Humans have envied the flight of birds for thousands of years and we’ve been trying to replicate it for just as long. But it turns out that making a personal flying machine is a very difficult engineering challenge, which has kept this dream frustratingly out of reach for all but a few daredevils. Now, advances in materials, manufacturing and computing are coming together in truly creative ways to produce remarkable flying machines that stretch the limit of what’s possible for individual flight. Here are some of our favorites. Jetpack The first truly wearable jetpack came from Bell Aeronautics in 1960, called the “rocket belt”. One prototype was famously used by…

The demand for rapid prototyping services is increasing day by day because rapid prototyping (RP) is an effective way to quickly fabricate a scale model of any physical part. This technology involves 3D printing applications and also other manufacturing methods which rely on CNC controlled machines. These days, other terms are also in trend such as Rapid Tooling (RT) which includes rapid manufacturing of tools and tool inserts and Rapid Manufacturing (RM) which involves rapid production of small series and parts.  Before knowing how RP technology is advantageous for product designers, it is important for new product manufacturers to have a clear understanding of RP. So, let’s take an overview.…

BETHESDA, MD., January 2019 — The call came in late October 2018 during an after-hours brainstorming session at Xometry. Seeing that the number was from Culver City, California, Vice President of Growth Marketing Aaron Lichtig told fellow colleagues, "I gotta take this call." From inside the meeting room, Bill Cronin, Chief Revenue Officer, and Danny Chang, Vice President of Relationship Marketing, heard him say, "I've been waiting for this call my whole life." Aaron broke it to colleagues that, no, he was not being recruited elsewhere, and yes, he would appear on the long-running quiz show Jeopardy! To prepare, Aaron began strategically quizzing himself with the help of questions from the Jeopardy! archives and sought…

This April 1st, a new Quoting Voice Assistant promised to take the world by storm. Xoe™ was set to transform the manufacturing industry by launching it into the future. A future with Xoe™ promised no more uploading a 3D CAD file (although that is super easy). No more clicking around with a mouse to choose from a myriad of processes, materials, and specs to get parts exactly the way you want them. No more typing on the keyboard to specify special tolerances or adding requirements to your drawings. The premise was simple: just describe to Xoe™ your desired part, and she would instantly tell you the price and lead time. Verbally. Xoe™…

Tolerance is an allowable extent for deviations for part dimensions based on their form, fit, and function. It is the term used to define how exact the measurement of a component needs to be. It defines the amount of variation or deviation allowed on the base measurement, especially as regards the dimension of CNC  machined parts. To mitigate these deviations, CNC machining uses standard tolerances. Unless stated differently by the designer, tolerances for parts made from plastic are +/-.010′′ and +/-.005′′ for metal parts. Nonetheless, the higher the part accuracy required, the tighter its tolerance (such as +/-.0004″). One recurring question is whether tighter CNC part tolerances affect part production…

At 0:23 on October 16, 2021, Beijing time, the Long March 2 F carrier rocket ignited at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu set off on the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft to the China Space Station for a period of 6 Months of space travel. The construction of the Chinese space station in orbit is divided into two stages: key technology verification and construction. The Shenzhou 13 mission is to complete all the on-orbit verification of all functions of the space station’s manned spacecraft. It has the requirements to support the subsequent construction and operation of China’s space station and is the key…