-
New corrosion technology could save time, money and lives
Curtis Fease EngineeringThe current method of detecting corrosion in underground pipes can be quite expensive, and in reality, a person would be hard-pressed to even refer to these methods as "technology." Present corrosion detection methods usually only allow corrosion problems to be discerned after a pipe wall's thickness has suffered 30 percent damage.
-
Automotive lightweighting applications — the path ahead
Don Rosato ManufacturingEvery car model that is launched in the coming years is expected to include lightweighting measures. Currently, 15 percent of the average car's total weight (360 pounds) is plastic material, and the use of plastics is accelerating.
-
Data centers offer huge potential for cooling industry
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe data center sector offers a fantastic challenge for the cooling industry. On the one hand, it is a rapidly-growing sector that has an intense demand for cooling solutions. One oft-quoted estimate by Oracle in 2012 suggests that the volume of data being generated could grow at 40 percent a year to reach 45 zetabyes by 2020.
-
Corrosion on the International Space Station
Sasha Viasasha EngineeringSpace: the final frontier — for corrosion engineering. Keeping individuals alive and functional on board the International Space Station (ISS) requires an incredibly complex system of life-support machinery and equipment monitoring.
-
Plastics in construction: A vision of the future
Adolfo Benedito Construction & Building MaterialsPlastics and their technology are youthful. We must remember the short history of plastic materials — which began in the late 19th century and grew throughout the 20th century — in relation to the wide experience of materials traditionally used in construction.
-
Stemming the tide: Let’s save the manual transmission
Skip Kuhn Transportation Technology & AutomotiveWhat is a manually-shifted car? After 30 years as an engineer in the automotive industry and 36 years of driving more cars than I have fingers, toes and hair follicles, I think my definition fits with others Porsche owners of like mind.
-
New applied automotive weight-saving process technologies
Don Rosato ManufacturingThe average car contains 400 pounds of plastics or approximately 14 percent of its total weight, and it is accelerating in car manufacturing. Experts predict that these uses will more than double over the next five years. For example, Mazda has shaved 220 pounds from the curb weight of its Mazda2 over the previous model through material replacement and engineering, plastic process technology refinement, redesigning features and shrinking parts dimensions.
-
F-gas set to change the face of cooling in Europe, the world
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe Council of the European Union formally adopted the text of the revised F-Gas Regulation this week. This marks the last remaining legal hurdle for the new regulations, and once the translation work is done for all European Union member states, it will pass into EU law, taking effect Jan. 1, 2015.
-
Controlling and preventing corrosion in aircraft
Heather Rhoades Transportation Technology & AutomotiveSimilar to any other metal objects, aircraft are prone to corrosion. In only a few years, this problem can render a plane "unairworthy." As a general preventive measure, therefore, corrosion inhibitors are often applied on the surfaces of the metals used in building aircraft before assembly.
-
3-D printing and its impact on the medical implant industry
Hannah Whiteoak Manufacturing3-D printing is the process of manufacturing objects by building them up layer by layer. As this new technology develops, it is finding an ever-greater range of applications in a variety of fields. One area where 3-D printing could truly change lives is in the manufacturing of medical implants.
All Manufacturing Articles