Manufacturing & Prototyping

3 D Printing & Additive Manufacturing

Explore the fast-paced developments in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Access the essential technical briefs and resources for design engineers working in manufacturing and medical industries.

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

Hummingbird Robot Uses AI to Maneuver in Tight Spaces

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Printed Polymer Makes Integrated Airplane Parts

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Blinking Artificial Human Eye Replica for Disease Modeling and Drug Testing

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Technology Integrates Electronics onto Physical Prototypes

Briefs: Medical

4D Printing Creates Microneedles to Replace Hypodermics

Get the latest breakthroughs from NASA & other technology sources.

Latest Briefs & News

Briefs: Transportation

Electronics Cooling Using Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing creates cooling solutions with sizes and shapes not previously possible.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Cost-Effective Printed Sensors for the IoT/IIoT

With accelerated time from design to production, specialized foil sensor arrays will be expanding to many new areas.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Acoustic Monitoring of Laser Welds

Empa researchers were able to demonstrate real-time acoustic monitoring of laser weld seams.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Engineers 3D-Print Sensors Onto Moving Organs

Designed to assist in robotic surgeries, biomedical devices can be printed in and on the human body.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

3D-Printed Glucose Biosensors

These biosensors could lead to improved glucose monitors for millions of people who suffer from diabetes.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Wraparound Sensors

These sensors monitor electrical loads from household appliances to support grid operations.

Products: Software

Product of the Month: August 2020 Tech Briefs

Altair released updates to all of its design, simulation, and data analytics software products.

5 Ws: Lighting

5 Ws Of LEDs for 3D Metal Printing

In the operating room, you can produce bioresorbable metal implants, such as screws for bone fractures.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Multi-Polymer Filament Increases Production from Low-Cost Printers

The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.

Facility Focus: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Facility Focus: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

NIBIB is committed to integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Products of Tomorrow: July 2020

NASA's Dry Goods Delivery System, a lung-heart sensor on a chip, and more.

Briefs: Materials

Super-Fast Method for Ceramic Manufacturing

Scientists have reinvented a 26,000-year-old manufacturing process into an innovative approach to fabricating ceramic materials widely used in batteries, electronics, and extreme environments....

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Do You See Yourself Someday Printing in 4D?

You’ve heard about 3D printing, but what about 4D?

A Tech Briefs TV video this week showcased how Rice University researchers’ new way of making shape-shifting materials. The “4D-printed” objects can be manipulated to take on alternate forms when exposed to changes in temperature,...

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Will More Manufacturers Go With Metal 3D Printing?

Our most recent issue of Tech Briefs featured a roundtable discussion about the future of 3D printing. The industry pros, including Stratsys Direct Manufacturing CEO Kent Firestone, spoke about how metal additive manufacturing has yet to catch on, due to cost constraints and build limitations....

Facility Focus: Aerospace

Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Engineering focuses on solving the “grand challenges” facing humanity.

Question of the Week: Materials

Will ‘Flexoskeletons’ Catch On?

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have found a new way to make soft, flexible, 3D-printed robots. The “flexoskeletons” are both made of a rigid material and a thin sheet of polycarbonate that acts as a flexible base. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV.

What do you think? Will...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Nanostructured Rubber-Like Material to Replace Human Tissue

The material consists solely of components that have already been shown to work well in the body.

Articles: Materials

Executive Roundtable: 3D Printing

Tech Briefs posed questions to 3D printing/AM industry execs, to get their views on issues like metal printing, new materials, and environmental sustainability.