Materials & Manufacturing

Browse innovative developments in materials and manufacturing that significantly impact military, medical devices, automotive, and industrial manufacturing. Advances in plastics, metals, and composites are transforming 3D printing and rapid prototyping.

Stories

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Soft Sensing, Self-Healing Materials for Robotic Hands and Arms

These materials can detect when they are damaged, take the necessary steps to temporarily heal themselves, and then resume work.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

What is the Future of 3D Printing in the Automotive Industry?

1 Year? 5 years? 10? A reader wants an industry expert to predict when 3D printing will truly catch on in automotive manufacturing.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Create the Future Design Contest: Success Story — Reinventing Mobility

Rowheel, which was a winning technology at SAE’s Create the Future Design Contest in 2010, continues to roll forward.

Blog: Wearables

With Functional Fibers, A Shirt Becomes a Valuable Microphone

The future of computing is in fabrics, says Prof, Yoel Fink from MIT.

Blog: Design

Designing from the Outside In vs the Inside Out

You can design something special when you begin with a blank piece of paper on a wall. Editor Ed Brown shares a lesson learned from his early days as an engineer.

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

NASA’s Robotic Glove Finds its Fit

NASA’s grip-strengthening glove technology aims to reduce workplace stress injuries.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Are You Taking a ‘Model-Based’ Design Approach?

A reader had the following question for an industry expert from the Germany-based simulation services provider Siemens:

Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers

Can 'Charging Rooms' Catch On?

One of the Tech Briefs highlighted in the second section of today’s INSIDER is a “charging room” from the University of Michigan and University of Tokyo that provides electricity over the air. The aluminum test area uses magnetic fields to deliver 50 watts and power-up devices, no matter their location within...

Application Briefs: Test & Measurement

Eliminating Vibration Emissions Aboard Satellites

How CSEM and its partners are using magnetic levitation to counter unwanted vibrations from components aboard satellites.

5 Ws: Materials

5 Ws of a Wearable Metamaterial

A newly designed wearable magnetic metamaterial could help make MRI scans crisper, faster, and cheaper.

Q&A: Energy

Spray-On Coating Could Make Solar Panels Snow-Resistant

An inexpensive, clear coating has reduced snow and ice accumulation on solar panels, enabling them to generate up to 85% more energy in early testing.

Facility Focus: Energy

Facility Focus: University of Michigan College of Engineering

Michigan engineers and collaborators are improving smart infrastructure, autonomous transportation, weather prediction, nuclear non-proliferation, and more.

Products: Energy

New on the Market: March 2022

Smart contactors, an industrial edge platform, tiny engines, and more.

Briefs: Software

AI Technology Foils Cyberattacks

The technology is aimed at protecting physical targets, such as utilities and infrastructure.

Briefs: Medical

Cardiac Patch with Bioink Can Repair the Heart

3D bioprinting using bioink from engineered stem cells enables treatment of myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases.

Briefs: Medical

Bone Bandage Accelerates Repair

The bandage captures and holds a pro-healing molecule at the site of a bone break to accelerate and improve the natural healing process.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Handheld 3D Skin Printer Accelerates Healing of Burns

The handheld printer deposits sheets of skin to cover large burn wounds and its bio-ink accelerates healing.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Recycled Cotton Becomes New Fabric

A method converts cotton into sugar, which can be turned into spandex, nylon, or ethanol.

Briefs: Energy

Foldable Solar Cells

Carbon nanotubes are used to create solar cells with unprecedented flexibility and resistance.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Tires and Building Rubble Combine to Form a Sustainable Road-Making Material

The sustainable material offers a zero-waste solution to boost recycling and support the circular economy.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Self-Powered Alarm Monitors Fires and the Environment

This remote forest fire detection and alarm system is powered by nothing but the movement of the trees in the wind.

Briefs: Materials

Gel-Like Fluid Prevents Wildfires

The long-lasting, environmentally benign fire-retarding treatment, if used on high-risk areas, could dramatically cut the number of fires that occur each year.