welding
Latest
The Big Picture: NASA gets ready to build the 'next great rocket'
See the gargantuan structure above that dwarfs that line of puny humans at the bottom (bet you didn't even notice them at first glance, huh)? It's a welding tool -- the biggest one built for spacecraft, in fact, that's slated to help Boeing build the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The structure's officially called the Vertical Assembly Center, and it stands 170 feet tall with a width that measures 78 feet: not exactly surprising, considering the SLS is a 200-foot-tall behemoth. It's but one of the many tools Boeing intends to use to build the core stage of NASA's "most powerful rocket ever" after the two organizations finalized their $2.8 billion deal in July. The core stage will house cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen used to power the rocket's four engines, and building it brings the SLS much closer to the launch pad for deep space exploration.
TWI and the super-thin iMac
The slim lines of the upcoming iMac models would be impossible if it weren't for a bit of intellectual property from Cambridge, England-based TWI. TWI developed a technique called friction-stir welding in 1991 that doesn't require melting metals to join them together. Through the use of a rotating tool made out of a wear-resistant material, metals are softened and then merged under frictional heat. The method has been used in the aerospace industry for years to produce rocket propellant tanks, airplane wings and is used at Denver's Lockheed Martin facilities on the manned Orion spacecraft. Friction-stir welding is now coming down to earth to join the aluminum front and back of the new iMacs, creating a welded edge that's only 5mm thick. Not only does the technique produce a smooth join, but the process is faster and uses less energy -- both important factors in the mass production of computers. Apple licensed the technology from TWI this year, although TWI could not reveal the details of the license or its application to existing or future products.
Fanscooter is the world's slowest extreme sport (video)
What do you get when you get when you combine a fan and a scooter? If you said "Scooterfan," you should be ashamed. Really ashamed. The correct answer, clearly, is Fanscooter, the latest project from fighting robot builder / MIT engineering student Charles Guan, the guy who brought the world the similarly named and equally breezy Fankart last summer. What this new DIY vehicle lacks in the ominous ever-forward creep of its predecessor, it makes up in actual vehicular rideability, marking the return of Guan's HFF propeller -- the "h" stands for "holy" and the second "f" stands for "fan" -- which is positioned between two Razor Scooter decks. The whole things is topped off by a power source taped on in a manner that would surely put Homeland Security on high alert. Checkout of some slow-motion Jackass-style video of the project, after the break.
Chinese welder killed by exploding cellphone battery
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and unfortunately, the latest case of exploding battery syndrome led to something far worse than a minor injury. Reportedly, a 22-year old Chinese welder actually perished after a cellphone battery residing in his pocket exploded. The eruption was so violent, in fact, that it "broke a rib and drove the remnants of the pack into his heart," and while rescue crews were able to get him to a hospital, he passed away shortly thereafter. Currently, the manufacturer of the phone and battery are being withheld, but expects in Jinta were dispatched in order to conduct an investigation.[Via Inquirer, image courtesy of ABC]
