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JULY/August-SALE

50% off Stress Relieving with any Material Purchase

We did it! For the first time since COVID 19,we are fully staffed! Lead times for most orders are now 5 days or less! Lots more news to come, expansion, equipment, and capabilities! JULY/August-SALE — 50% off Stress Relieving with any Material Purchase.

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An Apple A Day…

Is made from a 3-D printer??

Don’t worry, you won’t be eating these 3-D printed apples; rather, they are used to monitor the conditions in which your apples travel from farm to store.

These apples are specifically engineered to match the thermal response of real apples, meaning they will cool at a rate that is within 5% of real apples, compared to the 16% of water-filled fruit simulators. They can be placed among the real apples as they travel from cold stores to ripening facilities to stores.

Ultimately, the novel sensor system provides an improved method to identify any quality issues when transporting fruits. Creators hope to better pinpoint the location and reason for unexpected quality loss.

How do you like them apples?

You can read the original article here.

Build Your Next Home with 3-D Printers

Taking technology out of the lab and into the world, ETH Zurich is working on the world’s first house made with 3-D printers and robots.

The home will be three stories tall and is expected to be completed next year.

Check out this great video from BBC to learn more.

New 3-D Printed Robot Can Go Just About Anywhere

Engineers at the University of California have created a soft-legged robot whose body is made entirely from 3-D printing. The bases and caps of each leg are solid, metal components, while the length of the leg is soft and helps the robot adapt to move on nearly any terrain.

The hope for these robots is that they will be helpful in search and rescue missions, as well as observing endangered species without disturbing their natural habitat.

What is so cool about this new technology is the ability for a 3-D printer to produce multiple types of material. Shifting from hard material to soft with no gap between them makes the robot more durable and efficient.

Check out the robot in action here.

Written with help from BBC.

Inspiring the Younger Generations to Work in Machining

In May, the Mazak Midwest Technology Center hosted the 26th annual Precision Machining Competition to honor excellence in precision machining skills among Illinois high school students. Over 250 students from 19 local high schools submitted more than 300 parts for this year’s contest, which culminated with an awards ceremony on May 11.

Read the full press release from Mazak here.

Happy Star Wars Day!

It’s a good thing we didn’t make the Death Star, otherwise A New Hope would have had a much different ending, but because we have some of the largest steel plate processing services in the nation, The Imperial Forces definitely would have definitely chosen us.

May the Force be with you.

Energy Monitoring System to be Installed at the Olympic Winter Games 2018

General Electric (GE) has partnered with the Olympic Games to install an Energy Monitoring System (EMS) that is “expected to enhance stability and reliability of power supply” at the 14 Olympic Games venues “through real-time energy monitoring…”

This system will ensure fast response and repair in the event of a power outage at any of the venues, as well as collect power consumption data that allows for more efficient power use during the 2018 Games and beyond.

GE is one of the many companies we work with, and we are excited to see how this system will make future Olympic Games more enjoyable than ever before.

You can read GE’s official press release here.

What Is Happening In The Printed Metal Mesh Industry?

The transparent conductive film (TCF) industry has been going through ups and downs in recent years. On one hand, multiple technologies have been developed as alternatives to the incumbent solution, whilst the incumbent suppliers drastically reduced their prices to protect their share in slow markets. And that’s just the beginning. Click below to read the full story from IDTechEx.

Read the full story HERE.

Artificial Intelligence Meets Metal Additive Manufacturing

One thing we can always expect from huge technology shows like CES 2017 are exciting announcements on new products and materials. And Sculpteo had a big one. They are introduction artificial intelligence to metal 3D printing. They just unveiled Agile Metal Technology, an online agent-based system used to help designers and manufacturers analyze and evaluate metal additive manufacturing projects.

Metal 3D printing is becoming more and more common in manufacturing, but these types of projects tend to be extremely expensive, time-consuming, and complicated, because a part can’t be finalized without first going through multiple iterations. The Agile Metal Technology system will provide automation, management, and optimization to the complex process of metal additive manufacturing, which could help eliminate the need for making repeated parts before completing the final version.

Click HERE to learn more and read the full article from 3dprint.com

Top Manufacturing Trends of 2016

For several years now, the manufacturing industry has seen revolutionary changes within the field thanks to new technology, strong innovation, and ever-changing consumer needs. This past year has been no different, as we have seen exiting new trends that have taken place among companies all over the country, and world. Here are just a few influential movements that we have seen in 2016.

Internet of Things (IoT)
The concept of the ‘connected factory’ has been evolving throughout the past few years. Internet of Things is the growing capability of the Worldwide Web to connect machine, sensors, computers, and humans in order to enable new levels of information retrieval, processing, and examining. Essentially these devices allow for more specifics and can convert data that you collect into business-problem solutions that will boost your productivity, efficiency and overall bottom line. For example, Stanley Black and Decker have adopted Internet of Things at one of their plants in Mexico to manage their production operations in real-time via mobile and computer devices. As a direct result, their “equipment effectiveness has increased by 24 percent, labor utilization by 10 percent, and throughput by 10 percent.” In the future, next generations of IoT should go further than just real-time monitoring, as we expect it to connect platforms using the data retrieved to deliver superior, and more durable products to the consumer.

Augmented Reality
Thanks to advances in computer science, informational technology, and engineering, manufacturing has been able to give real-time information and help at the point of use. It starts at the factory floor where the user simply follows text, audio, graphics, and other visuals that are shown through goggles or real assemblies as they conduct a particular duty at the business. This technology can then allow you to analyze the accuracy, timeliness, and other reports, which all can be sent to a supervisor. Today, manufacturing companies use augmented reality in order to provide detailed training, track products, and improve safety. In the future, we see the technology being sold as additional add-ons to the manufacturer’s product, which would in return create greater revenue. In addition, augmented reality will soon be used as a detailed instructional manual, where it will eliminate employee mistakes.

3D Printing
This technology, which is also called additive manufacturing, produces physical objects from online designs by building thin layers of plastic, resin, metal or other materials that would help create the shape. Currently, 3D printing is being used to build product prototypes, shrink manufacturing times, and alter the economics of a product. The technology though, is limited due to a limited design of products it capable of producing. Even with its limitations, companies have embraced this technology. While they use it for prototypes today, many are looking to 3D printing in the future as a way to make cost-effective specialized products for specific uses.

We have seen the field of manufacturing innovated substantially in this past year alone, and everyone at the Sullivan Corp is looking forward to seeing what exiting new trends 2017 will bring! Click HERE to read more.