Alex

A team of US researchers led by Virginia Tech has used 3D printing to create octopus-inspired adhesive suckers. Octopi, along with other members of the cephalopod class, rely on a combination of controllable adhesives and embedded sensing to stick to and manipulate objects underwater. Many of today’s synthetic adhesive-based manipulation systems tend to be human-operated without any sort of integrated sensing, which can result in relatively slow adhesion activation and release. The Virginia Tech research team has now developed its own nature-inspired nervous system capable of detecting objects and automatically switching on adhesion in a matter of milliseconds. Having implemented the 3D printing-enabled adhesive skin into a wearable glove, the scientists have created a novel approach to reliably manipulating objects in an underwater environment. The adhesion mechanism of the 3D printing-enabled sucker gloves. Image via Virginia Tech. Mother nature knows best To this day, effective and reversible adhesion to underwater…    read more 

The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) has issued a report outlining a new method of passivating metal powder condensate waste from the 3D printing process. Developed by Sintavia, a service bureau for aerospace parts, and powder specialist KBM Advanced Materials, the new process involves adding the powder waste to a resin material to create a non-hazardous mixture. This allows the waste to be safely transported to recycling plants, where it can be reclaimed from the resin matrix and reused in additive manufacturing. According to Sherri Monroe, the AMGTA’s Executive Director, the latest report is a “must-read” for companies that operate with laser powder bed fusion (PBF) technologies. She adds, “Not only does this new process reduce transportation costs, but it is also reversible, meaning that metal recycling companies can have unsoiled access to the underlying powder once it is received—thus allowing for the potential to recycle waste material that…    read more