Plastics

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Multi-Polymer Filament Increases Production from Low-Cost Printers

The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.

Briefs: Energy

Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

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

Technology Leaders: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Using Lasers in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry

Ever since Henry Ford introduced the first moving production line to the industry in 1913, automotive manufacturers have been constantly striving to streamline their processes,...

Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New Products: April 2020 Motion Design

Motor drivers, position sensors, offset couplings, and more.

Briefs: Medical

Double-Sided Tape Rapidly Seals Tissues Together

The adhesive that binds wet surfaces within seconds could be used to heal wounds or implant medical devices.

Briefs: Materials

Model Predicts Breaking Point of Conducting Material

This work could accelerate the development of flexible electronics.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Terahertz Imaging System Uses Small, Efficient Lasers

The lasers are small and efficient enough to fit on a microchip.

Q&A: Materials

Q&A: Solid Silk - A Biocompatible, Sustainable, Degradable Building Block

David Kaplan is solidifying silk to make products like rods and plates for medical implants.

Briefs: Materials

Electrically Non-Conductive Ladder Fall Protection

This system protects workers on lightning and telecommunications towers, and on oil and gas platforms.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D Printing of Plastics with Electrical Circuits

This innovation could lead to better drones, satellites, and biomedical devices.

Briefs: Materials

3D-Printed Structures Morph from Flat Layers into Predetermined Shapes

The flat structure morphs into another shape when temperature changes, enabling self-deploying tents or adaptive robotic fins.

5 Ws: Materials

5 Ws of Microlattice Pads for Improved Helmets

With the new microlattice pads, players will have greater protection from both single hits and a series of impacts.

Briefs: Automotive

Technique Creates Transparent Polythene Films as Strong as Aluminum

The films could be used in impact-resistant glazing, windscreens, and displays.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: February 2020

Low-viscosity plastic; coin cell holders; oxidation-resistant coatings; and more.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

3D Printing and Space Exploration: How NASA Will Use Additive Manufacturing

NASA is using the International Space Station as a testbed for 3D printing.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Photovoltaic-Powered Sensors

RFID-based devices work in indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and could transmit data for years before they need to be replaced.

Blog: Materials

Creating the Future: New Take on Welding Gun Bonds Plastic and Metal — In Seconds

A team in Germany has a quicker, cleaner approach to welding metal to plastic: The HPCI® Joining Gun.

Briefs: Materials

Pearl-Like Coating Enhances Lightweight Armor

By mimicking the outer coating of pearls (nacre or mother of pearl), researchers created a lightweight plastic that is 14 times stronger and eight times lighter (less dense) than steel. It could...

Briefs: Motion Control

High-Speed 3D Printer for High-Performance Plastics

3D printers that build small parts layer by layer from melted plastic can take up to an hour to produce a pocket-sized piece. This process is far too slow for the mass-production of...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Invisible Tags Write, Read, and Erase Using Light

A method was developed that enables information to be contained in simple plastic foils with a thickness of less than 50 μm, which is thinner than a human hair. Organic luminescent molecules...

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: Thermosets or Thermoplastic Composites?

How do thermoplastic composites compare to the thermoset composites already in use for several decades? A Tech Briefs reader asks.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Magnetic Metamaterial Amplifies MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of organs and tissues in the human body, helping doctors diagnose potential problems or diseases. Doctors use MRI to...

Articles: Electronics & Computers

10 Things to Consider When Specifying Small Metal and Plastic Enclosures

Your new industrial electronic product has been designed and the board components specified. It has been prototyped, either on a development board to check...

Articles: Internet of Things

Products of Tomorrow: September 2019

Semi-Liquid Metal Anode for Next-Generation Batteries

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a semi-liquid lithium metal-based anode. Lithium batteries made using this new...

Briefs: Materials

Fiber-Based Artificial Muscles

While different approaches have been used to create artificial muscles — including hydraulic systems, servomotors, shape-memory metals, and polymers that respond to stimuli — they all have limitations such...

Briefs: Materials

3D-Printed Polymer-Based Foam Structure Responds to Shock Waves

A 3D-printed polymer-based foam structure was developed that responds to the force of a shock wave to act as a oneway switch, a long sought-after goal in shock research. The...