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.
'Make or break' material choices for miniaturized medical devices…new 3D printing technique for tissue engineering…rethinking contract manufacturing for a new era. Read all about it in this...
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.
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.
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.
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.
Professor Fangyong Niu's team at the Dalian University of Technology may have fixed a pivotal 3D-printing problem by doing something unconventional: They added a microwave. Read on for an interview with Professor Niu.
See the future of aerospace and defense manufacturing in this compendium of articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense Technology magazines.
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.
See what's new on the market, including COMSOL Multiphysics® version 6.4; Novotechnik's Vert-X 26 Series of non-contacting magnetic angle sensors; HMS Networks' N-Tron NT110-FX2, an unmanaged Ethernet switch with two fiber ports; Littelfuse's MMIX1T500N20X4 X4-Class Ultra-Junction Power MOSFET; and more.
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.
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.
Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Yufeng Chi is part of a team of Berkeley engineers that has developed Berkeley Humanoid Lite, a low-cost, open-source robot made of...
Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a fast, highly accurate simulator for spray-based concrete 3D printing that could enable stronger, more complex, and less wasteful construction by predicting how concrete behaves and solidifies, even around rebar.
As engineering continues to shape society and drive innovation, here are the year’s top 10 engineering stories that resonated most with Tech Briefs' audience.
We here at Tech Briefs want to remedy that toxic part of the holidays. So, we put together a list of terrific gift ideas for anyone — but especially the engineer — in your life.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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!
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...
Charles Wade, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Matter Assembly Computation Lab (MACLab) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Professor Rob MacCurdy, who leads the MACLab, have created a design package that uses functions and code to map not just shapes but where different materials belong in a 3D object.
MIT engineers have developed a printable aluminum alloy that can withstand high temperatures and is five times stronger than traditionally manufactured aluminum.
