A sticky string oozes out of a spigot and forms a customized structure. This scene could either describe the additive manufacturing process called 3D printing or how an arachnid spins its spider web to trap prey. Spider webs are marvels of sustainable engineering. They are intricate structures tailor-made for their environment from a nontoxic, biodegradable material that is remarkably strong, tough and elastic all at once. Scientists study spider webs to develop materials with similar properties for practical applications in medicine, industrial use and aerospace engineering. What Are Spider Webs Made Of? There are many different types of webs — for trapping prey, protecting eggs, and more — but they are all made of silk proteins. Specifically, they are made of glycine, alanine and serine, which are amino acids, a.k.a. the molecules that combine to form proteins. Webs vary in structure and material. Different species make various webs, but even a single spider produces a variety of silk. Some spider silk is sticky, while other silk is waterproof or optimized for the spider to walk on it. Along with versatility, engineers are interested in spider silk for many useful characteristics:   Strength: It is five times stronger than steel (by weight) and at least as strong as Kevlar.  Toughness: Although webs appear delicate, they are relatively difficult to damage.  Elasticity: It can stretch more than rubber and nylon, according to research published in the journal e-Polymers.  Flexibility: It is more flexible than nylon, per Discovery.  Stickiness: It is stickier than most tape, as Evolution News explains.  Temperature resilience: Webs can withstand high and low temperatures, according to e-Polymers.  Energy absorption: Its static load and impact resistance are better than those of other artificial and natural materials, according to e-Polymers.  Each of these properties is useful, but the unique combination makes spider silk especially intriguing and worth pursuing. Materials engineers can develop novel substances that are strong and flexible, but nobody does it as well as spiders. How Spiders Spin Webs The silk starts as a liquid called dope in the spider's glands. The glands secrete the dope and the spider pushes it through ducts, then through spigots on its spinnerets, which are silk-spinning organs located on its rear abdomen. Similar to the way a 3D printer squeezes plastic through a nozzle, the spider's spigot has a valve that controls the thickness and speed of the material, so it can customize the web. Finally, the spinnerets wind strands together to form a thread. It is a sophisticated process that humans have struggled to understand and replicate. Science journalist Katherine J. Wu, Ph.D., writes for the New York Times, "On their way out of a spider's bottom, the protein building blocks in silk, called spidroins, fold themselves and interlace, creating a highly organized structure without guidance from any outside force." There are many types of webs, such as draglines that spiders use to travel, pheromone-laced webs that females use to attract mates, and nursery webs for carrying spiderlings. But the best known is called an orb web. The spider excretes the thread into the air, and it catches on a nearby branch or some other anchor nearby, as HowStuffWorks explains. The first thread becomes a bridge that the spider travels across as it strategically releases threads to form a web. Some strands are sticky enough to trap prey. But the spider also weaves a few strands without an adhesive coating, so they can walk along the web without getting stuck themselves. Can Humans Use Spider Webs? People have been using the spider web directly and indirectly for thousands of years. For example, Ancient Greeks and Romans used balled-up webs as bandages, according to Discovery. Spider silk is particularly well suited for medicine because it is non-toxic and absorbable. It could also be a vector for drug delivery and a basis for 3D photodetectors for bioimaging. Scientists and engineers are exploring industrial applications such as cables, sensors, composite materials and soft robotics. Spider silk also has potential for aerospace, such as for developing shock-absorbing components for rocks or strong and flexible composite materials for aircraft and spacecraft. The possibilities are endless — armor, clothing, art and more. The trick is spiders don't make great livestock. It is challenging to extract silk from the spider's glands due to the complicated process of spinning silk threads and the fact that each spider has several glands that produce a variety of silk types. Plus, you can't put a bunch of spiders in a cage together; they are carnivorous animals that will eat each other. Scientists continue to discover what spider webs are made of and how they are made, while also exploring ways to create spider silk, for example, through genetic engineering or synthetic chemistry. Synthetic biology is an emerging research field that could provide a path for artificial spider silk. Until then, humans continue to be inspired by spiders and their ultra-strong sustainable designs. Are you interested in science and innovation? We are, too. Check out Northrop Grumman career opportunities to see how you can participate in this fascinating time of discovery.

A Closer Look at Nature's 3D-Printed Marvel: The Spider Web

Key Takeaways The future of manufacturing is happening right now as technologies converge to provide enhanced speed and insight. AI and machine learning underpin this new revolution. Humans in the loop remain critical for effective manufacturing.Call it Industry 4.0. Say it's the fourth industrial revolution, or simply refer to it as digital transformation. Whatever the nomenclature, it's arrived in full force.That said, it's not a total tear-down of what's come before. Instead, this future features a combination of tried-and-true processes paired with new technologies to create production lines powered by digital automation and improved by human experience.Put simply, the future of manufacturing is here.A Brief History of Industrial (R)EvolutionMechanization drove the first industrial revolution. The shift from manual processes to machine-powered processes changed the face of industries, such as agriculture and transportation. The second revolution enhanced mechanization with mass production and created the familiar "factory" template — the large brick building brimming with smokestacks producing standardized products and components for consumers.Digitization drove the third industrial revolution. From digital communications to powerful computer processors, digital solutions made it possible for companies to increase production quantity without sacrificing quality.Industry 4.0 takes digitization a step further with the convergence of information technology, operational technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), according to IBM. Underpinning this convergence are machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). In practice, this makes Industry 4.0 both revolution and evolution. While it leverages new technologies to enhance output and improve quality, it does so using the framework established by its predecessors.The Future Factory TrifectaHenry Ford famously said that his Model T was available in any color, so long as it was black. This was the hallmark of the second industrial revolution: repeatable processes that delivered identical products. The factory of the future keeps the focus on standardization but adds three strategic keys — agility, responsiveness and differentiation.When it comes to agility, processes such as rapid prototyping, increased additive manufacturing and highly integrated and automated assembly lines are changing the way factories work. For example, advancements in 3D printing make it possible to create custom parts for vehicles that require specific configurations or rely on certain material combinations."We have been flying additive manufactured parts since 2005," says Eric Barnes, Northrop Grumman Fellow for Additive Manufacturing. "We have around 5,000 3D-printed parts altogether in our air vehicles."Responsiveness is powered by social media, big data analytics, the IoT and the power of collaboration, both between the enterprise and its customers and on the shop floor, allowing companies to quickly adapt processes as market requirements evolve. And thanks to developments such as generative AI powered by large language models and solutions such as digital twins, product differentiation is possible without sacrificing standardization.Consider a vehicle assembly line. Using a fourth-generation approach, consumers can now get that car in any color and with any combination of features they want. While outputs remain standardized, inputs can be customized to match customer preferences.Everything Old Is New AgainEach industrial revolution required new skills to navigate. The first revolution came with the need for machine operators, and the second required staff coordination to deliver standardized output. Industry 3.0 saw the rise of IT specialization, while the fourth iteration only succeeds with humans in the loop — humans capable of finding the balance between employee experience and artificial intelligence."Accelerated change and heightened complexity mean we must continuously innovate," says Todd Szallay, Director of Advanced Manufacturing and Technology at Northrop Grumman. "The factory of the future is a digital factory where the virtual and physical world are fully integrated across not just the manufacturing process but the entire life of a product. Building stuff has never been more high-tech."From the days of biplanes a century ago, aviation and aerospace have always been at the cutting edge of manufacturing technology. No other product line has such demanding specifications. The performance demands of a new generation of aircraft have already brought about a transformation of the assembly line, exemplified by Northrop Grumman's Integrated Assembly Line (IAL) in Palmdale, California.The IAL design uses a system-engineering approach to integrate tooling and structure transport, system automation, automated drilling cells and tooling mechanization coordinated across multiple build centers. Northrop Grumman is also launching a new era in missile production with the 113,000-square-foot Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, West Virginia. This new complex will be the first of its kind that both produces missile parts and assembles them on-site for tip-to-tail production.The future of manufacturing is here. Convergent technologies combined with AI processes are empowering companies to amplify the power of the mind the way power tools amplify the power of the hand, in turn setting the stage for customized, standardized outputs that can be recombined and reconfigured on demand.Explore the new era of manufacturing and technology with Northrop Grumman. 

