Powerful x-rays can now be used to rapidly and accurately detect gold in ore samples, thanks to a new technique developed by CSIRO, Australia.
Continue readingImproved hydrophobic materials boost power plant efficiency
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, say they found a way to improve the efficiency of steam condensation—the key to worldwide production of electricity and clean water.
Continue readingSave the date: Microgravity materials science workshop
NASA’s microgravity materials science program supports materials research conducted on the International Space Station (ISS).
Continue readingMaking a mini Mona Lisa
Nanotechnique creates image 30 µm in width.
Continue readingHelp design equipment to make cars more intelligent
Engineering students around the world have just three months to take part in the global Valeo Innovation Challenge.
Continue readingExpansion ensures beryllium availability
Materion Brush Beryllium & Composites, Elmore, Ohio, completed a significant milestone of its capabilities and operations for proprietary investment cast AlBeCast aluminum beryllium products.
Continue readingBatteries as they are meant to be seen
In the search for long-lasting, inexpensive rechargeable batteries, researchers develop more realistic methods to study the materials in action.
Continue readingPlanting plastic
Kenny McCabe, a horticulture research associate and graduate student at Iowa State University, Ames, and James Schrader, an assistant scientist in horticulture, are part of a five-year study of the production and performance of different kinds of bioplastic pots.
Continue readingMissile canard for use in EAPS test flight
Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., delivered missile canards that are being fitted for a future test of Lockheed Martin’s (Bethesda, Md.) EAPS (Extended Area Protection and Survivability) missile.
Continue readingMetallurgy studies at the Relief Canyon Mine
Pershing Gold Corp., Lakewood, Colo., initiated the metallurgical studies needed for mine planning and permitting activities at Relief Canyon.
Continue readingCompact modular furnace reduces heat loss by two thirds
AP&T North America Inc., Monroe, N.C., has introduced a new energy-efficient modular furnace with automation for press hardening.
Continue readingGranta announces advances from additive manufacturing projects
Granta Design, U.K., announces Granta MI—Version 7, which includes its latest advances in simulation and materials information management for additive manufacturers to improve research, design, testing, and simulation.
Continue readingEOS and 3D-Micromac form corporation for micro laser sintering technology
3D-Micromac AG, a leading provider of laser micromachining systems, and EOS GmbH, a leader in additive manufacturing, both of Germany, are joining to form a new corporation called 3D MicroPrint GmbH.
Continue readingExpansion of aluminum rolling mills in Korea
Novelis, Atlanta, completed a two-year, $400 million expansion program in South Korea.
Continue readingNew microscope captures movements of atoms and molecules
A new microscope invented at Michigan State University, Lansing, Mich., allows scientists to zoom in on the movements of atoms and molecules. Electron microscopes allow scientists to see the structure of microorganisms, cells, metals, crystals and other tiny structures that weren’t visible with light microscopes.
Continue readingNext-generation atomic force microscope
Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, Ca., announced the availability of its 7500 atomic force microscope (AFM), a highly advanced instrument that establishes new performance, functionality and ease-of-use benchmarks for nanoscale measurement, characterization and manipulation.
Continue readingGatan and JEOL joint venture improves 3D imaging
JEOL Ltd., Peabody, Mass., announces a joint initiative between JEOL and Gatan that brings the power of Serial Block Face Imaging to the JEOL family of scanning electron microscopes. Researchers will be able to image 3D structures of materials samples at ultrahigh resolution using the JEOL JSM-7100F Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope with an integrated Gatan 3View Serial Block Face Imaging System.
Continue readingUltrafast TEM enables study of ultrafast events at molecular scale
FEI Co., Hillsboro, Ore., introduces the Tecnai Femto ultrafast transmission electron microscope (UEM), enabling scientists to explore ultrafast events and processes that occur at the atomic and molecular spatial scale over time spans measured in femtoseconds (10-15 seconds).
Continue readingSulzer Metco opens diamondlike coating center in Germany
Thin Film, an operational unit of Sulzer Metco, Germany, has opened its new diamondlike carbon (DLC) Coating Center in Germany. The 3000 m2 production area includes six coating systems that provide state-of-the-art DLC coatings. They offer low friction, wear and corrosion protection, and hardness, as well as optimal starved-lubrication conditions that meet the growing demands for CO2 reduction and reduced fuel consumption.
