3D Forming Steps to Save You Valuable Design Money 3D Forming is a revolutionary way to save money when designing and manufacturing many products such as decoration, toys, pastry, art, gadgets and jewelry. It is basically a quick, easy and affordable way to create product molds depending on the equipment and material you choose to use. There are several approaches to 3D forming but the basic concept involves a sturdy molding material, the template, some heat and a strong vacuum. There are already several kits and equipment available on the market as well as do-it-yourself approaches to 3D forming. 3D forming can be applied to re-making or copying existing products, as well as creating molds (also known as tools) for new ones. The sturdy molding material mentioned is basically a plastic sheet made from the following materials: ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) – a sturdy plastic material similar to lego bricksPVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) – used for plastic pieces, etc.PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) – used mostly for Designer lightingPE (Polyethylene) – familiar material used mostly in plastic bottles.PP (Polypropylene) – used for various household objectsPS (Polystyrene) –  used for packaging.PC (Polycarbonate) – also mostly used for bottlesPETG (Polyethylene Terephthalatemodified withGlycol) – best for packaging […]

10 Things to Look For In a Good Systems Build Thanks to advances in technology, the process of creating new stylish and innovative products has been shortened. It has been shortened from concept, to design, systems build and finally to production. Nowadays, entrepreneurs who come up with new ideas no longer have to struggle in the creation process, especially prototyping and final design. This is thanks to many systems build companies available in electronic, mechanical and other industries. You’ll probably notice how fast products are designed and released. It seems impossibly paced compared to decades ago. Products get announced. Then several months later, they are followed closely by cheaper copies. These copies seem to come out just as quickly. It’s all thanks to system build companies that help to quicken the prototyping and building process. Electronics In electronics, for example, it takes only a few short months to release a variant or an upgraded/corrected design of a mobile phone. Manufacturers design and then contract other companies to assemble the internal PCBs. They contract companies to assemble external elements such as screens and housings. These elements come together to become prototypes. The prototypes are either accepted or revised. They are quickly […]

Engineering Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Cars Today’s cars may not be able to float in the air, but they’re certainly a lot smarter than before. Engineering Artificial Intelligence in cars has long been a vision of many. It enables rides to be safer and more convenient. In fact, artificial intelligence in vehicles has been a hot topic among technology companies in recent years. Amazon, Google, Uber, Tesla and Apple have dipped their toes into the possibility. They have made some inroads and maybe a few mishaps. With advances in internet, GPS, computing and sensor technologies, the idea of a self-driving car is now basically a reality. Improvements in artificial intelligence has greatly improved our ability in engineering AI in cars. The aforementioned companies already have working prototypes that can drive in major cities with some like Tesla’s already in use. What are the advantages of engineering AI in cars aside from autonomous driving? Driver-assist AI systems can now alert drivers regarding hazardous road conditions. These same alerts are also available on navigation phone apps. AI systems can also alert drivers on vehicles present at blind spots as well as assist in steering and performing automatic safety functions. A voice-activated assistant […]

Engineering Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Homes Engineering Artificial Intelligence in homes is now very much in the reach of the middle class and easily considered by the rich. We are nearing the end of another decade in the 21st century. Thanks to many advances in technology, the existence of homes that can greet their occupants, automatically set the temperature, turn lights on and off and even clean itself is no longer in the realm of movies and science-fiction. From Sci-fi to Reality We’ve all heard the legends or rumors of how the homes of billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg function. That Engineering Artificial Intelligence in homes have been exclusive to folks like them even back in the 1980s. The so-called ‘smart home’ where lights turn on and off as you walk by or via claps and voice control. Laser-enabled security systems that automatically call the police when something is amiss. These were very complicated and expensive systems back then. But thanks to advancements in technology, especially in communications technology (Wi-Fi, Internet of Things), computing and artificial intelligence, today’s smart homes can be smarter. Much smarter than the state of the art smart home a couple of […]

5 Robotic Innovations in Medicine in the Last Decade It’s already 2019 and we have expected a lot of great things in the field of medical science by this time, several decades ago. Are we already there? Perhaps. While we have yet to have actual robotic surgeons and over-the-counter pills to cure cancer, there have been plenty of innovations of applied robotics in the field of medicine, especially in surgery. Here are 5 robotic innovations in medicine in the last decade alone. Miniature Arm from Virtual Incision – Surgical procedures unfortunately are often highly invasive, requiring doctors to further harm the patient in order to get where they need to be. But thankfully, modern technologies seek to reduce the amounts or sizes of incisions needed for surgery much like Virtual Incision’s miniature robotic arm. Instead of large abdominal incisions required for procedures like colon re-sectioning, all that’s needed is a small incision from which the device can be inserted. This small robotic surgeon consists of two small robotic arms, at the end of each can be attached various tools. The arms are attached to a long shaft that’s inserted in the small incision. Between the arms is a camera with […]

“The propensity for facial recognition technology to endanger civil rights and civil liberties substantially outweighs its purported benefits… and the technology will exacerbate racial injustice and threaten our ability to live free of continuous government monitoring.” –Stop Secret Surveillance ordinance, San Francisco San Francisco will have to keep fighting crime the old fashioned way. Recognizing criminals through sheer vision and memory from mugshots instead of using facial recognition technology. Thanks to the San Francisco Facial Recognition Ban,Microsoft and Amazon, active in selling the technology just lost one potential customer and possibly many others. Unlike China which has turned itself into an Orwellian state by adopting facial recognition nationwide, the United States remain wary of the technology due to government surveillance, free speech, privacy concerns. Despite many advantages when it comes to fighting crime and finding lost persons, the city of San Francisco has passed a city ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology in all city agencies and its police department. The latter has not adopted the technology yet but it won’t get the chance. The measure is known as the ‘stop secret surveillance’ ordinance which seeks to prevent the possible abuse of the technology by the government similar […]

What to Keep In Mind A twenty-five percent tariff on electronic components won’t express the same percentage on the increase of your final production cost.  Some estimates put the abrupt price increase within a 3% range for relatively low-to-average-volume manufacturing but should tariff proceed to affect potential components like integrated circuits.  There are high chances the estimations will increase. Components made in other countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan won’t be affected by these tariffs as they are not in any way subjected to it. Hence, all components from these countries should still maintain their regular price. China on the other way has promised to subject themselves to these tariffs alongside some of their own. This apparently means that tariffs made in the United States will be shipped to China. Due to the lack of potential consumer for electronics included on the tariff list, higher prices in the supply chain could result in higher prices of finished products for consumers. What Can Be Done? The tariff implementation will for sure affect the PCBA industry.  However, it is hard to say if it’ll come out negative or positive.  It is possible to file a complaint with the federal government and the […]