October 2006

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

The NASA Ames hyperwall is a display system designed to facilitate the visualization of sets of multivariate and multidimensional data like those generated in complex engineering and...

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Briefs: Data Acquisition

A facility that includes a probe station and a scanning open-ended waveguide probe for measuring near electromagnetic fields (see figure) has been added to Glen Research Center's...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A control system strives to maintain the correct alignment of a laser beam in an interferometer dedicated to measuring the displacement or distance between two fiducial corner-cube...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

A three-dimensional (3D) x-ray luggage- screening system has been proposed to reduce the fatigue experienced by human inspectors and increase their ability to detect weapons and other contraband. The system...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Photodetector Arrays for Multicolor Visible/Infrared Imaging

Monolithic focal-plane arrays of photodetectors capable of imaging the same scenes simultaneously in multiple wavelength bands in the visible and infrared spectral regions have been proposed. In prior visible/infrared imaging systems, it has been standard practice to use separate...

Briefs: Information Technology
Algorithm for Automated Detection of Edges of Clouds

An algorithm processes cloud-physics data gathered in situ by an aircraft, along with reflectivity data gathered by ground-based radar, to determine whether the aircraft is inside or outside a cloud at a given time. A cloud edge is deemed to be detected when the in/out state changes, subject...

Briefs: Information Technology
Exploiting Quantum Resonance to Solve Combinatorial Problems

Quantum resonance would be exploited in a proposed quantum-computing approach to the solution of combinatorial optimization problems. In quantum computing in general, one takes advantage of the fact that an algorithm cannot be decoupled from the physical effects available to implement...

Briefs: Information Technology
A Concept for Run-Time Support of the Chapel Language

A document presents a concept for run-time implementation of other concepts embodied in the Chapel programming language. (Now undergoing development, Chapel is intended to become a standard language for parallel computing that would surpass older such languages in both computational...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A system for continuous, rapid deaeration of hydraulic oil has been built to replace a prior system that effected deaeration more slowly in a cyclic pressure/vacuum process. Such systems are...
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A tool that would be useable in both conventional and self-reacting friction stir welding (FSW) has been proposed. The tool would embody both a prior tooling concept for self-reacting FSW and an...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Spacecraft Escape Capsule

A report discusses the Gumdrop capsule — a conceptual spacecraft that would enable the crew to escape safely in the event of a major equipment failure at any time from launch through atmospheric re-entry. The scaleable Gumdrop capsule would comprise a command module (CM), a service module (SM), and a crew escape...

Briefs: Medical
Architecture Adaptive Computing Environment

Architecture Adaptive Computing Environment (aCe) is a software system that includes a language, compiler, and run-time library for parallel computing. aCe was developed to enable programmers to write programs, more easily than was previously possible, for a variety of parallel computing architectures....

Briefs: Medical
Stationary Apparatus Would Apply Forces of Walking to Feet

A proposed apparatus would apply controlled cyclic forces to both feet for the purpose of preventing the loss of bone density in a human subject whose bones are not subjected daily to the mechanical loads of normal activity in normal Earth gravitation. The apparatus was conceived for use...

Briefs: Medical
Instrument Would Detect and Collect Biological Aerosols

A proposed compact, portable instrument would sample micron-sized airborne particles, would discriminate between biological ones (e.g., bacteria) and nonbiological ones (e.g., dust particles), and would collect the detected biological particles for further analysis. The instrument is...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
An improved method has been devised for using directed, hyperthermal beams of oxygen atoms and ions to impart desired textures to the tips of polymethylmethacrylate [PMMA] optical...
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Briefs: Materials

Turbine inlet guide vanes have been fabricated from composites of silicon carbide fibers in silicon carbide matrices. A unique design for a cloth made from SiC fibers makes it possible to realize the geometric...

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Briefs: Materials
Thermoelectric Inhomogeneities in (Ag₁₋ᵧSbTe₂)ₓ(PbTe)₁₋ₓ

A document presents a study of why materials of composition (Ag1–ySbTe2)0.05 (PbTe)0.95 [0≤y≤1] were previously reported to have values of the thermoelectric figure of merit [ZT (where Z =α2/ρκ, α is the...

Briefs: Materials

Membranes made of silanized alumina have been prepared and tested as prototypes of derivatized ceramic membranes that are both highly permeable to oxygen and hydrophobic....