The Future of Manufacturing Is Here

On June 25, 2023, a door at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, was closed and secured behind four volunteer researchers, sealing them into a 1,700-square-foot environment. Their task for the next 378 days: to get as close to exploring Mars as possible without actually making the trip to Mars.This simulated mission to Mars is the first of three year-long NASA exercises which, as NASA explains, will study the human dimension of Mars exploration. The program is called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA).CHAPEA deputy project manager Raina MacLeod says the goal of this simulated Mars mission is to look at "how the crew performance and health changes based on realistic Mars restrictions and lifestyle of the crew members."Routine EmergenciesSpace exploration is an inherently dramatic activity, and as NASA understands very well, the universe provides plenty of drama to keep space explorers on their toes. The task of mission planners is to anticipate drama and minimize it as far as possible, because in exploration, drama can be deadly. Thus, NASA puts great effort into practicing whatever can be practiced, so that — as far as possible — even emergencies become routine.There's much about Mars that we can only learn by going there. But we don't need to go to Mars to study the challenges of working and living for a long time in cramped quarters.According to NASA, that's the task of the Mars simulator in which mission commander Kelly Haston, a research scientist, along with structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergency medical specialist Nathan Jones and microbiologist Anca Selariu will be living until July 2024.Known as Mars Dune Alpha, the Mars simulator is located inside a hanger at the Johnson Space Center. It contains living quarters, working spaces and laboratories for the crew. In addition, it includes a "sandbox" for simulating Mars-like conditions on Earth, allowing the virtual explorers to practice Mars walks and research activities on the Martian surface.Building on ExperienceThe design of Mars Dune Alpha has already been influenced by prior space experience. According to CHAPEA investigator Scott M. Smith, as reported by CNN, "the separation of the living area with the work area was very intentional," based on the experience reported by crews aboard the International Space Station. "When you're living in the office, literally having the ability to physically separate was important."The activities performed by the researchers in Mars Dune Alpha will range from basic routines, such as personal hygiene and cooking, to suiting up (in pairs, like the "buddy system" for divers) for outside excursions onto the simulated Martian surface of the sandbox. Tasks will include recognizing, handling and describing simulated Mars rocks, while the combination of a treadmill and virtual reality headsets will simulate traverses across Martian surface distances much larger than the actual confines of the sandbox.The Mars Dune Alpha team will also experience environmental stressors, NASA noted, that could be expected during a mission to Mars, such as equipment failures, while communications with Ground Control will be purposely delayed to represent the time it takes for radio signals to pass between Earth and Mars.Printing a Mars BasePer NASA, the design and construction of Mars Dune Alpha have also pioneered technologies we'll need to live on and explore Mars.The entire facility was built by 3D printing technology, utilizing a material dubbed "lavacrete" to replicate the characteristics of Martian surface material, or regolith. And controlling a robot-supported building process is one of the basic tasks the CHAPEA research team will practice, as the first tasks of future Mars exploration missions may include building habitats for their prolonged stay.We're not at that point yet, but tucked away in a hanger in Texas, Mars Dune Alpha and its crew of volunteer scientists are a reminder that the age of Mars exploration has already begun.Learn more about our people and life at Northrop Grumman, or check out our career opportunities to see how you can be a part of defining possible.

A New Type of Mission to Mars: Simulating a Year on the Red Planet

In the Star Wars universe, lightsabers — which are a sort of advanced laser technology — are how the Jedi battle their dark-side Sith opponents. These incandescent swords look beautiful on screen, but of course, in reality, they're just special effects. In the original Star Wars trilogy, it was a physical effect — a rotating pole swathed in reflective tape. Only the colors were added in post-production. In later movies and trilogies, as the lightsaber duels grew more intense, actors used prop swords to ensure that the fighting looked real; the glowing effect and color was added in after the fact. The one thing that remains consistent throughout the history of lightsabers on screen in real-life productions is that much of the lightsaber visuals are a combination of practical and digital effects. But now, scientists have discovered a way to create real-life lightsaber effects that you can see with the naked eye, not just on a screen. In a study published in Scientific Reports, two researchers at Brigham Young University detail their findings on how to create a sort of digital holography — full-color virtual images in air. Their method is called "optical trap displays" (OTDs), and it uses laser technology to 3D print light displays onto air. What Are Optical Trap Displays? Wesley Rogers and Daniel Smalley, who pioneered optical trap displays, called it the "Princess Leia" project, and it had one simple goal. "Our group has a mission to take the 3D displays of science fiction and make them real," Smalley said in a release. "We have created a display that can do that." It isn't just lightsabers that Rogers and Smalley have created. The project's nickname comes from the famous Princess Leia hologram that R2-D2 displays at the beginning of the first movie, A New Hope. But what the BYU team is creating aren't simply images you can view from one perspective, like a traditional image projected onto a screen. While "hologram" and "digital holography" may be convenient words to use to describe these new images, they are not technically correct. These are actually volumetric images that you can walk around, see and interact with from any angle. Holograms can be three-dimensional but are not viewable from every angle. How Did Researchers Project Light Onto Air? The simplest way to describe what Rogers and Smalley have done is to think of it like 3D printing light onto the air. Laser technology traps a single cellulose particle and heats it, which allows researchers to manipulate the particle. They can use mirrors to push and pull the cellulose to create the image they want people to see. Then, a separate laser comes in and projects red, blue, or green color onto the particle as it moves through space, making it visible to humans. According to Ars Technica, this technique is called photophoresis. Because of the limitations of human vision, if this particle moves fast enough, it appears to our eyes as a solid line. "This display is like a 3D printer for light," Smalley said in the release. "You're actually printing an object in space with these little particles." It's not exactly a real-life lightsaber; two Jedi couldn't fight a battle or harm each other with these optical trap displays. But people could absolutely see the real-life effects. What Could This Be Used For? Optical trap displays could lay the foundation for an entirely new way of viewing and interacting with images. Current holographic technology requires so much processing power that it doesn't scale well. "Unlike OTDs, holograms are extremely computationally intensive and their computational complexity scales rapidly with display size," the researchers said in their paper. In other words, larger holograms require vastly more processing power. This isn't a problem for OTDs. If researchers can figure out how to scale optical trap displays using laser technology, it could be a new way to project limitless virtual 3D images onto air — a sort of holodeck, as seen in the Star Trek franchise. They could create entire virtual worlds people could walk through and interact with — virtual reality, but without a bulky headset. Are you interested in all things related to technology? We are, too. Check out Northrop Grumman career opportunities to see how you can participate in this fascinating time of discovery. 

Researchers Use Laser Technology to Create Real-Life Projections

As the population grows and income inequality increases along with it, creating affordable housing becomes more challenging. While plastic has been a dirty word in environmental circles for decades, it could hold the key to affordable and sustainable housing. Architects and city planners are looking at uses for plastic that harness environmental technology to build housing for those struggling to make ends meet.  NPR reported that in 2017 China passed the National Sword policy, banning plastic waste from being imported for recycling. This law, which went into effect in January of this year, states that China will no longer be responsible for recycling plastic waste imported from other countries, citing protection of the environment.   Western countries like the U.S. and Mexico, however, have to figure out new ways to recycle materials like plastic, according to Export.gov.   Creating Afforable Housing With Plastic   Globally, plastic waste is reaching catastrophic levels. It's filling up landfills, clogging waterways, and choking coral and sea life. To combat this epidemic, new uses for plastic are being brainstormed by researchers and governments alike.   According to OECD.org, seven out of every 10 Mexicans are living in a state of poverty. Mexican startup company EcoDom hopes to help mitigate this by using recyclables to construct affordable homes.   EcoDom is collecting plastic and melting it down to create walls that can become the building blocks of viable structures for affordable housing. Each house is built in a week's time and uses two tons of plastic. The plastic collected is sorted to find the types that will not emit harmful fumes when melted down. The company sells the individual pieces to local governments at a low price; the agency in charge of housing then builds the homes and sells them to low-income families, according to Unreasonable.   Is the U.S. On Board With Plastic Waste Initiatives?   Initiatives to combat our growing waste problems are catching on across the globe, but could they work to tackle the mounting plastic waste issues the United States is facing?   According to National Geographic, about 91 percent of recyclable plastic in the U.S. ends up in landfills or oceans, partly because of complicated recycling guidelines. Startups across the country have been trying to find ways to combat our existing landfill and waste issues. One company, ByFusion, started an Indiegogo campaign last year to raise money to fund ByBlocker, a machine they created that compresses any type of plastic waste into blocks. According to ByFusion, these blocks are viable building materials, which are ideal for insulation, non-load bearing walls and retaining walls — especially interesting given rising sea levels.   That said, reactions to these kinds of projects in the U.S. are mixed; ByFusion didn't meet even half of its funding goal.   It's a Group Effort   It's going to take a lot of ingenuity to bring down the levels of plastic waste globally. It's also going to take a lot of convincing. Consumers, corporations and governments especially need to be onboard with these initiatives, buy their products, invest in environmental technology and become part of the solution to this collective problem.

