Stories
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Briefs: Motion Control
Computer-Controlled Exercise Equipment
While a wide variety of computer-controlled exercise machines for training and rehabilitation exist — some of which can be automatically adjusted to vary resistance or incline — such systems provide for preprogrammed changes in load or resistance. What is needed is a system that overcomes the limitations...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
A customizable nanomaterial was developed that combines metallic strength with a foam-like ability to compress and spring back. The material can store and release mechanical energy on the nanoscale, and fits...
Question of the Week: Test & Measurement
Will ‘Developable Mechanisms’ Solve Complex Tasks?
Brigham Young University engineers have created "developable mechanisms" that they hope to use in components like surgical instruments, adjustable airplane wings, robotic arms, or vehicle cylinders. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV, to see how the flat shapes can be converted into 3D figures.
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Even a shape-morphing plane is possible, says Harvard's Ehsan Hajiesmaili.
Products: Electronics & Computers
Motor Control Integrated Circuit
Microsemi Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microchip Technology (Aliso Viejo, CA), announced the LX7720 radiation-tolerant motor control integrated circuit that works with a field programmable...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Existing optics mounts sandwich the optic axially between two metal components, which can lead to optical surface damage and misalignment when exposed to fluctuating temperatures. Thermal-compensating optics...
Briefs: Transportation
RTM370 imide resin was developed to address the limitations of conventional imide resins, which are generated from commercially available symmetrical biphenyl dianhydride...
Products: Semiconductors & ICs
Nozzles
The Lee Company, Westbrook, CT, offers single- and multi-orifice lube nozzles in a variety of configurations. The nozzles may include HI-BAR® safety screens for additional protection that can be...
Briefs: Materials
Liquid droplets are used in many applications, from printing ink on paper to creating microcapsules for drug delivery. Inkjet printing is the most common technique used to...
Briefs: Motion Control
A novel foot-pedal-operated system and device were developed to control translational and rotational movement of an object in three-dimensional (3D) space. The Foot Pedal Controller system enables operators to control...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Jet engines can have up to 25,000 individual parts, making regular maintenance a tedious task that can take more than a month per engine. Many components are located deep inside...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Different types of motion encountered in dynamic environments require designers to specify connectors for boards, wiring, and devices that can meet significant g-forces,...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
Robots are helping a European airplane manufacturer cut into an eight-year backlog of orders for one of its most popular aircraft.
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Integrating lead screws with stepper motors is a simple and cost-effective method for getting precise linear motion. But achieving that precision requires anti-rotational...
Briefs: Motion Control
Hundreds of small robots can work in a team to create biology-inspired shapes without an underlying master plan, purely based on local communication and movement. To achieve this, the biological principles...
Blog: Materials
Professor Jordan Raney spoke with Tech Briefs about what’s possible when you can embody 3D-printed objects with logic.
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Professor Sherry Towfighian spoke with Tech Briefs about how a new MEMS design will improve our cell phones and power lines.
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Ultrashort pulse (USP) lasers for precision micromachining can minimize or avoid undesirable thermal effects that limit feature resolution, edge quality and, ultimately, product functionality. This is because...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Researchers have developed a new ultrasound transducer that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Conventional ultrasound scanners use piezoelectric crystals to...
Briefs: Materials
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have designed a superior seal assembly that is durable and highly dependable in extremely harsh environments. This...
Briefs: Aerospace
Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Aircraft with Vectored Thrust for Control and Continuously Variable Pitch Attitude in Hover
Most fixed-wing VTOL unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) take off vertically, then transition to horizontal flight. This is a new type of UAV that has unique capability. It can vary its hover position from “nose up”...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A low-cost 3D bioprinter was built by modifying a standard desktop 3D printer with a syringe-based, large volume extruder (LVE). The extruder works with most open-source fused deposition modeling (FDM)...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
For many highly stressed engineering applications like bearings and gears, contaminated steel parts can lead to devastating outcomes such as an emergency shutdown or the end of a mission. Ensuring that these critical...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
NASA's Glenn Research Center developed a novel means of articulating the outboard portion of an aircraft wing to create the optimal geometry for given flight conditions. The Spanwise Adaptive Wing (SAW) concept employs a...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Infrared motion detectors can cover only a limited amount of space, a person has to be within the detector's line of sight to be detected, and lights can go off when a person remains still...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Soft, 3D-printed structures have been created whose movements can be controlled with a wave of a magnet, much like marionettes without the strings. The structures that can be magnetically manipulated...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Check valves are traditionally designed as a simple poppet/spring system where the spring is designed to equal the force created from the sealing area of the valve seat multiplied by the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Lamina emergent compliant mechanisms (including origami-adapted compliant mechanisms) are mechanical devices that can be fabricated from a planar material (a lamina) and have motion that...
Briefs: Materials
Painting of surfaces having numerous facets and/or curved surfaces is a time-consuming process that requires the application of several coats (layers) of paint. Such surfaces are often found on...
Top Stories
Blog: Lighting
A Stretchable OLED that Can Maintain Most of Its Luminescence
Blog: Energy
Batteries that Can Withstand the Cold
INSIDER: Energy
Advancing All-Solid-State Batteries
Blog: Power
My Opinion: We Need More Power Soon — Is Nuclear the Answer?
Quiz: Power
Blog: Data Acquisition
Webcasts
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Cooling a New Generation of Aerospace and Defense Embedded...
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Beyond AI-Copy-Paste Engineering: Advanced AI-Integration Success...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Battery Abuse Testing: Pushing to Failure
Upcoming Webinars: Connectivity
A FREE Two-Day Event Dedicated to Connected Mobility
Upcoming Webinars: RF & Microwave Electronics
Choosing the Right N-Port Strategy: Multiport VNAs vs. Switch...
