Laser Optics has introduced a line of direct field replacement CO2 lenses and mirrors for lasers up to 1000 watts. These lenses and mirrors are used for cutting precise plastic parts like gears. The new Laser Research CO2 Laser Lenses are offered in 1.0″ to 1.5″ sizes with focal lengths from 5″ to 7.5″ in…
Modern carbon graphite self-lubricating materials ideal for aerospace gearbox face seals
Metallized Carbon Corporation offers a variety of materials ideal for in aerospace gearbox applications, which run the hydraulic pumps, generators, and air conditioning compressors. Metcar materials feature a low coefficient of friction and good wear properties in a high speed environment, making them an excellent choice for aircraft gearbox face seals. To seal the oil…
Infographic: 3D Printing in Healthcare
A new report by Allied Market Research projects that the worldwide 3D printing healthcare market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.2% from 2015 to 2020. The following infographic details the fastest growing technologies, materials, and applications in healthcare 3D printing.
Novel Transformers Could Store Clean Energy in Smaller Packets
This magnetic material could make it easier to store the energy generated by wind, solar, or geothermal power, putting powerful generators in even remote locations outfitted with facilities the size of a semi-truck. Researchers at Sandia Labs are working on manufacturing iron nitride powders and forming a solid material from them using a low-temperature, field-assisted…
How to Make Architectural Materials Come Alive
It’s not hard to translate a brick-and-mortar building into pure data. Today’s monitoring and software tools can measure energy usage and efficiency electron-by-electron, track circulation patterns, and anticipate how weather changes will affect indoor climate. It’s a software revolution that’s led to a hardware revolution: dynamic building systems that can react to these reams of…
What Is Metallic Glass?
Steel and plastic are essential to much of our infrastructure and technology. Steel is strong and hard, but difficult to shape intricately. Plastic can take on just about any form, but it’s weak and soft. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were one material as strong as the strongest steel and as shapeable as plastic?…
Instant brush on blackeners for metals
Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Birchwood Technologies 3 brush-on metal blackeners–Presto Black BST4, Antique Black M24, and Aluma Black A14 are now available in smaller, quart sized (32 oz.) bottles for easier application and handling, at a new lower price point. Presto Black BST4 Brush-On Ideal for most iron and steel components, Presto Black BST4 Brush-On is…
Plastic-Eating Bacteria Speed Up Biodegrading Process
Once our plastic water bottles are empty and thrown away, they can stay in the environment for hundreds of years before biodegrading, piling up in landfills and, all too frequently, in the ocean. Recently, however, a team of Japanese scientists went on the hunt for organisms that could help speed up the process. They collected…
Two-part stage aligns fibers in photonics
Computer-controlled fiber aligners help boost throughput in photonics-packaging applications. Before the telecom boom at the end of the millennium, fiber alignment in the manufacture of photonics products was a tedious manual task. Here’s a summary of the first designs to automate the job and what’s possible with today’s technology. Analog gradient search: The analog-phase demodulation…
Rogers Corporation to exhibit new materials at IPC APEX Expo
Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) will be exhibiting at the upcoming IPC APEX Expo, scheduled for March 15-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (Las Vegas, NV). On the conference side, John Coonrod, Technical Marketing Manager for Rogers Advanced Connectivity Solutions, and author of the popular ROG Blog series, will present his paper on “High Frequency RF…
The Chemistry of Matches (In Super Slow Motion)
To fire up the grill or the gas stove, we often reach for a match. It turns out there’s a lot of chemistry going on to make those little wooden wonders work. The best way to find out about the chemistry of burning matches is to watch it in ultra-slow motion.
