September 16, 2014 Volume 10 Issue 35

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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.
Learn more.


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 Filametâ„¢ (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).
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.


Sandia report compiles lessons learned from 'perfect heists' for national security

In 2003, the unthinkable happened at Belgium's Antwerp Diamond Center. Thieves broke into its reputedly impenetrable vault and made off with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds, gold, cash, and other valuables.

Through years of meticulous planning, they got past police officers less than 200 ft away, access controls into the building, a combination-and-key-lock vault door, a magnetic seal on the vault door and motion, infrared, light, and seismic detectors within the vault.

The Antwerp Diamond Center theft and other sophisticated, high-value heists show that motivated criminals can find ways to overcome every obstacle between them and their targets. Can the Energy and Defense departments, responsible for analyzing, designing, and implementing complex systems to protect vital national security assets, learn from security failures in the banking, art, and jewelry worlds?

Sandia National Laboratories systems analyst Jarret Lafleur set out two years ago to answer that question. "There are many insights to be gained from studying high-value heists and related crimes that could be applied to Sandia's work in physical security," he said. "Our work focuses on securing nuclear materials and other assets. Those kinds of attacks and threats are extremely rare, which is good, but give us very little historical information to draw upon."

Sandia National Laboratories managers Alex Roesler, left, and Luke Purvis, center, and systems analyst Jarret Lafleur shown inside a Bank of Italy vault in a historic Livermore, CA, building, studied 23 high-value heists that occurred in the last three decades for lessons learned that can applied to designing complex security systems to protect vital national security assets. [Photo: Dino Vournas]

 

 

 

 

Lafleur, Luke Purvis, manager of Sandia's National Security Systems Analysis group, and Alex Roesler, manager of the Assurance Technologies and Assessments group, published the research in a report "The Perfect Heist: Recipes from Around the World" (SAND 2014-1790), which details 23 crimes, their categorization and lessons learned. Lafleur also presented the "The Perfect Heist" to numerous audiences.

Compiling the crimes
Lafleur found there hadn't been a comprehensive study of sophisticated and high-value heists in more than two decades. "When we dug into the details, we found several areas worthy of further study that could inform our approach to physical security," he said. "Two examples are the roles of insiders in successful heists and the ways that redundancy in a security system can affect the behavior of humans in the loop."

Using public information sources, Lafleur chose 23 worldwide heists that occurred in the past three decades, notable for the value of assets stolen, innovation, and complexity. Those include the Vastberga Helicopter Heist (Sweden, 2009) in which thieves descended from a helicopter into a cash depot by smashing through a skylight; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Heist (United States, 1990) where burglars posed as police officers to deceive and subdue museum guards; and the Securitas Cash Depot Heist (Britain, 2006) that saw robbers abduct the manager, his wife, and their child to force him to let them into the depot and provide key details about its security.

Lafleur, Purvis, and Roesler compiled the results in a Heist Methods and Characteristics Database. They analyzed the results qualitatively and quantitatively to describe the range and diversity of criminal methods and identify characteristics that are common or uncommon in such high-value heists. The analysis focused on seven areas: defeated security measures and devices; deception methods; timing and target selection; weapons employed; resources and risk acceptance; insiders; and failures and mistakes.

Deception, patience are common ingredients
While methods and implementation of the heists varied greatly, there were common factors. At least one form of deception was used in 21 of the heists, ranging from impersonating law enforcement to use of decoy vehicles to concealing surveillance equipment. Insiders -- willing, unwitting, and coerced -- played a role in the majority of cases. The Antwerp Diamond Center's building manager even provided blueprints to the heist mastermind, thinking he was just another tenant.

"I learned from this study that these thieves have a lot of patience. Most spent months and even years planning. They were very deliberate in how they defeated security measures, and those methods were often very low-tech, like using hair spray to disable infrared sensors," said Lafleur. "In most of these heists, multiple security measures were defeated."

Another finding is that weapons aren't needed to steal a lot of money. Four of the top five heists, in terms of value, were weaponless.

Source: Sandia

Published September 2014

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