Finding Uses For Plastic in Affordable Housing and Building

Imagine bringing home a piece of "some-assembly-required" furniture from IKEA and discovering, to your utter delight, that your new table or stereo console actually assembles itself. Or that those new shades for your home windows autonomously close themselves at night and open themselves in the morning. Both of these fantasies may be coming soon to a city near you, thanks to 4D printing technology. And both may be part of a new paradigm of smart city technology.   Paradigm Shift   4D printing was first defined on the TED stage in 2013 by Skylar Tibbits, an assistant professor of design research at MIT and founder of the school's Self Assembly Lab.    "4D printing is multi-material 3D printing plus a new capability called transformation," Tibbits explained. "We program 3D materials to transform their shape, properties or even their function autonomously in response to external stimuli such as heat, moisture, light, vibration or electromagnetic energy." These new materials, he added, can actually build themselves.   Tibbits emphasized, however, that 4D printing — the fourth dimension is time — is no longer strictly about printing. It includes many types of production techniques such as printing, lamination, injection molding and even knitting.   "The unifying concept is that we are integrating materials that change their behavior in response to external stimuli," Tibbits said.   Material Differences   Tibbits is careful to distinguish the 4D work being done in his Self Assembly Lab from traditional smart city technology.   "The conventional approach to building 'smart' cars, 'smart' shoes, or 'smart' buildings has been to add a bunch of robotics — sensors, actuators, processors — to that application," he said. "What we are proposing is eliminating all of the robotics, making the same 'smart' product, but doing it strictly through materials." Eliminating those traditional electronics can reduce a product's weight and cost, simplify its design and improve its reliability, he added.   Promising Apps   To date, Tibbits and his team have explored multiple applications of 4D printing to future smart cities, primarily in the areas of building materials, transportation and adaptable infrastructure.   For example, they developed a new paradigm for water delivery in which pipes — sans pumps or valves — can expand or contract on their own to change capacity or flow rate or even undulate to move water themselves. For cars, they have developed self-morphing skins that adapt their aerodynamic shape in response to increased airflow, air pressure, etc. And for coastal cities dealing with beach erosion caused by rising sea levels, they are working with researchers in the tropical island nation of Maldives to develop a system of underwater structures that use wave energy to create sand accumulation in strategic locations. This technology could be used to literally grow new islands or to rebuild beaches.   Industry Resistance   Unfortunately, 4D work remains largely a laboratory demonstration science. Its biggest limiting factor, as Tibbits sees it, is human adaptation, not the technology itself.   "4D printing is really just a different way of designing and making things," he said. Historically, engineers have been focused on making things that do NOT move. By contrast, Tibbits' team is focused on making highly active garments, buildings, cars and planes that are always moving, always transforming, always morphing and adapting to their environment.   "The limitation is not about the fundamental technology or material performance. It's more about getting people to understand what's possible," said Tibbits.   Physics First   The notion of using 4D materials to protect buildings from earthquakes — imagine stiff structural materials that transform into resilient, shock-absorbing materials in response to vibration — remains tantalizing. The reality, however, is that the technology is still constrained by physics.   "4D objects need to be made from relatively soft materials such as polymers that can change shape rapidly in response to external stimuli," explained Jerry Qi, professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. "Unfortunately, these softer materials do not perform well in applications such as buildings or highway structures that have to support a lot of weight."   Stiffer materials such as stainless steel, concrete or iron are more practical for structural applications, he continued, but they generally do not respond quickly enough to external stimuli, which limits their usefulness as 4D materials.   A more achievable, near-term application in tomorrow's smart city, suggests Qi, might be to embed 4D printed sensors in the exterior shell of electronic devices. "With 4D printing, you could integrate a thermometer, for example, in your bedside clock radio in a simple, elegant way while making that device more adaptive to its environment," he said.   Scale Matters   Other issues to consider, said Howon Lee, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Rutgers University, are the scale of the object being produced and the capabilities of the 3D printing device. The key factor here is called resolution, i.e. the smallest feature you can print in detail.   "The larger the object you hope to print," he explained, "the larger your smallest feature size will be." Larger feature size means that molecules have to travel farther within the material to effect the desired transformation, which limits a 4D object's ability to change quickly.   "If the length or thickness of a 4D object becomes 10 times larger, for example, its response time will become 100 times slower," said Lee.   He equated this dilemma to trying to print a large-scale photograph using a digital file that contains only a small number of pixels, a situation that produces a coarse and "out-of-focus" image. The best approach is either to limit the size of your 4D printed object or to use a 3D printer that can print features with higher resolution.   Lee and his research team at Rutgers are trying to resolve this size limitation of 4D objects by decoupling the overall response time of 4D objects from their underlying physics. One way, he suggests, is to embed a series of smaller 4D objects with a characteristically shorter response time within a larger object. By placing these smaller objects strategically, Lee believes they can create larger objects that morph on the faster time scale of the smaller objects.   Fad or Future?   So will 4D printing become a ubiquitous part of the future or languish as a passing fad?   "The most important property for moving any research out of the lab into commercially viable products is reliability," said Lee. "A product has to be proven to be functional, durable, and reliable for the long haul. If it is not reliable, no one will buy it." Proving that reliability, he adds, will fall on the shoulders of investors and third-party testers.   Even more important to the future, however, will be industry awareness. For most people, it remains a very new concept.   "People tend to think of solutions to a problem only in terms of what they know," said Lee. "Once they become aware of 4D printing, they realize that their problem could be solved easily with this technology. Our challenge, therefore, is to disseminate knowledge about the technology, get more people involved in the field, and encourage them to collaborate with 4D industry and university experts to discover smart solutions to their most urgent problems."   If you'd like to add a new dimension to your career, please check out the latest opportunities at www.careers.northropgrumman.com. 

