manufacturing – TechConnect Briefs

Scalable Manufacturing of High-Nanotube-Content Nanocomposite Fabrics

Martinez-Rubi Y., Jakubinek M.B., Ashrafi B., Simard B., Kingston C.T., Palumbo G., McCrea J., Pallotta R., Katugaha H., National Research Council Canada, CA

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have long been considered promising for development of advanced composite materials, due to their unsurpassed properties along with low density, and they are now appearing in an increasing number of industrial applications [...]

Vascular Test Phantom Metrology For Use In Photoacoustic Applications

Christie L.B., Schneider P., Oh K.W., University at Buffalo, US

The field of photoacoustics is increasing as new discoveries are being made showing potential for a system that is capable of higher resolution medical imaging, noninvasive vital monitoring, and cancer diagnostics. This research focuses on [...]

At the frontier of in-space production: Harnessing microgravity for manufacturing

Reeves R.D., Savin K.A., Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, US

Since the dawn of human space exploration, there have been dreams of manufacturing products in space of such quality and novelty that they improve life on Earth. And over the past 50 years, microgravity research [...]

Numerical Simulation of Extrusion Additive Manufacturing: Fused Deposition Modeling

Verma A., Sukhotskiy V., Vishnoi V. Amiri Roodan P., Furlani E.P., University at Buffalo, US

We demonstrate a 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation of the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process. Extrusion-based additive manufacturing technologies, such as FDM, are advancing rapidly as applications of rapid prototyping for finished product development [...]

Evaluation of factory infrastructure for next-generation PV manufacturing

Halbe A., Yeaman D., M+W Group, US

The development of a cost and energy efficient PV cell and module manufacturing facility is crucial to manage overall factory CAPEX. PV module prices in 2016 have dropped to $0.35/W. Next generation module manufacturing requires [...]

FibriPy: a software environment for fiber analysis from 3D micro-computed tomography data

Perciano T., Ushizima D., Krishnan H., Sethian J., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US

Materials characterization using X-ray imaging has enabled development of advanced composites that will open up new opportunities to improve manufacturing. In order to deploy reinforced materials, such as ceramic matrix composites (CMC), several structures must [...]

Semiconductor Equipment Assessment – An Enabler for Production Ready Equipment

Pfeffer M., Bauer A., Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB), DE

Semiconductor devices today show a ubiquitous presence and are of strategic importance. The manufactured number of transistors per area is still growing along a semi-logarithmic plot over the years. However, Europe‘s position as a supplier [...]

Scalable Manufacturing of Nanopowders by Solution Combustion Processing

Venugopal G., Dressler D., Webster D., Johnson S., Stieha J., Brandenburg T., Hunt A., nGimat LLC, US

For the past several decades, gas-phase combustion processing has been used to produce nanomaterials like titanium dioxide and carbon-black in tonnage. These processes are restricted to the production of simple, single-element or single-metal compositions, primarily [...]

Patterning Technology for Nanomanufacturing

Smith H.I., Walsh M., Zhang F., Hourihan G., Ferrera J., Jaspan M., LumArray, US

We describe a new approach to patterning that circumvents the limitations of techniques that were developed for the semiconductor industry. The new approach, zone-plate-array lithograhy (ZPAL)will enable an expansion of applications of nanoscale science and [...]

Maintaining a Stable Engineered Nanomaterials Process through Material Characterization during the Nano Product Life Cycle

Salamon A.W., PerkinElmer Corporation, US

Nanomaterial synthesis, end-product formulation, and nanomaterials’ wide range of applications are outpacing regulations and standard methods. No matter what your nano-end-product application may be, from food to pharmaceuticals to petrochemicals, there are seven key characteristics [...]