Stories
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Briefs: Materials
Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity. Switching from...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have devised a method for the creation of crystal-free non-oxide optical fiber preforms. Non-oxide fiber optics are extensively used in...
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Coupled Inductors
Coilcraft, Cary, IL, offers LPD8035V Series miniature, high-voltage, 1:1 coupled inductors that provide 1500 Vrms and one-minute isolation (hipot) between windings. The inductors are available in...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Active Response Gravity Offload System
NASA has used two systems to train astronauts for weightlessness. The first is the Reduced Gravity Simulator that suspended the astronaut at an angle of 80.5 so that only 1/6th of his or her weight was supported by the ground, while the rest was supported by a pulley system. The other system, designed during...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Miniature IP68 Rated Data Recorder
The new SLICE IP68 data acquisition system from DTS (Seal Beach, CA) is designed to capture physical signals in challenging environments. Targeted at applications with size or mass...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
When engineer Mark Doyle started to put together plans for an exoskeleton to support surgeons in 2012, he wanted to develop a lightweight product that they could wear comfortably for...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
NASA Kennedy Space Center seeks partners interested in the commercial application of the Quick Disconnect for High Pressure Mate/De-Mate. Designed at KSC, this technology is intended for use in...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
CMOS Linear Image Sensor
The S13774 from Hamamatsu Corporation (Hamamatsu City, Japan; Bridgewater, NJ), is a CMOS linear image sensor developed for industrial cameras that require high-speed scanning. The column-parallel readout...
Briefs: Materials
Compact Termination for Structural Soft Goods
Space environments are particularly harsh for the high-strength fibers NASA relies on for soft structures. Kevlar, Nomex, Nylon, and other synthetic fibers are broken down by exposure to the combination of vacuum, atomic oxygen, and ultraviolet radiation. Glass fiber offers unique advantages for...
Products: Electronics & Computers
Assembly Pins
JW Winco, New Berlin, WI, offers GN 2342 RoHS-compliant stainless steel assembly pins with three washer types available that place the bolt in an axial position in its insertion direction. The washer...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In recent years, cable management has come into the limelight because machine reliability has increased dramatically, even though robots have grown more complex. Unfortunately, the methods...
Application Briefs: Materials
Digital microscopes are being automated and computerized to make them easier to use, display more data with more detail and precision, and expand their areas of application. With traditional...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Large-scale liquid rocket engines with regeneratively cooled nozzles will enable reliable and reduced-cost access to space. The coolant that circulates through the internal...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Soft robots inspired by nature can crawl, swim, grasp delicate objects, and even assist a beating heart, but none of them has been able to sense and respond to the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Variable Bypass Turbofan Engine
Many aircraft need to operate efficiently at more than one flight regime; for example, certain airframes are expected to perform in relatively high-speed cruise modes, as well as slower loitering scenarios. Unfortunately, an engine operates most efficiently when the exit velocity closely matches the speed of the...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
Because of their high precision and speed, Delta robots are deployed in many industrial processes, including pick-and-place assemblies, machining, and welding. Delta...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
As the need for nano precision has become increasingly important in many fields of research and manufacturing — such as microelectronics fabrication,...
Articles: Motion Control
Rotary encoders play important roles in motion control and industrial automation systems, providing control systems with information about the motion of motor shafts,...
Briefs: Materials
A new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and ten times tougher. The wood substance could be comparable to steel or titanium alloys; it is also comparable to...
Briefs: Materials
Every complex human tool has contained multiple materials wedged, tied, screwed, glued, or soldered together. But the next generation of tools, from autonomous squishy robots to flexible...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
A small robot with the ability to hoist large loads could have countless applications, not only as a small, inexpensive, disposable, mobile sensor in the realms of search and rescue,...
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A Role for Boston Dynamics’ Back-Flipping Robots: Is Space the Place?
NASA robotics engineers react to Boston Dynamics' back-flipping robots.
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are improving driver and pedestrian safety, providing vehicle capabilities such as pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings, collision avoidance, and...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Product of the Month
Keysight Technologies, Santa Rosa, CA, introduced the PathWave software platform that integrates design, test, measurement, and analysis to enable product development from concept to...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In designing a hand-actuated microspine gripper, a ratcheting locking mechanism was required that had discrete points of locking engagement. The mechanism had to actuate smoothly...
Briefs: Imaging
NASA is preparing for the next generation of CubeSats that are propelled and will make directional maneuvers. The new gimbal mount provides a seat for the motor, and controls the position of the thrusters...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have the unique ability to recover large deformations in response to thermal, mechanical, and/or magnetic stimuli. This behavior occurs by virtue of a crystallo-graphically...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
Articles: Motion Control
As contemporary electronics embrace light weight, increasing efficiency, and high speed, each link of the manufacturing process also conforms to this philosophy, including printed circuit...
Top Stories
Blog: Power
My Opinion: We Need More Power Soon — Is Nuclear the Answer?
Blog: AR/AI
Aerial Microrobots That Can Match a Bumblebee's Speed
News: Energy
Blog: Electronics & Computers
Turning Edible Fungi into Organic Memristors
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Microscopic Swimming Machines that Can Sense, Respond to Surroundings
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive...
Upcoming Webinars: Unmanned Systems
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design...
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
From Spreadsheets to Insights: Fast Data Analysis Without Complex...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Battery Abuse Testing: Pushing to Failure
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
