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Weird stuff: Moon dust simulant for 3D printing

Crafted from a lunar regolith simulant, Basalt Moon Dust Filamet™ (not a typo) available from The Virtual Foundry closely mirrors the makeup of lunar regolith found in mare regions of the Moon. It enables users with standard fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers to print with unparalleled realism. Try out your ideas before you go for that big space contract, or help your kid get an A on that special science project.
Learn more.

Make nylon 3D-printed prototypes and parts in the office

The new SLS 300 from 3D Systems is an affordable, turnkey, closed-loop 3D-printing system designed to operate in a smaller-footprint environment. SLS 300 makes selective laser sintering available to a broader range of customers with a high-reliability, affordable solution to produce end-use parts. Users can produce tough, durable parts from a range of production-grade nylon materials. Amazing fill, finishing, and clean-up systems.
Learn more.

Will it erode? 3D-printing materials comparison from Xometry

Which 3D-printed plastics are the toughest? In this "Will it ..." video, Greg Paulsen, Xometry's Director of Application Engineering, 3D printed Benchies (3D test models) using different materials (such as polycarbonate, PLA, polypropylene, ULTEM, and Nylon 11 and 12) and processes (such as FDM, SLS, MJF, SLA, LSPc, Polyjet, and DLS) and then ran several abrasion tests on them. Watch to find out which 3D-printed plastic is truly the toughest of them all!
View Part 1.
View Part 2.

Graphene Handbook: Learn all about this wonder material

Metalgrass LTD has published the 11th edition of its "Graphene Handbook," a comprehensive resource on graphene technology, the industry, and the market for this wonder material made of single layers of atoms of pure carbon. The book includes development history, production methods, current research, an intro to metrology and standardization, and even an investment guide. Under 100 bucks for digital edition. Hard copy available too.
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Who knew? How colorants affect plastic

In plastic injection molding, one aspect of polymer characteristics that doesn't always get the consideration it deserves is the addition of colorant. Believe it or not, there is a whole scientific body of knowledge about the ways in which adding color to plastic can affect its behavioral properties. This short article by Denny Scher of ICO Mold takes a high-level look at some of the different, and surprising, ways colorants can affect plastics.
Read the full article.

Retaining magnets from JW Winco: Universal and clever

JW Winco has expanded its magnet line to support more applications with new materials, shapes, systems, and even raw magnets. Learn about their latest offerings, including retaining magnets designed for corrosive environments (GN 50.8), encapsulated magnets designed for sensitive or painted surfaces (GN 51.8), handle magnets (GN 53.3), and powerful magnets designed to handle challenging environs (GN 52.6).
Learn more.

3D print tool steel with the ease of a plastic

The Virtual Foundry, a pioneer in advanced 3D-printing materials, is excited to announce the launch of their latest innovation: M300 Tool Steel Filamet™ (not a typo). This material answers the demand for FFF 3D-printable Tool Steel, delivering unparalleled strength and versatility. What sets this material apart is its seamless compatibility with various 3D printers, including Creality, Bambu Lab, Ultimaker, and more. The filament prints effortlessly, resembling the ease of working with PLA (plastic).
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Great Resources: Sheet metal design guide

If you're looking for a basic guide to sheet metal design, this one from Xometry will serve your needs well. Follow the design requirements and tolerances in this guide to ensure parts fall closer to design intent. This is the type of information you'll sock away and then refer to again and again.
Read the full article.

Particle foam perfectly distributed thanks to simulation with Ultrasim

BASF's Ultrasim simulation solution now includes Infinergy, an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU) that is used in a wide range of applications to make components with particle foam -- from bicycle tires to the soles on shoes. Identify and solve problems related to pneumatic filling when distributing particle foams in molds, even taking gravity and mold closing into consideration. Avoid those pesky air pockets.
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Premium polymer DLP printer is half the price of its predecessor

Desktop Metal has just launched the ETEC Pro XL -- a premium polymer digital light processing (DLP) printer that enters the market at less than half the price as its predecessor. DLP is regarded by many as a superior polymer 3D-printing technology for speed, surface finish, and accuracy. Ideal for automotive and machine parts, aerospace components, housings, connectors, jigs and fixtures, short-run molds, and more.
Read the full article.

CNC machining case study: One-of-a-kind computer chassis

Learn how Josh Sniffen, the YouTuber behind the popular PC-building channel "Not From Concentrate," trusted Xometry to provide a wide range of manufacturing options, personalized Design for Manufacturing (DFM) feedback, and order management support for his latest creation: the HEXO ATX computer chassis. All in all, Sniffen procured parts using Xometry's CNC machining service, selective laser sintering 3D-printing service, and sheet metal cutting and fabrication services. A neat insider look at the process.
Read this Xometry case study.

