“Cause Chevy didn’t make a 327 in ’55. The 327 didn’t come out ‘til ’62, and it wasn’t offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb ‘til ’64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top dead center.”
– Ms. Mona Lisa Vito, a lovely, lovely witness
1. Radditive
3D-printed heat exchangers, or additive radiators, are the latest “hot thing” in AM, ironically cooling things down and providing up to a 2,000% increase in performance. Smart and fancy internal geometries produce some of these crazy numbers, and it’s all made possible by AM.
2. Additive Army Helmets
The NFL had an AM helmet competition a while back. Naturally, if we’re talking about a lot of R&D dollars going into the latest and greatest for protecting one’s dome, the military is jumping on it sooner than later. My two questions: Does this mean combat helmets can be more repairable? And when will I be able to flex an AM-produced motorcycle helmet?
3. Who’s the Best at Making EV Batteries?
Quick rant: I really hate the phrase, “Be American, buy American.” At least when it comes to automotive, the expression is a joke. Especially since makers like Subaru (Japanese) and BMW (Germany) produce a huge number of cars and SUVs here on American soil than most “American” makes. Don’t believe me? Go look at the engine of a new Ford F150. Bet it says, “Made in Honduras.” Anyway, virtually all EV batteries are made in China, Japan, and Korea.
4. Smaller Chips Means More Chips
Inefficient chip design may be one of the reasons why the auto industry supply chain is struggling. Now this isn’t all their fault – it’s the consumer’s fault too. If car buyers cared as much about the microarchitecture that goes into a car’s ECU as the engine of said car (or the CPU/GPU in their gaming rig for that matter), then maybe car manufacturers wouldn’t be so lazy and would give a hoot about all the silicon they’re hogging up. Two rants this week. What a deal!
5. How Much of a Concern is the Uncanny Valley?
“Expectations, functionality, and integration in society. It is about reflecting on the role we want machines to have in tomorrow’s world. Figuring out how much of our nature we want to embed into them will be crucial to understanding how influential we want them to be in our lives.”
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