A team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Calif., have developed a printing process they call FLUENCE-fluid-enhanced crystal engineering-that for some materials results in thin films capable of conducting electricity ten times more efficiently than those made by conventional methods. The printing method is fast and works with a variety of organic materials.
Continue readingStrong thermal management composite made of graphite ligaments in titanium powder
Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn., have succeeded in consolidating ground graphite foam ligaments in titanium powder to make disks up to 7 inches in diameter with bulk thermal conductivity of 240 W/m-K, as well as high strength. The ground ligaments are about 500 microns thick and range in length from 100 to 200 microns.
Continue readingAutomated AFM system enables automatic defect and surface roughness review for semiconductors
Park Systems, Santa Clara, Calif., introduces Park NX-HDM, a fully automated atomic force microscopy (AFM) automatic defect review and sub-angstrom surface roughness measurement system for device substrates and disk media. The system increases throughput by up to 1000%, and offers a 30% higher success rate than prior systems. It analyzes, identifies, and scans media for all wafer sizes up to 150 mm.
Continue readingZinc oxide enhances antibacterial properties of dental resin
Researches lead by Sara Tavassoli at Shahed University, Tehran, Iran, wanted to create a composite resin with antibacterial properties without reducing its mechanical and physical properties. “Zinc oxide nanoparticles were added to a preventive and treatment material and its antibacterial, mechanical, and physical properties were investigated at the same time,” she said. Adding zinc oxide nanoparticles to the resins increased the antibacterial properties.
Continue readingSulzer Metco laser cladding system applies deposits on multi-dimensional surfaces
Sulzer Metco, Switzerland, introduces MetcoClad, a robotics-based laser cladding system that can apply welded deposits on multi-dimensional surfaces in a single cladding run. The robust systems simplify operability, reduce production set-up time, and monitor the cladding process. Part manipulation can be tailored to customer requirements.
Continue readingOptical wafer inspection platform is combined with electron-beam system for higher-speed analysis
KLA-Tencor, Milpitas, Calif., introduces the 2910 Series optical wafer defect inspection platform with NanoPoint technology, and the eDR-7100 electron-beam wafer defect review system. Meeting the need for accelerated defect sourcing on advanced devices, these tools combine increased speed with seamless connectivity to quickly find and identify defects that inhibit yield and reliability.
Continue reading3D printed arm looks like sci-fi movie prop
Student interns from the Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Research Group (3DPRG) at The University of Nottingham, UK, created a 3D-printed functionalized prosthetic arm illustrating how the technology could evolve to print customized prosthetics with electronic moving parts and nerve endings. The creation was present at 3D: printing the future, which opened at the London Science Museum in early October.
Continue readingHeat Treating with Diode Lasers
Laserline GmbH, Germany, presented “Heat Treating with Diode Lasers” at Heat Treat 2013. Diode lasers provide benefits such as lighter and stiffer constructions, reduced process steps, and high reproducibility. The simple and robust direct diode laser technology competes with the diode-pumped solid-state lasers, disk, and fiber lasers. Diode laser technology has been used in applications such as hardening and repair welding for tools and dies in the automotive and oil and gas industries.
Continue readingThermatool installs seam annealer at OCTG producer facility
Thermatool Corp., East Haven, Conn., announces that one of North America’s top producers of oil country tubular goods (OCTG), has completed the installation of a fourth Thermatool Seam Annealer at its manufacturing facility. The leading manufacturer of OCTG products will use the annealer to increase its production rate of API line pipe. Increasing demand and shorter lead times means faster mill speeds are needed.
Continue readingFlame-sprayed silver protects 40-ton generator rotor
RFI Screening Ltd., England, has selected Metallisation MK61 Flamespray equipment from Metallisation Ltd., England, to metal spray a 40-metric-ton generator rotor with fine silver. It was first sprayed with a 25-micron coating of molybdenum, to optimize the adhesion of the top coat of silver. A final coating of silver was then added to achieve the specified outside diameter on the shaft. In a typical application, a coating 250 microns thick of silver would be sprayed.
