Manufacturing & Prototyping

Rapid Prototyping & Tooling

Access a wide range of multimedia resources and the latest technical briefs that are essential to rapid prototyping and tooling, and technologies essential to the design cycle.

Stories

Q&A: Lighting

Q&A: NanoLED Architecture Overcomes Efficiency Droop

A nanoLED has up to 1,000 times the brightness of conventional submicron-sized LEDs.

Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics

Rapid Prototyping of Cable and Connectors for Unique Applications

Standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) connectors continue to be a great resource for quick prototypes and reference designs.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Fluoride Materials for Extra-Thin Computer Chips

To make electronic components smaller, semiconductor 2D materials are combined with new types of insulator materials.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Products of Tomorrow

Nanowire masks, underwater imaging, and tiny 3D-printed block that repair bone breaks.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

NASA's 'VITAL' Ventilator: A Choice Between Licensing and Open-Source

As Brazil begins mass-producing a NASA-developed ventilator, a Tech Briefs reader asks why NASA didn't go open-source.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Technology Integrates Electronics onto Physical Prototypes

In place of flat breadboards, 3D-printed CurveBoards enable easier testing of circuit design on electronics products.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

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: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Flexible Feet Help Robots Walk Faster

This technology can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wraparound Sensors

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

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...

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Coffee Grounds Put a Pep in the Step of Flexible Robotic Feet

Traditional robotic feet are made of rigid components. A team of engineers at UCSD turned to coffee grounds to make legged robots more flexible and able to walk on a variety of rough terrain.

Technology Leaders: Wearables

Biodegradable and Bio-Interfacing Flexible IoT Sensors

Bio-interfacing and biodegradable flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) devices can help tackle some of the world’s great challenges including environmental degradation and food scarcity.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily Mass-Produced

The new method produces strips of rubbery material that can pick up and release objects.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout Stretchable Material

Inspired by the octopus, the structure senses, computes, and responds without any centralized processing.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Gecko-Inspired: Researchers Find Easier Way to Mass-Produce Adhesives

A team at Georgia Tech has discovered a Velcro-like way of mass-producing gecko-inspired adhesives.

Blog: Aerospace

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: Medical

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: Electronics & Computers

VoroCrust v.1.0 Meshing Software

This program generates a mesh that conforms to a complex model without clipping.

Briefs: Imaging

Device Tests Drugs on Tumor Tissue

An inexpensive 3D-printed microfluidics device could be used to personalize cancer treatment.

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Space Station Garden Shines Light on Earth-Based Horticulture

NASA’s LED lighting system enables food and other crops to be grown indoors in places like skyscrapers.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Smart Bandages Monitor and Tailor Treatment for Chronic Wounds

Bandages with integrated pH and temperature sensors, and electronically triggered drug release, improve healing.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Can Solar-Powered Desalination Solve Water-Scarcity Challenges?

“Seawater is a very abundant resource for clean water, but the problem is how to desalinate it,” MIT researcher Lenan Zhang told Tech Briefs in our April issue.