Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D Printing Self-Heating Microfluidic Devices

MIT researchers have used 3D printing to produce self-heating microfluidic devices, demonstrating a technique which could someday be used to rapidly create cheap, yet accurate, tools to detect a host of diseases. Read on to learn more.

Diversifying the Supply Chain for Producing Large-Scale Metal Parts

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using advanced manufacturing techniques to revitalize the domestic production of very large metal parts that weigh at least 10,000 pounds each and are necessary for a variety of industries, including clean energy. Read on to learn more.

A One-Piece Liquid Rocket Thrust Chamber Assembly

NASA researchers are eliminating complex joints by manufacturing a 1-piece TCA utilizing 3D printing and large-scale additive manufacturing technologies to directly deposit the nozzle onto the combustion chamber. And, by replacing a traditional solid metal jacket with a composite overwrap for support, the overall weight is reduced by over 40 percent. Read on to learn more.

Positioning Wafers with Micrometer Precision for PECVD Coating

For loading and unloading workpiece carriers containing wafers of different sizes in an automated process prior to PECVD coating, acp systems has developed a robotic solution aided by image processing for a leading manufacturer of space solar technology. Read on to learn more.

Friction That Cools

How can a horde of active robots be automatically brought to a standstill? By arresting their dynamics in a self-sustained way. This phenomenon was discovered by physicists at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU)...

AI Shapes Autonomous Underwater “Gliders”

Marine scientists have long marveled at how animals like fish and seals swim so efficiently despite having different shapes. Their bodies are optimized for efficient, hydrodynamic aquatic...

5Ws of the Ping Pong Bot

MIT engineers have developed a ping-pong-playing robot that quickly estimates the speed and trajectory of an incoming ball and precisely hits it with precision.

Piasecki's KARGO UAV Program: Enabling Uncrewed Logistics

John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to discuss the future of the KARGO UAV program.

Using AI to Perfect the 3D Printing of Metals

Professor Ashif Iquebal together with Professor Aviral Shrivastava and their team at Arizona State University are developing methods for improving the quality of highly critical metal parts manufactured using 3D printing.

Researchers Develop Recyclable, Healable Electronics

Between upgrades and breakdowns to cellphones, tablets, laptops, and appliances, so many electronic devices are getting tossed in the trash that they've taken on a name of their own:...

New Products

See the new products, including Bosch Rexroth’s space-optimized SMS screw-driven small modules; the updated capabilities of PI's PICMA® piezo stack actuator series via the introduction of the new PICMA® Plus actuators; Beckhoff's expanded MX-System control cabinet-free automation platform; and more.

Electronics-Free 3D-Printed Robots

Imagine a robot that can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material. That is exactly what roboticists have achieved in robots developed by the Bioinspired Robotics Laboratory at the University of California San Diego. Read on to learn more.

From Mine to Battery: The Growing Importance of Graphite Purity and Provenance

Collaborating across sectors and keeping up with developments in analysis tools will be crucial as the transition to a more sustainable energy landscape occurs in the future. Read on to learn more.

Teaching Robots to Build Without Blueprints

Unlike human manufacturing, the grand designs of bees, ants, and termites emerge simply from their collective action with no central planning required. Now, researchers at Penn’s School of...

Autonomous Structures Can Be Programmed to Jump Days in Advance

Researchers have created dynamic structures that leap into the air on a predetermined schedule without intervention from computers or external stimuli. Precisely when these...

Using Ultrasound to Detect Battery Flaws

Researchers from Drexel University have developed a standard testing process to give manufacturers a better look at the internal workings of batteries.

Additive Manufacturing Enables Advanced Thermal Control Systems for Next-Generation Space Missions

3D Systems is collaborating with researchers from Penn State University and Arizona State University on two projects sponsored by NASA intended to enable groundbreaking alternatives to current thermal management solutions.

3D-Printing Method Makes Two Materials from One Resin

Isabel Arias Ponce and her team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have demonstrated a new resin that simultaneously creates solid objects and dissolvable structural supports, depending on what type of light it is exposed to.

5Ws of an All-Electric Delivery Drone

An all-electric drone developed by Blueflite with vertical take-off and landing capabilities and advanced maneuverability for faster and more cost-effective deliveries.