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Application Briefs: Imaging

Laser Camera System (LCS)
Neptec Design Group
Houston, TX
281-280-8555
www.neptec.com
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Tool for Torquing Circular Electrical-Connector Collars

An improved tool has been devised for applying torque to lock and unlock knurled collars on circular electrical connectors. The tool was originally designed for, and used by, astronauts working in outer space on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The tool is readily adaptable to terrestrial...

Application Briefs: Medical

VivoMetrics® LifeShirt System ambulatory
monitoring system
VivoMetrics
Ventura, CA
805-667-2225
www.vivometrics.com
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

A device denoted as a bumper assembly for a spacecraft payload container comprises an interior structure surrounded by skin or some other protective enclosure (see figure)....

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
On Release of Microbe-Laden Particles From Mars Landers

A paper presents a study in which rates of release of small particles from Mars lander spacecraft into the Martian atmosphere were estimated from first principles. Because such particles can consist of, or be laden with, terrestrial microbes, the study was undertaken to understand their...

Briefs: Medical

An effort is under way to develop noninvasive neuro-electric interfaces through which human operators could control systems as diverse as simple mechanical devices, computers, aircraft,...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Phase Sensor for Aligning a Segmented Telescope Mirror

A phase sensor has been developed for use in aligning a segmented telescope mirror to within a fraction of a wavelength in piston. (As used here, "piston" signifies displacement of a mirror segment along the optical axis of the telescope.) Such precise alignment is necessary in order to...

Briefs: Physical Sciences

A recently proposed boundary condition for atomistic computational modeling of semiconductor nanostructures (particularly, quantum dots) is an improved alternative to two prior...

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Articles: Motion Control

The age-old tradition of using shaft keys in mechanical drives has served the power transmission industry well for many years. When appropriately sized, it guarantees that virtually no relative...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

Prototype transducers based on integrated optical ring resonators have been demonstrated to be useful for detecting the protein avidin in extremely dilute solutions. In an experiment, one of...

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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

In the 1980s and 1990s, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA) began developing advanced microsystems and microelectronics technologies and components for future space...

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Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Semiconductor Bolometers Give Background-Limited Performance

Semiconductor bolometers that are capable of detecting electromagnetic radiation over most or all of the infrared spectrum and that give background-limited performance at operating temperatures from 20 to 300 K have been invented. The term "background-limited performance" as applied...

Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

In situations where human travel is necessary but where the geography is too steep or treacherous, aerial tramways often are used as a convenient alternative. Ski resorts, mountaineering...

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Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

A multichannel dielectric-resonator oscillator (DRO), built as a prototype of a local oscillator for an X-band transmitter or receiver, is capable of being electrically tuned among and...

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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Robotics are now and have been an inextricable aspect of American industry, performing tasks as varied as the robots themselves. Robots can, in most cases, accommodate greater production speeds,...

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Briefs: Software
Control Software for Advanced Video Guidance Sensor

Embedded software has been developed specifically for controlling an Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS). [As described in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, a Video Guidance Sensor is an optoelectronic system that provides guidance for automated docking of two vehicles (space-craft...

Products: Motion Control

YET US (Manchester, NH) introduced the XtraDrive® servo system, configured for compatibility with all brushless servo motor technologies. The unit features patented non-linear control technology (NCT) for performance and...

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Briefs: Software
Earth Observing System Data Gateway

The Earth Observing System Data Gateway (EDG) software provides a "one-stop-shopping" standard interface for exploring and ordering Earth-science data stored at geographically distributed sites. EDG enables a user to do the following:

Products: Motion Control

Heidenhain (Schaumburg, IL) expanded its ERA 4000 series of angle encoders with the ERA 4×80, 4×81, and 4×82 versions. The ERA 4x80 is mounted using a centering collar method, with a low profile encoder system. With seven...

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Briefs: Software
Mercury Shopping Cart

Mercury Shopping Cart Interface (MSCI) is a reusable component of the Power User Interface 5.0 (PUI) program described in the immediately preceding article. MSCI is a means of encapsulating the logic and information needed to describe an orderable item consistent with Mercury Shopping Cart service protocol. Designed to be...

Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Linear-Arc Motor

Applimotion (Loomis, CA) offers the LARC Series of linear-arc motors, a combination of a disk drive voice coil motor and brushless linear motor. The units can be driven by three-phase brushless motor controllers from 24 to 300 volts with speeds ranging from 0.1 to 1000 rpm. Features include axial low profile, with options as low...

Products

Z Corporation, Burlington, MA, has introduced the ZScanner 700, a handheld, self-positioning 3D scanner that can digitize 3D surfaces in real time. The scanner is part-referenced, orienting itself to the target object, rather...

