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

Question of the Week: Energy

Will ‘Mass-Less’ Energy Storage Finally Catch On?

A July Tech Brief highlights a “structural battery” from the Chalmers University of Technology that uses carbon fiber as a negative electrode and a lithium iron phosphate-coated aluminum foil as the positive electrode. The battery works as both a power source and as part of the main...

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

A Robot That Moves Like a Bug (and a Cheetah)

UC Berkeley engineers have created a lightweight and durable robot that achieves exquisite control and agility by modulating the electrostatic forces between its feet and surfaces.

Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Should Cities be More Strategic with Reflective Surfaces?

Cities around the world are adjusting – and in some cases overhauling – their infrastructure in an effort to cool temperatures in their areas. Los Angeles and New York City, for example, have adopted “grey infrastructure” efforts, like applying coatings to roofs and roads so that...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Product of the Month

Stratasys introduced three 3D printers for additive manufacturing of end-use parts.

Facility Focus: AR/AI

Facility Focus: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering

Duke Engineering supports clinical ultrasound imaging, restoration of hearing by cochlear implant, megapixel photography, and metamaterials.

Briefs: Materials

System for In-Situ Defect Detection in Composites During Cure

This system enhances processing via real-time, non-destructive defect tracking.

Briefs: AR/AI

System Provides Robots with Context Awareness

The system enables robots to predict what their human coworker will do next.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Products of Tomorrow

Battery recycling, NASA's water treatment, and a wireless wearable transmitter.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: July 2021

Temperature transmitters, robotic tool changers, epoxy adhesives, and more.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Electrolyte Boost Improves Performance of Aqueous Dual-Ion Batteries

New cell chemistry utilizes less costly and more abundant materials than lithium-ion batteries.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Overhang Support Designs for Powder-Based Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM)

The supports enable the production of higher-quality, less-expensive parts via additive manufacturing.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Eco-Friendly Technique Upcycles Metal Waste into Multipurpose Aerogels

Potential applications include lightweight building materials and growing cells for biomedical purposes.

Briefs: Automotive

Pyroelectric Sandwich Thermal Energy Harvester

The technology harvests electrical energy from waste heat sources.

NASA Spinoff: Materials

Taking Out the Trash, NASA-Style

A NASA-developed technology for testing heat shields transforms garbage into reusable chemicals.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Getting Specific About Where 3D Printing Hits the Mark

Learn how to reuse more material without recycling.

Briefs: Aerospace

Copolyimide Surface-Modifying Coating

The coating repels insects on aircraft wing surfaces and motor vehicles and reduces surface imperfections on other low-friction or non-stick surfaces.