Category: Engineering

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.

 

 

If you’ve ever wondered what robots, spiders and cartwheels have in common, it turns out quite a lot actually!

In the face of danger, many animal species rely on the ‘fight or flight’ response to get themselves out of trouble. But a newly discovered species of spider prefers to cartwheel its way out of danger instead!

This acrobatic arachnid has captivated the imagination of engineers and provided an unlikely source of inspiration for a new breed of robot. Intrigued? Then read on as we explore this incredible story.

 

Handspringing Heroes

The Cebrennus rechenbergi, affectionately known as the flic-flac, is a spider species like no other. Unlike their other eight legged brethren, when threatened, these spiders are capable of cartwheeling their way to safety.

Oh, and that’s not the only remarkable thing about these spiders either. It has often been said that a good offence can be the best form of defence, and these spiders take the meaning of this phrase to a whole new level!

Rather than merely running away from predators, these agile arachnids literally flip in the face of danger too, and will propel themselves towards a perceived source of threat.

Ok, so we know what you’re thinking, that’s probably not a smart move. But in fact, there is method in their madness.

In the barren sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi desert, in Morocco – from which these spiders hail – running away can prove pointless, because there is quite simply, no place to hide!

This cartwheeling motion, at which this spiders are so adept, confers a number of advantages, enabling them to double their speed, from 3.3 feet per second to 6.6 feet per second. Not bad, right?!

Cartwheeling on Mars

After seeing these spiders in action, German engineer and biomimeics expert Dr Ingo Rechenberg, was inspired to create a robot that could mimic the remarkable gymnastic abilities of these spiders.

Rechenberg believes that such as robot, capable of achieving a similar means of locomotion, would confer considerable advantages in space exploration missions. More specifically, they are aiming to develop a robot version of the spider that could navigate the rough terrain on the surface of Mars.

But that’s not the only application this revolutionary robot could be used for. It could work in a variety of other environments too, including in the agricultural field and even on the ocean floor.

If you’re wondering what the advantages of this kind of motion would be, the answer is quite simple. Tumbling or rolling would allow more of the robot to be in contact with the surface its moving over, thereby spreading its weight over a larger area, allowing for greater traction and weight distribution than either wheels or legs can offer.

Rechenberg has already created a prototype spider that moves across the ground, using a similar technique to the cartwheeling spider, and you can check out a video of this in action below.

 

Here at European Springs Ireland, the subject of biomimeitcs – biologically inspired engineering- is something we find truly fascinating. That’s why we simply couldn’t resist sharing this incredible story with you. As leading manufacturers of a range of innovative springs, we understand how vital the right source of inspiration can be for the engineering field, and are excited to see what other treats the field of biomimeitcs has in store.

If you would like more information about our services and the range of products we offer, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors today, by giving us a call on 028 9083 8605.

 

They thought it was all over, but then came a ping that would change everything!

As anyone who has ever watched any kind of space movie can tell you, waking from hibernation in space rarely results in a happy ending.

But now it seems, that the real-life Rosetta space mission has bucked this trend, much to the relief of its makers here on earth.

That’s right, after seven months of silence, the Rosetta space probe has made its voice heard once again, well, sort of.

 

Mission Impossible

Back in November, the world rejoiced when the Rosetta spacecraft made history, after completing the first ever successful landing on a comet.

The comet in question, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – or 67P for short – was travelling at speeds of up to 84,000mph, over 300 miles away from earth, making it seem like somewhat of an impossible target.

Regardless, the ESA was able to pull off a spectacular feat of engineering that captured the imagination of the world, and saw its dreams of landing on a comet become a reality.

During the mission, a probe known as the Philae, was launched from its mothership, the Rosetta, which continues to orbit the comet. It was this probe that landed on the surface of the duck shape comet back in November, much to the delight of space travel enthusiasts the world over.

However, the probe relies on solar energy for power, and with its solar panels in shadow, it was operational for a mere 60 hours before its batteries died and it was forced to go into hibernation.

Since this time, scientists have been waiting with baited breath for the lander to receive enough sunlight to communicate with us here on earth once again. And now it seems, that the wait is over.

 

 

The Philae probe made three short contacts on Sunday. And whilst these contacts were shorter than the scientists had hoped, they still show that the little robot is in good nick after its extended nap.

So far scientists have received over 300 data packets from the lander. But there are many more to come. In fact, the probe has over 8,000 left in its memory – so exiting as this may be, we don’t exactly envy the team whose job it will be to pick through them all!

What Will It Show?

This data should revel vital information, such as what has happened to the lander since it awoke from its long slumber, as well as where exactly on the comet it is – something which has so far remained a mystery.

If you’re wondering what awoke the robot from its sleep, its because the comet has moved a little closer to the sun, allowing the landers solar panels to generate the electricity required to power its systems, including its transmitter, enabling it to reboot.

This latest development in the Rosetta space landing saga is no doubt a huge relief for engineers and researchers working on the mission. But the hard work has only just begun, and the lander remains on the very cusp of its mission.

The robots main mission now will be to carry out experiments that will reveal the secrets of these mysterious icy giants. The lander will be tasked with a number of challenges including drilling into the surface of the comet to analyse its composition, to find out exactly what lies beneath.

 

As leading manufacturers of a comprehensive range of high quality spring products, including compression springs, here at European Springs Ireland we’re passionate about engineering on all scales. We just couldn’t resist bringing you this exciting story and can’t wait to see what’s next for the Rosetta space mission.

Our innovative springs are used for a vast array of applications, including in the aerospace field, and we’re confident that thanks to the superior nature of our products, they could even be used to help make future space missions a reality too.

Whatever project your planning, if you would like more information about our high quality springs then contact our friendly team today, by giving us a call on 028 9083 8605.