4D Printing Promises Smarter Cities

 Technology plays a critical role in art. Historically, the role has been one of silent supporter — new paint formulations, artificial brush bristles and the evolution of digital photography have changed the way both artists and viewers approach and interact with creative pieces. Advancements in computing, printing and AI, however, are reimagining the intersection of art and technology. Let's take a look at four tech advancements changing the face of artistic evolution. Pollution Pieces Consider the work of Dmitry Morozov, a Russian media artist who discovered a way to turn air quality data from Moscow into art. The city offered unique opportunities; liberal regulations regarding gasoline composition and the burning of material results in ever-changing air concentrations of CO, CO2, HCHO and CH4. Morozov built a small machine equipped with sensors to capture pollution data — an Arduino open-source computer to analyze the information and translate it into multicolored shapes — then leveraged a small printer to produce small pictures of current air composition. Of note? "The more pollution I get, the more beautiful the images are," says Morozov. "It's a little bit ironic."  Robot Writers Or consider the work of artists Julian Adenauer and Michael Haas: a robot known as the Vertwalker. Currently on display in a Berlin art gallery, the pair's "Rising Colorspace" piece leverages the Vertwalker — a round, nearly flat, wall-climbing robot — to continuously create art using one of eight colors. Following a software pattern to determine its movements, the Vertwalker glides up and down walls for three hours at a time, then it's off for a recharge and time to start over. But the wall is never scrubbed clean, making Vertwalker's piece an ever-evolving installation. Haas puts it simply — "the process of creation is ideally endless."  Futuristic Failure Is art supposed to be permanent, standing the test of time to inform and intrigue future generations, or decay as years grind by to yield new forms and creations? For example, portions of the once-functional Roman aqueducts survive and are now considered "art," while the rise of quick-produced 3-D prints and materials drives art and technology culture more focused on creation than consistency. As noted by the Financial Times, some artists — such as California's Anya Gallaccio — are using high-performance 3-D printing processes to create sculptures which naturally decay over time. By choosing clay rather than plastic or metal, Gallaccio is able to create detailed reproductions of natural landmarks which come with material-based inconsistencies and will eventually self-destruct. It's a meeting of artist and machine to inform a new kind of balance between nature and the "unnatural." Memorable Math Math and art have a long-standing relationship: Many concepts and mathematical constructs produce beautiful shapes when rendered in the real world. That's the aim of workshops such as "Illustrating Mathematics," which leverages 3-D printing to create unique visualizations of specific math functions. For example, mathematician John Sullivan used visualization techniques to create his "Borromean Rings," a set of three linked rings which offer both a pleasing shape and will naturally fall apart if any of the rings is cut. Or consider the work of Fabienne Serriere, who purchased and then hacked an industrial knitting machine to create custom-knit scarves which demonstrate cellular automata patterns. There's also the Twitter Bot that animates a new symmetric curve from complex Fourier series every single day. The future of art? Technology. From pollution-printing computers to robot writers, decomposing 3-D prints and malleable math images, the conflux of art and technology allows creators to both simplify their process and enhance the end results, while simultaneously embracing the promise — and potential pitfalls — of tech-based artistic automation.

Art and Technology: A Conflux of Creative Genius?

In October of 2017, the first 3D printed bridge bore a group of hard-hat-wearing city officials on bicycles as they wobbled across a canal in the city of Gemert in the Netherlands. Officials and locals celebrated the opening of the 26-foot (8 meters) bridge that connects two roads over a small water-filled canal, said Phys.org. This structure represents a milestone for 3D printing of large-scale objects. Printing the bridge's 800 layers took about three months. The designers say the reinforced, pre-stressed concrete can handle loads equivalent to the weight of 40 trucks. In Amsterdam, Dutch startup MX3D is printing components for a stainless steel bridge to span a canal, according to Phys.org. Manufacturing Disruption 3D printing is coming into its own as a manufacturing process for large-scale objects. Also called additive manufacturing, 3D printing is based on building up layers of materials into three-dimensional objects. It works on the same principle as an inkjet printer, but instead of ink, the printer lays down layers of plastic, metals, ceramics and more, according to How Stuff Works. A 3D printed bridge is just the latest concept to come to life. Several 3D printed houses and offices have popped up around the world; the Washington Post has covered 3D printed houses in China, and Inhabitat has reported on a 3D printed office building in Dubai. San Francisco-based startup Apis Cor printed a concrete home in Russia within 24 hours. A large 3D printer laid down the 400-square-feet (about 37 square meters) house's walls and partitions, and workers finished the roof, wiring and insulation, according to Engadget.   

 Enable targeting cookies to view this content.  In Amsterdam, The Canal House is taking shape as part of a three-year research project. Designed to resemble a traditional canal house, the project is showcasing the advantages of 3D printing for large projects, including flexibility and customization, according to 3D Print Canal House.  This technology also holds incredible potential for the creation of small homes or shelters, quickly giving people a dry, safe place to stay in the wake of natural disasters, said 3DPrint.com. The automotive industry has welcomed 3D printing as well. In addition to rapid prototyping and other design uses, a printed car has taken to the highway. Start-up Local Motors printed a small two-seater to demonstrate the feasibility of printing large automotive structures. For the first prototypes, it took about 40 hours for the carbon-reinforced plastic body to take shape. If it were to get crunched in a fender bender, the owner could remove the drive train, seats and any undamaged parts and bolt them to a new body. The technology could make transportation more affordable in developing countries. And people could design their own one-off cars and have them printed to their specifications, according to Popular Mechanics. The Shape of Things to Come The tale of the first ratchet wrench NASA astronauts printed on the International Space Station could forecast the future of manufacturing. Not only was the ratchet printed in space, it was created from a computer file emailed from the ground. "This technology may change how NASA completes exploration missions and even the way science is conducted on the station," said NASA. Northrop Grumman is part of a group developing the Archinaut, a robotic assembly system supporting the Made In Space initiative that will manufacture parts to combine with prefabricated components on the space station. The goal will be to control the system from Earth, minimizing the need for astronauts to interact with it. A similar principle could be used to manufacture complex objects without the need for engineers or scientists on site. The 3D printer can manufacture components or sections of objects much larger than itself. The Axiom Space Station, which is the first privately owned space station, will be an orbital manufacturing hub that uses 3D printing, said 3DPrint.com. As 3D manufacturing matures, it's clear the technology could bring vital products to remote areas to decentralize and democratize the means of manufacturing.      

A 3D Printed Bridge Gives New Shape to Large-Scale Manufacturing

Imagine suffering a devastating back injury and facing a lifetime of reduced mobility. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota are developing an exciting potential treatment. They're taking the concept of 3-D printing in healthcare to new levels with an implantable device impregnated with neuronal stem cells. Made of silicone, the cellular matrix would be implanted into an injury area, acting as a bridge between living nerve cells. According to a study in Advanced Functional Materials, the device could become the basis for a new approach to treating spinal cord injury and could one day help reduce pain in patients while restoring some function. Printed Teeth, Pills and Tissue 3D printing began about 40 years ago but has only recently come into its own, accelerating the development of healthcare technology, rapid prototyping and many other fields. In 2015, researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands created 3-D—printed teeth made of antimicrobial plastic; tests found that the plastic killed over 99 percent of the bacteria that causes tooth decay, according to New Scientist. In a study published by the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, another group of Dutch researchers found that their 3-D—printing process for artificial cadavers "results in accurate models suitable for preoperative workup." In 2017, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed 3-D—printed microparticles that can release multiple vaccine drugs over an extended period of time with just a single injection. That could mean a lot for vaccine efficiency and disease eradication. Meanwhile, 3-D printing techniques promise better artificial organs — companies like San Diego-based Organovo are developing bioprinted liver tissue, which could first be used as a means to check the safety of drugs. But 3-D printing in healthcare isn't just experimental — it's already benefiting many patients. In 2016, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals began shipping the first 3-D—printed drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Spritam (levetiracetam), which is designed to treat epilepsy. The company's ZipDose technology creates superporous printed pills that are formed from multiple layers of powder bound together with an aqueous fluid. That gives them the ability to dissolve instantly when they come into contact with a liquid, making them easier to ingest, said ComputerWorld. Reaping the Benefits Developing drugs without animal testing is just one example of how massive savings in time and money could result from 3-D printing in healthcare. Another is prosthetics. A South African initiative called Robohand used 3-D printing methods to produce artificial limbs for as little as $500 to $2,000, far below the $10,000-plus cost of conventional healthcare technology for prosthetics. In fact, basic bioprinters that can print cells can be had for as little as $10,000 — compare that to the cost of a kidney transplant at approximately $300,000. But perhaps the most revolutionary potential of 3-D printing in healthcare is the ability to democratize drug manufacturing. Leroy Cronin, a chemist at the University of Glasgow, worked with colleagues to produce 3-D—printed chemical reaction vessels that can convert simple starting compounds into a muscle relaxant called baclofen, which is used to treat muscle spasms, reported Science. The technology could be used to produce medicines that are not commercially viable or as a dispensary in remote locations. It also paves the way for patients to one day print their own medicines at home; doctors in the future might give out algorithms instead of prescriptions for drugs, said the Washington Post. From nerve implants to home pharmacies, 3-D printing technologies hold a lot of promise for healthcare. And we're just at the beginning of this revolution. Does creating technology to improve quality of life interest you? If so, take a look at our Careers page to see our exciting, difference-making opportunities.

