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

Products: Photonics/Optics

New Products

Multi-sensor imaging systems, eyesafe laser finders, machine vision algorithms, and more.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D-Printed Sweating Robot Muscle

This form of thermal management can help enable untethered, high-powered robots to operate for long periods of time without overheating.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Ring Detects Finger Location to Track Hand Movements

The technology, which could be added to smart watches, could detect the onset of Parkinson’s disease or help with stroke rehabilitation.

Application Briefs: Imaging

Giant Telescope Construction Viewed Through an Industrial Lens

Once installed at Las Campanas Observatory in the Chilean Andes, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will introduce incredible opportunities for astrophysics.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Products of Tomorrow

A smartwatch that tracks medication levels, a flexible LED, and NASA's "Micro-Organ" device platform.

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

New on the Market: November 2020

VOC sensors, panel-mount connectors, 3D printing cloud software, and more.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Nature-Inspired Sensors Could Help Autonomous Machines See Better

The sensors can be built into the shells of aircraft, cars, or other machines.

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: Rochester Institute of Technology

Learn about RIT's achievements in cybersecurity, imaging science, and personalized healthcare tech.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Radar Enables Cars to Spot Hazards Around Corners

Using radar commonly deployed to track speeders and fastballs, the automated system “sees” around corners to spot oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

Briefs: Materials

Self-Healing, Recyclable, Shape Memory Polymers

This versatile new material family could build realistic prosthetics and futuristic Army platforms.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Janus Particles Improve Paints and Coatings

Other applications include cosmetics, 3D printing, and drug formulations.

Briefs: Energy

Robotic Assembly of Photovoltaic Arrays

Adaptable automation reduces manufacturing time and costs.

Briefs: Communications

Self-Assembling Robot Cubes Form Various Structures

The robot blocks jump, spin, flip, and identify each other.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Wool-Like Material Remembers and Changes Shape

The material could be used in smart textiles, medical devices, and tissue engineering.

Blog: Software

Woodworking, Simplified: New Software Aids in Design

An interactive software being developed at the University of Tokyo allows architects and furniture makers with little experience in woodworking to to design and build structurally sound wood joints.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Researchers Prove Their Elastic Exosuit Eases Back Stress

Vanderbilt University engineers are proving that their elastic exosuit can provide relief for people doing the heavy lifting.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Will Flat Fisheye Lenses Play a Greater Role in Medical Imaging and Consumer Electronics?

A recent Tech Briefs TV video demonstrated an achievement from engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The teams designed the first completely flat fisheye lens to produce crisp, 180-degree panoramic images. The lenses, according to...

Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D Printing in Space

In this episode of Here's an Idea, NASA's Tracie Prater wants to leave spare parts back on Earth...and 3D print them in space.

Products: Software

Product of the Month

Users can edit the shape of a model while viewing results and watch the simulation update immediately.

Technology Leaders: Electronics & Computers

Protecting the New Generation of Sensors and Electronics: Smarter and Smaller Requires Advanced Protection

For nearly 50 years, engineers in the electronics, aerospace, defense, medical device, and transportation industries have relied on Parylene coatings.