Mechanical inc.
3D Printing Spins Fabric
Abstract
The fact that the tank top, and any future tank tops, will be produced by a machine that falls in the category of 3D printing, doesnāt mean they must be made of synthetic materials. Thetextiles are not the spawn of a spool of ABS filament. Right now, the fabrics spun on the Electroloom are a mix of polyester and cotton, but the team has recently hired a materials scientist to expand the materials portfolio available to e-loom users. āThere are solvents that will dissolve pretty much anything,ā says Foley. āThe only problem we run into is that many are too dangerous to work with.ā So far, their material scientist has managed to make silk and acrylic work on the printer.
Development
At long last, the cut of your clothes need no longer depend upon the whims of a designer, the average consumer body type, or evenāfor those who can afford itāthe skill of a tailor. The Electroloom will soon bring the 3D printing of garments to the hands, and imaginations, of garment wearers of all shapes and sizes.
The name of this new printer is something of a misnomer. For there is no loom in the Electroloomāno weaving of any kind, actually. Instead, incredibly fine fibers are spun out of a nozzle and matted together, much as wood fibers mesh to make paper. The technology comes to textiles through the world of bioengineering: The founders of the company, two mechanical engineers and a computer engineer, worked together making artificial blood vessels as grad students at the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. They created these fibers by applying a high voltage to droplets at the tips of tiny nozzles, a process called electrospinning.
As they earned their degrees, they discussed the possibility of using the same technique to make fabrics. The brainstorming continued post graduation and eventually the trio to quit their jobs to develop the Electroloom full time.
Metal to Plastic:
Design Flexibility
Abstract
Converting to plastic parts gives manufacturers more freedom in product design, including greater variety in material selection and being able to create more complex geometries. It is much easier to produce complex shapes out of plastic than metal, due to injection molds allowing for under-cuts, threads, ports, and tight tolerances allowing a net shape to be produced to the finish level specifications.
Development
Even though metal-to-plastic conversion has been around since the 1950s, many manufacturers are still not familiar with all the benefits it provides.
Automotive and aerospace companies have been most active in converting existing metal products or parts to plastic, driven by the need to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. With proper design, engineered plastics can be just as strong as metal. They can also be more chemical-resistant with exceptional heat resistance, making them good choices for fuel systems, fluid handling systems, and other high-temperature applications. Plastics that are engineered to be thermally and electrically conductive can be used as EMI/RFI shields, or in automotive electronics.
Benefits that conversion to plastic can provide are:
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High tensile strength with proper structural design
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Reduced part weight
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Highly repeatable in processing (less scrap)
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Lower manufacturing costs
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Enhanced regulatory compliance
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Greater design flexibility (part consolidation)
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Lower packaging and shipping costs
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Up to six times longer tool life.
Current metal-to-plastic trends focus on reducing weight, improving strength and corrosion resistance, and consolidating multiple metal parts into one plastic part. Plastic parts can be just as tough as metal parts and achieve the same tight tolerances, with fewer secondary operations. In general, companies can expect to achieve an overall cost savings of 25% to 50% by converting to plastic parts.
References :
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/manufacturing-processing/metal-to-plastic-design-flexibility
Advanced Mechanical Horse Built For Therapy
Abstract
While hippotherapy works to improve the quality of life for children and adults with physical and mental impairments through riding a horse, just getting some patients onto the horse can be a major obstacle. But now, Baylor University researchers have built a custom mechanical horse to help those with physical and mental impairments get the same benefit from hippotherapy without having to actually get on to a horse.
Development
Our vision is that the mechanical horse can provide better access and can act as a complementary tool to actual therapeutic horse riding," said Dr. Brian Garner, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Baylor and a biomechanics expert. "If the patient is afraid of horses or it may not be safe for the patient to ride a horse, the mechanical horse can act as stepping stone to build the patient up to a level of stability so they can get onto a live horse."
Garner said hippotherapy is unique and valuable as a therapeutic tool because it produces three-dimensional rhythmic, repetitive movements, which preliminary research has shown simulates the movements of the human pelvis while walking. The movements promote many physical benefits like increased circulation, development of balance and improved coordination among many others. Therapeutic riding can help children and adults with various impairments or delays in development, including those with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome and autism.
Baylor's prototype mechanical horse mimics a real horse by using a three-dimensional system. The stationary device with a moving saddle surface can move in virtually all directions in a cycling pattern, putting the body through a complex of movements just like real hippotherapy. To make sure the mechanical horse replicates as precisely as possible the movements of an actual horse, Baylor engineering students took video-motion photography of several real horses walking and used that data to create the mechanical horses' movement patterns.
Garner said the mechanical horse also can differ in speed - from a slow walking pace to a fast walking pace - and is the width of a normal horse. It can be used with or without a saddle and can simulate bare-back riding. The saddle also simulates real therapeutic riding saddles that have adjustable handle bars.
Garner and his research team will now conduct additional research using the horse, studying the biomechanics of hippotherapy.
Carbon Nanotube 'Shock Absorbers' Excel At Dampening Vibration
Abstract
Research on a new class of nanostructured materials used to reduce vibrations in mechanical equipment and electronic devices, being developed by a team of scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will be featured in Nature Materials.
Development
The nanoscale building blocks we have developed have both micro and macro applications,ā said Nikhil Koratkar, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer. āThe new systems reduce and control vibrations within structures and will benefit the performance, safety, and reliability of future manufacturing equipment, sensitive laboratory equipment, and everyday electronic devices.ā
The Rensselaer research team, led by Koratkar, added carbon nanotube fillers to traditional vibration reduction materials to enhance their energy dissipation capability. Adding large quantities of nanoscale fillers increases the amount of surface area, and thereby increases frictional sliding that occurs at the filler-to-filler interface. The result is a decrease in vibrations.
In 2004, Koratkar received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) to fund the development of these new materials. Additional Rensselaer researchers on the project include Pulickel Ajayan, professor of materials science and engineering; Pawel Keblinksi, associate professor of materials science and engineering; and Jonghwan Suhr, a doctoral student in mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering.
The research is available in the Nature Materials journal online, and will be published in an upcoming print edition of the journal.