Materials & Manufacturing

Browse innovative developments in materials and manufacturing that significantly impact military, medical devices, automotive, and industrial manufacturing. Advances in plastics, metals, and composites are transforming 3D printing and rapid prototyping.

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White Papers: Aerospace
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Engineering Precision Sealing for the Next Generation of Electric Aircraft
As the aerospace industry rapidly advances toward more sustainable and high-performance flight capabilities, next-generation propulsion systems are significantly...

INSIDER: Materials
Scientists have long sought to make semiconductors that are also superconducting, thereby enhancing their speed and energy efficiency and enabling new quantum technologies. However,...
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INSIDER: Wearables
The phrase ‘liquid metal’ may bring to mind something hazardous, like mercury or molten steel. But in the Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP) in EPFL’s School of...
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Blog: Semiconductors & ICs
Engineers at The University of Texas at Austin are leading an academic and industry all-star team that aims to revolutionize the production of semiconductor chips with a new 3D printing method.
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Quiz: Aerospace
As 2026 nears, NASA continues moving forward to launching Artemis II, the first crewed mission under the Artemis campaign, no later than April next year. Test your knowledge about the mission in this quiz.
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On-Demand Webinars: Materials
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Today’s automotive manufacturing demands progressively lighter, stronger, and more sustainable components, and zinc die casting processes and...
On-Demand Webinars: Materials
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EV heat pumps present unique thermal management challenges. OEMs want to use existing R-1234yf systems as well as maintain low...
Blog: Materials
A new material might contribute to a reduction of the fossil fuels consumed by aircraft engines and gas turbines in the future.
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White Papers: Aerospace
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COUNTER-DRONE DEFENSE: Engineering the Shield Against UAV Threats
Modern aerial technologies are reshaping the future of warfare. Countering these threats requires adaptable, multi-layered systems that integrate detection, electronic warfare,...

Articles: Materials
See the products of tomorrow, including a drone with flapping wings that can locate and hover around a moving light like a moth to a flame; a new multi-layered metalens design that could revolutionize portable optics in devices like phones, drones, and satellites; and more.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A team of researchers from ETH Zurich investigated a new approach to passive dehumidification of indoor spaces. Read on to learn more about it.
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Briefs: Medical
NASA has developed a novel approach for macroscale biomaterial production by combining synthetic biology with 3D printing. This innovation provides modern design and fabrication techniques for custom-designed organic or organic-inorganic composite biomaterials produced from limited resources. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
NASA Johnson Space Center has developed the Micro-Organ Device (MOD) platform technology that serves as a drug screening system with human or animal cell micro-organs to supplement and reduce animal studies while potentially increasing the success of clinical trials. Read on to learn more.
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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
While growing up, many of us were fascinated by watching gears turning, whether in bicycles, clocks or garbage trucks packing trash on the old rear-load machines. Today, gearing systems play a crucial role in machinery, transmitting power efficiently and reliably across a wide range of applications. Read on to learn more.
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Finland-based Metos Oy, a manufacturer of professional stainless steel kitchen equipment, needed a welding solution that could deliver flawless, pressure-rated welds for small batches of high-spec products, which feature tubular structures and circular shafts that required continuous, precision welding. Read on to find out what they did.
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Articles: Power
Battery packs are becoming larger and heavier, particularly in applications such as electric trucks, aviation and renewable energy storage. As payload requirements increase, manufacturers are turning to advanced automation and material handling systems to keep pace. Read on to learn what this means.
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Products: Materials
See the new products, including Plasmatreat's HydroPlasma, a solution for the removal of stubborn contaminants from glass and metal surfaces; TDK Corporation's 3000-watt TDK-Lambda brand HWS3000G programmable AC-DC power supplies; Zircotec's new range of proprietary ceramic coatings; Thermo Fisher Scientific's expanded solutions for battery manufacturers; and more.
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Briefs: Energy
By flipping a foundational belief in battery design, Hailong Chen and his team found that charging zinc-ion batteries at higher currents can make them last longer. Read on to learn more about this surprising result.
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Briefs: Materials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have overcome a barrier to using a more affordable, dry process for manufacturing the Li-ion batteries used in vehicles and electronic devices. The resulting batteries provide greater electricity flow and reduced risk of overheating. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Energy
Today’s electric vehicle boom is tomorrow’s mountain of electronic waste. And while myriad efforts are underway to improve battery recycling, many EV batteries still end up in landfills. A research team from MIT wants to help change that with a new kind of self-assembling battery material that quickly breaks apart when submerged in a simple organic liquid. Read on to learn more.
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Special Reports: Medical
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Medical Manufacturing & Outsourcing - November 2025
Spider silk spins new life into nerve repair…3D‐printed implants help repair spinal cord injuries…plasma pen transforms adhesion in medical device manufacturing. Read about these and...

Podcasts: Software
On the latest episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, we sit down with two experts from Dassault Systèmes: Mariah Otte, Aerospace & Defense Solution Architect, and Jason Roberson, Industry Value Expert. Listen now!
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Blog: Materials
Researchers at the University of Sydney and start-up Dewpoint Innovations have developed a nanoengineered polymer paint-like coating that can passively cool buildings and capture water directly from the air — all without energy input.
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Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Researchers have built a self-powered device that detects toxic amines in water using electrochemiluminescence (ECL).
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White Papers: Test & Measurement
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How Parylene Crushes Sterilization, Friction & FDA Hurdles
Discover how thin-film Parylene conformal coatings safeguard medical devices with unmatched biocompatibility, reliability, and performance under extreme conditions. In this insightful...

Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping
On this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast we examine the technical and strategic foundations behind Guam’s new advanced manufacturing hub. Neal Orringer of ASTRO America and Alex Benham of GAMMA are the guests to discuss the facility’s additive manufacturing capabilities, supply-chain objectives, and workforce development plans. Listen now!
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INSIDER: Design
A new prototype of a knitting machine creates solid, knitted shapes, adding stitches in any direction — forward, backward, and diagonal — so users can construct a wide variety of shapes and add...
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INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers have created a class of robots made from thin sheets of material that can snap into hundreds of stable shapes — allowing them to execute a wide variety of...
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