XEI Scientific Inc., Redwood City, Calif., manufacturer of the popular Evactron De-Contaminator Plasma Cleaning System for electron microscopes and other vacuum chambers, was awarded U.S. patent #US8507879B2 on August 13, 2013, for an improved method and instrumentation for the production of oxygen radicals to be used in the cleaning of high vacuum instruments such as electron microscopes.

Scientists have 3D printed giant titanium bugs in a first for additive manufacturing this week.   Minute insects, from the Australian National Insect Collection, were super-sized by up to forty times using a novel 3D scanning system and printed using a state of the art 3D printer.   The 3D bugs show new potential for entomologists studying the anatomy of miniscule creatures by enabling them to physically handle the insects and study their features up close.

Alcoa, Cleveland, rolled out the most advanced aluminum wheel alloy in 45 years. The new material opens the door for lighter weight wheels at increased strength with the same corrosion-resistant characteristics as the industry standard, also made by Alcoa. They expect to introduce a new, state-of-the-art wheel featuring the alloy in early 2014.   Unveiled at the American Trucking Association Management Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Fla.

Novelis, Atlanta, announces the opening of its expanded aluminum rolling operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The expansion increases production capacity at the plant by more than 50% to greater than 600,000 metric tons of aluminum sheet per year. The $340 million investment represents the largest capital expansion by Novelis in South America in the past decade.

Autumn is usually not such a great time for big special effects movies as the summer blockbusters have faded and those for the holiday season have not yet opened. Fall is more often the time for thoughtful films about small subjects, which makes it perfect for the unveiling of a new movie produced by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Peters Heat Treating Inc., Meadville, Pa., plans to broaden its customer base by expanding production capabilities with a multimillion-dollar investment in West Mead Township. It is a thermal processing manufacturer of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. The company will purchase and renovate the existing 12,700-square-foot facility in West Mead Township.In addition to the Meadville location, Peters  Heat Treating has a location in McKean.

ASM International (ASM), the world’s leading resource for materials information, today announced the development of HTPro, a new quarterly insert for its Advanced Materials & Processes (AM&P) magazine. HTPro is the new official voice of ASM’s Heat Treating Society (HTS) and will provide reliable, up-to-date heat treating and thermal processing technical information.

The Bloodhound Project, an international education initiative focused on a world land speed record attempt, will be equipped with a Rolls-Royce (London) EJ200 jet engine in conjunction with a custom designed hybrid rocket to propel the car to over 1000 mph (1600 kmh). Rolls-Royce is also providing financial and technical support for the project.

Materion Brush Beryllium & Composites, a Materion Corporation business, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, announces  investment cast AlBeCast aluminum beryllium products for the aerospace, defense, and precision industrial equipment markets. AlBeCastR 910 is a ternary Be-Al-Ni alloy with a high specific modulus, good ductility, and reasonably good strength. AlBeCastR 920 is an aluminum beryllium alloy containing Ag, Co, and Ge.

The Metal Treating Institute, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., reports that June 2013 year-to-date sales for the metal treating industry were $459.1 million, a decrease of 6.6% from 2012, when sales for January-June equaled $491.6 million. Sales for June 2013 totaled $75.2 million, a decrease from 2012 when sales for June equaled $80.6 million.   One out of the nine MTI districts reported higher sales in June 2013 compared to the previous year.

Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, Thornwood, N.Y., introduced a new hardware auto focus and cleanroom kit for its Axio Imager Vario microscope system, well suited to surface inspections on reflective, low-contrast samples. In transmitted and reflected light, the focus system ensures precision to 0.3 of the depth of field of the objective lens. The sensor registers changes to the focus position and automatically compensates any deviations via direct access to the Z drive of the microscope.

ThyssenKrupp System Engineering, Germany, is developing a pioneering line for the manufacture of hot-formed parts in close cooperation with Audi AG and Ebner Ofenbau.  Hot forming of high-strength steels is becoming established worldwide as a cost-efficient lightweighting solution in medium- and high-volume car body manufacture. Components produced in this way meet rising demands in terms of shape and occupant safety as well as for lower weight.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Wash., is developing a titanium-based catalyst that regenerates an important chemical that will enable a more efficient magnesium extraction process that should cut magnesium production costs in half. PNNL is partnering with Global Seawater Extraction Technologies and Utah magnesium plant owner U.S. Magnesium LLC.

Nitrex Metal, St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada, has sold a compact nitriding system to Altest Ltd.at its Bulgarian plant to nitride aluminum extrusion dies. The NXK-412 system has a capacity of 880 lb., and is supplied with Nitreg technology, a neutralizer, and an ammonia purification system. Altest opted for a nitriding system with a higher capacity than their current requirements to keep pace with expansion plans that will see its extrusion capacity double by next year.

Picodeon Ltd., li, Finland, developed ColdAb ultra-short pulsed laser deposition technology (US PLD) for use in the application of gold and platinum thin films, enabling thinner films and thereby reducing precious metal costs.   Precious metals like gold and platinum are finding more and more industrial applications in memory storage, energy harvesting, energy storage, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications.

Integran, Pittsburgh, Pa., says it has demonstrated that its Nanovate CoP (cobalt-phosphorus) coating outperforms hard chrome in corrosion resistance, sliding wear, and cost effectiveness.  Its better corrosion resistance is due to its fully dense structure, which provides better protection of steel even at reduced thicknesses.  It achieves better sliding wear resistance because its coefficient of friction is lower than that of hard chrome.