3D Printing in Healthcare Will Bring Huge Savings

Companies are spending on 3-D print solutions. As noted by Forbes, 90 percent of organizations believe 3-D printing offers a competitive advantage, with 47 percent seeing greater return on investment than last year and 72 percent expecting to spend more on the technology through 2018. The challenge? Expanding print's potential. While 3-D prototyping has launched a new industrial revolution, there's now a trend toward 3-D bioprinting. A major benefit of 3-D bioprinting includes replacing organs or creating viable biological structures capable of encouraging tissue replication. This is no easy feat, but the recent development of "super soft" materials could help solve the hard problem of creating artificial organs. Heart of the Matter 3-D printing is already used to empower human beings. For example, advancements in printing techniques and materials have created a market for custom-built artificial limbs designed to give Paralympic athletes mobility and utility much closer to typical body function than previous generations of prosthetics could, according to 3DPrint.com. Inside the body, however, unique challenges emerge. If printed organs and tissues don't match the composition of internal structures, implantation could result in rejection or outright failure. As noted by IDTechEx, lack of tissue vascularization can be a major issue as well. Without vasculature to transport nutrients and oxygen freely, tissues and organs suffer. While there are several methods of using 3-D bioprinting to create artificial vasculature, the complex design of vasculature can be difficult to replicate. Print speed is a problem that can also be attributed to the complexity of living tissue. If tiny, complex structures take too long to replicate, cells may become compromised. Organ and tissue material has also been difficult to replicate. Hard plastics are easy to work with since they can be heated, shaped, molded and then cooled. Complex organic structures, meanwhile, must be incredibly soft yet able to hold their shape under stress. Organizing Evolution Humans have an unstoppable drive to solve "impossible" problems, so it's no surprise that researchers are making significant strides in 3-D printing artificial organs. As noted by Design News, advancements in sheer computer power and throughput have helped tackle the issue of complexity. Data from CT or MRI scans converted to printable form no longer suffer complexity loss, allowing for the creation of exact replicas. According to Inverse, a team from Rutgers University has created a water-based hydrogel that allows for the creation of cells that change shape in response to temperature fluctuations, just like those in the human body. Similarly, research in Switzerland has led to "functional living ink" (or "flink"), which contains both hydrogel and living bacteria that can be used in biomedical applications, according to Chemical & Engineering News. Imperial College London researchers may have finally cracked a critical breakthrough: Super soft 3-D printed tissue. According to Science Daily, the team uses solid carbon dioxide to rapidly cool hydrogel ink immediately after 3-D bioprinting. Once thawed, the material matches body tissue softness but doesn't collapse under its own weight. An Artificial Future? What does this mean for the future of artificial organs? Super soft printed tissues could be used to create similarly soft scaffolds that encourage tissue regeneration without triggering immune system rejection. The technique could also be used to grow stable stem cells, highly valued for their ability to change form and function. Since these scaffolds are super soft, they reduce the strain on biological processes during the already-stressful period of new organ adaptation and integration, according to Science Daily. Take it a step further, and you're talking about full-on 3-D printed human hearts created using patients' own cells. According to Fast Company, the benefits up for grabs here are substantial. Since these artificial organs are the exact same size and genetic makeup as their organic progenitors, the need for immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection would be substantially reduced. And as the cost of 3-D printing comes down thanks to market-volume increases, access to transplant hearts is no longer limited by the number of organ donors. The hard problem of organ transplant is getting a soft solution. New 3-D printing techniques mean better organs, superior scaffolds and the potential for healthcare solutions based on biology and driven by human ingenuity. 

"Soft" 3-D Bioprinting: Solving the Hard Problem of Artificial Organs

3D—printed objects are no longer a novelty and are paving the way for incredible scientific innovation. For example, a large 3D—printed engine part was successfully tested and could be used in the next generation SLS rocket that will send humans to the moon and Mars, NASA reported. Advanced 3D printing is also improving medical treatments and military technology. Advanced 3D Printing in Medicine The road to recovery for any individual with deep skin wounds, which affect all three layers of the skin, can be as painful and traumatic as the incident itself. Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a handheld 3D printer filled with "bio ink" — essentially an ink cartridge containing biological materials. The bio ink contains strips of biomaterial that include the proteins collagen and fibrin, which are used to promote wound healing. As noted by the university, there are two types of skin grafts: a full thickness skin graft and a split thickness skin graft. Full thickness skin grafts are used for smaller areas, including the hands and face, since the grafts blend well with a person's skin. Split thickness skin grafts, on the other hand, are used to treat large areas and are typically thinner, which can lead to shrinkage and gaps in skin coverage. A deep wound that damages the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis requires a split thickness skin graft. Split thickness skin grafts require large amounts of tissue, but 3D printers can eliminate this need. The University of Toronto's portable 3D printer takes just two minutes to set the tissue on the individual. This scientific innovation can increase skin graft coverage area and improve recovery times for patients.  Another research team from Spain is also working on a 3D bioprinter: it can take three weeks to cover a large wound, but this 3D bioprinter would significantly reduce the treatment time, according to research published in the journal Biofabrication. 3D Printing Advances for Military Security Military personnel entering a dangerous situation may not have time to stop and check a piece of equipment to determine if the area is free from chemical or biological agents. However, a temporary tattoo loaded with electronic sensors printed on their hand can quickly alert them to any danger. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a portable 3D printer that is small enough to fit in a person's hand or inside a backpack. The printer can track its place on an individual's skin and print a functional tattoo that is equipped with sensors. It can also print ink to create different chemical sensors for any situation, according to the university. Additionally, the 3D printer can print a portable charging station for electronic equipment and can produce solar cells on skin, both of which can be used to charge devices out in the field. The Future of 3D Printing 3D printing advances are helping to shape the future of wound care and military security. Artificial organs may even be in our future. As printers get even faster and more advanced, there isn't an area of life that won't be affected by this scientific innovation.