Continue readingUltra-short laser deposition for thinner precious metal thin films
Picodeon Ltd., Finland, has developed ColdAb (cold ablation) ultra-short pulsed laser deposition technology (US PLD) for the application of gold and platinum thin films, enabling thinner films and thereby reducing precious metal costs. The new process produces thin films down to the nanoscale, with excellent quality at production rates exceeding technologies such as sputtering.
Continue readingASB cold spray system used by GE Aerospace for 3D printing of aerospace components
ASB Industries, Barberton, Ohio, reports that its 2000-2 Portable High Pressure Cold Spray system is being used by GE Aerospace for 3D printing of aerospace components. GE chose this system because it is capable of producing contamination-free and oxide-free dense coatings with high bond strength, processing a wide range of high purity materials, and controlling process parameters to build reproducible and homogenous coatings.
Continue readingRuukki to deliver 9000 metric tons of Galfan-coated steel to Morocco thermosolar plant
Ruukki Metals, Helsinki, has signed a contract to deliver 9000 metric tons of steel coated with Galfan zinc-aluminum alloy to the Spanish company CIE Egana. The material will be used to manufacture the support arms for the parabolic reflectors in a new thermosolar plant to be built in Morocco. The plant will have an output of 125 megawatts, making it one of the largest in the world, and the first to be built in Morocco.
Continue readingLaser deposition process increases forming die lifetime by 150%
The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Germany, announces that it has collaborated with several partners to develop a laser metal deposition process that builds up local layers on forming dies, increasing lifetime by over 150%. Researchers rebuilt a conventional five-axis milling machine so that it could be used to alloy forming dies automatically via laser.
Continue readingBeralcast beryllium-aluminum alloys under consideration for F-35 Lightning II optical components
IBC Advanced Alloys Corp., Wilmington, Mass., reports that its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, IBC Engineered Materials Corp., is working directly with Lockheed Martin to develop specific investment-cast optical components on the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of Beralcast beryllium-aluminum alloys. Beralcast principal alloys are more than three times stiffer than aluminum, with 22% less weight.
Continue readingAerospace materials testing laboratory to expand capacity by 70%
Element Materials Technology, Huntington Beach, Calif., reports that it plans to substantially increase its aerospace testing capacity by expanding laboratory facilities by 70% and adding a third shift. The new facility will enable the laboratory to further grow its stress rupture and creep testing departments, and will house over 300 test frames, more than double its current number.
Continue readingThyssenKrupp to sell Alabama plant to consortium of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal
ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany, reports that it will sell its ThyssenKrupp Steel USA rolling and coating plant in Calvert, Alabama, to a consortium of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. A long-term slab supply contract will secure the value of ThyssenKrupp CSA in Brazil. Upon closing, ThyssenKrupp will receive a purchase price of $1.55 billion.
Continue readingAdvanced vacuum heat treating furnace increases stainless steel’s durability and corrosion resistance
Seco-Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa., has commissioned an advanced furnace design that provides improved durability for stainless steel heat treating. This vacuum furnace is equipped with a 15-bar gas quenching system and a full HMI data retrieval control package. Its Super Expanite process improves the hardness and corrosion resistance of stainless steel.
Continue readingRepublic Steel invests $85 million to grow production by more than one million tons
Republic Steel, Canton, Ohio, has invested $85 million at its plant in Lorain, Ohio, where it has initiated hot commissioning of its new electric arc furnace. The furnace will provide more than one million tons of steel annually for the production of semi-finished, bar, and coil products. The initial heats will be cast into 6 x 6 in. billets and will be rolled on the 0.9 in. rolling mill.
Continue readingThe largest jet engine gets bigger
The GE90 is already the largest and most powerful jet engine ever built. But that does not mean that GE engineers have stopped trying to make it bigger, better, and leaner.
Its new version, called GE9X, will power Boeing’s next-generation 777X aircraft. GE plans to take new high-strength carbon fiber composite blades developed for the GE9X for a spin at Boeing’s testing rig in Seattle.
Blimp outfitted with microscopes studies the sky
The world’s largest airship, the Skyship 600, made its way through the clouds on a month long journey across the U.S. A team of British scientists made the air trek in a blimp as part of a BBC expedition team to study the clouds and life activity in the air.
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