Manufacturing & Prototyping

Rapidly Testing Stretchable Sensors

Engineers have developed a new technique for making wearable sensors that enables medical researchers to prototype and test new designs much faster and at a far lower cost than existing methods. Read on to learn more.

Engineering a New Approach to Satellite Constellation Design

Propulsion systems that were once crafted in very limited quantities now need to be manufactured by the thousands. This scale-up necessitates a new design and development approach that blends modern manufacturing principles with legacy systems. Read on to learn more about it.

Advanced Laser Cleaning Robotic Work Cells Turbocharge Industrial Processes

Enclosed robotic laser parts cleaning systems are poised to safely remove rust and contamination as well as condition surfaces at dramatically higher volumes and at lower cost than conventional methods. Read on to learn more about the process.

Researchers Use Inkjet Printing to Make a Portable Multispectral 3D Camera

The palm-sized light field camera could improve autonomous driving, classification of recycled materials, and remote sensing. Read on to learn more about it.

Exploring Robotics and Cobots in Medical Device Production

How robotics and cobots are providing increased efficiency and quality in the medical device production process.

How the Air Force Is Using AI to Fix Supply Chain Challenges

Art Sellers, SparkCognition Government Systems Interim President and General Manager, joins the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain the new partnership using AI to improve supply chain efficiency for the U.S. Air Force.

Overcoming Challenges in Material Selection for 3D Printed Medical Devices

In this season, we are taking an in-depth look at Printed Health: Transforming Medicine with Advanced Manufacturing, and this episode will focus specifically on...

Making EVs Accessible for All

To address the needs of wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) users in the U.K.’s transition to electric, Motability Operations has revealed eVITA. It’s an accessible and versatile concept electric wheelchair accessible vehicle (eWAV), designed in collaboration with CALLUM.

The Landscape of 3D Printing in Healthcare

The ethical implications of integrating robots into healthcare, discussing topics such as patient trust, privacy concerns, and the balance between human and robotic interaction in caregiving.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Dewesoft's OBSIDIAN®, a breakthrough data acquisition (DAQ) instrument that combines the best features of a high-end DAQ system, a long-term datalogger, a real-time EtherCAT data server, and a signal conditioning front end.

Volvo Trucks’ Battery Chemistry of Choice: NCA

While Daimler Truck and Paccar are pursuing LFP battery cells, Volvo Trucks employs lithium-ion batteries in which lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode — for now anyway. The Swedish truck maker is continuously exploring other battery technologies. Read on to learn more.

New Methods in Preparing and Purifying Nanomaterials

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have made several breakthroughs in treating hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanomaterials, improving their properties to supplant carbon nanotubes in many applications.

Oxygen-Free Chemical Vapor Deposition Method to Make Graphene

Engineers are poised to clean things up with an oxygen-free chemical vapor deposition (OF-CVD) method that can create high-quality graphene samples at scale. Their work directly demonstrates how trace oxygen affects the growth rate of graphene and identifies the link between oxygen and graphene quality for the first time.

How Tough Is Your Material? 3D Images Will Tell You

John Kolinski and his team at the Laboratory of Engineering Mechanics of Soft Interfaces aim to understand how cracks propagate in brittle solids, which is essential for developing and testing safe and cost-effective composite materials for use in construction, sports, and aerospace engineering.

Portable Science Enclosure Features Unique Innovations

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have designed a science enclosure system for science experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It allows users the ability to safely manipulate objects of study within the transparent enclosure by utilizing protective boundary layer innovations whose designs may be transferable to other containment systems.

Creating 2D All-Organic Perovskites

Perovskites are among the most researched topics in materials science. Recently, a research team solved an age-old challenge to synthesize all-organic two-dimensional perovskites, extending the field into the exciting realm of 2D materials. This breakthrough opens up a new field of 2D all-organic perovskites, which holds promise for both fundamental science and potential applications.

Generative AI: Reshaping the Industrial Value Chain with the Industrial Copilot

Companies worldwide are faced with a shortage of skilled labor as experienced workers retire and not enough new talent enters the workforce to compensate. To address this, companies must find a way to capture knowledge from experienced workers and make it both accessible and enticing to new hires. Generative AI can help address this by transforming the way humans and machines interact and collaborate using solutions such as Siemens Industrial Copilot.

The Crucial Role of Bearings in the Humanoid Robotics Revolution

In the ever-evolving robotics landscape, achieving precise and seamless motion is paramount. While articulating joints enable a robot’s range of motion, bearings serve as the backbone, ensuring smooth and accurate movement. Particularly in humanoid robots where precision is non-negotiable, the selection of bearings becomes a critical engineering decision. Design engineers must consider the diverse range of robotic bearings, how backlash affects precision, and when to use seals to protect bearings from harsh environments.

When Is Precision Motion Control the Right Choice?

Precision motion control solutions supply an even higher level of motor control, often synchronized over several axes of motion or motors. But when are they the right choice? Read this story to find out.

Product Showcase

See the product showcase, which includes Bodine type 42R hypoid gearmotors; the Pyramid Connectable (“PC”) Twisted Belt; the IMI Norgren VR Valve Manifold; CENTRUM CSF40, a stainless steel encoder scale disc; KHK USA's gear for motion design; ABB Robotics' OmniCore, an intelligent automation platform that is faster, more precise, and more sustainable; and much more.

Engineered Skin Tissue Grants Robots Special Properties and Abilities

Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance.

Miniature 3D-Printed Actuators to Control Soft Robots

Researchers from NC State University have demonstrated mini soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a millimeter thick. The researchers also demonstrated that this technique works with shape memory materials.

How a Shear Manufacturer Improved Accuracy While Reducing Costs

Learn about the Force Control Model LC, a form of closed loop positioning control. It reads the machine position on each stop and adjusts, in real time, where to signal the stop for the next part/cycle. Read on.

Reducing Plasma Cutting Cycle Time with a Cobot Cutter

The integration of the plasma-cutting cobot at Tank Technologies stands as a compelling example of how automation can drive efficiency, accuracy, and employee satisfaction in manufacturing. By embracing this technology, Tank Technologies has significantly improved the productivity and safety of their plasma cutting applications.

New Products

See the new products, including Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation's CZ39 series of coreless current sensors, Bourns, Inc.'s latest miniature resettable thermal cutoff device series, Orion S.A.'s range of high-performance conductive additives that improve Li-ion battery performance, and Littelfuse, Inc.'s newest member of its eFuse Protection IC lineup, the LS0502SCD33S.

A Breakthrough in Solid-State Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Batteries

A new synthesis process for solid electrolytes marks a crucial stride toward the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries free from the risks of explosion and fire. Read on to learn more.

Enhancing the Performance of All-Solid-State Batteries

A research team from Pohang University has successfully enhanced the performance and durability of all-solid-state batteries. This breakthrough was made possible through the implementation of a novel approach known as bottom electrodeposition. Read on to learn more.

The Impact of Fast Charging on the EV Charging Chain

With fast charging becoming more common, precise and reliable temperature sensing across the charging chain will remain critical even as battery technologies evolve. Read on to learn why.

Betting Big on LFP Battery Cells for Electric Commercial Vehicles

Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck, and Paccar collaborate to establish a 21-GWh dedicated factory for lithium iron phosphate battery cell manufacturing in the U.S. Read on to learn what that means for you.