates – that provides an extra layer of protection.

Inspired by the humble seahorse, a team of engineers at Clemson University in South Carolina have been studying these sea-dwelling creatures in detail over the past few years to uncover the many virtues of their tails.

In order to do so the team utilised an array of advanced 3D printing techniques to mimic the structure of a seahorse tail. And what they have found is really rather exciting!

Rather than testing the tails of live seahorses the researchers instead used 3D printing technologies to produce 3D models of round and square tail structures, which they later tested.

These tests revealed that the square tail structures – akin to the plates found on a seahorses tail – function by sliding past one another when a crunching pressure is applied, thereby helping to protect the vertebral column,  before sliding back into place.

The researchers also discovered that the square shaped model provided more contact points when grasping an object. This acts to create a stronger hold on the object, providing an impressively strong grip.

Other insights the team learned included the fact that the square structure of a seahorses tail makes it much easier for these animals to bend and twist their tails. What’s more their tails can also return to their former shape with much greater ease than those of animals with cylindrical tails.

 

The Tail Has It!

All in all, the distinctive square architecture of a seahorses tail provides an impressive level of dexterity. And it’s this that has got the researchers so excited.

The team believe that their findings could have important implications for the field of robotics. More specifically, they have proposed that by imitating the distinctive design of a seahorses tail we could create even better robots that are able to twist and turn in very tight spaces.

To this end the team are aiming to refine the structures they have produced further, with the aim of developing them for use in gripping robots and even surgical tools! You can find out more about the potential applications of these findings in the video below:

 

This incredible story highlights once again how amazing the natural world really is. As leading manufacturers of a wide range of high quality springs, here at European Springs Ireland we like to think that our own spring designs are pretty innovative and remarkable too. In fact we’d go so far as to say that they’d even give Mother Nature a run for her money!

Want to know more about our services? Then simply contact our friendly team today, by giving us a call on 028 9083 8605, and we will be happy to help you with your enquiries.