“In nature nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything changes.”
– Antoine Lavoisier
1. The Spirit of Additive
That’s apropos of the fancy Rolls-Royce hood ornament, the Spirit of Ecstasy. I figured I’d have to spell that reference out for you poors. Rolls-Royce Director Neil Mantle spoke about the company's plans to use additive manufacturing for aerospace at the Farnborough Airshow. He said that the company is looking at using 3D printing for small parts and components and that they are also working on developing larger parts such as engine components. The company aims to have a Rolls-Royce jet engine with 3D-printed parts by the end of 2022.
2. Milling With a Robot
Now there’s an app for that! Robodk and Bobcad Cam have released a new plug-in that makes it easy to program robots for machining tasks. The plug-in is compatible with all major robot brands, including Fanuc, ABB, Kuka, and Yaskawa, and allows users to create machining programs directly from within the Robodk interface.
3. “Swiss” Printing
Rutgers scientists have revealed a high-speed 3D printing method that is twice as fast as the current state-of-the-art technology. The new method, which is called multiplexed microfluidic 3D printing (MF3), uses a network of microfluidic channels to print multiple layers of material simultaneously. This allows for the production of complex 3D objects with high accuracy and resolution. The MF3 system is also capable of printing multiple colors and materials, which opens up the possibility of creating customized and functional 3D objects. I like to think of it as live tooling but for additive, hence the “Swiss” printing ... Never mind.
4. Studying (Manufacturing) Abroad
Penn College students in the advanced manufacturing and mechanical systems integration major recently had the opportunity to travel to Germany to visit various manufacturing facilities. The students were able to see firsthand how German manufacturing companies operate and learn about the latest technologies being used in the industry. This trip provided the students with a unique perspective on manufacturing and helped them to better understand the global manufacturing landscape.
5. Chinese Robots Are Stepping Up
A Chinese robotics company that is backed by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is planning to build a factory in Toyota's home prefecture of Aichi. The move highlights the competitive pressure that Japanese robotics makers are facing from their Chinese counterparts. We’ve got a Chinese cobot in the AMT testbed that I’ve shipped to our Mexico Tech Center, and I'll be heading down there next week to help them set it up ... Cool story, bro.
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