Features

How SmartCap Uses AI-Powered Robots to Manufacture Steel Truck Cap Systems

For the team at SmartCap, building top-notch gear for outdoor adventurers isn’t just a business — it’s a passion driven by their own love for the wild. But as demand for their rugged, modular truck caps soared after their move to North America in 2022, they hit a snag: How do you ramp up production without sacrificing the meticulous quality you are known for, all while navigating a tough labor market? Their answer? Read on to find out.

Revolutionizing Solid-State Metal 3D Printing

On the heels of its 2018 CTF contest triumph, MELD Manufacturing keeps churning out technology that is advancing 3D printing.

3D Printing Multiple Metals in a Single Complex Structure

Guhaprasanna “Guha” Manogharan and his team at Penn State College of Engineering and the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) have developed a method to 3D print complex parts with different materials to achieve multiple design and engineering goals.

From Cockpit Controls to Dashboard Data

NASA feedback enables better display systems for aircraft as well as interfaces on the infotainment and instrument cluster displays of many cars.

5Ws of the AstroRad

AstroRad, a next-gen radiation vest for astronauts to wear beyond low-Earth orbit, shields their vital organs from dangerous space radiation during missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS' ImageMaster® PRO AR Reflection waveguide testing solution; TOP-TICA’s Clock Laser System; Aerotech Inc.'s HexGen® HEX150-125HL Miniature Hexapod, a six degree-of-freedom precision positioning system; Teledyne e2v's Optimom™ 5D turnkey imaging module; Coherent Corp.'s set of pluggable optical transceivers optimized for use in data centers that incorporate optical circuit switches; and more.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including SBG Systems' expansion of its high-performance inertial navigation systems, Ekinox, Apogee, and Navsight, with new GNSS receiver options; Littelfuse's 823A Series fuse, an AEC-Q200-qualified, high-voltage-rated surface-mount fuse; Würth Elektronik's Thyone-e radio module; the new handheld scanner from FARO Technologies; and more.

Sustainable Computing for AI Processing

AI-driven computing is at a turning point. The old paradigm — squeezing ever-smaller transistors onto silicon chips — is becoming infeasible. Just increasing the chip size and with it the power consumption is unsustainable. The future lies in photonic processors that operate without electrical resistance, minimize heat dissipation, and deliver unmatched computational speed and efficiency. Read on to learn more.

Adding AI-Powered Inspection to Existing Machine Vision Systems

Machine vision is a cornerstone of modern manufacturing quality control, ensuring product consistency and reliability. However, many facilities face a dilemma: while their existing vision systems remain mechanically sound, their analytical capabilities lag behind evolving manufacturing requirements. Read on to learn the solution.

NIST Tackles Wireless Industrial Systems

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is working to provide best practice guidelines to help manufacturers use wireless systems. Read on to learn more about it.

Smart Sensing, Foundation of the IoT/IIoT, is Maturing at a Rapid Pace

Thanks to Internet of Things technologies, there are many ways to make previously unconnected things talk. Processes, conditions, equipment, or machines have much to say about themselves and help keep the industry applications they’re integrally involved in running smoothly.

Generative AI Will Be the Next Evolution in Embedded Design

The use of AI in the design process is seeing strong adoption from engineers of all disciplines and management levels. It can be proven to deliver a faster time to market and an overall improvement in design quality. Read on to learn more about it.

Cislunar Space Exploration: Next Frontier for Propulsion Advancements

The race is on for leadership in cislunar space, considered a gateway to the future of space exploration. Yet operating in this domain introduces unique challenges for propulsion systems. Read on to learn more about the progress being made on the matter.

New Products

See the new products, including Teledyne FLIR's radiometric models of its high-performance Boson®+ thermal and Hadron™ 640R+ dual thermal-visible camera modules; Insight SIP's ISP2554-HM module — a dynamic IOT node, with support for Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, and Zigbee radios; Bosch Sensortec's BMV080 particulate matter sensor; dSPACE's MicroLabBox II, a very flexible entry-level system for closed-loop tests at the controller level; and more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Power Integrations' HiperLCS™-2 chipset. The new device can deliver up to 1650 W of continuous output power with over 98 percent efficiency and permits brief peak loads of 2.5 kW.

