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Remote-controlled Bolts and Screws
Winter writes "SMT Magazine has an article on intelligent fasteners (screws, bolts...) that can fasten themselves or by remote control.
Usage for this seems mainly to make sure normal people cannot change parts in their car themselves, and only allow for authorized parts and service.
Of course, a hacker might also have fun and disassemble the neighbours car."
I always wanted a universal tool that could work like the Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who!
"Hey server monkey, come tighten these screws!"
There's already way too much tech in our cars already. I love technology, but there are some places where it should be kept to a minimum. I long for the days when you could work on your own car with a decent socket set and a few wrenches.
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NSFWI've been interested in these devices for a while now. As a design engineer, I don't see much how these new intelligent fasteners will differ much from today's dumb fasteners. Since they are mechanical fasteners, the joint strength considerations remain the same. All fasteners still have to transfer a force, and the concepts of tension, shear, and clamp load don't change with the addition of an embedded system. I suppose that any joint strength you can achieve with a traditional fastener, you can achieve with an intelligent fastener.
There will be differences, of course. On the plus side, they promise to provide additional design freedom. Tool access and assembly sequences often dictate the fastener locations as much as joint strength does. Now you can put a joint anywhere you want because of the built-in actuation, which can also eliminate some of the tolerance or orientation issues associated with assembly tools. Cross threading could be a thing of the past.
They also shouldn't present any packaging difficulties, despite their onboard electronics. These fasteners tap into a product's existing wiring and electronics. Digital commands take up far less space than a physical tool. I think that smart fasteners can attain much smaller sizes than conventional mechanical fasteners--in part because they overcome traditional spacing constraints and in part because smart materials will allow them to be smaller, perhaps even down to the nanotechnology scale. Cool stuff indeed.
"I see you are trying to install a screw. Would you like to install a screwdriver?"
If the government gets their hands on these, then we're all screwed!
Hey, guys. Big gulps, huh? Cool. All right! Well, see ya later.
Sure remote-controlled fasteners for cars and such is really nifty...
But wake me up when they get remote-controlled brassiers. You will know its true love when she trusts you with the remote...
There are two kinds of fool. One says, This is old, and therefore good. And one says, This is new, and therefore better.
Just when Congress appears ready to force auto makers to stop locking nondealer mechanics out of the car's diagnostic computer, they come up with a way to lock them out of changing parts. If they prove to be resistant to the average screwdriver or wrench, we'll know for sure what's up.
Only on
What happens a few years around the road when a little corosion sets in, and the little motor attached to the screw can no longer back it out. If you took advantage of the fact that it does not need access how do you remove it when the mechanism fails? I work on my vehicles, and often have to use a cheater bar to gain leverage on stubborn bolt. You would have to throw away the whole car, Starting to sound like "Brave New World"
Hollywood must have these because they have already appeared in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. At the beginning of the movie, the Lucy Liu character is hidden inside a crate, but then we see wood screws spinning by themselves and popping out of their holes. Then Lucy Liu unfolds herself and climbs out.
I always wondered how she got those screws to come out, especially given that her hands were folded to the bottom of the crate and the screws were on the top. Now I know.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
This has got to be worth a second or two off pit stop times. All the pit crew has to do is tell the bolts to undo themselves as the car comes to a halt and they can proceed directly to changing the tyres. Of course, there are probably going to be a few amusing incidents when they trigger the release too soon as well... :)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
System: "Your screwdriver screwdriver successfully installed the new Phillips 00 screw number 128696. Your car may not function correctly until you restart it."
User: WTF! The breakes aren't working!!! AAARRRGH!!
They'd see when people had voided their warranties or even prevent unauthorized (by Microsoft of course) people opening PCs so as to switch to a non DRM-enabling BIOS.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
The article cites labor costs as the main impetus for creating these self-fastening fasteners, but I think it's much more interesting to consider new applications.
One thing about nuts and bolts is that in order to use them, you have to place them where you have access and enough clearance to be able to attach a tool. You couldn't use nuts and bolts to fasten two blocks together, for example, unless you have holes extending through at least one of the blocks. With these things, you can bolt two blocks together with no obvious access points, and you can unbolt them at any time.
The benefits of totally blind fastening aren't completely obvious because we've worked out other solutions to the problem. Basically, we either weld things together, or we use some sort of snap-fit system, or we leave access holes if we might need to reverse the attachment. But I expect there will be some interesting applications for these things in the future.
This "You can hear 'em coming" argument is the most arrogant, self-centered, thoughtless, and logically inconsistent argument I've ever heard. As if it's my responsibility as a pedestrian to dodge motorized vehicles, and not theirs to make sure they conduct themselves in a way that leaves me unharmed and with comfortably non-ringing ears.
but have you considered the following argument: shut up.