Author: European Springs Web Team

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.

This past weekend has been a bumper one for motorsport, especially British motorsport, with Lewis Hamilton romping to take the win at Silverstone at an average speed of over 140mph. With the sheer speed and expenses involved it is easy to imagine that the world of F1 is miles away from that of the cars that we buy from the showroom.

The truth is though that motorsport and Formula 1 in particular has always paved the way for how road cars develop. Over the course of this two part blog we are going to take a look at some of the most important road car developments that have come straight from the world of Formula 1.

Tyres

With Formula 1 tyres lasting as little as 10-15 laps before being completely spent, it seems odd that road cars would take any cues from them. However, the constant developments made to F1 tyres mean that the compounds offer more grip as well as less wear. This means that commercially available tyres are becoming ever more safe and lasting longer than ever.

Wet weather grip is one of the areas in which F1 has really moved the game on with tyres offering exceptional levels of grip in spite of terrible conditions.

Suspension

Now as spring manufacturers, suspension is a language that we speak very fluently and Formula 1 has made incredible advancements in this area. With pushrod actuated fully carbon suspension it may seem like it will be decades before we see this current technology make the transfer to road cars but au contraire.

Lamborghini’s incredible 217mph, 700BHP rocket has pushrod suspension technology, designed and built in partnership with European Springs.

So next time you turn the key in your daily commuter, just remember where some of that technology started out.

Keep your eye peeled for part two of this blog in which we look at braking, efficiency and safety.

Not all springs are made equal. In fact, some springs are positively super!

Extraordinary environments, typically require extraordinary springs. And that’s where the use of unique materials, such as super alloys, becomes necessary. These are used to produce a special class of springs know as super alloy springs, and trust us, these are really rather amazing.

Intrigued? The read on as we explore the wonderful world of super alloy springs!

 

What Are They?

Simply put, super alloy springs are a special type of high performance spring designed for use in a wide range of demanding applications.

As the name suggests, these springs are manufactured from super alloys such as nickel, and cobalt alloys.

Thanks to their unique composition, super alloy springs are able to offer an array of advanced performance properties, including high temperature, pressure and corrosion resistance. It probably goes without saying, but these springs demonstrate remarkable strength and durability too.

To develop full spring properties, some super alloy springs are also subjected to an innovative treatment process, know as precipitation tempering and hardening. This endows the spring with enhanced strength in addition to a variety of other advantageous mechanical properties.

 

What Are They Used For?

Thanks to their high performance properties, super alloy springs are suitable for use in a wide range of harsh work environments. From the aerospace sector to the oil and gas industries these springs are essential devices that help to make a wide range of projects possible.

There are a variety of different types of super alloy spring, which vary according to their unique composition. However, one of the most common types of super alloy spring you will find are inconel springs. These incredibly innovative springs are suitable for applications as diverse as rocket engines and nuclear reactors. And that not all, Inconel springs are also a common feature in scanners too, including both security scanners and MRI scanners, thanks to their low magnetic field properties.

 

So there we have it, some of the many reasons why super alloy springs are so, well, super!

Here at European Springs Ireland, as leading springs manufacturers, we can supply a wide range of state of the art spring products, including super alloy springs.

For more information about our products and services, simply contact one of our friendly advisors today, by giving us a call on 028 9083 8605.

 

Today is National Women In Engineering Day (NWED). An event that is not only significant, it’s necessary.

The gender gap in engineering may be narrowing, and progress may have been made but there is still a lot of work to be done. And that’s why this event is so important.

 

What Is It ?

The 23rd of June marks the second annual National Women in Engineering Day. The  celebration is designed to draw attention to the many careers available to women in the engineering field,  in a bid to ignite a passion for engineering in future generations.

The event will also see the engineering field celebrate the many fantastic contributions of female engineers.

Women In Engineering

Research has shown that in the last couple of years, the gender pay gap between men and women in the engineering industry has closed by six percent. Whilst this change may be modest, there’s no denying that it’s a definite step in the right direction.

But that said, the portion of women working in the engineering field remains pitifully low. Women still account for less than 10% of this key sectors work force. What’s more, the proportion of women working in the engineering sector here in the UK is the lowest in Europe too. And that just isn’t right!

Looking To The Future

The subject of the impending engineering skills crisis is something we have touched upon before in this blog, and according to the latest estimates we will need in excess of 1 million engineers by the year 2020, to meet the growing demand for engineering skills.

With this potential crisis knocking on our doorstep, we desperately need to encourage more young people to consider a career in engineering- and we need to do it now!

If we want to tackle the looming crisis head on, it’s imperative that we aim to inspire more women and girls in particular, to pursue a career in engineering. This is a sentiment that has been echoed by many leading figures in the engineering field, and which  is pretty hard to argue with.

Luckily it’s not all doom and gloom, and  there are plenty of glimmers of hope on the horizon. NWED is one of only a number of  initiatives that are aiming to inspire the next generation of female engineers.

But that said, there is much work left to do too and this will more than likely require a combined effort between the government, parents, teachers, and employers alike. Only through such efforts are we likely to see real, meaningful change.

 

 

Ultimately the engineering field is all about solving problems and this is one issue it desperately needs to resolve, for its own sake.

Here At Europeans Springs Ireland we supply a wide range of spring products, including state of the art compression springs, to the engineering field. As such we’re passionate about engineering and welcome worthwhile imitative such as this. We also  like to do out bit to inspire more minds to consider a career in the engineering field too!

For more information about our innovate spring products or the services we offer, contact us  on 028 9083 8605 today.