Materials & Manufacturing

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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.

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News: Materials
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner Features Technology Innovations

Boeing (Everett, WA) has delivered the first 787 Dreamliner to Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA). The 787 Dreamliner is an all-new airplane featuring a host of technologies that benefit both airlines and passengers. It is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes,...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Silicon Carbide Mounts for Fabry-Perot Interferometers

Etalon mounts for tunable Fabry-Perot interferometers can now be fabricated from reaction-bonded silicon carbide structural components. These mounts are rigid, lightweight, and thermally stable. The fabrication of these mounts involves the exploitation of post-casting capabilities that (1)...

Briefs: Materials
Fiber-Reinforced Reactive Nano-Epoxy Composites

A family of metal/ceramic composite materials has been developed that are relatively inexpensive, lightweight alternatives to structural materials that are typified by beryllium, aluminum, and graphite/epoxy composites. These metal/ceramic composites were originally intended to replace beryllium...

Briefs: Materials
Iridium-Doped Ruthenium Oxide Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution

NASA requires a durable and efficient catalyst for the electrolysis of water in a polymer-electrolyte-membrane (PEM) cell. Ruthenium oxide in a slightly reduced form is known to be a very efficient catalyst for the anodic oxidation of water to oxygen, but it degrades rapidly, reducing...

Briefs: Materials
Polymerization Initiated at the Sidewalls of Carbon Nanotubes

A process has been developed for growing polymer chains via anionic, cationic, or radical polymerization from the side walls of functionalized carbon nanotubes, which will facilitate greater dispersion in polymer matrices, and will greatly enhance reinforcement ability in polymeric...

Briefs: Materials
Piezoelectrically Enhanced Photocathodes

Doping of photocathodes with materials that have large piezoelectric coefficients has been proposed as an alternative means of increasing the desired photoemission of electrons. Treating cathode materials to increase emission of electrons is called “activation” in the art. It has been common practice...

Tech Needs: Materials
Non-Smoke, Non-Halogenated Fire Retardants

A company needs non-halogenated polymeric mix additives that provide non-smoke fire retardance for wiring jackets and cables. The additive must have low enough loadings so that product performance and flexibility are maintained. Wires and cables must meet a variety of requirements, some imposed by...

Briefs: Materials
Metal-Matrix/Hollow-Ceramic-Sphere Composites

A family of metal/ceramic composite materials has been developed that are relatively inexpensive, lightweight alternatives to structural materials that are typified by beryllium, aluminum, and graphite/epoxy composites. These metal/ceramic composites were originally intended to replace beryllium...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Measuring the In-Process Figure, Final Prescription, and System Alignment of Large Optics and Segmented Mirrors Using Lidar Metrology

The fabrication of large optics is traditionally a slow process, and fabrication capability is often limited by measurement capability. While techniques exist to measure mirror figure with nanometer precision,...

Briefs: Materials

Dispersion-strengthened molybdenum-rhenium alloys for vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) fabrication of high-temperature-resistant components are undergoing development. In comparison with...

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NASA Tech Needs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Nancy M.H. Holloway, Section Head
Advanced Fabrication Processes Section
Fabrication Technology Development Branch
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA

The Fabrication...

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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

In a new series, the editors of NASA Tech Briefs magazine catch up with everyday engineers about their unique responsibilities and challenges. This week, we highlight fellow...

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Articles: Materials

The Hall effect can be observed when the combination of a magnetic field through a sample and a current along the length of the sample create an...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Solvent/Non-Solvent Sintering To Make Microsphere Scaffolds

A solvent/non-solvent sintering tech- nique has been devised for joining poly- meric microspheres to make porous matri- ces for use as drug-delivery devices or scaf- folds that could be seeded with cells for growing tissues. Unlike traditional sinter- ing at elevated temperature and...