Advanced 3D Printing Is Changing Medicine and Military Safety

 Behind Jennifer Lewis's unassuming smile is a woman who's rocking the world of 3-D printing and material science. Lewis has opened up bold, new avenues for design engineers working as innovators in electronics and medical device development. Answering the question, "What would you do if you could 3-D print electronics?", Lewis's Voxel8 created a multimaterial 3-D printer capable of fabricating embedded electronics, sensors and antennas. Some hot prototypes coming out of the Voxel8 lab include a 3-D printed digital watch, a 3-D printed quadcopter, custom hearing aids and athletic shoes that improve energy absorption.3-D Everything The Harvard-lab start-up digitally prints electronics using its proprietary, highly conductive "silver ink" with a conductivity reportedly 5,000 times greater than that of the carbon-based inks used in additive manufacturing. 3-D printing of electrical, in-circuit test fixtures for PCBs and semi-conductors is certainly an electrifying development for industrial designers and engineers in consumer electronics, automotive and telecom industries. And Voxel8 can fabricate more than just parts. The company can digitally print the plastic body and metal circuitry of a UAV drone all at once! As with this printed drone, multimaterial digital manufacturing eliminates the need for flex circuits by routing traces out from PCB directly within structural parts. Watch Lewis explain how at Voxel8, "disruptive innovation is at the heart of what we do."Polymer Skaters Using carbon fiber in a skateboard is nothing new, but two brothers from Huntington Beach, California, have developed a skateboard with two layers of carbon fiber and their innovative Hybrid-Polymerâ„¢ tip-fill. The Hybrid-Polymerâ„¢ tip-fill is made of a proprietary blend of plastics with a high durometer that gives it incredible impact strength, wear resistance and impressive adhesion to the maple wood. Cofounders Mark and Greg Rosolowski's company — Lithe Skateboards — is still on its way up the half-pipe, but they have some backing through a recent Indiegogo campaign and they are poised to enter production mode. They have blended their engineering and craftsmen backgrounds to design the ultimate in durable decks that are virtually impossible to chip, they claim. Watch as they throw one of their Lithe boards off a roof. Mark, an engineer with experience in product design and manufacturing, worked with Greg — a passionate skateboarder and designer — to begin developing the board five years ago. The brothers claim their board is six times more durable than average maple board. Two layers of carbon fiber increase resilience and strength to protect against fraying while reducing weight and thickness of the deck.A Mobile Mind Nick Sampson helped build what some insiders call the "Tesla Killer," but don't say he works for an auto company; Sampson insists Faraday Future is all tech. Sampson describes the company he helped found as "a tech company reformatting the future of mobility." As SVP of R&D and Engineering, Sampson is not just the brain behind Faraday Future and its FF91 electric supercar — he's the voice. Watch his razzle-dazzle presentation at the recent 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as he explains why "disruption is what this world needs." Sampson — who has also worked for Jaguar, Lotus and, yes, Tesla — told the CES audience that Faraday Future is "reformatting" the future of the auto industry and the future of mobility. That's because the company's first production offering is more about complete connectivity to the digital world (360-degree mapping technology) and ergonomics (a NASA-inspired zero-gravity driving seat) than it is to speed (although 0 to 60 mph in 2.39 seconds isn't too shabby). Billed as the world's fastest and most connected self-driving supercar, the FF91 is all about the cool factor. LED lights along the car will glow when recharging and pulse when driving in autonomous mode. Factor in its facial recognition technology, high-definition cameras, intuitive user system and ultrasonic sensors and radars throughout, and you might just have — as Nick Sampson says — a new future to mobility.From Human Dream to Humanoid Reality To be the brains and force behind the most sophisticated and successful humanoid artificial intelligence project in the world, you'd probably need advanced degrees in electronic engineering, computing and cognitive robotics. Check, check and check for Giorgio Metta — not to mention he can quote from Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot." From an avid science fiction reader as a child, to the director of the open-source iCub humanoid project at the Italian Institute of Technology in Italy, Metta has far-reaching experience under his belt. He has studied and taught at the University of Genoa, Italy, the University of Plymouth in the UK and the MIT AI-Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. iCub is a full humanoid with 53 degrees of freedom, an articulated upper body and dexterous hands. The size of a five-year-old, iCub can crawl on all fours, walk and sit up to manipulate objects. The humanoid is made up of 5,000 parts — the same as a small car — including human-like tactile sensors, custom electronics and hands with five fingers, 19 joints and nine degrees of freedom each. Watch iCub in action as he manipulates objects autonomously. So why is Metta spearheading the creation of an AI robot that looks human? He cites research that shows that people respond better to a human-shaped robot in a human environment. And that's the goal of this AI project — to bring robots into our daily working and living human environment. It's a possibility that's not too far off. Fast approaching are autonomous humanoid robots of moderate intelligence (some human programming needed). And soon approaching are fully intelligent robots that can adapt and learn from experience (no human tinkering needed). The immediate challenge with AI is that the intelligence is clearly inhuman. But as Metta sees it, soon AI — humanoid AI, to be exact — will have both artificial intelligence and human intelligence. The result will be an "improvement on human possibilities," Metta says in this YouTube video. Should we be scared? According to Metta, we should only be afraid of the misuse of supertechnologies like AI. "Be afraid of people, not the robots," Metta says in the video. Yikes! Sounds like Westworld might not always just be a good show on HBO.Cars Are People Too Roboticist Carol Reiley has repeatedly said that the self-driving car "will be the first social robot." That doesn't mean it will chit chat with you about politics on your drive into work — well, maybe someday — but it does mean autonomous cars are on their way to becoming human-like in their interactions with pedestrians and other drivers. Watch as Reiley explains how her Silicon Valley startup — Drive.ai — is using a deep-learning algorithm to bring human-centered AI to self-driving cars. Her team of AI researchers from Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Lab aren't building cars; they're building the AI software system that will give a self-driving car the ability to deal with unpredictable humans. Sensing a pedestrian trying to cross in front of your car, a display of text, lights, sounds or motion would let that pedestrian know when it's safe to pass. But you might want to give a friendly smile and a wave to the pedestrian too — because that's also the human thing to do.These star innovators shine through creative thinking and strategic pursuit of their passions — pursue yours at Northrop Grumman.

Innovators in the House: Watch 5 Tech Stars Light Up YouTube

Engineers launch specialized aircraft into the skies and pitch payloads into space. Did you also know that, as an engineer, you can give people wings too? Engineering accessibility helps people with disabilities fly in a space that most of us take for granted.Without direct experience, it's difficult to know exactly what obstacles people with disabilities face in everyday life, but pause for a moment and imagine how you would use your computer without hands? How about riding a bike when your balance isn't good or your legs are too short? ... and how would you surf the internet to read this blog post?Engineering for Assistive TechThis is where assistive technology (AT) comes in — devices that help people with disabilities manage daily life. Probably the most famous and globally recognized is Stephen Hawking's voice — a computer interface that powers his communication, allowing him to communicate with the world around him. Other examples of AT that you may see every day include customized grips for holding a toothbrush or spoon securely, walkers, wheelchairs and ramps for mobility and electronic solutions for computer access. All of these solutions require engineering input to bring them to life. Many of them also need volunteers and organizations bringing experts together with patients and their families.Community Partner V-LINCCollaboration often starts in the workplace. Companies offer skills, workforce and sometimes production capacity to give back to the community. This is true for Northrop Grumman which has a long history with assistive technology, starting with prosthetic limb research after World War II. V-LINC, an organization that designs and builds customized AT solutions, recently recognized NG Baltimore aerospace engineers as Partner of the Year for their volunteer work.Based in Maryland, V-LINC is the merger of two groups, one of which started in 1982 with a former Westinghouse (and now Northrop Grumman) employee. The company influence continues, with employees forming one of the largest volunteer teams. Over the decades, they have worked on various V-LINC projects including bike modification clinics that get kids in the saddle, a mobility chariot to help a family exercise together and a seizure alarm for nighttime monitoring — all small engineering projects that make a huge impact on the families involved.Workplace Buzz at FabLabWithin the workplace itself, the NG FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory) initiative at the Space Park campus in Redondo Beach, California, also connects company volunteers with AT. In January 2016, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems employees engineered a custom motorized easel for an artist. The engineers spent time with Raul Pizarro, whose muscular dystrophy limits mobility so he can work only in a small area. Volunteers took measurements and 3D scans to design a solution that would allow Pizarro to work once again on larger canvases. When completed, the system helped move the canvas so that Pizarro could execute the full scope of his dreams.Engineering Accessibility With the Next GenerationNorthrop Grumman is also inspiring the next generation of engineers. A recent V-LINC project matched a Northrop Grumman volunteer with a college student team to learn about sensory processing disorders among autistic children and youth.Another FabLab event in October, 2016 exposed middle-school students to engineering design for AT. Held in collaboration with the National Science Teachers Association, the students used 3D-printing technology to build components for prosthetic hands designed for the specialized needs of growing children. With all the exciting tech and equipment available at FabLab, not only did the students learn about AT but they also saw how cool it is to work as an engineer.Low Tech Works TooAT doesn't always mean high tech; limited resources often require creative solutions and improvisation, something that engineers are good at. Last August, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems engineers brainstormed ideas for improving toilet access. Inspired by challenges faced by a Ugandan amputee and landmine survivor, they used their engineering know-how for solutions that make pit latrines more accessible. Prototypes included an ingenious portable seat that balances between crutches.High tech or low tech — the common feature is that engineering solutions help people with disabilities to face daily life. Maybe next time you see your work soaring across the skies, imagine the excitement of using those same mad skillz to give someone else wings.

