Intel Emphasizes Mobile Focus, More Attention on Atom Chip

Intel’s leadership promised on Friday to place their chip processors in position to enter the mobile and other non-computer markets. Despite their planned release of a TV set-top box, Intel is entering the new field with caution. In contrast, it is focusing much effort on its chip making. Intel will attempt to bring their Atom chips to a more equal level with their Core line of computer chips, and compete directly with ARM processors. Continue reading Intel Emphasizes Mobile Focus, More Attention on Atom Chip

Industries Find 3D Printing Technology Fast and Efficient

Companies such as General Electric, Ford and Mattel are increasingly turning to 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, in order to help deliver products to customers more quickly. Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, that typically involve cutting or drilling from molds, 3D printing enables a more efficient means of modeling an object on a computer and then printing it with plastic, metal or composite materials. Continue reading Industries Find 3D Printing Technology Fast and Efficient

Robotic Fabricator: Autonomous 3D Printer for Manufacturing

Roomba-maker iRobot has filed a patent for a 3D printer that streamlines the production process by assembling parts without human assistance. The “Robotic Fabricator” would eliminate human error, and the printer would maintain flexibility in what it could produce. The printer would have the ability to “handle connectors, seams, and fasteners that lock parts together,” which is often the source of defective products. Continue reading Robotic Fabricator: Autonomous 3D Printer for Manufacturing

3D Printing May Lead to Lighter Components and More Efficient Aircraft

  • ETCentric has been following a number of interesting developments in the 3D printing space, the latest of which involves printing mechanical components with metal powder that results in durable, lighter parts ideal for aircraft.
  • MIT’s Technology Review reports that EADS Innovation Works in England is using 3D printer technology to create jet components that weigh as much as half that of their conventionally manufactured counterparts.
  • EADS, which owns Airbus, hopes to transform manufacturing by creating strong, durable parts via 3D printers that are lighter and will make aircraft more efficient by burning less fuel.
  • Chris Turner, an engineer at EADS, is using machines that can create “intricate forms out of high-grade metal, an advance that has allowed researchers to apply the design possibilities of 3D printing to mechanical parts,” explains the article.
  • “The printers use software that works out where the parts need to bear loads and places material just in those areas, halving the weight of the complete part without sacrificing strength. That saves energy, metal, and money,” reports Technology Review. “The complex, curving forms that result couldn’t be cast in a mold or carved out of a larger block even with the most advanced computer-controlled tools, but they can be printed in a succession of layers tens of micrometers thick.”
  • The company hopes to eventually create mechanical parts as well as large aircraft components such as wing spars.