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Briefs: Software
Cassini Archive Tracking System

The Cassini Archive Tracking System (CATS) is a computer program that enables tracking of scientific data transfers from originators to the Planetary Data System (PDS) archives. Without CATS, there is no systematic means of locating products in the archive process or ensuring their completeness. By keeping a...

Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

H2W Technologies, Inc. (Valencia, CA) released limited angle torque motors (“torquers”) that are single phase, brushless, low profile motors, vacuum compatible to 10^5 torr. Options include kit motors and housed...

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Products: Motion Control

Madison Electric Products (Mentor, OH) has released the Model HPRT C-Face Magnetic Ring Encoder, compatible with AC vector drive applications. Standard features include digital square wave quadrature-signal (064, 128,...

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Products: Motion Control

Helical Products Co. (Santa Maria, CA) introduced single-piece, flexible couplings to compensate for mechanical movement irregularities. The units require neither maintenance nor lubrication; they offer constant rotational...

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Products: Motion Control

The plug-in General Purpose Relays from c3controls (Beaver, PA) are designed for use in motors and motion control devices. Base configurations come in Octal, Square, Flange Mounted, and Miniature Square, with pin and blade...

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Products: Motion Control

NORD Gear Corp (Waunakee, WI) offers the NORDAC SK 500E and 520E AC vector frequency inverters. Both feature high torque, rapid response, and wide spread range for extended power outputs ranging from 0.25 kW to 7.5 kW....

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Products: Motion Control

Oilgear (Milwaukee, WI) introduced a contaminant-resistant PVWH open loop, axial piston pump. Ten sizes are available, and reach a pressure of 5,000 psi. With sleeve bearings that run on wet film and are pressure lubricated...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

TrustAutomation (San Luis Obispo, CA) has released the TA600 4-axis stand-alone motion controller for use with brushed, brushless, and stepper motor drives, featuring dual processors, a DSP processor, and a high-speed...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Copley Controls (Canton, MA) introduced the Model 800-1514 dual-axis servo amplifier for current (torque) control of brushless servomotors. The unit accepts encoder and Hall feedback data from a range of servo motor types....

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

National Instruments (Austin, TX) released NI Motion Assistant 2.0 interactive software for prototyping single- and multi-axis motion control systems. Motion profiles from CAD and drafting programs can be imported using...

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

Nidec Copal USA Corp (Torrance, CA) offers the MG16 series of sub-miniature brush DC motors with high torque planetary boxes. The 8-model series is RoHS compliant and measures 16 mm. Available gear ratios include 60:1, 120:1,...

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Who's Who: Aerospace

Before becoming NASA Ames Research Center Director, Dr. Worden was a Research Professor of Astronomy, Optical Sciences, and Planetary Sciences at the...

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Briefs: Software
Computing Fault Displacements From Surface Deformations

Simplex is a computer program that calculates locations and displacements of subterranean faults from data on Earth-surface deformations. The calculation involves inversion of a forward model (given a point source representing a fault, a forward model calculates the surface deformations)...

Articles: Photonics/Optics

High-resolution digital imaging, low-light-level biomedical devices, and automotive sensing are just a few of today’s hot technologies demanding both low-cost and high-performance...

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Articles: Photonics/Optics

Lightweight, aspheric, reflective optical designs commonly are designed and built for demanding space-based remote sensing, targeting systems, and aerial reconnaissance....

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

RedShift Systems, Waltham, Massachusetts

The desire to “see” in complete darkness or through obscurants such as smoke or fog has driven the development and adoption of thermal...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Optically driven deformable mirrors may eventually supplant electrically driven deformable mirrors in some adaptive-optics and active-optics applications. Traditionally, the mirror facets in electrically...

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Techs for License

AGFA

This device measures the characteristics of a line of laser illumination. The device determines uniformity of total and peak energy; uniformity in spot size, focal points, and threshold...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A method of equipping fiber-optic-coupled laser diodes to evenly illuminate specified fields of view has been proposed. The essence of the method is to shape the tips of the optical...

