Joining forces: Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence “3D matter made to order” print microstructures by crossing red and blue laser beams – publication in Nature Photonics. Printing objects from plastic precisely, quickly, and inexpensively is the goal of many 3D printing processes. However, speed and high resolution remain a technological challenge. A research team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Heidelberg University, and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has come a long way toward achieving this goal….

Researchers identify the main obstacles preventing efficient digital transformation in the engineering and construction industry. In recent years, the engineering and construction industries have been exploring the use of digital technologies to boost productivity and improve safety, quality, and sustainability. However, digital transformation in this industry has been slow compared to other sectors due to certain obstacles. In a paper recently published in the journal Engineering, Construction, and Architectural Management, researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and the University of Lincoln…

Inspired by living things from trees to shellfish, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin set out to create a plastic much like many life forms that are hard and rigid in some places and soft and stretchy in others­. Their success — a first, using only light and a catalyst to change properties such as hardness and elasticity in molecules of the same type — has brought about a new material that is 10 times as tough as…

Tenfold improvement in the sensitivity of electron holography reveals the net charge in a single platinum nanoparticle with a precision of just one electron, providing fundamental information for developing future catalysts. If you often find yourself off by one when counting your socks after doing the laundry, you might want to sit down for this. Scientists in Japan have now counted the number of extra—or missing—charges down to a precision of just one electron in single platinum nanoparticles having diameters…

New approach creates metamaterials that are light, thin and flexible. Researchers have developed an automatic drawing machine that uses pens and pencils to draw metamaterials onto paper. They demonstrated the new approach by using it to make three metamaterials that can be used to manipulate the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Metamaterials are artificially engineered composite materials that derive their properties from patterned microstructures, rather than the chemical composition of the materials themselves. The exact shape, geometry, size, orientation and…

For enhancing flavors, the production of dyes, pharmaceutical products and bio polyesters – succinic acid is a versatile platform chemical. A team led by Elke Nevoigt, Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at Jacobs University Bremen, has developed an economically and ecologically attractive process for the production of succinic acid by more effectively incorporating carbon dioxide (CO2). The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the project for another three years. A large number of products in the chemical industry are based on…

A new type of insect-repellent delivery device has been developed by scientists from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). With the help of a 3D printer, the active ingredient is first “encapsulated” and formed into the desired shape, such as a ring, which can then be worn and releases an agent designed to repel mosquitoes for a long time. The team has presented its work in the “International Journal of Pharmaceutics”. The researchers have developed their prototypes using “IR3535”, an…

New Caltech research demonstrates how the honeycombed material can enhance electronics. At 200 times stronger than steel, graphene has been hailed as a super material of the future since its discovery in 2004. The ultrathin carbon material is an incredibly strong electrical and thermal conductor, making it a perfect ingredient to enhance semiconductor chips found in many electrical devices. But while graphene-based research has been fast-tracked, the nanomaterial has hit roadblocks: in particular, manufacturers have not been able to create…

Researchers from Nagoya University and Keio University in Japan have estimated a person’s stress levels caused by the sound of a flying car passing overhead. The research was published in the Technical Journal of Advanced Mobility in September 2022. The drone market is booming, as several automobile companies and start-ups develop new personal aircraft. The long-awaited flying car, made famous in films like Blade Runner, may soon be a common sight in cities around the world. But while the automobile industry…

A series of buzzing, bee-like “loop-currents” could explain a recently discovered, never-before-seen phenomenon in a type of quantum material. The findings from researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder may one day help engineers to develop new kinds of devices, such as quantum sensors or the quantum equivalent of computer memory storage devices. The quantum material in question is known by the chemical formula Mn3Si2Te6. But you could also call it “honeycomb” because its manganese and tellurium atoms form a…

Smart fabrication, smart logistics, or smart farming: Distributed networks of sensors are working hard for us every single day. In the past, every application needed a custom solution to run the sensors and process the data. Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM have now developed a platform that can be easily mixed and matched for each purpose – saving lots of effort and resources along the way. Wireless sensors are present in almost all electronic devices. They are all around us: From…

Smart sensors that are wirelessly attached to the component, improve the understanding and control of production processes so that processes can be flexibly monitored and adaptively controlled. What sounds like a far-off vision of the future is already being implemented by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, Germany: Together with seven industrial partners, the researchers have designed an intelligent and flexible process control system that can process large amounts of data and transmit it almost instantaneously using…

Stability is one of the core requirements and at the same time an important potential weak point for components manufactured in layer-by-layer 3D printing such as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). One key to greater stability is to improve the adhesion between the individual layers, and the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST achieve this through targeted chemical modification of the surface by using atmospheric pressure plasmas. Various plasma sources have been developed at the…

Researchers working in the field of navigation and supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation have developed methods that allow several low-cost inertial sensors working in combination to replace a single expensive sensor. Inertial sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes are used nearly everywhere, from smartwatches to submarines, drones, spacecraft, vacuum cleaners and even game controllers. The purpose of these sensors is to indicate the position, speed or direction of an object. Their drawback is their lack of precision, at…

The approach to an airport runway is a real challenge for pilots: reducing speed, extending flaps and speed brakesand much more – all with as little noise and fuel consumption as possible. Moreover, air traffic control restricts the approach profile, and weather conditions are sometimes only vaguely known. In short, in addition to wind and other factors, the skills of the flight crew are a key factor in determining how well an approach meets all these requirements. To optimize this…

… Achieves New Efficiency Record. Currently heat pump manufacturers are mainly focusing on cost reductions and sustainable refrigerants. In the project “LC150” (Low Charge 150 g), the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and a consortium of heat pump manufacturers are developing a standardized and refrigerant-reduced propane refrigeration circuit. The team has now succeeded in setting a new efficiency record: A heating capacity of 12.8 kilowatts was achieved with only 124 grams of propane, which results in a specific…