Nitinol! Construam a vossa Máquina-Maravilha

É muito bacano, quando se pode ver um Vídeo destes, e a seguir, comprar pela Internet o Nitinol para fazer isto aí mesmo, em casa!

Há muitas mais fontes de Nitinol, mas esta é uma delas, e uma, que já conhecemos: 

Memory spring and memory wire

Memory Wire

This nickel/titanium (NiTi) alloy initially ‘remembers’ that it should be straight. If it is bent into a different shape and then dropped in very hot water (90°C), it springs back to its original straight condition. It will repeat this behaviour any number of times.

The wire can also be heat treated to remember different shapes. It simply has to be held in the desired shape and then heated to 500°C in a small oven for a few minutes. This means that pupils can now get involved in creating smart springs and other components that a few years ago would have challenged front line researchers.

Memory wire has several important medical applications. It is used, for example, to make surgical stents – small woven frames that balloon outwards to open blocked arteries. It is also used for orthodontic braces. Some smart textiles use woven-in memory wire to change the shape (and support) of garments when they reach body temperature. Because it can be heat treated, the potential of memory wire in designing and making is virtually unlimited.

The wire is sold by the metre.

Two-Way Memory Spring

These remarkable springs, based on a brass alloy, ‘remember’ to open up at around 90°C and close again when cool. If immersed in hot water at or around 90°C they will open in a split second and close as quickly if dropped in cold water. Such springs have many industrial applications – e.g., in sprinkler and fire damping systems where they replace expensive single-use only fusible links.
Memory springs open and close with considerable force and are used in countless applications where movement is wanted at the opening and closure threshold temperatures.

http://www.mindsetsonline.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1151

Segundo a DesignSpark, o Hardware é a nova Web, em termos de influência verdadeiramente revolucionária, na Sociedade:

Hardware is the New Web

An Arduino workshop at the Noisebridge hackerspace in San Francisco (© Mitch Altman, CC BY-SA 2.0)

With hardware start-ups on the increase, countless gadgets funded via Kickstarter and a resurgence of interest in electronics as a hobby, it looks as though hardware is set become the new Web.

From the first public radio broadcast in 1910 to the home computer revolution of the 1980s, electronics served as the most visible face of technology in the 20th century. When for almost 100 years everyday lives were being transformed by a stream of new appliances, intrepid early adopters could get a slice of the action if they could solder, and electronics empires were being born in garages.

With the arrival of the PC and then the Web we saw a shift in focus, and while software requires computers and the Internet is built upon networking and communications hardware, these took a backseat position and applications and online services garnered more attention. All the hottest start-ups were online and many budding engineers took to software development rather than soldering.

As we move further into the 21st century it appears that the balance may be redressed, with attention shifting back towards hardware — or perhaps products that span both physical and online worlds. What follows is a brief look at some of the enablers, drivers and indicators of this shift.

http://online.rs-components.com/interface/external_view_email.php?A91228263317100970537926282218

E para acabar, que hoje é Sábado, um Braço Robótico mais que flexível...