Beyond internal programs developing propulsion and ice-protection systems, MDC has been providing outsourced technical consulting services for electro-mechanical design for nearly a decade. Much of this derives from the expertise of MDC engineers in specific niche competencies, such as piezoelectric transducers, shape memory alloys, ultrasonic methods, energy-harvesting and power-transfer techniques, pattern and image recognition; composite, hybrid and nano-engineered materials; and general non-linear multi-physics simulation and modeling. MDC has extensive experience in the design, simulation, fabrication and evaluation of these types of complex electro-mechanical systems. The focus of this consulting service has been elevating the technical maturity of customer concepts by validating fundamental aspects through proof-of-concept experiments and embodying the innovation in prototype demonstration units. Through a trusted network of vendors and partner companies, MDC can facilitate the fabrication, assembly and testing of nearly any type of device in any conceivable range of conditions, including consumer, military and space environments.
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Multi-Disciplinary Systems
Propulsion Systems
Over the last 100 years of powered flight, the performance of aircraft has almost universally been constrained by the performance of the available propulsion systems. The imagination and ambition of aircraft designers has always been tempered by the low thrust-to-weight ratio, large size and poor fuel consumption of available propulsion systems. The introduction of the turbofan has completely transformed large scale aviation by providing an engine with improved thrust-to-weight ratio, low fuel consumption and excellent reliability. However, small and light weight aircraft are still restricted by their use of low performance reciprocating engines. The Propulsion Systems group at MDC is developing innovative and cost effective propulsion technologies that will make the higher thrust-to-weight ratio, low noise, low fuel consumption and reliable turbofan engine available to designers and operators of light aircraft.
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Ice Protection Systems
Under Navy funding, MDC has been working to develop an integrated system capable of reliable ice-detection, de-icing and anti-icing, in addition to structural diagnostics for fixed-wing leading-edges and rotorcraft blades. The basis for this system is structured Carbon Nanotube (CNT) enhancements that can either be embedded within the composite laminates during manufacturing, or applied as a separate surface layer in a secondary process. The aligned CNTs are sufficiently long (20-30 um) to span interply matrix regions, improving electrical conductivity by a factor of a million and thermal conductivity by orders of magnitude. Overall, this system offers many benefits over current Ice Protection Systems (IPS), allowing conformal, uniform, and structurally integral heating and sensing elements, and enabling closed-loop operation, all of which contribute to a reliable, robust and durable system design. Compared to the conventional resistive heating blanket approach for de-icing, the CNT-enhanced system is more efficient, lighter weight, lower profile, and provides integral damage detection feedback.
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Electro-Mechanical Design
Beyond internal programs developing propulsion and ice-protection systems, MDC has been providing outsourced technical consulting services for electro-mechanical design for nearly a decade. Much of this derives from the expertise of MDC engineers in specific niche competencies, such as piezoelectric transducers, shape memory alloys, ultrasonic methods, energy-harvesting and power-transfer techniques, pattern and image recognition; composite, hybrid and nano-engineered materials; and general non-linear multi-physics simulation and modeling. MDC has extensive experience in the design, simulation, fabrication and evaluation of these types of complex electro-mechanical systems. The focus of this consulting service has been elevating the technical maturity of customer concepts by validating fundamental aspects through proof-of-concept experiments and embodying the innovation in prototype demonstration units. Through a trusted network of vendors and partner companies, MDC can facilitate the fabrication, assembly and testing of nearly any type of device in any conceivable range of conditions, including consumer, military and space environments.
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CAD & FEA
Most MDC clients have their own design and engineering departments, but may not have the resources or expertise to perform multi-physics Finite Element Analysis (FEA). In those cases, MDC becomes an extension of our clients' engineering team. MDC engineers work closely with the in-house group, providing high-level design trade options, advice and analytical solutions. MDC has performed several dozen structural design optimization and analysis projects, ranging from shipping pallets to transformer boxes and radomes. Using 3D CAD modeling in conjunction with FEA, MDC has optimized these designs to meet aggressive loading requirements while minimizing weight and cost. MDC most frequently works in SolidWorks and ANSYS, however most common formats can be imported. Project experience ranges from static and time-dependent, linear and non-linear, buckling, modal frequency, fatigue, piezoelectric and coupled electro-thermo-mechanical analyses.
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Ultrasonic Systems
Many MDC research and development projects have focused on novel ultrasonic methods, models and devices; therefore, MDC engineers can leverage their diverse knowledge and experience with sensors, data acquisition, packaging and signal processing to deliver solutions for unique, client-derived ultrasonic applications. Each challenge is distilled to fundamental parameters to optimize form-factor, weight and cost without sacrificing desired functionality. This is a departure from traditional laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes and rackable hardware. While the full-featured availability of these off-the-shelf approaches can be useful for prototype testing and debugging, they are impractical for extended use, mobile applications, consumer usage or high volume distribution. Devices can be developed with rugged electronic and packaging designs and tested to conform to the harshest of environments. Off-the-shelf or customer supplied sensors and probes can be integrated into these systems, or they can be developed by MDC using piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys or MEMS technologies.
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Optical Systems
MDC has developed manyinnovative devices in the optical system arena. This includes designs for automation, calibration, validation and control, in addition to less traditional applications. MDC engineers have extensive experience with stereoscopic algorithms for automated depth perception, image recognition and shape detection for target identification, as well as a host of other optical and signal processing tools to provide a wide range of static and dynamic imaging solutions. Various projects have included custom borescopes, LED and electroluminescent lighting, and wireless video transfer. Other programs have focused on high-energy and/or pulsed lasers as well as interferometry for multiple varied applications. Many in-house tools exist that can be leveraged to reduce risk, cost and time to bring new product concepts to market.