Continue readingSensing element made via MIM for auto engines wins Grand Prize at PowderMet 2013
Indo-US MIM Tec Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India, earned a grand prize at PowderMet 2013 in the automotive engine category for a sensing element, a threaded port, and a support ring made for Sensata Technologies Holland B.V., Almelo, the Netherlands. Fabricated via MIM of 17‐4 PH stainless steel, the parts have a heat‐treated yield strength of 160,000 psi and ultimate tensile strength of 178,000 psi.
Continue readingMPIF sponsors Additive Manufacturing conference
The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), Princeton, N.J., announces the inaugural conference on Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy (AMPM), May 18-20, 2014, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Orlando, Florida. This specialized conference will be co-located with the PM2014 World Congress on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials and the Tungsten, Refractory & Hardmaterials Conference, which will all be taking place under one roof in Orlando.
Continue readingDiamond powders encapsulated in metal increase life of diamond compacts
Powdermet Inc., Euclid, Ohio, offers DiaBond, a family of engineered diamond powders specially designed to improve bonding in metallic matrices, including nickel-, cobalt-, copper-, and aluminum-based binders. DiaBond powders are comprised of diamond grains encapsulated in a 1-20 micron coating of cobalt, nickel, chromium, chromium carbide, tungsten, tungsten carbide, copper, aluminum, silicon, or rhenium.
Continue readingGold nanoparticles in polyurethane have high conductance and flexibility
Engineers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, report that networks of spherical gold nanoparticles embedded in polyurethane elastic materials may make the best stretchy conductors yet. The team discovered that the gold nanoparticles align into chain form, making excellent conductive pathways, when the polyurethane is stretched. Flexible electronics have a wide variety of possibilities, from bendable displays and batteries to medical implants that move with the body.
Continue readingApplied Materials SEMVision G6 system features 30% better resolution
Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., announces the SEMVision G6, a suite of new defect review and classification technologies for its SEMVision family of products to accelerate time to yield for chip manufacturing at 1X-nm and beyond. The system combines 30% higher resolution and multi-dimensional imaging capabilities with the Purity Automatic Defect Classification system.
Continue readingWPI and GM develop method to predict heat-transfer coefficients during quenching
The Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Mass., and one of its members, GM Global Powertrain Engineering, Pontiac, Mich., have been awarded a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a method that predicts heat transfer coefficients for metal castings during quenching and cooling operations, an innovation that will help make cast parts more durable.
Continue readingUltra-thin threads of carbon nanotubes coated with diamond cut silicon wafers
The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, Germany, together with colleagues from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia, have developed a saw wire that can reduce kerf loss when cutting silicon wafers. In place of diamond-impregnated steel wires, the researchers use ultra-thin and extremely stable threads made of carbon nanotubes coated with diamond.
Continue readingAmetek acquires manufacturer of 3D measurement technologies
Ametek Inc., Berwyn, Pa., has acquired Creaform Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative portable 3D measurement technologies and a provider of 3D engineering services. Creaform is the industry leader in stand-alone portable 3D scanners. These optical devices are used in a growing number of applications to create accurate 3D models and measurements of a wide range of objects.
Continue readingCompetition to create Advanced Materials Center of Excellence
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., announced a competition to create an Advanced Materials Center of Excellence to foster interdisciplinary collaborations between NIST researchers and scientists and engineers from academia and industry. The center will focus on accelerating the discovery and development of advanced materials through innovations in measurement science and in new modeling, simulation, data, and informatics tools.
Continue readingBoeing engineers investigate case-core separation in carburized steels
Sarah Byrnes, Claire A. Campbell, and Timothy De Hennis of the Boeing Company, Chicago, presented “An Investigation of Case-Core Separation in Carburized Steels” at Heat Treat 2013 in Indianapolis in September. They presented an in-depth description of the mechanism that drives the occurrence of case-core separations in carburized steels. They reported on case studies of known case-core separations, and identified and discussed contributing factors for crack initiation.
