Like plastics, it depends: not all ceramics are the same. Ceramics have a long history in military and aerospace apps, and not just in the electronics:
@Lou: Good article. Have there been any recent improvements to the fracture toughness of ceramics? I don't doubt that they can handle the heat, but I would be more concerned about the lack of ductility.
This is a subject I have firsthand experience with. I believe if anyone can do it GE can. The company has the resources and the expertise available to accomplish this shift in technology. And it's only a matter of time before these products become main-stream.
I am sure GE will have a lot to learn in this field. However the benefits are always worth the effort in the end. That's why innovation is necessary. Survival is not mandatory in his industry.
Thanks for this take on the new use of ceramics as part of the composites trend in jet engine design and manufacturing, Louis. It's interesting to see what new materials are being explored to lower the weight and cost of engines. I imagine there will be a lot of trial and error to see what works best as these efforts develop.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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