Materials & Manufacturing

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Explore innovations supporting advances in manufacturing and rapid prototyping. Access the developments and solutions that have an impact on applications in 3D printing and automation.

Stories

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

System Provides Robots with Context Awareness

The system enables robots to predict what their human coworker will do next.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Overhang Support Designs for Powder-Based Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM)

The supports enable the production of higher-quality, less-expensive parts via additive manufacturing.

Briefs: Materials

Eco-Friendly Technique Upcycles Metal Waste into Multipurpose Aerogels

Potential applications include lightweight building materials and growing cells for biomedical purposes.

Articles: Software

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Getting Specific About Where 3D Printing Hits the Mark

Learn how to reuse more material without recycling.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

What Does Resolution Mean in 3D Printing?

Resolution is an often discussed but seldom understood value in the world of 3D printing and additive manufacturing.

Briefs: Medical

Magnet-Controlled Bioelectronic Implant for Relieving Pain

This could make possible embedded devices like a spinal cord-stimulating unit with a battery-powered magnetic transmitter on a wearable belt.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Servo Motion Improves Robot Operations

Servo motion control delivers powerful, fast, and precise movement onboard robots and for associated equipment.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Liquid Metal Lattice

The new metal lattice material can be used to create models that regain shape after being crushed.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Nature-Inspired, Manufactured, Non-Cuttable Material

The material could be used in security, health, industrial, and safety applications.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Light-Based “Tractor Beam” Assembles Materials at the Nanoscale

The size and shape of the nanostructure can be controlled as it is assembled piece by piece.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

International Space Station Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED)

Terrestrial uses include physical therapy, clinical diagnosis, athletic training and performance, and robust exercise equipment.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Green Method for Producing Hydrogen Peroxide

This portable method could enable hospitals to make their own supply of the disinfectant on demand and at lower cost.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

In-Line, Automated CT Scan Data Inspection of Electronic Connectors

A production-based X-ray solution performs product quality evaluation directly on the manufacturing line.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Ultra-Thin, Energy-Efficient Photodetector Integrated with Gorilla Glass

This could lead to the commercial development of smart glass, with applications ranging from imaging to advanced robotics.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A New Cooling Strategy for Cities: 'Strategic' Reflective Surfaces

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering used a Computational Fluid Dynamics model to find ways to decrease cost and increase usage of cooler surfaces.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

How to Make a 'Smarter' Cement

By introducing nanoparticles into ordinary cement, Northwestern University researchers have formed a smarter, more durable, and highly functional building material.

Special Reports: AR/AI

Smart Factory/IIoT - June 2021

Factories are getting "smarter" and more automated by the day, thanks to advances in AI, connectivity, controls, and sensors. In this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Sensor...