Laser printing speeds parts on demand to manufacturers
2011-04-28
(Press-News.org) Pull into the auto repair shop with a smashed bumper, and there's no wait while they order a replacement. Instead, the technician downloads specifications from the manufacturer's database. You both watch as a laser beam probing a container of liquid plastic material almost magically builds a new bumper inch by inch.
The scenario may sound like science fiction, but advances in polymer materials are moving the technology for 3-D printing" of prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, designer furniture, surgical tools and other products out of the designer's studio and into the marketplace. That's the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly news magazine.
In the article, Alexander H. Tullo, C&EN senior editor, explains that the technology –– termed stereolithography, laser sintering, rapid prototyping, and additive manufacturing –– has been in limited use for decades to produce models of new products and for other design-shop applications. With polymer manufacturers developing new raw materials for the process, this so-called "additive manufacturing" technology is now moving into a new phase –– making actual products. The market has been expanding at an average annual rate of 26 percent, and exceeded $1 billion in 2009.
INFORMATION: END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-04-28
Alabama Workers' Compensation
Safety on the job is of the utmost importance. But, even among the safest workers, accidents can happen. In an instant, a normal workday can transform into a traumatizing and potentially life changing experience.
Following the correct procedures in order to have a successful workers' compensation claim is often far from the first thing on the mind of a worker immediately following an on the job injury. But, by knowing what your employer's responsibilities are, whether or not you are eligible, and what to do if you do suffer an injury ...
2011-04-28
Magnetics researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) colored lots of eggs recently. Bunnies and children might find the eggs a bit small—in fact, too small to see without a microscope. But these "eggcentric" nanomagnets have another practical use, suggesting strategies for making future low-power computer memories.
For a study described in a new paper,* NIST researchers used electron-beam lithography to make thousands of nickel-iron magnets, each about 200 nanometers (billionths of a meter) in diameter. Each magnet is ordinarily shaped like ...
2011-04-28
Facing Foreclosure? Bankruptcy Might Be a Better Option
Foreclosure rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed since the housing market crash. Last year, more than 2.5 million homeowners received foreclosure notices, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year and more than 23 percent increase over foreclosures in 2008. Arizona has remained one of the states hardest hit, with Phoenix ranking second only to Las Vegas as the city with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. If you're one of these homeowners, you may be asking yourself what you can do with mortgage loans ...
2011-04-28
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A new study from Hasbro Children's Hospital has found that most obese adolescents are lacking in vitamin D. The researchers call for increased surveillance of vitamin D levels in this population and for further studies to determine if normalizing vitamin D levels will help to lower the health risks associated with obesity. The study is published in the May edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health and is now available online in advance of print.
Obesity in children and adolescents has reached epidemic proportions, with a prevalence of 16.4 percent ...
2011-04-28
Looking into a Franchise? You May Need Help With the FDD
Anyone looking into a franchise should understand the complexity of the endeavor. This type of business venture can definitely be a rewarding experience, but overcoming a few tough hurdles, like working through and understanding the details of a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), is vital.
What is a Franchise Disclosure Document?
The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is a disclosure document with multiple attachments that details the purchase arrangements of a franchise. Some FDDs are exhaustive and ...
2011-04-28
In a pair of studies—one recently published online* and the other soon-to-be published**— researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML), a government-university collaboration in Charleston, S.C., report that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are consistently showing up in the blood and eggs of loggerhead sea turtles, that the turtles accumulate more of the contaminant chemicals the farther they travel up the Atlantic coast, and that the pollutants may pose a threat to the survival of this endangered species.
POPs are a large group of man-made chemicals that, ...
2011-04-28
Is a College Education Worth the Investment?
Recent headlines show improved unemployment numbers and hint at a recovering economy. But millions of new college graduates still face bleak job prospects after graduation. It's no secret: most college grads are saddled with student debt. The nation's total student loan debt, by some estimates, exceeds $830 billion - more than the nation's total credit card debt. When such debt is compared to the average salary for recent college grads, one must ask: Is an expensive college degree always worth the investment? Given how difficult ...
2011-04-28
Army's New Brain Injury Test: "Breakthrough" or Bomb?
Can one simple blood test diagnose a brain injury before symptoms of the brain injury show themselves to medical practitioners? Last fall, the Army touted its new brain injury test as a quick answer to a medical diagnosis that traditionally has been difficult for doctors to make in the early days following head trauma.
Not only that, but the Army doctors that headed up the study on brain injury diagnosis claim that the test will save lives and keep soldiers with traumatic brain injuries from undergoing ...
2011-04-28
A recently published study revealed that virological breakthrough (VBT) is common in patients receiving nucleoside analogs (NUCs) for chronic hepatitis B. Nearly 40% of the VBTs found were not related to antiviral drug resistance. Details of this retrospective study are published in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
VBT is the first manifestation of antiviral drug resistance during NUC therapy of chronic hepatitis B. NUC drugs approved for treatment of chronic hepatitis ...
2011-04-28
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown that the electronic properties of two layers of graphene vary on the nanometer scale. The surprising new results reveal that not only does the difference in the strength of the electric charges between the two layers vary across the layers, but they also actually reverse in sign to create randomly distributed puddles of alternating positive and negative charges. Reported in Nature Physics,* the new measurements bring graphene a step closer to being used in practical electronic devices.
Graphene, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Laser printing speeds parts on demand to manufacturers
