Materials & Coatings

Metals

Learn what’s trending in the engineering metals used in 3D printing, military, medical devices, automotive, and manufacturing. Find the latest applications that design engineers are using to meet their design challenges.

Stories

Briefs: Motion Control

Aerogels Protect Against Electromagnetic Interference

Aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers can effectively shield electromagnetic radiation over a wide frequency range.

Briefs: Imaging

Acoustic Monitoring of Laser Welds

Empa researchers were able to demonstrate real-time acoustic monitoring of laser weld seams.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Ultrasonic Metal Welding Enables Advances in Battery Technology

A number of battery-related innovations have been assisted by a joining technology: ultrasonic metal welding.

Briefs: Energy

Ultrasound Device Improves Charge Time and Run Time in Lithium Batteries

The device brings lithium metal batteries one step closer to commercial viability.

Briefs: Energy

Doubling Battery Performance with Lithium Metal

Drop-in replacements for lithium ion batteries would not pose a fire danger.

Briefs: Materials

Laser Treatment Turns Metal Surfaces into Bacteria Killers

The technique could easily be translated into existing medical device manufacturing processes for use in orthopedic implants.

Application Briefs: Materials

Development Software Handles High-Integrity Space Applications

NASA needed help accurately measuring Earth-reflected sunlight.

Briefs: Lighting

A Combined Optical Transmitter and Receiver

Researchers at Linköping University, together with colleagues in China, have developed a tiny unit that is both an optical transmitter and a receiver.

Briefs: Aerospace

Fabrication of Multilayer Ferritin Arrays

This method creates a thin-film electrode for a bio-nanobattery.

5 Ws: Lighting

5 Ws Of LEDs for 3D Metal Printing

In the operating room, you can produce bioresorbable metal implants, such as screws for bone fractures.

Briefs: Lighting

Semiconductors Can Behave Like Metals and Superconductors

This work potentially opens the door to advances like more energy-efficient electronic devices.

Question of the Week: Materials

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...

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.

Briefs: Materials

Metals Change Surfaces in Response to Heat

Heat predictably and precisely changes the surface structure of a particle of liquid metal.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Graphene Device with Superconducting, Insulating, and Magnetic Properties

The multitasking device could advance development of an electric circuit for faster, next-generation electronics like quantum computing technologies.

5 Ws: Wearables

5 Ws of Bacteria-Killing Metal Surfaces

Bacterial pathogens can live on surfaces for days. What if frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, could instantly kill them off?

Briefs: Power

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy

This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.

Articles: Wearables

Executive Roundtable: 3D Printing

Tech Briefs posed questions to 3D printing/AM industry execs, to get their views on issues like metal printing, new materials, and environmental sustainability.