Custom & Contract Manufacturing

Blog: Software

Even NASA Needs Effective Parts Sourcing

You can design the best product in the world but what if the parts, assemblies, and sub-components for your idea aren’t there?

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Starting In the Garage, NASA Engineer Makes Oxygen Helmet for COVID-19 Patients

See how NASA engineer Mike Buttigieg is creating a device that will free up ventilators for patients with COVID-19

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NASA's 'VITAL' Ventilator Gets FDA Approval

A low-cost, low-complexity ventilator developed by NASA engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Machine Learning Software for 3D Printing

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

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.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Create the Future Contest Idea Saving Lives

Tech Briefs checks back in with CEO Jon Sumroy about his award-winning product: the mifold grab-and-go car seat.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Inspection and Simulation Methods: Powdered Metal and Additive Manufacturing

How does testing a metal 3D-printed part compare to testing a casted one? That's the elephant in the room, says industry pro Kevin Brigden.

Blog: Materials

3D Printing and Space Exploration: How NASA Will Use Additive Manufacturing

NASA is using the International Space Station as a testbed for 3D printing.

Blog: Connectivity

CES 2020: A High-Tech Wine Dispenser and More Arrivals to the Smart Home

Here are five technologies that aim to add intelligence to the most surprising household objects.

Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Additive Manufacturing of Precision Optics at Micro and Nanoscale

AM is an especially good fit for products that require a high level of customization.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Design Treatment for Advanced Metals Enables Easier Machining

Applying a surface-active agent makes metal easier to cut and shape into parts and pieces.

5 Ws: Manufacturing & Prototyping

5 Ws of EarEcho

The biometric tool uses modified wireless earbuds to authenticate smartphone users

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Carbon Capture Process Makes Sustainable Oil

Life support research for astronauts enabled a solution to one aspect of climate change.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Innovators Recognized for Creating the Future 2019

Top prizes in the 2019 contest were awarded on November 8 in New York City.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Aluminum Joining Methods: Welding vs. Adhesives

Our expert examines the pros and cons of welding, adhesives, and other metal joining methods.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: What's Better for Extrusion? Aluminum 6000 or 7000 Series?

What's the best aluminum for extrusion? A Tech Briefs reader asks our expert.

Briefs: Materials

High-Speed 3D Printer for High-Performance Plastics

3D printers that build small parts layer by layer from melted plastic can take up to an hour to produce a pocket-sized piece. This process is far too slow for the mass-production of...

Briefs: Materials

Manufacturing Process for Aluminum Alloys

An advanced manufacturing process was developed to produce nano-structured rods and tubes directly from high-performance aluminum alloy powder in a single step. Using a Solid Phase Processing...

Blog: Materials

Prospecting for Ice: NASA Challenges Students to Find Ways to Drill Down on Mars

A new NASA challenge asks university teams to find new ways to drill down to the ice on the Moon and Mars.

Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

New Products: August 2019 Motion Design

Miniature Linear Translation Stages

PI, L.P. (Auburn, MA) offers the L-505 miniature linear translation stages for precision motion, alignment, and positioning applications where space is...

Products: Design

Product of the Month: August 2019 Tech Briefs

nTopology, New York, NY, offers the nTop Platform, a unifying technique for design, simulation, and manufacturing data to be intelligently embedded directly into a part. The approach...

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: July 2019

Sensor Controller

The induSENSOR MSC7401 sensor controller from Micro-Epsilon, Ortenburg, Germany, is used for displacement and distance measurements and is operated with LVDT and LDR measuring gauges...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Safety Analysis: The Key to a Single-Pass ISO26262 Random Fault Workflow

Advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous drive technologies increase the complexity of automotive integrated circuits (ICs), making it harder to ensure that...

Articles: Imaging

Key Factors to Consider When Designing a Smart Factory

In recent years, the emergence of Industry 4.0 has been steadily transforming the manufacturing sector into an ultra-high-tech industry. Innovative smart technologies such as robotics,...

Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Lighting the Gas Monkey Garage

Gas Monkey Garage (GMG) is arguably America's most recognized hot rod shop. Founded in 2004 by charismatic serial entrepreneur Richard Rawlings, the Dallas, Texas garage is a state-of-the-art restoration and...

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Answering Your Questions: CNC Machining or 3D Printing?

Some parts should be CNC machined, and some parts should be 3D printed. Our expert compares the two manufacturing processes.