Which parts should be 3D printed? AI combs through CAD files to find out

One of the biggest challenges in transitioning to additive manufacturing (AM) is the ability to identify which parts are best suited for the process quickly and easily. Learn how Danfoss, Stanley Engineered Fastening, and even the U.S. military have utilized advanced additive manufacturing software to automate the process, reducing material waste and energy costs, improving part reliability, decreasing lead times, as well as now having the ability to identify part consolidation opportunities through intelligent AM decision-making.
Read the full article.

9 key design tips for injection molding

Keep costs down and quality up all while optimizing your injection molded designs with these helpful tips from Xometry. Learn how to build better injection molded parts and products -- using draft angles, ribs and gussets, radii, fillets, and more -- and set expectations for the injection molding process. Good info here.
View the video.

Metal additive manufacturing: Rocket turbopump design

Mixing undergraduate curiosity and real-world engagement, two students from Colorado University Boulder Aerospace Engineering Sciences program, Zachary Lesan and Patrick Watson, started an independent effort on turbopump design and manufacture that is a lesson in determination and industry collaboration. With lots of supplies and advice from industry heavy hitters including Velo3D, CFturbo, SpaceX, and many more, their project has reinforced significant points being made about next-generation rocketry.
Read the full article.

Transparent ceramics for extreme optics

Sapphire is an inherently transparent ceramic material that is resistant to extremes of temperature and environment. Sapphire can be processed to unique and precise shape/form by diamond grinding and polishing to allow full transparency. INSACO is a global leader in this capability -- and working with ultra-hard materials in general.
Learn more.

Biofuel breakthrough: Quick-cook method turns algae into oil

It looks like Mother Nature was wasting her time with a multimillion-year process to produce crude oil. Michigan Engineering researchers can "pressure-cook" algae for as little as a minute and transform an unprecedented 65% of the green slime into biocrude.

"We're trying to mimic the process in nature that forms crude oil with marine organisms," says Phil Savage, an Arthur F. Thurnau professor and a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan.

The findings were presented Nov. 1 at the 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh.

Savage's ocean-going organism of choice is the green marine micro-alga of the genus Nannochloropsis.

To make their one-minute biocrude, Savage and Julia Faeth, a doctoral student in Savage's lab, filled a steel pipe connector with 1.5 ml of wet algae, capped it, and plunged it into 1,100-degree Fahrenheit sand. The small volume ensured that the algae was heated through, but with only a minute to warm up, the algae's temperature should have just grazed the 550-degree mark before the team pulled the reactor back out.

Previously, Savage and his team heated the algae for times ranging from 10 to 90 minutes. They saw their best results from these longer times, with about half of the algae converted to biocrude, after treating it for 10 to 40 minutes at 570 degrees.

Why are the one-minute results so much better? Savage and Faeth won't be sure until they have done more experiments, but they have some ideas.

"My guess is that the reactions that produce biocrude are actually much faster than previously thought," Savage says.

Faeth suggests that the fast heating might boost the biocrude by keeping unwanted reactions at bay.

"For example, the biocrude might decompose into substances that dissolve in water, and the fast heating rates might discourage that reaction," Faeth says.

The team points out that shorter reaction times mean that the reactors don't have to be as large.

"By reducing the reactor volume, the cost of building a biocrude production plant also decreases," Faeth says, though both she and Savage cautioned that they couldn't say for sure whether the new method is faster and cheaper until the process is further developed.

Current commercial makers of algae-based fuel first dry the algae and then extract the natural oil. But at over $20 per gallon, this fuel is a long way from the gas pump.

"Companies know that that approach is not economical, so they are looking at approaches for using wet algae, as are we," Savage says.

One of the advantages of the wet method is that it doesn't just extract the existing fat from the algae; it also breaks down proteins and carbohydrates. The minute method did this so successfully that the oil contained about 90% of the energy in the original algae.

"That result is near the upper bound of what is possible," Savage says.

Before biocrude can be fed into the existing refinery system for petroleum, it needs pre-refining to get rid of the extra oxygen and nitrogen atoms that abound in living things. The Savage lab also is developing better methods for this leg of biofuel production, breaking the record with a biocrude that was 97% carbon and hydrogen earlier this year. A paper on this work is currently under review.

Once producing biofuel from algae is economical, researchers estimate that an area the size of New Mexico could provide enough oil to match current U.S. petroleum consumption. And, unlike corn produced for ethanol -- which already accounts for half that area -- the algae won't need to occupy good farmland, thriving in brackish ponds instead.

The research, "The Effects of Heating Rate and Reaction Time on Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Microalgae," was funded by the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program of the National Science Foundation. The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property, and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.

Source: University of Michigan

Published November 2012

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