The 3D printed model cars on display at the CIDEAS booth was one of the most eye-catching exhibits at the 2018 RAPID + tct additive manufacturing conference. Mike Litterell, who founded the 3D printing services company 20 years ago, says that he uses the exquisitely detailed models to show off all the technologies and skills…
How 3D Printing Technology is Transforming the Foundry Industry
An interview from the show floor of RAPID 2018 Although 3D printing technologies do compete with conventional casting methods for certain applications, they more often compliment them. I spoke with several foundries and companies that support them at he RAPID + tct conference. All of them use 3D printing to make molds for at least…
Surf the Edge of the 3D Manufacturing Revolution with Me at RAPID+tct 2018
I can’t believe the RAPID + tct conference is only a few days away! If this year’s event is anything like last years’ it’s going to be a very busy and even more exciting week. Besides the obvious change in the conference’s venue from Pittsburgh to Fort Worth, Texas, there’s been a more subtle, but…
VRgineers’ Engineering-Grade VR Headset Makes Gamers Jealous
VRgineers debuted its VRHero 5K Plus headset at NVIDIA’s GPU developers’ conference (GTC), last week, allowing attendees to experience a new level of high visual performance and realism in virtual reality with NVIDIA. Combining high-resolution, true-to-life VR imaging with next-generation, high-performance graphics opens possibilities never seen before in enterprise VR. For the first time, with…
Ant-Wrestling Actuator Demonstrates New Micro-Manufacturing Platform
When Integra Devices wanted to provide a dramatic demonstration for the new micro-manufacturing platform (AMALGA™) they created to enable the miniaturization of sensors, actuators, relays, and larger machined components that have proven difficult to shrink using MEMS or other advanced manufacturing technologies. The result was the video of their ant-sized actuator presented here. Integra says…
Video of the Day: 5 Reasons NOT to 3D Print Your Design
Although 3D Printing is the latest rage and an excellent choice for producing many things, it’s not a universal solution. Angus Deveson from Maker’s Muse presents a concise and informative tutorial on how to decide whether it’s time to consider other options. Some very sage advice from a rather young Maker. And be be sure to…
Photo of the Day: Hunting for Marsquakes
Deep below Germany’s Black Forest, scientists verify the functionality of the SEIS, a multi-seismometer experiment that will fly aboard the “InSight” Mars lander mission of scheduled to launch on May 5, 2018. Unlike previous missions, Insight concentrate on the “inner values” of the red planet: How big is its core? Is it liquid like the…
Product of the Day: Milliken Launches New Performance-Enhancing Materials for PP Impact Copolymers for Injection Molding
Copolymers for Injection Molding Milliken & Company has announced that it will launch two performance-enhancing new materials at NPE 2018, held May 7-11 in Orlando, Fla. The first material is a unique performance modifier for injection-molded polypropylene (PP) impact copolymers (ICPs). The second is a new member of Milliken’s Hyperform® HPN family of nucleating agents,…
Product of the Day: 400 Volt Servo System Offers High Performance, High Precision
Yaskawa America, Inc. has added a complete line of 400 Volt servo motors and amplifiers to its flagship series of Sigma-7 servo systems, extending the performance advantages of Sigma-7 products to all types of industrial users. The new 400 Volt offering includes a completely new amplifier design that offers unique advantages to machine builders and…
Protecting the Right to Tinker
Two of my favorite childhood memories are visiting the 1964 New York World’s Fair and going trash picking on the streets of Brooklyn with my great Uncle Martin. Bright, kind, patient, and a bit more than “slightly eccentric,” Martin was an inventor, teacher, and an inveterate tinkerer who did his own home and auto repairs.…
Teen Tech Wizards Compete to Put Their Ideas Into Orbit
Tech-minded kids aged 13-18 can now have a real-life space adventure by competing for the chance to design and build a microgravity experiment that will be flown on the International Space Station. Inspired by the hit sci-fi movie franchise, the Guardians of the Galaxy Space Station Challenge encourages students to develop flight proposals based on…
Video of the Day: Top 5 User Fails for Autodesk Inventor
Brainstorm: Making Prototypes Reflect Real-World Manufacturing Constraints
3D printing and other rapid prototyping technologies can lead designers astray because they don’t have the same constraints that injection molding, machining, and other production technologies are subject to. In some cases, a 3D printed prototype may satisfy a project’s functional requirements but may have overhangs or other features that make it difficult to cast…
Making Prototypes Reflect Real-World Manufacturing Constraints