Disabilities Take Flight When Accessibility Is Engineered

In March 2020, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States began to swell, hospitals put out a desperate call for help. They needed personal protective equipment — and they needed it fast. The Northrop Grumman FabLabs community swung into action. These fabrication laboratories, which opened in 2014 in the spirit of the maker movement, provide innovation space for company employees to pursue new ideas and test out potential customer solutions. But they're also ideal spaces to respond quickly to urgent manufacturing needs. Already equipped with a range of industrial tools and equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters, metal and woodworking machines and even sewing machines, these labs don't have to undergo a major facility transformation like traditional factories might in order to meet a demand — at least, not in the conventional sense. Within weeks, six Northrop Grumman FabLabs located in California and Florida were taking an all-hands-on-deck approach. They cranked out more than 10,000 face shields in two months for dozens of hospitals — with some labs working 24/7. The effort both helped fulfill the immediate need for critical medical supplies and demonstrated that even a large company can become more agile and break through the usual bureaucracies to respond quickly to community needs and innovate to solve problems. "It was very grassroots, very collaborative," says Anne Stockdale, an engineer and manager at Northrop Grumman, who volunteered to coordinate the multi-lab effort. Stepping Up It began with a simple request. A nurse working in an intensive care unit asked her friend Daniel Hubert, a Northrop Grumman design engineer in Melbourne, Florida, if he could fabricate a face shield for her. Hubert researched designs approved by the National Institutes of Health and found a simple pattern made from a 3D-printed headband and a sheet of clear transparency paper typically used for overhead projectors. He prototyped the first one, and once the hospital approved, the entire 85-person staff of the ICU requested one. Undaunted, he recruited fellow engineers from Northrop Grumman to assist. In three days, they printed 150 face shields. It was clear by then that Northrop Grumman FabLabs could play a huge role. Tony Long, manager, Project Management, and FabLab lead in Redondo Beach, California, put out a company-wide call for volunteers. Stockdale, who has a materials and manufacturing background, stepped in to help coordinate production and distribution. Each day, all employees involved in the effort participated in a quick conference call to report on their progress, discuss materials needs and coordinate fixes on any equipment problems. Stockdale kept the meetings short. One slide listed each FabLab and what it needed to execute that day. Red, yellow, green or blue dots indicated their status. Red could mean a printer was down, yellow might mean materials were on the way, green might mean an order was ready but they needed a shipping address, blue meant no problems at all. "It was a quick way to get everybody on the same page and figure out who needed help as quickly as possible," says Stockdale. Crowdsourcing led to quick solutions, whether technical, logistical or material. Around the country, dozens of employees pitched in. Charlie Mann, a computer systems analyst in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, who had seven 3D printers in his home, produced dozens of shields in just a few weeks. CJ Nesbitt, an engineering manager in San Diego, California, also enlisted his own 3D printer as well as six others at the Northrop Grumman's San Diego FabLab. His group made more than 5,500 face shields for volunteer medical responders as well as healthcare workers in the area. Employees outside the FabLabs group got into the act as well. Northrop Grumman's Additive Manufacturing group, for instance, produced parts that were then sent to one of the FabLabs, where they were added it to the assembly line and distribution. Even some office administrators stepped up to the task. As production increased, transparency sheets, which were much more popular three decades ago, were suddenly in short supply. Stockdale already had global supply chain buyers from the company periodically checking office supply stores for this item, but she put out a request to admins asking them to check their office stock. "Sure enough, they found them in cabinets and drawers, where they'd probably been since the 1990s," says Stockdale. Retooling Historically, Americans have done well taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to solving national crises. Perhaps the best examples came during World War II, when dozens of manufacturing companies each underwent a facility transformation to produce vehicles, equipment, ammunition and more for the battlefield. According to Military.com, General Motors started making B24 bomber engines in its Buick factory. Fisher Body, which made auto bodies, began assembling the M-4 "Sherman" tank. Chrysler and Packard shifted some of their production to make tanks and aircraft engines. Oldsmobile started manufacturing artillery ammunition. During the COVID-19 crisis, Northrop Grumman FabLabs had to retool — but not in the conventional sense. These innovation spaces, designed specifically for prototyping, experimenting and making one-off gadgets, aren't intended to resemble factories. There are no assembly lines, and products are not made using methods to repeat and reproduce. "They're playgrounds for engineers," says Stockdale. In order to meet the demand for personal protective gear, the FabLabs not only turned into factories, they almost turned into businesses. They had to take customer orders and confirm that they could fulfill them. They had to source materials, some of which were not always easy to procure. They had to output parts according to an approved design and institute quality controls. They had to reproduce the items as quickly as possible over multi-shift operations. They had to synchronize distribution. They had to overcome design changes, meet legal requirements and build partnerships across networks they may not have encountered before. "How quickly the teams were able to set up and react to create face shields and get everything operational speaks volumes about Northrop Grumman employees," says Stockdale. In the end, Northrop Grumman FabLabs delivered about 16,700 face shields to healthcare workers in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia. They also worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send surplus equipment to hospitals experiencing critical needs. Northrop Grumman FabLabs will be ready to rise to the challenge, should a need arise again.  

Engineering Maker Spaces Respond to COVID-19

Additive manufacturing (AM) — more commonly known as 3D printing — has pivoted from a niche solution to a supply chain mainstay. As AMFG notes, the materials market for 3D printing technology alone is now worth more than $1.5 billion and is on track to add another $4.5 billion in just five years. And according to a recent Ultimaker survey, pandemic pressures have also spurred an uptick in additive manufacturing interest, with 71% of companies now aware of 3D-printing potential and 39% already adopting the technology.      But how did AM get its start? How does it work? What's currently being done with 3D printed materials, and what's on the horizon for this build-as-you-go solution?      Making the Math Work      While 3D-printing advancements have come fast and furious in the last few years, the underlying concept is more than three decades old. As The American Society of Mechanical Engineers notes, the first 3D-printing technology patent was filed in 1980 by Hideo Kodama, who developed a photopolymer-based printing system that used UV light to harden materials.      Although Kodama's idea was never commercialized, it paved the way for advancement in the AM space. In 1983, Charles Hull created the first stereolithography apparatus (SLA), and he obtained the first SLA printing patent in 1986. In 1987, Carl Deckard patented the selective laser sintering (SLS) process, and in 1988, the 3D Systems company began selling the first commercial, rapid-prototyping printer, known as the SLA-1.      Rapid development followed. By 1999, the first 3D-printed organ was used in a transplant surgery, and in 2005, Dr. Adrian Bowyer created a self-replicating print process to improve output speed. By 2009, the price of 3D printers fell from $10,000 to $1,000. And in 2011, the University of Southampton printed the world's first unmanned aircraft. Industry specialization came next with the creation of materials such as bio-ink for medical applications and thermoplastic polymers for aerospace. By 2019, the expiration of old patents combined with the rise of open-source printing solutions blew the development doors off — today, there are more than 170 3D-printer manufacturers worldwide catering to everything from at-home hobbyists to multinational corporations.      Multiplying the Impact      The "additive" adjective in AM speaks to the nature of the 3D printing process. Where traditional manufacturing focuses on the creation of fully formed parts and objects, 3D printers apply material layer by layer to produce the end result. While this generally results in slower production speeds, it permits the creation of purpose-built objects that can be as complex — or as simple — as companies require. In the case of aerospace development, for example, 3D printing makes it possible to reduce both weight and volume by printing contiguous parts that fit into aircraft fuselage or cockpits like perfectly formed puzzle pieces.      However, like any commercial technology, there's always room for improvement. As 3D Printing Media notes, one of the top printing priorities is speed. The faster devices can reliably print parts and products, the better the bottom line for manufacturing firms. Typically measured in millimeters per hour, many SLA systems are capable of printing between 20 and 40 millimeters of material every 60 minutes. However, new developments offer the potential for production speeds up to 65 mm/hour and prototyping speeds that reach 100 mm/hour — without compromising the form or function of output parts.      Also in development are new 3D-printing materials that offer improved properties or unique compositions for specific applications. One area of interest is composite materials such as electrostatic dissipative PolyEtherKetoneKetone (ESD PEKK) — a thermoplastic that contains discontinuous carbon fibers to help reduce the risk of unexpected static discharge in aerospace applications, offering improved thermal resistance. Other areas of advancement include elastomeric materials that are soft and flexible yet strong and tough, along with high-performance ceramics that offer increased strength along with enhanced temperature and chemical resistance.      Exploring Exponential Growth      It's one thing to talk about materials and manufacturing times, but what are companies actually doing with 3D-printing technologies? And what's on the horizon? Here's a look at some of the most interesting innovations in the AM market space.      Space-ready thermoplastics      New materials such as ESD PEKK now make it possible for aerospace manufacturing firms to create purpose-built parts that can withstand even the most inhospitable environments. Along with built-in static discharge capabilities, this advanced thermoplastic also features high thermal stability, minimal susceptibility to gamma radiation and no outgassing. These features make it ideal for vacuum space environments where even molecule-thin outgassing layers can lead to serious functional failures.      Lobster-based load bearing      Biological materials often come with unique properties that aren't easily replicated in artificial settings. Case in point? Lobster shells.      As Science Daily notes, the spiral construction of lobster shells provide high-performance protection against both predators and environmental forces. Now, researchers from RMIT University have created 3D printing materials that bio-mimick lobster shells' spiral patterns and applied them to 3D concrete creations. The result? Overall durability and the ability to precisely reinforce concrete structures as required.      Lightning-fast limb production      While 3D-printed organs have become more commonplace as manufacturing technology evolves, two common problems persist: speed and size. It makes sense; the smaller the organ, the easier and quicker it is to print, while larger organs and limbs, such as legs, arms or hearts, are much more difficult to produce. However, according to Design News, significant progress is now being made in this area thanks to the use of hydrogels — materials that are mostly made of water and are currently used to make products such as contact lenses or diaper gels.      Researchers at the University of Buffalo, co-led by associate professor Ruogang Zhao, developed a 3D-printing method that made it possible to create life-sized organs and limbs, such as a human hand, in less than 20 minutes. Although challenges still exist around effective transplant and integration into patients' bodies, these biomedical miracles highlight a bright future for lightning-fast limb creation.      Hitting closer to home      There's also a push to scale up additive manufacturing efforts even further by applying the concept to home construction. As Tech News World notes, there are substantive benefits to this approach. Build times could be reduced from eight weeks to just a few days, construction waste could be cut by more than 50%, and 3D-printed homes could be purpose-built to survive in specific environments. For example, 3D-printed structures in China have been engineered to survive magnitude 8.0 earthquakes.      Although this particular application remains on the not-too-distant horizon here in North America, there are significant advantages to AM-driven home building, especially as construction and labor costs continue to increase.      Adding It All Up      Bit by bit, layer by layer, 3D printing technology has evolved from niche application to international operation. And while there's still room to grow — from improved thermoplastics to printed prosthetics and high-speed home builds — additive solutions now offer a way to multiply the impact of manufacturing at scale.      Are you interested in all things related to technology? We are, too. Check out Northrop Grumman career opportunities to see how you can participate in this fascinating time of discovery.       

