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AMT Tech Report: Issue #156

Robotics evolving at a rapid pace. Homogenizing material properties of AM parts. Composite bridge building. Pattern based statical tools. 3D printed buildings. Here's the latest tech article roundup from this week's Tech Report.
Apr 30, 2021

Print additive designs you’ve only dreamt of! Autonomous vehicles and robots. Do robots dream of price matching? Deep sea exploration with fish-inspired robots. New, customized steel grades for wind turbines on the open sea.


1. Corrugated Additive 

Adding ribs and textures to your 3D prints adds strength and endurance to your part as well as prevents warping. This allows you to generate shapes, geometries, and positions you only ever dreamt of before! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ygdNQThAs 

2. These New Robots Have Gas 

I’m not even being hyperbolic when I say Tech Trends has blessed me with this article. I’ve been asked a few times now about autonomous vehicles and robots for inspection and testing purposes, and I never have a decent reference on hand. This article takes one of the highest honors I can award: bookmarked. 

https://jpt.spe.org/emerging-robotic-technologies-for-oil-and-gas-operations 

3. Robot Cross Shop 

You ever wish there were an industrial automation version of Thumbtack.com? I use Thumbtack every time I move to hire professional movers for the best price. I also used it to hire the awesome maid service I have. Anyway! What if I told you there’s a similar website for robot components, service, and training? HowToRobot.com has your back! 

https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/news/2021/04/27/digital-platform-launches-first-service-to-compare-prices-on-robots/16739/ 

4. “It's a Sicilian message. It means radar sleeps with the robot fishes.” 

Don’t be fooled. It’s a common misconception that we know more about space than we do Earth’s oceans. This is wrong. Don’t say this. Water on earth is finite; space is ever expanding, as proven by the red shift, and thus infinite. Rant over. We’re about to learn even more about the ocean, thanks to this soft robot! Up until recently, we’ve only been able to roughly map the ocean floor using radar with poor resolution. Now we might be getting some pictures! 

https://theconversation.com/fish-inspired-soft-robot-survives-a-trip-to-the-deepest-part-of-the-ocean-159734 

5. Making Wind 

Specialty alloy nerds rejoice! “Materials researchers at Saarland University and mechanical engineers at RWTH Aachen University want to work together with steel specialist Dillinger and other companies to develop new, customized steel grades.” 

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/su-rwt042721.php 


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Author
Stephen LaMarca
Technology Analyst
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