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.

Stories

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Products of Tomorrow

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

Briefs: Energy

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, stress, or...

Question of the Week: Materials

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. That...

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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...

Articles: Wearables

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.

Briefs: Tubing & Extrusion

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.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Organic Material for Printed Electronics

The material combines two polymers with different properties.

Special Reports: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Medical Manufacturing and Outsourcing - May 2020

How are advances in automation/robotics, welding, 3D printing, and other fabrication technologies shaping the future of medical device manufacturing? Find out in this Special Report – a...

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: April 2020

Vision-based 3D printing, network analyzers, particulate sensors, and more.

Briefs: AR/AI

Machine Learning Software for 3D Printing

Manufacturers, medical device companies, and others can use this 3D printing software driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Additive Manufacturing Method for Sub-Microscale Three-Dimensional Structures

Applications include MEMS, microlattice fabrication, and other sub-microscale 3D structures with a broad range of materials.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

High-Area Rapid 3D Printing

This new 3D printer can print an object the size of an adult human in just a couple of hours.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Method for Electrospinning Customizable Nanofibers

The electrospun nanofibers are used for wound healing and 3D matrices for biological tissues.

5 Ws: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

5 Ws of the 3D Skin Printer

The handheld 3D skin printer can deposit sheets of skin to cover large burn wounds

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D Printing Process Produces Highly Porous Glass Objects

The basis for the technology is a special resin that can be cured with UV light.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

FIU to 3D-Print 1,000 Face Shields for Baptist Health Workers

Bridget Pelaez spoke to Tech Briefs about the 1,000 face shields being printed for Florida hospitals.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

How One Engineer is Supporting the Coronavirus Response with a Hands-Free Door Opener

See how Prof. Olaf Diegel built a hands-free door opener.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

How 3D Printing is Helping the Response to Coronavirus

3D printing is being used to quickly create life-saving parts and prototypes like masks, shields, and ventilator valves.

Articles: Test & Measurement

Shortwave Infrared Cameras for High-Temperature Manufacturing and R&D Processes

There are longwave, midwave, and shortwave camera systems—each with its own advantages for specific industries and uses.

Application Briefs: Materials

Optimizing a CubeSat with Architected Materials

nTopologyNew York, NY In today’s strategic information environment, the ability to rapidly respond to ever-changing technology needs is an essential asset for any organization that provides...

Briefs: Wearables

Stretchable Wireless Sensor Could Monitor Healing of Cerebral Aneurysms

A wireless sensor small enough to be implanted in the blood vessels of the human brain could help clinicians evaluate the healing of aneurysms.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Copper Strengthens 3D-Printed Titanium

Titanium-copper alloys for 3D printing could create high-performance alloys for medical device and aerospace applications.

Products: Materials

Product of the Month

Midwest Engineered Systems, Waukesha, WI, offers the ADDere metal 3D printing system that consists of a 6-axis industrial robot combined with a 2-axis coordinated motion workpiece positioner. The laser wire additive system...