MATERIALS SCIENCES
Dry Machining Protection
More than 100 million gallons of cutting fluid is used each year in the U.S. to
protect wet machining tools. Dry machining is a more ecologically friendly
alternative to wet machining, but a lack of available cutting tools that offer the
necessary lubrication and desired hot hardness has limited its usage.
NanoMech Inc. has now introduced a technology that offers a potential
500% efficiency improvement on the industry-standard multi-layer coatings for dry machining. Their product, Tuff Tek, developed with the help
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Science
Foundation and the Univ. of Arkansas, features a surface architecture capable
of sustaining its own lubrication. Designed to mimic a lotus leaf, the coating
features a textured surface that prevents water droplets from spreading, yet
provides a nanoscale reservoir for a lubricant. Another biomimetic feature,
self-sharpening edges inspired by sea urchin teeth, is made possible by the
application of a layer of cubic boron nitride.
; NanoMech Inc., http://www.nanomech.com
Full Thermal Camouflage
Increasingly, military and security operations occur at night. Darkness offers
protection, but the existence of thermal optics means the need to guard
against more than just visual detection. Many concealment solutions in use
now offer only partial coverage of the infrared spectrum. Conceal Camouflage
Technology from Milliken & Co. and SSZ Camouflage Technology AG offers
coverage across a broad thermal range, from 2,500 to 12,000 nm: the visible,
near- and shortwave-infrared regions. It operates by reducing the thermal signature of a person or object so that they are virtually undetectable with thermal imaging devices. A series of variable emissivity coatings are applied to the
fabric to reduce and disrupt this energy. Conceal can be integrated into standard breathable, flexible fabrics, allowing it to be part of the normal uniform.
; Milliken & Co., http://www.milliken.com
Plastic from Atmospheric Carbon
A carbon-negative plastic has been sought-after for many years. While a
material that pulls carbon out of the air has been produced, the cost to process it has been three times higher than the cost to produce plastic from oil.
Developers at Newlight Technologies LLC, however, have achieved a scalable,
cost-effective production method for AirCarbon, a high-performance thermoplastic made by pulling carbon out of air. Newlight’s manufacturing process begins with a point-source stream of air containing greenhouse gas that is
collected and fed into a proprietary gas polymerization reactor. Using multiple
gas mass transfer technology, air and greenhouse gas is then converted into
aqueous form. Dissolved gas is then contacted with an engineered biocatalyst
that polymerizes hydrogen, oxygen and carbon into a long-chain thermoplastic polymer at high yield. The resin is converted to plastic pellets, which are as
strong as oil-based plastics and more cost effective.
; Newlight Technologies LLC, http://www.newlight.com
1416 E Southmore Ave
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800-240-3693
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CONSCI offers state-of-the-art independent
gas analysis services such as ppb and ppt level
volatile metal impurities in specialty gases,
trace impurities in hard to manage samples
such as metal hydrides, complex mixtures
and corrosive gases, as well as fast and
affordable routine impurity analyses. We
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