Materials & Manufacturing

Materials & Coatings

Access the technical resources for a range of materials and coatings. Design engineers can browse news, technical briefs, and applications for plastics, composites, rubbers, elastomers, and metals.

Stories

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.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Metals Change Surfaces in Response to Heat

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

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Optically Reconfigurable Charge-Transfer Liquid Crystals

These re-writeable materials have applications in data storage and encryption, energy transducers, and optical display technologies.

NASA Spinoff: Aerospace

Wool Mask Used to Fight Fires in Space Improves Fire Equipment on Earth

Wool from special sheep keeps astronauts and emergency responders safe.

Articles: Nanotechnology

Products of Tomorrow

Nature-Inspired Energy Tech, Superelastic Tires, Wearable Supercapacitors, and more...

Facility Focus: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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

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.

Briefs: Motion Control

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.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.

Articles: Test & Measurement

Boosting Performance in Hydraulic Systems with Alternative Coatings

Taking a holistic approach to sealing systems in hydraulic systems using chrome alternatives helps engineers achieve optimum function.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Don’t Blame it on the Bearings

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

Question of the Week: Materials

How Would You Use Gecko-Inspired Adhesion?

A team at Georgia Tech has discovered a Velcro-like way of mass-producing gecko-inspired adhesives. Principal investigator Prof. Michael Varenberg believes his team’s technology can someday be used on pick-and-place industrial machines, wall-scaling cleaners, and even small repair robots that travel on...

Blog: Transportation

How to Keep Batteries from Catching Fire? Nanotech Energy Goes with Graphene and New Electrolyte

The Los Angeles, CA-based company Nanotech Energy is using graphene to prevent thermal runaway and create a non-flammable battery.

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.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

The Next Challenge for Soft Robots? Beat the Cheetah

A proof-of-concept soft robot has a cheetah-like gait that avoids the usual crawl.

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...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Layered Solar Cell Technology Boosts Efficiency and Affordability

The future’s getting brighter for solar power. Researchers from CU Boulder have created a low-cost solar cell with one of the highest power-conversion efficiencies to date...