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

Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Beyond LPW: Debunking the Myth that More is Better

There’s been a race to the top among industrial LED lighting manufacturers as they scramble to squeeze the maximum possible lumens per watt (LPW) out of their products.

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Will More Manufacturers Go With Metal 3D Printing?

Our most recent issue of Tech Briefs featured a roundtable discussion about the future of 3D printing. The industry pros, including Stratsys Direct Manufacturing CEO Kent Firestone, spoke about how metal additive manufacturing has yet to catch on, due to cost constraints and build limitations. That...

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.

Briefs: Materials

Carbonated Cement for Production of Concrete with Improved Properties

This technology supports CO2 emissions reduction in cement manufacturing.

Briefs: Materials

Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

This green process produces pristine graphene in bulk using waste food, plastic, and other materials.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wearable Device Monitors Health

The flexible device harvests heat energy from the body to monitor health.

Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Q&A: Tactile Robot Finger with No Blind Spots

A robotic finger has a sense of touch that can be localized with high precision over a large, multi-curved surface.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

'Artificial Leaf' Produces Clean Gas

This method of producing clean syngas could be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.

Facility Focus: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Engineering focuses on solving the “grand challenges” facing humanity.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Mars 2020 – Building Perseverance

Tech Briefs spoke with NASA’s Keith Comeaux, Deputy Project Chief Engineer, to learn more about the helicopter heading to Mars.

Technology Leaders: Sensors/Data Acquisition

RF Innovations Give Batteries New Life

Low-power radio design is enabling new connected IoT products for consumer, commercial, industrial, and medical markets.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Cut-to-Length Electrical Cable Cuts Costs

Electrical cables are used in services such as power delivery, automation signaling, and communications.

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.

Technology Leaders: Test & Measurement

MEMS — Smart Sensors for the IoT

Tim Brosnihan, Executive Director of SEMI’s MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), talks about the current state of the MEMS industry and trends for the future,

Briefs: Motion Control

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.

Articles: Motion Control

Advanced Sensing Solutions for Cost-Effective Machine Building

The right sensors can cut machine building costs, improve flexibility, and boost customer satisfaction.

Articles: Motion Control

Don’t Blame it on the Bearings

New measurement methodologies can save you time that would otherwise be wasted on returning and reordering bearing.

Blog: Materials

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.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Will ‘Flexoskeletons’ Catch On?

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have found a new way to make soft, flexible, 3D-printed robots. The “flexoskeletons” are both made of a rigid material and a thin sheet of polycarbonate that acts as a flexible base. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV. What do you think? Will...

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

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.