Collaborate Disseminate
Engineers at Cornell University have developed a new technique for 3D printing metallic objects – and it involves blasting titanium particles at supersonic speeds. The resulting metals are very porous, which makes them particularly useful for biomedica… Continue reading New 3D printing technique fuses titanium particles at supersonic speeds
Many industries use heat-intensive processes that generally require the burning of fossil fuels, but a surprising green fuel alternative is emerging in the form of metal powders. Ground very fine, cheap iron powder burns readily at high temperatures, r… Continue reading World first: Dutch brewery burns iron as a clean, recyclable fuel
Lightweight and with great resistance to corrosion, aluminum offers very desirable characteristics when it comes to vehicle construction. Where it can run into trouble, however, is the development of weak points via repeated, alternating stress (imagin… Continue reading Self-healing weak spots could boost aluminum’s longevity by 25 times
Diamond is an effective electrical insulator, but that might not always be the case according to a new study from MIT and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore. The team has calculated that deforming diamond nano-needles would change their c… Continue reading “Metallizing” diamond could switch from insulator to conductor at will
While it’s possible to 3D-print plastic or metal items, printing single items made of both materials is still quite difficult. Scientists have developed a new method of doing so, however, that could lead to increased production of fully functional 3D-p… Continue reading Hybrid 3D printing tech produces plastic-metal items
Chromium is a common addition to alloys to make materials like tool steel or stainless steel, and it’s long been thought to have been invented around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But now, archaeologists have discovered that the ancient Persi… Continue reading Ancient Persians were making “20th-century” chromium steel 900 years ago
Scientists in Japan working to stretch the limits of super-elastic materials have made a significant breakthrough, demonstrating a new iron-based alloy that endures extremely high and low temperatures. With this ability to be deformed and regain its or… Continue reading Iron-based superelastic alloy can operate in extreme temperatures
Information can be encoded into all sorts of patterns, whether it’s short and long beeps for Morse code, raised bumps for Braille, or ones and zeroes for computers. Now researchers have demonstrated a proof of concept for encoding information into arti… Continue reading Scientists encode data into artificial molecules
A team of engineers at MIT led by C. Cem Tasan has discovered why steel razor blades go dull even when cutting hair that’s 50 times softer than them. Using an electron microscopic, they found that under the right conditions a single hair can chip a bla… Continue reading MIT study reveals why razor blades go dull cutting humble old hair
When it comes to the 3D printing of metal, a process known as selective laser sintering (SLS) is most commonly used. An upside-down variation on the technique has now been developed, for printing single objects out of different materials.Continue Readi… Continue reading Upside-down 3D printing tech creates multi-material objects