Laser technology for drilling precision holes has taken a leap forward with faster, cheaper, high-accuracy fiber lasers, which are used in the aerospace industry for turbine engine hole-drilling and other industries. Short-pulse picosecond fiber lasers are likewise making inroads, drilling small, precise holes for the medical and microelectronics industries.
“You guys are crazy!” That’s what Makino EDM product line manager Brian Pfluger was told—loudly—by a medical-industry customer after Pfluger recommended he use coated wire to make a custom housing for cancer treatment machines.
Fast Radius Inc., a cloud manufacturing and digital supply chain company, and ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp. have entered into a definitive agreement that will result in Fast Radius becoming a publicly-listed company.
Metal diffusion bonding is an essential joining method for achieving a high-purity interface when two similar metals require superior structural integrity. The process involves applying high temperature, and pressure to metals mated together in a hot press causes the atoms on solid metallic surfaces to intersperse and bond.
A 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 shown at the Detroit Auto Show was additively manufactured on a Cincinnati BAAMCI machine by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), one of seven founding members of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation. The Detroit IACMI branch will get $70 million to develop a robust supply chain to improve materials, handling, and machining properties for automotive composites.
The thermodynamics of the extruder head, or “ThermoTag puts, a stamp undetectable to the naked eye on the physical properties of 3D printed parts. If proven and accepted through additional research, the phenomenon has implications for thwarting counterfeiting of parts and products, protecting intellectual property (IP) and tracing illegal manufacturing of weapons.
Laser cutting and waterjet cutting: two great technologies that go great together? Or best when they play solo? As ever, the answer is it depends—on what work a shop has coming in the door, what materials are being processed most often, operator skill levels and, ultimately, the available equipment budget.
The Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo (AMCE) 2021 was held Oct. 12-14 in Cincinnati. The three-day event offered attendees ways to connect with leading suppliers, end-users and researchers of industrial applications for additive manufacturing technologies.
The latest developments in short-pulse and fiber lasers offer new ways to create today’s innovative medical devices
Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention, and this symbiotic relationship between need and solution was on full display at a recent two-day, two-location event hosted by GF Machining Solutions.