SME unveils annual ‘Innovations That Could Change
the Way You Manufacture’ list
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME), Dearborn, Mich., has announced its
annual “Innovations That Could Change
the Way You Manufacture.” They are high-speed sintering, buckypaper, synthetic gecko
tape, microlaser-assisted machining, wireless
power transfer, and personal fabrication.
Complementing this year’s list is the
“2009 Tech Watch” list featuring self-healing
polymers and liquid lens imaging. Self-healing polymers are capable of repairing
themselves after damage, while liquid lens
imaging captures 250 pictures per second
and could revolutionize how cell phones and
automobiles are made, SME says.
Buckypaper, or a thin sheet made from
tiny nanotubes, shows potential as a material
in building aerospace vehicles and body
armor. Synthetic gecko tape creates an adhesive designed to support high shear stress ( 36
N/cm2) to help eliminate the need for high-heat soldering. The tape soon will be used to
create new, light materials.
Processes like microlaser-assisted machining will revolutionize manufacturing because
materials that previously were impossible to
machine now can be done with precision,
according to SME. Wireless power transfer is
intended to change the way large machines
and complex products like cars and planes are
designed and built. For the consumer, it can
enable small electronics and other products to
draw power from one central, wireless source.
Each of the technologies will be showcased at the 2009 SME Annual Conference,
set for June 6-9 in Philadelphia.
Corrosion Materials expands
warehouse at Louisiana facility
Corrosion Materials, a distributor of corro-sion-resistant alloys, has completed a
40,000-sq.-ft. warehouse expansion at its
facility in Baker, La. The expansion, which
brings warehouse space to 112,000 sq. ft.,
includes a Kasto Unicompact 5.0 automated
storage and retrieval system that comprises
1,117 cassettes capable of storing material up
to 24 in. dia. by 30 ft. long with a weight
capacity of 11,000 lbs. per cassette.
The warehouse expansion also includes
three additional 5-ton cranes; an additional
plate storage facility; an additional truck bay
that facilitates loading and unloading of six
trucks simultaneously; and 3,000 sq. ft of
space for on-site X-raying to help decrease
lead-time for this service.
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