Manufacturing & Prototyping

Neutrons Help Improve 3D-Printed Superalloys

Researchers successfully used laser-based 3D printing to make alloys from two different metals, Inconel 718 and René 41, without cracking. Read on to learn more.

Resilient Nylon Device Creates Electricity Under Tons of Pressure

Researchers have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads and for other electronic devices. Read on to learn more.

Floating Piston Valve

A valve developed by NASA Stennis Space Center consists of a solid piston floating in a medium to control the flow stream. The piston is designed to be axially and radially balanced within the flow stream whether the valve is in the open or closed position. This valve has many unique features and design advantages over conventional valve concepts. Read on to learn more.

Optimizing 3D-Printed Helixes as Terahertz Optical Materials

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have optimized and 3D-printed helix structures as optical materials for Terahertz frequencies, a potential way to address a technology gap for next-generation telecommunications, non-destructive evaluation, chemical/biological sensing and more. Read on to learn more.

Artificial Reef Could Protect Marine Life, Reduce Storm Damage

A team at MIT is hoping to fortify coastlines with “architected” reefs — sustainable, offshore structures engineered to mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs while also providing pockets for fish and other marine life. The team’s reef design centers on a cylindrical structure surrounded by four rudder-like slats. Read on to learn more about it.

Using Waste to Purify Water

Using waste to purify water may sound counterintuitive. But at TU Wien, this is exactly what has now been achieved: a special nanostructure has been developed to filter a widespread class of harmful dyes from water. Read on to learn more about it.

Energy-Efficient Freshwater Generation System Inspired by Nature

A team of researchers is designing novel systems to capture water vapor in the air and turn it into liquid. University of Waterloo Professor Michael Tam and his Ph.D. students Yi Wang and Weinan Zhao have developed sponges or membranes with a large surface area that continually capture moisture from their surrounding environment. Read on to learn more.

Hierarchical 3D LiDAR Localization Improves Robot Positioning

Researchers at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) in Spain have developed a hierarchical localization system that significantly improves robot positioning in large, changing environments. The method addresses one of the most challenging problems in mobile robotics: the so-called “kidnapped robot” problem, in which a robot loses knowledge of its initial pose after being moved, powered off, or displaced. Read on to learn more.

Getting Robots to “Bee” have Without a Plan

Bees, ants, and termites don’t need blueprints. They may have queens, but none of these species breed architects or construction managers. Each insect worker, or drone, simply responds to cues like warmth or the presence or absence of building material. Now, researchers at Penn Engineering have developed mathematical rules that allow virtual swarms of tiny robots to do the same. Read on to learn more.

Combining 3D Embroidery Techniques with Machine Learning for Fabric-Based Touch Sensors

A new study from NC State University combines three-dimensional embroidery techniques with machine learning to create a fabric-based sensor that can control electronic devices through touch. Read on to learn more.

Building a New 3D Material with DNA

In two papers, one released in Nature Materials and a second in ACS Nano, researchers describe a new methodology for fabricating targeted 3D nanoscale structures via self-assembly that can find use in a variety of applications, and they provide a design algorithm for others to follow suit. And it’s all based on the most basic biomolecular building blocks: DNA. Read on to learn more.

Holey Carbon Allotropes

Researchers at NASA have developed new methods to manufacture carbon materials (e.g., nanotubes, graphene) with holes through the graphitic surface of the particles. The methods generate materials with increased accessible surface area, increased functional groups at damage sites, and improved through-surface molecular transport properties.

How Carbon Fibers Can Help Manufacture Li-ion Batteries

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.

Breaking the Rules to Build a Better Battery

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.

Micro-Organ Device Mimics Organ Structures for Lab Testing

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.

3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials

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.

Building a Good Indoor Climate with Sustainable Building Components

A team of researchers from ETH Zurich investigated a new approach to passive dehumidification of indoor spaces. Read on to learn more about it.

Printable Heat Shield Formulations Advance Spacecraft Construction

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed additively manufactured thermal protection system (AMTPS) comprised of two printable heat shield material formulations. This technology could significantly decrease heat shield or thermal protection system (TPS) fabrication cost and time. Read on to learn more.

How AI Can Find the Next Groundbreaking Polymer

Finding the next groundbreaking polymer is always a challenge, but now Georgia Tech researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to shape and transform the future of the field. Read on to learn more.

Nanoparticles-Based Wearable Biosensors

A team of Caltech engineers has developed a technique for inkjet printing arrays of special nanoparticles that enables the mass production of long-lasting wearable sweat sensors. These sensors could be used to monitor a variety of biomarkers, such as vitamins, hormones, metabolites, and medications, in real time. Read on to learn more.

A One-Piece Liquid Rocket Thrust Chamber Assembly

NASA researchers are eliminating complex joints by manufacturing a 1-piece TCA utilizing 3D printing and large-scale additive manufacturing technologies to directly deposit the nozzle onto the combustion chamber. And, by replacing a traditional solid metal jacket with a composite overwrap for support, the overall weight is reduced by over 40 percent. Read on to learn more.

Diversifying the Supply Chain for Producing Large-Scale Metal Parts

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using advanced manufacturing techniques to revitalize the domestic production of very large metal parts that weigh at least 10,000 pounds each and are necessary for a variety of industries, including clean energy. Read on to learn more.

3D Printing Self-Heating Microfluidic Devices

MIT researchers have used 3D printing to produce self-heating microfluidic devices, demonstrating a technique which could someday be used to rapidly create cheap, yet accurate, tools to detect a host of diseases. Read on to learn more.

Electronics-Free 3D-Printed Robots

Imagine a robot that can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material. That is exactly what roboticists have achieved in robots developed by the Bioinspired Robotics Laboratory at the University of California San Diego. Read on to learn more.

Leading the Charge to Better Batteries

A team led by Kelsey Hatzell, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, has uncovered insights that could help power a new type of battery, called an anode-free solid-state battery, past lithium-ion’s limitations.

Better Texture for Better Batteries

To create the new batteries needed for EVs, mobile devices, and renewable energy storage, researchers have explored new materials, new designs, new configurations, and new chemistry. But one aspect — the texture of the metals used — has been historically overlooked. Read on to learn more.

Single-Step 3D-Printing Process to Build Robots

The piezoelectric “meta-bot” is capable of propulsion, movement, sensing, and decision-making.

Carbon Fiber-Carbon Nanotube Yarn Hybrid Reinforcement

Innovators at the NASA Glenn Research Center have developed a toughened hybrid reinforcement material made from carbon fiber and carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn for use in polymer matrix composites (PMCs). The new material improves toughness and damping properties of PMCs, enhancing impact resistance, fatigue life, as well as structural longevity. Read on to learn more.

A New Method to Design Better Metallic Materials

In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign reported that automated high-resolution electron imaging can capture the nanoscale deformation events that lead to metal failure and breakage at the origin of metal failure. Read on to learn more.