Today, the uptake of additive manufacturing – or 3D printing – technology is accelerating at a rapid pace. The overall global spending on 3D printing in 2018 is expected to surpass $12 billion, with the manufacturing and healthcare industries set to spend the most.

The world’s first-ever sports shoes to utilise graphene – the strongest material on the planet – have been unveiled by The University of Manchester and British brand inov-8.

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, buyers of steels for machining often find themselves balancing the initial price of investment with longer term cost implications.

NUM has helped Original Point Machine Tools (OPMT) to develop an advanced 8-axis CNC machining centre capable of processing many different types of materials, including metal, ceramics, glass and cemented carbide.

With the use of polypropylene films under attack, Sales and Marketing Director Tony McDonald of flow wrapping machinery manufacturer Ilapak is being asked this question more often. Here, he debates the ban of all plastics following Ilapak’s latest machine developments to successfully run new sustainable polymer-based films.

Proper material selection is very important where the service life of cables is concerned, especially cables in moving applications. Justin Leonard, the e-chain director at igus, considers the durability and lifetime of cables in energy chains.

A Brunel University London student has been exploring how mushrooms can be used to grow robust zero-waste structures as an alternative to conventional building techniques - while also providing a tasty noodle topping!

As the aerospace industry rises to the challenge of reducing the weight of aircrafts while keeping manufacturing costs down, new materials and techniques are playing an increasingly important role in component design. Stephen Dyson, Head of Industry 4.0 at Proto Labs, considers the latest developments.