Small Is the Next Big Thing
Much of the talk in the automotive industry in recent years has been about the rise of the urban car. Growing demand from consumers for these lightweight vehicles has been reported in Europe, the US and the booming BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well. As a result, car manufacturers worldwide are…
New Ways of Looking at Glass-to-Metal Seals
Components housed in stainless steel for protection against extreme environments seen in the aerospace and defense industries require paths for electricity to power them and communicate with them. Those paths in turn need a reliable insulation seal to prevent contact with the metal case that could short out the power and communication lines. Strong bonds…
Minnesota Rubber and Plastics receives 2015 best quality award from Xiamen Runner Industrial Corporation
Minnesota Rubber and Plastics has been awarded the 2015 Best Quality Award From Xiamen Runner Industrial Corporation of China. The annual award is presented to suppliers meeting the highest quality standards in a year and best among Xiamen’s thousands of suppliers. Founded in 1989, Xiamen Runner is a leading global manufacturer specializing in products for…
Choosing the Right Material When Developing New Products
Developing new products for any market is complex. Changing regulations, both locally and globally, and consumer preferences can affect the material options for products. Therefore, cost and availability of alternatives impact product development from the start. Being aware of relevant regulations and trends early in the design process is a strategic advantage for your new…
First extremely low stress thermal interface material with EMI absorption capabilities
The Electronics Group of Henkel today announced that it has developed the market’s first-ever extremely low stress thermal interface material that unites thermal conductivity with EMI absorption capabilities. The latest in its line of BERGQUIST GAP PAD products, Henkel’s GAP PAD EMI 1.0 offers electronic specialists critical heat and electromagnetic energy control in a flexible,…
Material Design for a High-Impact World
Today’s consumers are radically different than previous generations. Consumers now make more time for leisure and are far more mobile. Items that used to sit on a table and be hard-wired to the wall, like a phone or TV, are now stuffed into a pocket or a purse and travel far from home. Within the…
BioCompatic USP Class VI alternative suited to extreme engineering and assembly applications
Cable engineering company, Northwire, Inc., in collaboration with precision cable connector leader LEMO is pleased to launch the second generation BioCompatic II for extreme engineering and cable assembly applications ranging from health care to industrial. A cost-effective upgrade to silicone – and a USP Class VI alternative – was engineered by Northwire specifically to create a…
The Road to Lightweight Cars
Car makers are experimenting with alternative materials in order to make vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient. Contending with both customer satisfaction and changing federal emissions regulations, they need material that is both very light and strong. The federal government has mandated a minimum fuel economy of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks produced…
Nondestructive Testing: Sandia Looks Inside Composites
Researcher David Moore holds a rectangle of hard carbon composite material, smooth with a faint woven pattern on its surface. The sample shows normal wear and tear until he turns it over to reveal a circular impact mark with cracks radiating from it. The question for Moore, his Sandia National Laboratories colleague Timothy Briggs in…
Smallest Lattice Structure Worldwide
KIT scientists now present the smallest lattice structure made by man in the Nature Materialsjournal. Its struts and braces are made of glassy carbon and are less than 1 µm long and 200 nm in diameter. They are smaller than comparable metamaterials by a factor of 5. The small dimension results in so far unreached ratios…
New Material Substantially Reduces Nitrogen from Diesel
The Mexican Oil Institute (IMP) developed a catalyst adsorbent material that removes 80 percent of organic compounds from hydrocarbon charges before starting the process of hydrodesulfurization (removing sulfur from the hydrocarbon). It also allows Pemex to generate ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) more quickly and cheaply. Its use in a preliminary process will increase the…
Sandcastle Worms Inspire New Type of Underwater Adhesive
An interdisciplinary group of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has taken strides in the development of an underwater adhesive that has the potential for a variety of biomedical and non-biological applications. Areas such as tissue repair, dental adhesives and other surface adhesion applications—which are often required under adverse conditions, such as salty sea water and…
Better Catalysts For Heavy Oil Extraction
The catalysts speed up heavy oil extraction under the conditions of in-situ combustion. Projected heavy oil and viscous oil reserves in Russia are up to 40 — 50 billion barrels and a significant portion of that volume lies within Tatarstan. Heavy oil extraction warrants special technological processes, and research in that direction is currently becoming…
New Elements Recently Added to Periodic Table
A UT physicist has been instrumental in the discovery of four new super-heavy chemical elements — atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 — recently added to the periodic table. Robert Grzywacz, along with collaborators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, developed the software used in the equipment that detects the new elements and helps analyze…