3D printing and other rapid prototyping technologies can lead designers astray because they don’t have the same constraints that injection molding, machining, and other production technologies are subject to. In some cases, a 3D printed prototype may satisfy a project’s functional requirements but may have overhangs or other features that make it difficult to cast…
Lessons From the Lake
The three small cabins on Goose Pond where my wife’s family has vacationed for 50 years are completely “off-grid” and offer a much-needed respite from the jarring pace of “civilized life.” Accessible only by a small boat, the camp has a few propane-powered amenities but no electricity, phone, Internet, or other digital distractions to slowly…
Cyber Security in Industrial Control Systems Lacks Standards, Needs Improvement, According to Recent Study
There is a pressing need to improve cyber security in Industrial Control System (ICS) environments to avoid future breaches that could impact critical national infrastructure, concludes CREST, the not-for-profit accreditation body representing the technical information security industry, in its latest position paper, ‘Industrial Control Systems: Technical Security Assurance’. In addition to identifying several key technical…
Spaceflight Pioneers Honored by NASA at Premier of “Hidden Figures”
Born on Aug. 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson began her career in 1953 at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that preceded NASA, one of a number of African-American women hired to work as “computers” in what was then their Guidance and Navigation Department. Johnson worked at Langley from 1953…
Precision Magnetic Encoders Available with CANopen Communications Interface
POSITAL’s IXARC high-precision magnetic absolute rotary encoders are now available with CANopen interfaces. These new interface option is in addition to the previously announced SSI, EtherNet/IP, EtherCat, Powerlink, Profbus DP and Profinet interfaces. Together, this range of interface choices makes the rugged and compact IXARC encoders one of the most versatile devices of its type…
Designers Can ‘Stretch’ Rubber Design Skills with Free Online Course
Apple Rubber has launched the Apple Rubber Academy – a five-chapter online certification course that allows engineers to sharpen their skills on rubber materials, sealing best practices and engineering quality. “Apple Rubber Academy was created to allow all levels of personnel to become in-house engineering experts,” says John Tranquilli, a materials manager at Apple Rubber.…
Faster, Stronger, Longer: 3-D Printing at Industrial Scales & Speeds
Stratasys recently announced two unique developments in fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology which will help 3-D printing realize its potential as a manufacturing tool for mainstream aerospace and automotive products. While the two advanced technology demonstrators they unveiled address very different sets of manufacturing requirements, they are both capable of building bigger, stronger, more affordable…
Report Explores 3D Printing’s Hidden Costs
The perception and promise of 3D printing are that it provides a simple, fast and automated digital workflow, a process where complexity is free. That perception is generally accurate up to the point that parts are removed from the 3D printer. But, as soon as parts enter the post-processing phase, the automated, push-button process becomes…
Digital Holograms Let Earthlings “Walk” on Mars
A walk on Mars may be in the future for astronauts, but at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, guests don’t have to wait. A new, limited-time attraction Destination: Mars, which opened today, makes it possible to “walk on Mars” using real imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover brought to life by Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s…
Stratasys Demonstrates 3-D Printing at Industrial Scales & Speeds
The two new developments in fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology announced today by Stratasys may at last help 3-D printing realize its potential as a manufacturing tool for mainstream aerospace and automotive products. While the two advanced technology demonstrators they unveiled address two very different sets of manufacturing requirements, they are both capable of building…
Explosion-Proof Rotary Sensors Offer Profinet Interface
POSITAL has added an optional Profinet communications interface to its range of explosion-proof IXARC rotary encoders. These devices have been designed to comply with ATEX/IECEx directives for Category 3 electrical products and are suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 21 conditions (potential exposure to hazardous levels of explosive gases and dust concentrations). Areas of application…
How to Design with LEDs: An Iterative Approach for Fully-Optimized Lighting Systems
Instead of asking “What LED will replace the incandescent we were previously using?”, lighting designers should be asking themselves “What light output am I trying to achieve?”, according to a recent whitepaper from Kopp Glass. Titled “How to Design with LEDs”, the article shows how the ultimate performance of an LED light is determined by…