Industria

Modified, 3D-printable alloy shows promise for flexible electronics, soft robots Galistan 3D prints. Credit: Image courtesy of Oregon State University Researchers in Oregon State University's College of Engineering have taken a key step toward the rapid manufacture of flexible computer screens and other stretchable electronic devices, including soft robots. The advance by a team within the college's Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute paves the way toward the 3D printing of tall, complicated structures with a highly conductive gallium alloy. Researchers put nickel nanoparticles into the liquid metal, galinstan, to thicken it into a paste with a consistency suitable for...

Festo's New Bionic Robots Include Rolling Spider, Flying Fox The latest in weird and potentially useful robots from German automation giant Festo Photo: Festo We love Festo because every year they invest an entirely appropriate amount of time and money into bio-inspired robots that are totally cool and very functional but have limited usefulness. More often than not, it seems like Festo is able to take some of what it learns from designing and constructing these things and create practical new revenue-generating products. Which is good for them, and means they’ll keep making cool stuff. Over the last few years,...

Security experts fear an industrial hack in the Middle East could hit elsewhere A troubling cyberattack that hit a petrochemical company in August 2017 could be replicated around the world, including America. Backstory: Last fall, it was revealed that malware called Triton was used to shut down operations at an industrial plant in the Middle East. It later emerged that the attack used all-new software to hijack critical safety systems. It’s still unclear who was behind the attack. What’s new:  The New York Times says unnamed government officials and security experts believe the culprits “were sophisticated and had plenty of...

Relying on renewables alone significantly inflates the cost of overhauling energy Evidence points to the need for a broader range of clean power beyond just wind and solar. A growing number of US cities and states have proposed or even passed legislation that would require producing all electricity from renewable energy sources like solar and wind within a few decades. That might sound like a great idea. But a growing body of evidence shows it’s not. It increasingly appears that insisting on 100 percent renewable sources—and disdaining others that don’t produce greenhouse gases, such as nuclear power and fossil-fuel plants with...

NASA to work with ASTM on Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence Organizations involved in the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence will focus on bridging standards development with R&D. ASTM International is bringing several key partners on board for its first-ever Center of Excellence, which will focus on additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing. In December, several proposals were submitted to ASTM and the standards organization co-selected EWI and Auburn University-NASA. The group will work together on a global innovation hub that advances technical standards, related R&D, education and training, and more. With funding and other support from ASTM International,...