NSN Unlimited Blog

Aircraft are equipped with various lights for safety, navigation, visibility, and ground taxiing purposes. Moreover, these lights play a crucial role throughout an aircraft’s journey, from take-off to touchdown. Modern airplanes use two basic types of lights for exterior illumination, those of which are categorized as solid and flashing lights, and each is designed and installed to perform specific functions. However, depending on the aircraft model, installed lights can have slight differences based on a vehicle’s operation and manufacturer. In this blog, to better understand why planes use exterior lights, we will briefly discuss their purpose in detail.

Imagining a reciprocating engine without a crankshaft is impossible. A crankshaft converts reciprocating motion from the piston and connecting rod into rotary motion, which is then used to rotate the propeller assembly of an aircraft. A crankshaft consists of one or more cranks placed at specific lengths where the piston is mounted. The crankshaft is placed in the crankcase on a longitudinal axis supported by a bearing between each throw.

Crankshafts need to be extremely strong for proper energy conversion and reliability, so they are often forged using some of the strongest alloys, such as chromium nickel molybdenum steel. They can be constructed in two ways, using either single-piece  or multi-piece construction methods. Furthermore, the number of throws in a crankshaft depends on the engine. For instance, if the engine is a single row type, then a single-throw crankshaft will be used. Meanwhile if the engine is a twin-row type, then a two-throw crankshaft will be applicable. Similarly, there are four-throw and six-throw crankshaft types available for four-cylinder horizontally opposed engines, four-cylinder inline engines, six-cylinder inline engines, 12-cylinder V-type engines, and six-cylinder opposed engines, respectively. Moreover, the crankshaft is a significant part of the reciprocating engine. Irrespective of the number of throws, every crankshaft has three crucial components: a journal, crankpin, and crank cheek. Apart from these, counterweights and dampers are attached to the crankshaft.

The wing structures of a fixed-wing aircraft are one of the most important elements for achieving flight, serving to manipulate airflow in such a way that generates lift for remaining airborne. While the entire wing is needed for heavier-than-air flight, the structure would be nothing without the various sections and parts that make it up. To help you better familiarize yourself with the design and functionality of aircraft wings, we will discuss their various components in brief detail.

With the widespread adoption of glass cockpits and the implementation of various electronics for both crew and passenger use, aircraft have become increasingly reliant on electrical systems for their functionality. Depending on the type of aircraft, the various systems it employs, and other factors, the electrical system may vary in its complexity. Nevertheless, there are common components that are found in all aircraft electrical system assemblies, those of which work to establish basic functionality of systems and apparatuses. To help you better understand the basic design of an aircraft electrical system, we will provide a brief overview of the most common components that make them up.

Hydraulic systems can be found in countless applications ranging from aircraft to industrial machinery, allowing for high amounts of power to be generated for various means. Hydraulics rely on the pressurization of enclosed fluids, those of which optimally transfer loads due to their incompressible nature. To circulate fluids within a system and to guarantee high pressure for hydraulic actuator elements, hydraulic systems take advantage of hydraulic pump components.

A jackscrew, also known as a screw jack or jack screw, is a type of linear motion actuator capable of lifting or moving loads along a linear axis. Unlike other actuator types, the jack screw relies on the rotation of a lead screw to lift moderately heavy weights. As such, they are often used to raise vehicles, manage the horizontal stabilizers of aircraft, support housing foundations, and more. In this blog, we will discuss the functionality and common types of jackscrews, allowing you to better understand how they are implemented in various applications.

A passive component similar to resistors and inductors, capacitors are essential in every electronic device or electric circuit. Manufactured in numerous forms, styles, lengths, girths, and materials, each capacitor comes equipped with at least two electrical conductors known as plates. Commonly referred to as the dielectric layer, capacitors are also paired with a non-conductive insulating layer which can be polarized by an applied electric field. Designed to be discrete, capacitors are diverse components in account for their range when working with different types of capacitance values, working voltage, current handling capacities, and other related properties.

Gaskets are mechanical seals designed to occupy the space between two or more mating surfaces so that they prevent air or water leakage. They are typically made of a flat material such as rubber, silicone, metal, cork, felt, neoprene, fiberglass, and many others. Some materials are favored over others for their resistance and durability, but that generally relies on the kind of system you are operating on. For this reason, we are covering different types of gaskets and their unique features, how gaskets are used in automotive engines, and what to consider when selecting a gasket for your application.

Electric circuits are the backbone of electronics, and they may be managed through various ways. The use of contactors is a primary method of circuit control, such components being capable of making or breaking the connection between a power supply and load. While similar to relays in their functionality, there are certain differences that set them apart. As contactor components come in various forms and are extremely common to electrical circuits, it can be useful to have a general understanding of their functionality and applications.

Whether working with motor device parts or serving as a machine expert, actuators are a familiar device type that may be found in a multitude of assemblies across many industries. In their most basic form, actuators are a component that may be used to manage movements within machines. Despite this, there are various types of actuators that may conduct different motions through the use of an assortment of power sources. These can include types such as the hydraulic actuator, pneumatic actuator, linear actuator, and electric actuator, all of which present unique operational characteristics and functionalities. In this blog, we will discuss actuators and their common types, allowing you to better understand their general use across various applications.