08/08/2020 Designing out distancing A new design for a cost-effective, lightweight PPE helmet could help reduce the need for social distancing.
14/07/2020 Low-friction coating meets material challenges A brand-new composite coating of nickel and fluoropolymer materials can achieve significant performance benefits and cost savings.
11/05/2020 Re-imagining design and manufacturing ?Additive manufacturing (AM) has the power to revolutionise both the product development cycle and full end-to-end manufacturing process, resulting in optimised designs, vastly improved lead times ...
03/03/2020 Why are CFRPs less likely to be used for making industrial machine tools and automation systems? If you hear mention of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRPs), you – like many designers and engineers – will likely think immediately of Formula 1 cars, racing bikes and fighter jets.
02/03/2020 The 80s revival has extended into the realms of engineering materials Aluminium Matrix Composites (AMCs) first appeared around 40 years ago, for use in automotive components and far from being a short-lived comeback trend, it looks as though they are here to stay, ...
29/01/2020 Tackling carbon-carbon composite challenges across a range of industries Carbon composites are in high demand across the globe, particularly in the aerospace, automotive, mechanical engineering and rail sectors. However, as many of these materials were developed decades ...
07/01/2020 With the myriad plastics available – as well as their ecological repercussions – selecting the right one can be tricky Love it or hate it, live with it or without it, plastic has come a long way from the Bakelite resin patented at the turn of the 20th Century that revolutionised how many consumer goods were mass ...
06/01/2020 £10m aluminium manufacturing process validated for high-volume automotive OEM applications Traditionally, torque wrench calibration machines have generally been intended for specific manufacturers’ products. For laboratories and OEMs this can be a real nuisance, requiring several different ...
06/12/2019 The future of Ford Ford recently opened its design facility in Cologne to showcase some of its latest projects and innovations that include inventive storage solutions, human-centric and virtual design and even knitted ...
12/07/2019 Innovative technologies mean pianists can hear and feel the difference The design of pianos is not a discipline that one instinctively associates with innovation. And with good reason: the fundamental design of the concert piano has remained largely unchanged since ...
08/05/2019 Additively manufactured spinal implants mimic the mechanical properties of bone Medical device production is a prevalent industry in Ireland and advanced manufacturing research company, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), is working with other organisations to investigate what ...
06/05/2019 Redesigning the humble tattoo machine Walking into Triplesix Studios in Sunderland isn’t like walking into the typical high street tattoo studio. Instead of a dingy, cramped space filled with examples of the tattooists’ work, it’s a ...
12/02/2019 Manchester's Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre is the latest step in bringing this material to market So-called ‘wonder materials’ do not come along very often. Maybe every few decades a new one hits the market and is hailed as the answer to engineers’ prayers. From plastics to carbon fibre, ... 1 comment
05/02/2019 Looking to the horizon: Aerospace trends coming in 2019 Additive manufacturing, hybrid and electric propulsion, better and more secure connectivity, reduced emissions, better fuel economy, drone taxis, adaptive wing designs, space tourism, a return to ...
09/01/2019 Presenting the latest developments in metal and plastic 3D printing Stratasys has released further details of its new platform currently being developed and designed for short-run metal applications. First unveiled earlier this year, the additive platform is based on ...
08/01/2019 A fusion of advanced stainless steel and cloud technology is giving unprecedented insight into industrial and chemical processes From smart homes to connected cars, data gathering and analytics are inexorably finding their way into every aspect of technology, blurring the traditional distinction between hardware and software. ...
07/01/2019 Steel bearings may be the most common, but they’re not always appropriate Non-metallic bearings may not be suitable for every application, but in some, they are ideal. One of these is in submerged or saltwater environments where metal alternatives are prone to corrosion.
04/01/2019 This wearable tech utilises a very different approach to other conductive textiles Back in October, the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a UK-based technology innovation centre and part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, announced that it would be working with Pireta ...
30/07/2018 The backlash against plastics is raising some serious issues for design engineers Plastics have been a mainstay of product design for so long that the idea of living without them – or even reducing their use – is almost unthinkable. The advantages of plastic are clear: almost ...
08/05/2018 Additive materials are slowly but surely starting to find their place in design Additive manufacturing is a relatively new technology and, as with any new technology, there are challenges to unlocking its full potential. These include material development, machining processes, ...
01/02/2018 A Dutch startup planned to 3D print a stainless-steel bridge over a canal, but not all has gone to plan Building bridges has been a preoccupation of mankind for centuries. Over the years, designs have been as varied as the materials used to build them and while you may think engineers have got it all ... 2 comments
09/01/2018 How does wider industry benefit from its relationship with F1 teams? From the 1950s to early 1960s F1 cars raced in national colours. British cars like Lotus ran in British racing green, Italian cars like Ferrari were painted Rosso Corsa and French cars were Bleu de ...
09/01/2018 Metal based additive manufacturing is allowing hospitals to produce custom made implants Additive manufacturing is a burgeoning technology in hospital environments. In the last few years, there has been a significant shift towards patient specific implants (PSIs), which previously would ...
05/12/2017 New metal means a wave of AM technologies are becoming available for industry, NOT Limp Bizkit! After 20 years of iteration on the same basic additive manufacturing technologies for metal, a new wave of innovation is emerging. Lower cost, safer processes are replacing the old ways of doing ...
05/02/2019