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Techs for License
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Coherent, Santa Clara, California

Ultraviolet lasers currently are used in a very diverse range of industries and applications. This is because their high-energy photons directly...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Toshiba Imaging Systems Division (Irvine, CA) offers the IK-TF9C three-chip, color CCD camera with a 2048 × 1536 pixel output resolution. It offers a full frame rate of 20 fps and a partial scan rate...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Nutfield Technology (Windham, NH) offers a fiber laser and scan-head control kit that contains software, electronic control, X/Y scanning, scan lens, power, and cables. Included in the kit is the PipeLine...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

The SIL 500 Joule multi-headed Xenon flash lamp from Specialised Imaging Ltd. (Tring, Herts., UK) is for use with ultra-fast cameras that have short recording times. When using high-speed cameras to fast record transient...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

Polychromix (Wilmington, MA) offers the Phazir handheld near-infrared Digital Transform Spectrometer (DTS)™ analyzer, an all-in-one unit for data analyzing that allows users to perform chemical analysis in...

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Products: Photonics/Optics
UV Laser Systems

J. P. Sercel Associates (JPSA, Hollis, NH) has released the IX-200 series laser systems, available in DPSS solid-state and excimer UV laser configurations. The IX-200 ChromaDice™ DPSS version is a wafer dicing system suitable for wafer trimming and scribing applications. The process is tolerant of wafer warp and bow, and is...

Products: Photonics/Optics

DDP (El Segundo, CA) has introduced a warm-white midget flange LED lamp designed to retrofit and replace incandescent light bulbs. The T1 3/4 LED can be used in indicators for backlighting switches, pushbutton rockers,...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors (San Jose, CA) offers an enhanced line of Power TOPLED® light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that features the company’s thin-film chip technology within the packages that produces brighter light....

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Products: Photonics/Optics

RSoft Design Group (Ossining, NY) offers Optical Communication Design Suite Version 4.6 software, including OptSim and a multimode add-on called ModeSYS. The new release provides support for new applications including...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

ELS Electronic Laser System (Fort Worth, TX) has released the PowerDisk regenerative laser system that produces pulses with up to 25 mJ energy and 10-ns duration at 1 kHz. The repetition rate can be selected between...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

American Bright Optoelectronics Corp. (Chino, CA) has introduced the BWL-3B series of 3-watt, high-power LEDs in a 9 × 9-mm package that consists of multiple dice in a single multi-leaded package. This packaging allows for...

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Products: Photonics/Optics
Spectroscopic Reflectometer

HORIBA Jobin Yvon (Edison, NJ) offers the DigiScreen spectroscopic reflectometer capable of measuring film thickness deposited on a large-area glass substrate in less than one second. With a spectral range of 400 nm to 800 nm, the DigiScreen can measure film thickness from 100 nm to several microns, and accepts sample...

Products: Photonics/Optics

Hamamatsu Corp. (Bridgewater, NJ) offers a transmitter-receiver pair of photo integrated circuits (ICs) for use in MOST-compliant automotive multimedia networks. The L10063-01 transmitter and S10064-01 receiver...

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Products: Photonics/Optics

The TM-1405GE from JAI PULNiX (San Jose, CA) is a high-resolution, 1.4-megapixel CCD camera. The interline transfer CCD permits full vertical and horizontal resolution with shutter speeds up to 1/16,000 sec. Asynchronous...

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Products: Photonics/Optics
Pulsed Fiber Laser

Lumics (Berlin, Germany) has introduced the LU1060F400 pulsed fiber laser that offers up to 0.8 mJ pulse energy with average power of 4W. It is a short-pulse Ytterbium fiber laser in Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) configuration. The laser operation mode can be changed by selecting customer-specific parameters, such...

Products: Photonics/Optics

Sensors Unlimited, Goodrich Corp. (Princeton, NJ) has released SUI Image Analysis Software, which allows full operational control of the high-speed windowing functions on the SU320MSW-1.7RT Shortwave Infrared (SWIR)...

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Articles: Aerospace

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of NASA Tech Briefs, our features in 2006 highlight a different technology category each month, tracing the past 30 years of the technology, and continuing with a...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

The figure shows components of a distillation column intended for use as part of a system that produces high-purity liquid oxygen (LOX) from air by distillation. (The column could be...

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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

A proposed apparatus would provide or augment cooling or heating of the interior of an automobile in the presence of sunlight. The apparatus could be added to an existing automobile,...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Hybrid Terrain Database

A prototype hybrid terrain database is being developed in conjunction with other databases and with hardware and software that constitute subsystems of aerospace cockpit display systems (known in the art as synthetic vision systems) that generate images to increase pilots’ situation awareness and eliminate poor...

Briefs: Information Technology
Power User Interface

Power User Interface 5.0 (PUI) is a system of middleware that is an alternative to the computer program described in the immediately preceding article. Written for PUI enables expedited ordering of data granules on the basis of specific granule-identifying information that the users already know or can assemble. PUI also...

Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

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