Continue readingRubig opens first facility in the United States
Rubig Group, Austria, announces that it opened its first facility in the United States on July 19, in Rockford, Ill. The facility is a service center for furnace maintenance and troubleshooting, and provides support for application engineering in the field of heat treatment. It will also include plasma surface treatment equipment, and will offer sales, service, and spare parts focused on the aviation industry.
Continue readingIpsen to present papers and showcase new technologies at ASM Heat Treat 2013
Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., will present two papers at the 27th ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Exposition, “Redefining Quenching Technology” and “Bright Tempering: Achieving High-Quality Appearance during Tempering.” The Ipsen booth (#1529) will feature several technologies covering the range of Ipsen’s premium vacuum and atmosphere product lines. Additionally, furnaces well-suited for low-pressure carburizing, such as the Turbo2Treater, will also be represented.
Continue readingPrecision nanoindentation platform measures properties of thin films
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, have demonstrated a new design for an instrumented nanoscale indenter that makes sensitive measurements of the mechanical properties of thin films. The NIST solution is a touchless surface detector in which the frequency of a pair of tiny quartz tuning forks changes as they get close to the test surface.
Continue readingSuper Systems engineers present papers at Heat Treating Expo
Super Systems Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, announces that Steve Thompson will present “A Practical Approach to Controlling Gas Nitriding and Ferritic Nitrocarburizing Processes,” on Tuesday, 9/17/2013, 8 – 10 a.m., Room 140. Yesterday Damian Bratcher presented “Protective Atmospheres, Measurement Technologies, and Troubleshooting Tools,” and Jim Oakes presented “Understanding Atmosphere in Carburizing Applications Using Simulation and Real-Time Carbon Diffusion.
Continue readingGE cold spray technology to build and repair large parts
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, N.Y., is developing cold spray technology to build large parts and repair existing parts. The cold spray technique has the potential to scale up to build larger parts, with the only limitation being the size of the area over which metal powders can be applied. Since cold spray does not require heat, it allows a repaired part to be restored close to its original condition.
Continue readingInstron’s Digital Image Correlation optically detects strain and displacement
Instron, Norwood, Mass., introduces its Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system. This combination of hardware and software is designed to optically detect strain and displacement within a defined area on the surface of specimens or components exposed to loads. It enables users to visualize these characteristics in real-time on a computer screen, so that they can be traced over the entire duration of the test. Image and calibration data is supplied by an Instron advanced video extensometer.
Continue readingThin films of germanium crystals grown at 250°C
Researchers at Kyushu University, Japan, report that they have developed a new technique to produce thin films of germanium crystals at a temperature of 250°C. Using gold as a catalyst, Prof. Taizoh Sadoh and his colleagues were able to grow germanium crystals in such a way that their crystal structure has the proper orientation and electrical properties. The new method can be used to produce germanium films with a very large area, allowing for more potential applications.
Continue readingMulti-shock pressure of 5.6 million atmospheres compresses iron to higher strength
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, Calif., report that they have compressed iron up to 5.6 million atmospheres, a record pressure for solid iron. The Lab’s Yuan Ping used the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester, N.Y., to achieve the record pressure by multi-shock compression.
Continue readingLaser thermal anneal to boost current in vertical polysilicon channels
Imec, Leuven, Belgium, and Excico, Hasselt, Belgium, have successfully demonstrated the application of laser thermal anneal (LTA) to boost the current in vertical polysilicon channel devices for 3D memory. Due to the larger grain size of the laser recrystallized polycrystalline channel material, up to ten times higher read current and 2.5 times steeper sub-threshold slope could be obtained as compared to a conventional polysilicon channel.
Continue readingAnalytical tabletop microscope / Benchtop SEM
Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., Tokyo, launched the tabletop microscope TM3030, which enables observation of even higher resolution images than previous models. It features a short start-up time of around 3 min. while low-vacuum microscopy functionality allows sample observations to be performed quickly without prior processing. Its compact size allows it to be conveniently installed and operated on tables in offices and other locations.
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