Materials & Manufacturing

New Products

See the new products, including the TNC7 control system from HEIDENHAIN; ATI Industrial Automation's GBX 10 Gigabit Tool Changer Ethernet Module; Emerson's Rosemount™ 802 Wireless Multi-Discrete Input or Output Transmitter; Moticont's two 15.9 mm (0.625 in.) diameter Linear Voice Coil Motors, the LVCM-016-019-01M (Metric) and the LVCM-016-019-01 (Imperial); and much more.

The Future Is Flexible: How One Component Represents Tomorrow’s Manufacturing

Speed and efficiency are bedrocks of operational efficiency but are only proven in processes that are strategically optimized. Read on to learn more about what this means.

Revolutionizing Seafood Production with Adaptive Robots

Robotic automation technology is reshaping food manufacturing, packaging, and handling by driving significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and flexibility. By integrating advanced artificial intelligence, computer vision, and proprietary force-sensing technology, Flexiv has introduced cutting-edge automation to the food processing sector. Read on to learn more.

Product Showcase

See what's in the product showcase, including Miba Resistors' RST5N resistor series; Luxinar's femtosecond lasers; Freudenberg Sealing Technologies' cell caps; CPEG's durable equipment to safely handle and process lithium and other minerals for lithium-ion batteries; and much more.

Dormant Capacity Reserve in Lithium-Ion Batteries Detected

Using transmission electron microscopes, Researchers at Graz University of Technology were able to systematically track lithium ions as they traveled through battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented resolution, and precisely quantify their distribution in the crystal. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Unveil Scalable Graphene Technology to Revolutionize Battery Safety and Performance

Researchers have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors. This breakthrough promises to significantly enhance the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology. Read on to learn more.

Crafting Safe, Long-Cyclable Lithium Metal Batteries for High Temperatures

A research team led by Professor Dong-Myeong Shin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new generation of lithium metal batteries, representing a significant advancement in the field. Here, an interview with Shin to learn more about the technology.

How Pratt & Whitney Uses a Robot to Help Build Jet Engines

Kevin Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Aftermarket Global Operations, Pratt & Whitney, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.

Scaling Manufacturing and Production for 'Data as a Service' Electric Drone

Fatema Hamdani, co-founder of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.

Test Your Knowledge About Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

How much do you know about how hydrogen-powered aircraft work and the companies that are researching and developing hydrogen-powered aircraft programs? Find out with this quiz.

Looking to Kirigami to Shape Modern Wireless Technology

Researchers showed how kirigami — a variation of origami — can transform a single sheet of acetate coated with conductive MXene ink into a flexible 3D microwave antenna whose transmission frequency can be adjusted simply by pulling or squeezing to slightly shift its shape.

Celebrating Innovation and Innovators at the 2024 Create the Future Design Contest

The Create the Future Design Contest has helped bring out the best technologies for the future throughout its 22-year run. The annual contest had the finalists in each of the seven categories pitch their ideas to a team of judges, who would then choose the Grand Prize winner. Read on to learn who won.

Microscale Robot Folds, Crawls

The robot’s versatility is due to a novel design based on kirigami, a cousin of origami in which slices in the material enable it to fold, expand, and locomote.

Electricity-Free Hardware Allows More Space for Robots to 'Think'

Mimicking how some parts of the human body work, researchers from King’s College London have transmitted a series of commands to devices with a new kind of compact circuit,...

5Ws of 3D-Printed Glass Bricks

MIT engineers have 3D printed sturdy glass bricks for building structures. The interlocking bricks, which can be repurposed many times over, can withstand similar pressures as their concrete counterparts.

3D-Printed Engines Propel Next Industrial Revolution

The new possibility of 3D-printed aluminum engine parts will mean significant savings for NASA in terms of time, money, and, most importantly, the weight of future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now bringing the benefits of that technology to its customers.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Seeq Vantage, Seeq's first industrial enterprise monitoring app. Read on to learn more about it.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Pi Americas' S-335 fast steering mirror; Smalley's new online shopping tool for its customers; Markforged Holding Corporation's FX10 Metal Kit, a print engine that brings metal printing capability to the FX10; Automated Precision, Inc.'s iScanMagic Composite 3D Scanner and iScanLite 3D Blue Laser Line Scanner; Navitas Semiconductor's portfolio of third-generation automotive-qualified SiC MOSFETs in D2PAK-7L (TO-263-7) and TOLL packages; and much more.

Self-Propelled Nanorobots

The “nanoswimmers” could be used to remediate contaminated soil, improve water filtration, or even deliver drugs to targeted areas of the body.

Origami-Inspired Shape-Shifting Transformer Bots

Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, North Carolina State University engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors. The findings could pave the way for shape-shifting artificial systems that can take on multiple functions and even carry a load. Read on to learn more.

A Metamaterial that Traps, Amplifies Micro-Vibrations in Small Areas

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has developed a metamaterial that traps and amplifies micro-vibrations in small areas. This innovation is expected to increase the power output of energy harvesting, which converts wasted vibration energy into electricity, and accelerate its commercialization. Read on to learn more.

Coating Hides Temperature Change from Infrared Cameras

If the outside of clothing or a vehicle were covered with the coating, an infrared camera would have a harder time distinguishing what is underneath. Read on to learn what this means.

Shape Memory Alloy Tubular Structure

Applications include vehicle and aircraft tires, sports helmets, military equipment, and seals and couplings. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Solar Concentrators

The novel solar concentrators can be applied to textile fibers without the textile becoming brittle and susceptible to cracking or accumulating water vapor in the form of sweat. Read on to learn more.

A Cheaper, Greener, More Efficient Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries

It's time to rethink battery technology. Compared to other existing or developing technologies, a new lithium metal-based solid-state battery brings some significant advantages: It can be charged and discharged within one minute, lasts about 10 times as long as a Li-ion battery, and is insensitive to temperature fluctuations. Read on to learn more about it.