Aluminum

The torch (with fuel) weighs about 3.5 pounds and contains stainless steel, aluminum and sheet-moulding compound.

The three foot torch, inspired by both the lines carved into the snow by skiers schushing down mountains and the undulating beauty of the snowy Canadian landscape, was designed by Bombardier’s aerospace and transportation design teams in collaboration with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).Read More

Yale engineering students invent spokeless bicycle wheel

Yale mechanical engineering students wanted to build a bicycle unlike any other, so they developed a single-speed, hubless rear wheel designed bicycle without spokes, using "two cranks and two bottom brackets to gear up the ratio; it goes from (IIRC) 53 to a 13, which is connected to the second crank and another 53 which connects to the rear hub."Read More

New metal foam material absorbs seven to eight times the energy absorbed by similar foams

Uncompressed and Compressed Metal Foam

Aerospace engineering professor Afsaneh Rabiei set out to make a material as light as aluminum and stronger than stainless steel. Her goal was to create something that could be used in products that would save lives, save energy and eventually save money, all at the same time.Read More

An amazing collection of John Bentley's metal miniature engines and machines (handmade lathe shown below)
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New technologies allow robots to automatically plug themselves into a wall outlet when they need a charge

Autonomously seeking out power for battery recharging is a pretty crucial capability for advanced mobile robots. While Roomba-like docking stations are a quick fix, "plugging in" to existing infrastructures is preferable. Not long ago, the robotics world was abuzz with the Willow Garage Milestone 2, where (among other things) a PR-2 robot plugged itself into 9 different wall outlets.Read More

Jason von Nieda put together this beautiful vacuum tube clock built around a Russian IV-18 nixie tube. He cites Adafruit's Ice Tube Clock for inspiration and credits John Pfeiffer for the enclosure design.

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Man machines a 17.5 caliber cannon

The precision machined cannon features a 2017 aluminum chassis and stainless steel barrel that is 13.5" long, about 2 inches in diameter, and fires a 17.5mm ball using black powder.Read More

Spitfire Mk1 sculptures made from Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk III engines

Made in a limited edition of 24, the Spitfire Mk 1 sculptures are crafted of aluminum originating from the Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk III engine fitted to X4276 KL-B, legendary RAF ace Al Deere’s personal Supermarine Spitfire for the latter part of the Battle of Britain and 1940, which crashed on 28th December of that year.Read More

Cutaway view of the engine on an incredibly detailed 1/16 scale all-aluminum Corsair aircraft model

Young C. Park of Honolulu, Hawaii is a retired dentist who has been an aircraft modeler since childhood. He is now fulfilling a lifelong dream of making incredible precision aircraft models of the Corsair and P-51 Mustang out of aluminum.

Using tweezers, the controls can be moved.

All cables and linkages are meticulously installed and work all of the aircraft's wing control surfaces.Read More

Hide your pets - this robotic mousetrap was designed to detect and exterminate everything in sight

ENLARGE

This shoebox-sized powerhouse would make Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor proud. Like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer, the robotic "Better Mousetrap" goes to the extreme to detect and destroy its target.

ENLARGE

"Many people have been trying to develop a 'better mousetrap' for years, so we decided to build one in the literal sense," says its developer Jake Easton.Read More