Briefs: Energy
Anew material was developed that can extract the key ingredient in the most common form of plastic from a mixture of other chemicals while consuming far less energy than usual....
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a new way to reduce the high-temperature heating requirement of sapphire substrates in wafer production. The growth of...
NASA Spinoff: Aerospace
Rocket engine testing requires a lot of light since all tests are filmed with high-speed cameras to monitor performance; however, those cameras have to adjust to the bright plume from a firing...
Briefs: Software
Unwanted porosity is typical to many manufacturing processes — from traditional casting to additive manufacturing (3D printing) — and is difficult to avoid entirely....
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Traditionally, electronics are cooled using a heat sink that transfers the heat generated by the electronic system into the air or a liquid coolant. For the heat sink to work, it has to...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Nearly all commercial products start as a CAD file — a 2D or 3D model with the product’s design specifications. One method that’s widely used to represent today’s 3D models is...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers at the University of Houston have created an inexpensive system that can detect lead in tap water at levels commonly accepted as dangerous, using a lens made with an...
Briefs: Imaging
Existing techniques for creating nano-structures are limited in what they can accomplish. Etching patterns onto a surface with light can produce 2D nano-structures but doesn’t work for 3D structures....
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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: Manufacturing & Prototyping
For the first time, researchers have 3D printed a unique material that demonstrates optical transparency in the mid-infrared range: chalcogenide glass.
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Blog: Aerospace
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Would You Want to Work Alongside a 'Handle' Robot?
Another video featured on Tech Briefs TV this week demonstrated a robot from Boston Dynamics called "Handle." The bipedal wheeled robot takes on material handling tasks like pallet building and truck unloading for warehouse logistics. Take a look for yourself.
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
What's the most interesting or spontaneous prototype you've ever made?
It took two and a half years, 60 prototypes, and even some of his children's craft foam, but former designer and sensor pro Curtis Ray found a way to stop his snoring. He built a "smart" sleep mask equipped with an accelerometer, a microprocessor, a Bluetooth connection, a...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii Island is surrounded by thousands of miles of thermally stable seas. The 13,796-foot Maunakea mountain summit has no nearby ranges to roil the upper...
Facility Focus: Electronics & Computers
Battelle Memorial Institute was founded in the early part of the 20th century as a charitable trust focused on research in metallurgy and allied industries. Founder Gordon Battelle studied...
Products: Photonics/Optics
Smalley, Lake Zurich, IL, announced a Nested Spirawave Wave Springs series. The multiple-turn, flat wire wave springs are coiled in parallel to produce two to three times as much force as...
Briefs: Materials
Fast-response, stiffness-tunable (FRST) soft actuators — or movable machine elements — were developed that could be used in soft robots.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Industrial machinery, agricultural equipment, transportation vessels, and home applications depend on lubricants; however, they leave a heavy environmental footprint. Common lubricants, oils,...
Q&A: Materials
Texas A&M professor Jaime Grunlan and his team are developing a new flame-retardant coating using renewable, nontoxic materials readily found in nature that...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Wearable biosensors for health monitoring lack a lightweight, long-lasting power supply. A new method was developed for making a charge-storing system that is easily integrated into...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Plymouth, MN
www.bannerengineering.com
Sorting parcels and packages prior to delivery is an essential step in shipping and handling. Order...
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
West Dundee, IL
www.renishaw.com
HiETA develops metal additive manufacturing (AM) methods for the production of complex, lightweight structures for heat management...
Briefs: Materials
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a method in which a metal matrix composite (MMC) material is incorporated into a metallic structure during a one-step...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Maple Plain, MN
www.protolabs.com
Mankind first set foot on the Moon in 1969; nearly five decades have now passed. Today, NASA is developing the Orion...
Top Stories
Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Stratolaunch Approaches Hypersonic Speeds in First Talon-A Flight
Blog: Automotive
A Hack to Trick Automotive Radar
Blog: Medical
3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels
Blog: Power
Tesla Valve-Inspired Design Could Improve the Performance of Rotating...
Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Blog: Energy
Fast-Charging Li Battery Could Make ‘Range Anxiety’ a Thing of the Past
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Defense
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan