CAD Model Offers Robots Precise Pick-and-Place Solutions

A new paper explores pick-and-place solutions with more precision. In precise pick-and-place, also known as kitting, the robot transforms an unstructured arrangement of objects into an organized arrangement. The approach, dubbed SimPLE (Simulation to Pick Localize and placE), learns to pick, regrasp and place objects using the object’s computer-aided design model. Read on to learn more.

Leveraging CAD for Precision in Wide Field Star Imaging and Spectroscopy

Have you ever gazed at the vastness of the stars and wondered what else your CNC machine can create? Greg Green had the opportunity to find out when he joined the staff at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in Waimea, Hawaii. Read on to find out what happened.

A High-Speed Look at Additive Manufacturing

Despite additive manufacturing's popularity, there are still several technological barriers that must be addressed to understand the process.

Multi-Link Spherical Joint

Single joint allows six attachments with independent movement.

Create the Future Design Contest: Success Story — Shaping the Future with 3D Printing

Behrokh Khoshnevis has always known that 3D printing would make its biggest impact on big structures. While most advances in additive manufacturing...

High-Speed Inspection and Reverse Engineering in 2D and 3D

The Opti-Scan inspection system can measure surfaces and edges in 3D.

Directed Energy Deposition Offers Advantages for Efficient Additive Manufacturing

Learn what to look for when selecting computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) programming software for the DED manufacturing process.

Executive Roundtable: Cloud Software

Tech Briefs asked 5 execs: What should a user consider before moving to the cloud?

Technology Leaders: Industry Renaissance Transforms Invention, Learning, Production, and Trade

Digital technologies are enabling an "Industry Renaissance" of virtual experiences.

VoroCrust v.1.0 Meshing Software

This program generates a mesh that conforms to a complex model without clipping.

Virtually Optimizing Metasurface Topology with a Genetic Algorithm

See how software supported the design of an advanced antenna.

Technique Reverse-Engineers Complex 3D CAD Models

Nearly all commercial products start as a CAD file — a 2D or 3D model with the product’s design specifications. One method that’s widely used to represent today’s 3D models is...

Five Industry Trends Disrupting the Design and Manufacturing World

The engineering and manufacturing world is rapidly changing — are you changing with it? The claim of “reinventing” the fundamental tools of an industry is a bold one, but...

High-Speed Reluctance Machine Design

Silphenix GmbH is an engineering and consulting firm in Switzerland specializing in high-speed electrical machines, magnetic bearings, and electromagnetic field analysis. One project focus is compact...

IMTS2018 Preview

Presented by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) has been the premier manufacturing technology show in the Northern Hemisphere. IMTS is held every even...

Reducing Weight and Design Time for Dream Chaser Spacecraft

Collier Research CorporationNewport News, VAwww.hypersizer.com With the go-ahead from NASA for a first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Sierra Nevada Corporation's...

3D-Printed Biomaterials Degrade on Demand

Stereolithography — a method of 3D printing — uses an ultraviolet laser controlled by a computer-aided design system to trace patterns across the surface of a photoactive polymer solution. The light...

Connecting the Digital Twin: From Idea Through Production, to Customers and Back

Rapidly advancing technology and groundbreaking innovations are changing the world of manufacturing. Trends such as Big Data, Cloud Technology, and the Internet...

Guiding the Way in Automotive Plants

Vision-guided robotics commonly used in today's automotive plants enables robots to “see” the object they are working on so they can perform the required activity accurately on/to an object that is not...

Metamaterial Converts Linear Compression Forces into a Rotational Movement

Using 3D printers, researchers have created a metamaterial from cubic building blocks that responds to compression forces by a rotation. Usually, this can only be...

Designing and 3D Printing Customized Insoles for Diabetics

Insoles for diabetics have traditionally been handmade by makers of orthopedic shoes. In the future, these specialist shoemakers will be able to produce insoles more cost effectively...

Reconfigurable Chaos-Based Microchips

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nonlinear chaos-based integrated circuits that enable computer chips to perform multiple functions with fewer transistors. These integrated...

Designing for 3D Printing

3D printing has progressed over the past decade to include multimaterial fabrication, enabling production of powerful, functional objects. While many advances have been made, it still has been difficult for...

Making VR a NASA Reality

NASA researchers want to prove that a virtual reality headset like the Oculus Rift is not just a toy. Josh Kinne, a deputy project manager at NASA Langley Research Center, sees a future role for virtual and augmented...

Photogrammetry System and Method for Determining Relative Motion Between Two Bodies

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a novel method to calculate the relative position and orientation between two rigid objects using a simplified...