“Today is the first day of the rest of your life. And if that doesn't work out for you, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.”
– Bob Saget
1. Additive Certified for Oil & Gas
"The vessel was manufactured through Powder Bed Fusion ... and is designed for pressures up to 220 bar.” (2.2×10^7 Pascals for you SI nerds and 7,360 ft = 2,200 m for the WISs out there.) “This certification is an important milestone for the energy industry because there are, to date, no legislation or global standards specifically for 3D printed pressure retaining parts. This lack in regulations means that the use of 3D printed pressure equipment is generally not permitted at industrial assets around the globe. Shell printed this pressure vessel to gather research data that help improve the sector’s trust in additive manufacturing as a technical solution to source spare parts ‘just in time’ instead of stocking the spare parts for years." How cool is that? #first
2. Carbon Fiber for the Everyday Driver
Woven or forged (which sounds fancier than it really is), carbon fiber is an extravagant composite with an ultra-premium look – so premium that whatever it is constructed into dons an exclusive aura. In other words: Carbon fiber is pretty. Sure, it can be stronger than steel while being lighter than aluminum and is best suited for special applications, but nobody cares about that. “Carbon fiber all the things!” *Nissan has entered the chat*
3. New Metrology Training Course
From Cat Ross, AMT’s director of education, Smartforce Development: “The course focuses on CMM programming for inspection, and quality reporting of manufactured parts and assemblies, including programming of Renishaw 5-axis probing systems. Upon completion, students receive a CMM programming and inspection certification.”
4. Predictive Maintenance RFP
More from Cat: “MxD is releasing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to fund the development of a comprehensive playbook for designing and implementing a predictive maintenance solution for manufacturing equipment and share Return of Investment (ROI), Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and other key metrics.”
“A better bio-based milk jug would be great. However, if the milk sells for $20 per gallon because the cost of the jug increases from $1 to $17, no one will buy it.” Preach. Lignin is a component of plants and trees that the paper industry considers leftover waste and unusable except to burn for heat or to add to tires as filler. The paper industry generates about 100 million tons of lignin waste annually. As it turns out, if you mix lignin with glycerin, you get a nice little photopolymer resin!
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