Briefs: Materials
Self-Cleaning Coatings and Materials for Decontaminating Field-Deployable Land and Water-Based Optical Systems

This technology exploits the organic decomposition capability and hydrophilic properties of the photocatalytic material titanium dioxide (TiO2), a non-toxic and non-hazardous substance, to address contamination and biofouling...

Briefs: Materials
Li Anode Technology for Improved Performance

A novel, low-cost approach to stabilization of Li metal anodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries was developed. Electrolyte additives are selected and used in Li cell electrolyte systems, promoting formation of a protective coating on Li metal anodes for improved cycle and safety...

Briefs: Materials
Low-Outgassing Photogrammetry Targets for Use in Outer Space

A short document discusses an investigation of materials for photogrammetry targets for highly sensitive optical scientific instruments to be operated in outer space and in an outer-space-environment-simulating thermal vacuum chamber on Earth. A key consideration in the selection of...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Thermoelectric materials provide a means for converting heat into electrical power using a fully solid-state device. Power-generating devices (which include individual...

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Briefs: Materials
Separation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with DEP-FFF

A process using a modified dielectrophoresis device separates single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) according to their polarizability in electric fields. This depends on the size and dielectric constant of individual nanotubes and easily separates metallic from semiconducting nanotubes....

Articles: Materials

In direct response to the National Research Council’s report “Capabilities for the Future: An Assessment of NASA Laboratories for Basic Research, 2010,” the Space Technology program was born and formally approved...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Cryogenic-Compatible Winchester Connector Mount and Retaining System for Composite Tubes

A connector retainer and mounting system has been designed to replace screw-mounting of Winchester connectors. Countersunk screws are normally used to secure connectors to structures, and to keep them from coming apart. These screws are normally put into...

Briefs: Materials
Optical Coating Performance for Heat Reflectors of the JWST-ISIM Electronic Component

A document discusses a thermal radiator design consisting of lightweight composite materials and low-emittance metal coatings for use on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) structure. The structure will have a Thermal Subsystem unit to provide passive cooling...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Development of Position-Sensitive Magnetic Calorimeters for X-Ray Astronomy

Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMC) are one of the most promising devices to provide very high energy resolution needed for future astronomical x-ray spectroscopy. MMC detectors can be built to large detector arrays having thousands of pixels. Position-sensitive...

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Don’t Miss Out on Creating the Future

Time is running out to enter the 2011 "Create the Future" Design Contest. Entries for the ninth annual contest are due by June 30th . Click here to submit your design idea.

Sponsored by COMSOL, Creo - a PTC product, and Tech Briefs Media Group, the contest recognizes outstanding innovations in...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Graphite Composite Panel Polishing Fixture

The use of high-strength, lightweight composites for the fixture is the novel feature of this innovation. The main advantage is the light weight and high stiffness-to-mass ratio relative to aluminum.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Modifying Matrix Materials to Increase Wetting and Adhesion

In an alternative approach to increasing the degrees of wetting and adhesion between the fiber and matrix components of organic-fiber/polymer matrix composite materials, the matrix resins are modified. Heretofore, it has been common practice to modify the fibers rather than the...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Ridge Waveguide Structures in Magnesium-Doped Lithium Niobate

This work proposes to establish the feasibility of fabricating isolated ridge waveguides in 5% MgO:LN. Ridge waveguides in MgO:LN will significantly improve power handling and conversion efficiency, increase photonic component integration, and be well suited to space-based...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Material Gradients in Oxygen System Components Improve Safety

Oxygen system components fabricated by Laser Engineered Net Shaping™ (LENS™) could result in improved safety and performance. LENS™ is a near-net shape manufacturing process fusing powdered materials injected into a laser beam. Parts can be fabricated with a variety of elemental...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Pre-Finishing of SiC for Optical Applications

A method is based on two unique processing steps that are both based on deterministic machining processes using a single-point diamond turning (SPDT) machine. In the first step, a high-MRR (material removal rate) process is used to machine the part within several microns of the final geometry. In the...

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