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.
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.
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.
Engineers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., dropped an old Marine CH-46E helicopter fuselage filled with 15 dummy occupants from a height of about 30 ft to test improved seats and seatbelts and gather data on the odds of surviving a helicopter crash. They used cables to hoist the helicopter fuselage with its mock passengers into the air and swing it to the ground, much like a pendulum.
Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA), Fontana, is now an approved supplier for Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine manufacturers. In addition to these prime approvals, SCA has expanded its Boeing approvals to include BAC 5616, BAC 5617, BAC 5619, DPS 5.00 LOW, DPS 5.00 HIGH, and DPS 6.33. Solar’s Southern California facility was built to service the aerospace industry.
