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Mar/Apr 2013  

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Micro Machine Company Invests $2.8M on Ind. production facility

Micro Machine Co., an orthopedic medical device manufacturer, will invest $2.8 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Warsaw, Ind., creating up to 60 new jobs by 2015.

Cells power biological machines

bio-botResearchers at the University of Illinois have developed miniature “bio-bots.” They’re soft, biocompatible, about 7mm long and they are able to walk by themselves.

Video
Lightning strikes a cord

When the iPhone 5 debuted this fall, the “Lightning” connector that ships with the smartphone definitely came with a bit of shock for Apple fans. Based on bleeding-edge technology, the new connector is less than a third the size of its predecessor 30-pin connector and forces anyone with legacy accessories to purchase a bloody adapter.

Down-Sizing
Electron beam melting serves up implants

When the rapid-prototyping industry launched in 1987, stereolithography apparatuses (SLAes) were used to build physical parts from pools of laser-cured liquid resin. Since then, the technology has grown, changed and inspired a handful of fundamentally different additive-manufacturing (AM) processes that also create parts by binding successive layers of various raw materials into CAD-designated shapes.

Fab-Update
Taking micro to the next level

Pro football players like to talk about “taking it to the next level.” Whether their goal is to help the team win a division championship, conference championship or the Super Bowl, they realize that, both individually and collectively, they must raise their level of performance to reach that goal. They have to execute plays better, block better and tackle better. They also have to learn new plays their competitors haven’t seen. If they stay at the same level, players and their teams will just be one of many also-rans at the end of the season.

Front-Page
Combined processes boost micromanufacturing

The drive for product innovation typically leads to packaging more technology into a smaller footprint. A conventional approach to miniaturization is to alter an existing product line by pushing the limits of current manufacturing methods to obtain smaller features with modified equipment, tooling and fixturing.

Last-Word
Data-rich inspection tool has a light touch

Though they may not be throwing away their conventional probing tools in droves, micromanufacturers are showing increased interest in an inspection alternative that yields large amounts of data and goes easy on small, fragile parts.

Measurement-Matters
Built for Micro

Is it tougher to meet tight-tolerance requirements when machining at the microscale than it is at the macroscale? Consider the dimensions of the issue. “In traditional manufacturing, people say that 0.002" is a very tight tolerance,” said Jerry Mraz, general manager of SmalTec International, Lisle, Ill., which makes desktop micromachining systems. “Well, our machines make holes that small. So we have a whole different game that has to be played with respect to tolerances.”

Micromachining
Quickening the Pulse

In the 1964 movie of the same name, the evil Goldfinger spoke fondly of industrial lasers. “You can put a spot on the moon or cut through solid metal with one,” he said to James Bond, strapped to a gold table and about to be laser-beamed in two. Luckily for Bond, the laser wasn’t very efficient. Just look at the spatters of molten metal, the recast on both sides of the beam. Goldfinger would have made a cleaner cut if he’d used an ultrafast-pulse laser (UFPL).

Feature
Mainstream Monitoring

A growing number of consumers are dialing up health and fitness information via their smartphones and tablets. Sensor-based devices collect health data about individuals and transmit it to their smartphones and tablets, which analyze the data and provide real-time monitoring and advice.

Feature
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