Picture a flying taxi able to whisk passengers to their chosen destination within minutes, not hours. A noiseless aircraft free from carbon emissions, capable of vertical takeoff and landing in the heart of a major city. What once sounded like a scene out of a science-fiction novel is cruising toward reality, forever altering the way we move.
GREENSBORO, NC—Boom Supersonic will manufacture its new Overture supersonic passenger aircraft at a new assembly plant located at the Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) here.
TUCSON, AZ—NASA is spending $750,000 on a project undertaken by two University of Arizona researchers who use machine learning methods to mitigate defects that occur during the 3D printing of jet engine parts.
SYDNEY—Hypersonix Launch Systems, an Australian engineering, design and build company, is investigating the use of 3D printing to make flight-critical components for its green hydrogen-powered launch vehicles at the University of Sydney.
LUFKIN, TX—Lockheed Martin’s electronics assembly plant here has adopted the IPC-CFX standard for its surface-mount production lines, enabling the defense contractor to turn the facility into a smart factory.
My wife works for one of the largest printers in the country. From August through October last year, nine of her co-workers died of COVID-19. All were shop-floor personnel who did not have the luxury of working from home. One was just 28 years old. None were vaccinated, despite ample monetary incentives to do so. Alarmed, the CEO held a companywide meeting via Zoom, begging employees to get vaccinated.
ATLANTA and TEMPE, AZ—Market researchers at Deloitte Consulting LLP and the Institute for Supply Management recently disclosed their positive outlooks for manufacturing in 2022.
WESTMINSTER, CO—Ball Aerospace will soon complete work on an expansion to its Aerospace Manufacturing Center here, adding around 122,000 square feet to increase the building size to more than 490,000 square feet.
FLINTSHIRE, Wales—Airbus recently completed the first full-size prototype for the company's 'Wing of Tomorrow' research program, which is being undertaken at its Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre here.
CAMPBELL, CA—High-performance-rocket manufacturer Launcher recently purchased a Sapphire Velo3D 3D metal printer to specifically print engine turbopump parts in titanium, including fuel pumps, flight turbine housings and orbiter pressure vessels.