Twisted Light in Optical Fibers May Lead to Substantial Capacity Enhancements

Exploiting the “spatial” degree of freedom of light can mean many things. Read on to learn what they are and what the process can lead to.

IoT Threat Protection Is a Shared Ecosystem Responsibility

While the rapid advancement of IIoT applications is exciting, it also come with its challenges, especially from a security perspective. A recent study found that 57 percent of all IoT devices are vulnerable to medium- or high-severity threats and that two in five chief information security officers struggle to gain visibility into — and understand — their IoT deployments. Read on to learn more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including seals that actively self-clean in a continuous or periodic manner; a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple coordinated directions; and a compact and versatile robot that can maneuver through tight spaces and transport payloads much heavier than itself.

Vision System Assures Glass Act at California Shop

Machining metal has its challenges as many shops will attest, but machining glass is another matter – one that Dan Bukaty Jr., President of Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O) is well schooled in. Mr. Bukaty and his 35-person shop manufacture high-end precision glass optics for customers such as IMAX, Intuitive Surgical, Boeing and NASA, to name a few. Read on to learn about PG&O's use of a vision system.

Processing and Packaging MEMS to Maximize Functionality

The MEMS industry can’t match the rapid innovation cycles typical of the semiconductor industry — it’s been more than a decade since we’ve seen a major leap in MEMS manufacturing processes. However, Omnitron is confident that they can rapidly improve the approach to manufacturing MEMS. Read on to learn more.

Self-Growing 3D Objects

Professor Sameh Tawfick and his team at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana have developed a 3D process that grows polymer objects in a controlled manner to achieve a desired shape.

Space Tech Gives Treadmill Users a ‘Boost’

Creators of the original antigravity treadmill for astronauts in space have now developed a new treadmill that uses air pressure to counter gravity, making running possible for people with injuries and other conditions.

5Ws of a Morphing Robot

GOAT (Good Over All Terrains), a bioinspired robot developed at EPFL, can change shape to alter its own physical properties in response to its environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle.

New Products

See the new products, including igus' aluminum version of its drylin ® NT-60 telescopic rail; Tolomatic Inc.'s online Drive Integration Tool; Flexiv's KURAVIZON adaptive robot; Thomson Industries' upgrade to its stepper motor linear actuator online selector tool, which adds the ability to include encoders in the design process; and more.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Endress+Hauser's FMR63B 80 GHz radar level sensor; the TP-108 Series, the smallest of all test points from Components Corporation; Sumida America's family of Resin-Shielded Surface-Mount Power Inductors; Coilcraft's XGL3020 series of ultra-low loss power inductors; Yokogawa Electric Corporation's OpreX™ Intelligent Manufacturing Hub; and much more.

Thermal Management Lies at the Heart of EV Innovation

Along with rapid innovation in cooling methods, a major trend in EV thermal management is the use of technology to better design more thermally efficient vehicle architectures. AI and digital technologies have been major boons to the engineering toolkit for better design, helping to radically speed up system testing and development. Read on to learn more.

For EV Safety Tests, AI Is Here to Help

It’s important to note that skepticism toward AI is reminiscent of past attitudes toward now-standard technologies. Thirty years ago, tools such as CFD were met with trepidation — an attitude defined by limited understanding. Today, engineers see them as indispensable. Similarly, adopting AI requires a shift in perspective and embracing its potential.

How Test Equipment Is Evolving to Keep Up with EV Batteries

Whatever technology is employed in the future, it is clear that battery test systems will continue to adapt to keep pace with changes in EV battery technology and production. Ensuring that you choose a future proof, scalable, and capable bi-directional DC source is critical in planning for testing success today and tomorrow. Read on to learn more.

Ensuring the Quality of EV Batteries with CT-Scan Data Analysis and Visualization

Research and development aimed at optimizing both the technology and the cost of that most expensive of EV components — the battery — continues. Not only are the makers of current batteries under pressure to produce the highest-quality product, but they may also be considering how to participate and compete in the next-generations of these key components. Read on to learn more.