In 1969, ASM established the honor of Fellow of the Society to provide recognition to members for their distinguished contributions to materials science and engineering and to develop a broad based forum of technical and professional leaders to serve as advisors to the Society. We are pleased to announce the following IMS members will be among the 2013 inductees. Dr. Richard W.
Continue readingGrieve announces 550°F floor-level cabinet oven
Grieve Corp., Round Lake, Ill., announces the No. 1030 cabinet oven, a 550ºF floor-level electric cabinet oven, currently used for heating large gears at the customer’s facility. Workspace dimensions of this oven measure 48 x 48 x 60 in. The 40 kW heating system is installed in Incoloy-sheathed tubular elements to heat the oven chamber, while a 2000 CFM, 2-HP recirculating blower provides horizontal airflow across the workload. This oven features 6 in.
Continue readingThallium-doped bismuth telluride topological insulator could enable advanced electronics
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reports that its researchers have developed a thallium-doped bismuth telluride topological insulator, a material that conducts electricity on its surface, but not in its interior. With their new approach, the researchers can tweak the properties of the bulk of their material from a so-called “p-type” semiconductor, which conducts electricity because of a deficiency of electrons, to an “n-type,” which conducts because of an excess of electrons.
Continue readingEdward Cole Named ASM Fellow
In 1969, ASM established the honor of Fellow of the Society to provide recognition to members for their distinguished contributions to materials science and engineering and to develop a broad based forum of technical and professional leaders to serve as advisors to the Society. We are pleased to announce EDFAS member and Past President, Dr. Edward I. Cole, Senior Scientist, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, will be among the 2013 inductees.
Continue readingSolar Atmospheres’ Roger Jones elected President of ASM Heat Treating Society
Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, Pa., announces that Corporate President Roger A. Jones has been named president of the ASM Heat Treating Society (HTS) for the 2013-2015 term. HTS is an affiliate of ASM International, known as the materials information society. In 1983, Roger helped found Solar Atmospheres Inc. with his father, William R. Jones, FASM. He served as Vice President, and then moved on to Corporate President in 2001.
Continue readingPortable optical emission spectrometer designed for metal analysis
Oxford Instruments, Concord, Mass., launches a portable optical emission spectrometer designed for metal analysis, grade identification, and sorting. The patent pending optics, made of carbon fiber, is the key. Mechanical expansion and tension, triggered by temperature changes and distortion due to change of position are virtually eliminated, guaranteeing stable measuring results.
Continue readingAFM system features automated defect review and sub-angstrom surface roughness measurement
Park Systems, Santa Clara, Calif., introduces Park NX-HDM, a fully automated automatic defect review and sub-angstrom surface roughness atomic force microscopy (AFM) system for device substrates and disk media. The NX-HDM system increases throughput by up to 1000% with a 30% higher success rate than the prior system. It can analyze, identify, and scan media for all wafer sizes up to 150mm.
Continue readingFW Gartner licenses technology for laser cladding of steel rolls from South Africa’s CSIR
FW Gartner Thermal Spraying, Houston, and South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have signed a licensing agreement on a laser cladding technology developed at CSIR. The agreement follows the earlier development of a novel laser-based process for the cladding of steel processing rolls, a key component in steelmaking, CSIR said. The technology was tested and proven at ArcelorMittal’s Vanderbijlpark plant over the past five years.
Continue readingWebb Telescope closer to completion
Assembly of the backbone of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the primary mirror backplane support structure, is a step closer to completion with the recent addition of the backplane support frame, a fixture that will be used to connect all the pieces of the telescope together. The backplane support frame brings together Webb’s center section and wings, secondary mirror support structure, aft optics system, and integrated science instrument module.
Continue readingAlfe helps design and heat-treat chassis and suspension for solar-powered car
Alfe Heat Treating, Fort Wayne, Ind., sponsor of the University of Texas Austin’s Solar Power Team, helped design and build the TexSun, a vehicle with an aluminum sub-frame and chassis. The 35-pound design is much lighter than the previous model’s 80-pound steel sub-frame and chassis. “The aluminum chassis was great because it is so much lighter,” said Alfe Vice President Dan Andersen.
