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

Special Reports: Materials

Advanced Materials - February 2020

Breakthroughs in plastics, composites, metals, and other materials technologies are enabling exciting new applications in industries ranging from aerospace to automotive to medical. Read more in this Special...

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Intelligent Microrobots

Such machines, only a few tens of micrometers across, could be used in the human body to perform small operations.

Briefs: Motion Control

Soft, Skin-Like Structures for Robotic Locomotion and Transportation

These soft robots can be rolled up and carried in a pocket.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Welding Ceramics with Lasers

This technology could be used to create smartphones that don't scratch or shatter, metal-free pacemakers, and electronics for space and other harsh environments.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Threads Detect Gases When Woven into Clothing

Equipment-free textile detectors could be used in public health, workplace safety, military, and rescue applications.

Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New on the Market: February 2020

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

Briefs: Imaging

Technique Creates Transparent Polythene Films as Strong as Aluminum

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

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.

Q&A: Wearables

Q&A: Electrically Conductive Coated Yarn for Wearable, Washable Fabrics

Drexel Professor Genevieve Dion is coating yarn with the highly conductive, two-dimensional material MXene.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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.

Briefs: Materials

Thermally Conductive Polymer Films

These materials may replace metals as lightweight, flexible heat dissipators in cars, computers, cellphones, and refrigerators.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Multimaterial Fiber “Ink” for 3D-Printed Devices

Filaments with embedded circuitry can be used to print complex shapes for biomedical and robotic devices.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Enhancing Materials for High-Resolution Patterning

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials transfer ultra-small, high-aspect-ratio features into silicon for next-generation electronic devices.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

3D Printing of Plastics with Electrical Circuits

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

Briefs: Materials

Polymer Coating Cools Down Buildings

This coating acts as a spontaneous air cooler and can be fabricated, dyed, and applied like paint.

Briefs: Materials

Silicon Carbide Fiber Tows

This rapid processing method produces stronger materials and heals lower-quality fibers.

Facility Focus: Photonics/Optics

Facility Focus: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Explore Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA's first space flight complex.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Bomb Detection Method Detects Peroxide-Based Explosives

The ultra-fast method analyzes a wider range of materials than current thermal-based detection systems.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Process Synthesizes Carbon Nanotubes Using Carbon Dioxide

This process turns carbon dioxide into carbon nanotubes with small diameters.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Transistors Both Process and Store Information

The functional transistors are integrated with ferroelectric RAM.

Briefs: Materials

3D Printing Technique Produces “Living” 4D Materials

3D/4D printing is merged with a chemical process to produce “living” resin, which has potential for recycling and biomedicine.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A Soft Robot That Can Maintain Its Temperature? No Sweat!

Cornell researcher T.J. Wallin explains what's so cool about a robot that sweats.

Question of the Week: Green Design & Manufacturing

Do you Like the Idea of Fungi-Inspired Design?

Our lead INSIDER story today demonstrated the potential of fungi as a building material. Aside from supporting theoretical space habitats, fungal mycelia have been used to create actual chairs and 2x4 structures. What do you think? Do you Like the Idea of Fungi-Inspired Design?