Additive manufacturing has long been a tool used by the aerospace industry to manufacture parts. The latest advancements within AM are now shifting production toward end-use parts. There are still many challenges including quality, productivity, repeatability, and materials availability. Hauke Schultz, the Additive Manufacturing Roadmap leader at Airbus, is building a vision and roadmap to enhance AM technologies and applications within its three business units: Airbus Commercial, Helicopters, and Defense and Space. Schultz talks about the journey of AM in aerospace, how the last year impacted the industry, and how the future of AM in aerospace will impact engineers.

One of the best places to build railways and highways is underground, away from people on the surface. But tunneling is a costly process that involves small armies of workers and giant tunnel boring machines. But a contractor working on a subway project in Kuala Lumpur has devised a system for self-driving tunneling that could revolutionize the industry. Mechanical Engineering magazine editor in chief Jeffrey Winters asked senior editor John Kosowatz to explain how the system works. Kosowatz researched the technology for his article, “Big Data Spurs Autonomous Tunneling” for the February/March 2021 issue of Mechanical Engineering.

Digital manufacturing is an ever-growing, expanding world that is leaving the world of design and permeating into the world of manufacturing. Fictiv’s platform introduces a digital ecosystem that directly connects designers and makers with manufacturing facilities, eliminating the traditional back and forth of production quotes, lengthy design iterations, and long lead times. In the last seven years, Fictiv has manufactured over 12 million parts for some of the world’s most innovative companies — building the next rockets, self-driving cars, medical devices, and IoT devices. On this episode of ASME TechCast, Dave Evans, co-founder and CEO, highlights Fictiv’s journey from conception through the COVID-19 pandemic and shares tips for how engineers can accelerate development cycles by transitioning to a digital sourcing workflow.

As Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States, his administration promises big changes in policies affecting science, energy, environment, trade, and more. He will have to work with the new 117th Congress, which also brings new faces as the Democrats take control of the Senate by the slimmest of margins. The House of Representatives continues to be led by Democrats but their majority has been greatly reduced. Paul Fakes, ASME's senior manager of government relations, talks about these changes and how they will impact the industries in which engineers participate.

Artificial intelligence has seen a rapid implementation in several industries. When talking about AI in automotive engineering, the first thought that comes to mind is autonomous vehicles. What role do mechanical engineers play in this intersection of AI and autonomy and what are the opportunities for them? What skills will become increasingly valued in automotive companies with the advancement of AI? Dragos Maciuca, executive technical director at Ford’s Research and Innovation Center, answers these questions, and more, in this episode of ASME TechCast. 

The editors of Mechanical Engineering magazine tried something different this year with the annual Emerging Technology Awards. Listen as editor in chief Jeffrey Winters talks with editors John Kosowatz and Carlos González about five innovations that are taking on COVID-19.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s new report shows offshore wind generation growing in the U.S. and globally. Turbines are getting larger and developers want to site them in ever deeper water. Design of floating foundations has advanced to where deepwater sites are feasible, while fixed foundations may prove more economical in deeper water. NREL’s Walt Musial, principal engineer and offshore wind lead, talks about the offshore market and what can be expected in the coming year in this podcast.

Technology writer Jean Thilmany has followed software-enabled engineering for decades. In this episode of ASME TechCast, Thilmany talks with Jeffrey Winters, editor in chief of Mechanical Engineering magazine, about how digital engineering is expanding into the manufacturing sector.

The CEO of Protolabs, Vicki Holt, has almost 40 years of experience in world-class manufacturing companies in various executive roles. In this episode of ASME TechCast, she provides insights into the digital trends shaping manufacturing and how companies can prepare the current and future workforce for this rapid transition accelerated by the pandemic.

Lockheed Martin designed and built the new OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft. The spacecraft will collect samples from the asteroid Bennu which may provide insight into our solar system’s early formation. To help construct the spacecraft, Lockheed Martin Space utilized the power of the digital twin. Lockheed’s journey with the digital twin can serve as an example of how other organizations can adopt the digital twin methodology for a more efficient design. Noah Fehrenbacher, digital twin portfolio manager for Lockheed Martin Space, speaks with ASME TechCast on how Lockheed Martin uses the digital twin as an advanced design tool.