Continue readingAdvances in Eddy Current Verification of Heat Treat Processes
Dan DeVries of Criterion NDT Inc., Auburn, Wash., presented “Advances in Eddy Current Verification of Heat Treat Processes” at Heat Treat 2013 in Indianapolis last month. The latest generation of eddy current test instruments and probes enables manufactures to perform 100% in-line inspection of heat-treated components, thus reducing warranty, scrap, and testing costs.
Continue readingNanotechnology students build low cost Atomic Force Microscope using LEGO
The world’s first low cost Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has been developed in Beijing by a group of PhD students from University College London (UCL), Tsinghua University and Peking University – using LEGO.
Continue readingSeco/Warwick to deliver vacuum carburizing furnace line to ThyssenKrupp
Seco/Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa., has received an order for a CaseMaster Evolution vacuum carburizing furnace line that includes a washer/tempering unit, loaders, and line control system with single load tracking. The system is dedicated to the treatment of automotive steering system components. The contract was signed in August 2013 with ThyssenKrupp Presta de Mexico S.A. de CV, and the turnkey production cell will be delivered in the second quarter of 2014.
Continue readingSupport for women in STEM
Women now make up nearly half the workforce, yet only 23% of workers in STEM-related jobs are women. A way to combat this trend is to find support from peers in a formalized way.
Continue readingBruker X-ray crystallography system features high-speed data acquisition
Bruker AXS, Germany, launches the ECO series for X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and chemical X-ray crystallography. The D8 Quest ECO X-ray chemical crystallography system features the new Photon 50 CMOS detector, which is two times larger than traditional CCD cameras. It is capable of high-speed data collection in shutterless operation mode, ensuring excellent quality of data and unprecedented data acquisition speed.
Continue readingSUSS MicroTec and Sematech partner to develop substrate and blank cleaning technologies
SUSS MicroTec, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Sematech announce that SUSS MicroTec’s photomask equipment division has partnered with Sematech to investigate and develop extreme ultraviolet lithography substrate and blank cleaning technologies that will accelerate process availability for extreme ultraviolet pilot line manufacturing.
Continue readingIHEA announces 2013-2014 board and officers
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association, Taylor Mill, Ky., recently announced its 2013-14 Board of Directors and Officers. Serving as president (shown in the photo) is Tim Lee of Maxon, a division of Honeywell. Bob Green of Bloom Engineering was named IHEA Vice-President, and B.J. Bernard of Surface Combustion was elected Treasurer. Outgoing president Mike Shay of Elster Kromschröder, assumes the role of Past President.
Continue readingNew POL converter module series introduced
Allegro MicroSystems LLC, Worcester, Mass., released a new POL converter module series. The BR200 series are thin POL converter modules with an industry standard exterior shape and footprint that are responsive to very high speed loads and compatible with ceramic capacitors. These POL converter modules have been designed with higher efficiency, increased power density and are offered in a thinner package that most competitive solutions on the market today.
Continue readingUniversal batch intensive quenching furnace produces strong martensite case
AFC-Holcroft, Wixom, Mich., offers its Universal Batch Intensive Quenching (UBIQ) furnace, developed for the growing IntensiQuench market. Intensive quenching is a very rapid and uniform cooling of steel parts that causes the simultaneous formation of martensite throughout the whole part surface, creating a firm shell. The strong martensite case or shell minimizes part distortion. Metallurgical processes include neutral hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding, normalizing, and annealing.
Continue readingTEM DualBeam systems enable analysis and fabrication of nanoscale devices
FEI Co., Hillsboro, Ore., introduces two DualBeam systems that feature high-quality imaging and fast analysis over the broadest range of samples. The Helios NanoLab 660 DualBeam adds capabilities for specialized applications, such as the fabrication of prototypes for nanometer-scale devices. As shown in the photo, EasyLift’s low-drift, high-precision movements allow simple and consistent creation of traditional TEM lamellae or ultra-thin lamellae via the inverted thinning technique.
Continue readingAFM/SEM/FIB system receives Innovation Award
Nanonics Imaging Ltd. (Jerusalem, Israel) announced that its triple beam integrated AFM/SEM/FIB system, the Nanonics 3TB4000, was judged one of the ten best microscopy innovations in 2013 and is the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Microscopy Today Innovation Award.
Continue readingResearchers explore the microworld using haptic optical tweezers
What if you could reach through a microscope to touch and feel the microscopic structures under the lens? In a breakthrough that may usher in a new era in the exploration of the worlds that are a million times smaller than human beings, researchers at Université Pierre et Marie Curie in France have unveiled a new technique that allows microscope users to manipulate samples using a technology known as “haptic optical tweezers.
Continue readingTin-silver plating chemistry designed for lead-free solder bump plating
Dow Electronic Materials, Marlborough, Mass., announces availability of its Solderon BP TS 6000 tin-silver plating chemistry for lead-free solder bump plating applications. In copper pillar capping applications, it forms a smooth, micro-void free interface post reflow. It features enhanced plating performance, bath stability, and ease of use, thereby enabling the industry’s widest process window with the most robust process flexibility and a competitive cost of ownership.
Continue readingNew medical alloy features higher x-ray visibility
Scientists and engineers from the Materials and Surface Science Institute (MSSI) at the University of Limerick, Ireland, invented a new metal that will make medical devices inside the body more visible under x-ray. Many medical devices, such as stents and valves, are placed in the body through minimally invasive surgical procedures that are usually performed with the help of medical imaging such as x-ray fluoroscopy. Current materials used to make these devices do not show up well under x-ray.
Continue readingPeacock-colored polymer is flexible and thin
A synthetic material that mimics the brightest and most vivid colors in nature and changes color when twisted or stretched was developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK. It could have important applications in the security, textile, and sensing industries. Instead of through pigments, these “polymer opals” get their color from their internal structure alone, resulting in pure color which does not run or fade.
Continue readingTSS Members Named ASM Fellow
In 1969, ASM established the honor of Fellow of the Society to provide recognition to members for their distinguished contributions to materials science and engineering and to develop a broad based forum of technical and professional leaders to serve as advisors to the Society. We are pleased to announce the following TSS members will be among the 2013 inductees. Mr. Timothy McKechnie, President, Plasma Processes, Inc.
Continue readingIBM acquires SoftLayer cloud computing company
IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has completed the acquisition of SoftLayer Technologies Inc., Dallas, Texas. SoftLayer joins IBM’s new cloud services division, which combines SoftLayer with IBM SmartCloud into a global platform. The new division, led by General Manager James Comfort, will provide a broad range of choices to both IBM and SoftLayer clients, ISVs, and channel and technology partners.
Continue readingTesting system for wind power
SAKOR Technologies, Inc., Okemos, Mich., launched AccuDyne AC Dynamometer system for wind power testing applications. The system can be used by multiple engineering groups to test and verify designs, as well as for quality control testing after manufacturing. It can be used to test both active and passive wind power driveline components- turbines and their associated blade pitch control motors, generators, and wind-sensing devices and motors, and transmissions.
Continue readingBubble lens bends light beams
Using a few tiny liquid bubbles to bend light beams could open the doors for next-generation, high-speed circuits and displays, according to new research at Penn State, State College. To combine the speed of optical communication with the portability of electronic circuitry, researchers use nanoplasmonics-devices that use short electromagnetic waves to modulate light on the nanometer scale, where conventional optics do not work.
Continue readingEAG launches electronics system failure analysis service
Evans Analytical Group (EAG), Santa Clara, Calif., has launched a comprehensive electronics system failure analysis service. It is now one of the only companies to focus on the entire system, from electronics to materials, all the way down to failure mechanisms at the IC transistor level. The service includes both electrical testing and materials characterization, using the latest high-resolution imaging and electrical localization tools.
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