It All Adds Up: Exploring the Present and Potential of 3D Printing Technology

 3-D printed objects are no longer mere curiosities. As the technology continues to improve and fall in price, more consumers use them to create everything from soap holders to piggy banks to customized hooks. That's just the beginning. It's been half a decade since Wired's Chris Anderson predicted that 3-D printing would usher in a new industrial revolution. Since then, technologies like wearables and artificial intelligence have overshadowed 3-D printing, at least in the press. However, the industry has been quietly building. The 3-D printing industry surpassed $5 billion in 2015 as consumers purchased 278,000 desktop printers worldwide. The industry as a whole grew 25.9 percent. Gartner predicts that by 2019, additive manufacturing, as it's also known, will be a $14.6 billion business. The growth has been impressive on the business side as well. Manufacturers like GE, Ford and Nissan are now using additive manufacturing. A 2016 survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers found 71 percent of manufacturers were using 3-D printing for prototyping and final products.Prototyping and Replacing, Not Mass Production Those firms are mostly using additive manufacturing to create prototypes. The idea of 3-D printing cars or even car parts on an assembly line is years off. How many years, though? That PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed that 52 percent of manufacturers said that they thought 3-D printing would be used for high-volume production within three to five years. At this point, printers are far too slow to produce at volume. The 3-D printed objects that most manufacturers are producing are prototypes. Making a prototype in a traditional factory is an arduous process that requires remaking molds and then flowing in liquid plastics or metals. 3-D printing is a much easier way to create such prototypes. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and entrepreneur Jim McKelvey created the first prototype for Square, the credit-card swiper, with a 3-D printer. Another use for 3-D printing is to create replacement parts. A far-flung satellite office, for instance, could use its own 3-D printer to produce a broken machine part rather than waiting for headquarters to recreate and send the part. Daimler AG, the world's largest truck manufacturer, is using additive manufacturing to create replacement parts.Medical Miracles? Another segment that's creating 3-D printed objects is medicine and health care. 3-D printers can already create prosthetic devices, like a mechanical hand for a Sudanese refugee. They have also been used to create splints to be used in operations on newborns. Doctors have used 3-D printers to replace skull parts. A Massachusetts company called Conformis prints hundreds of knee implants every year.Makers These use cases are occurring as small companies using 3-D printers appear ready to give traditional manufacturers some new competition. The Brooklyn-based Voodoo Manufacturing, for instance, uses 160 printers that cost $2,000 each to print up to 160 items at the same time. The company says it can undercut traditional factories producing runs of 10,000 pieces. The company hopes to cut its costs by 90 percent during the next few years as printers get cheaper and more efficient. While such upstarts have an opportunity to disrupt manufacturing, most business leaders are aware of the threat. They've also lived through the past few years in which "digital disruption" has become a fact of daily life. Most likely, manufacturers will use 3-D printing to create disruption themselves and bring down costs for everyone.

3-D Printed Objects Usher in a New Industrial Revolution

The 3D printer has won the hearts of manufacturers for its ability to create detailed products without the need for expensive and time-consuming prototyping. Everything from prosthetics to engines to football cleats have spun out of the technology. But it couldn't create human organs, could it? Well, yes, it can. Scientists claim to have recently enhanced the performance and stability of 3D-printed organs, including a heart. The real-life implications of 3D printing human organs are vast and revolutionary. The printer could quickly produce an organ transplant, and it could enhance the skills of surgeons by letting them practice on copied organs — innovations many would say are worth copying on a large scale. Connecting Printed Vessels With Cells To be clear, the organs aren't entirely the products of additive manufacturing, the term to describe 3D printing, but a recent development with the technology signals it will probably have a large role in advancing copied organs. Creating organs through additive manufacturing had until now been largely unsuccessful. As described by Cosmos, laboratories have grown so-called organoids for the past decade. These miniaturized versions of the brain, heart and kidney help scientists study cancer, dementia and heart attacks. But with the models unable to expand beyond the size of a lentil, they couldn't incorporate the tubes that mimic blood vessels. Without those tubes, oxygen and nutrients struggle to reach the core of the organ. It seemed as if the dream to produce ready-made full-sized organs in a lab would have to remain just that, a dream. But a recent breakthrough that combines human stem cells with a 3D-printed vascular channel could overcome the structural issues. A new method of replication solves the size challenge by integrating 3D-printed vascular channels into living matrices of stem cells that form organ building blocks, according to the scientists who devised the technique SWIFT (sacrificial writing into functional tissue). The 3D printer infuses ink and gelatin into a matrix and the mix is then heated, melting the ink and leaving a channel that is then lined with cells found in human vessels. Stir in oxygen and nutrients and you have an organ. The researchers kept one such organ, a 1.5-centimeter mini-heart, beating on its own for more than a week. The Opportunities Are Worth Repeating The researchers — from Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) — say SWIFT produces organ-specific tissues that have high cell density and functionality, a critical step toward large-scale and safe organ replacement and other uses. "This is an entirely new paradigm for tissue fabrication," Mark Skylar-Scott, a research associate at the Wyss Institute and one of the study's co-authors, told ScienceDaily. "Rather than trying to 3D-print an entire organ's worth of cells, SWIFT focuses on only printing the vessels necessary to support a living tissue construct that contains large quantities of (organ building blocks), which may ultimately be used therapeutically to repair and replace human organs with lab-grown versions containing patients' own cells." As ScienceDaily noted, 20 people die daily while waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S. More than 30,000 transplants are performed each year but it's still not enough to whittle down the long waiting lists of those in need of a suitable organ. More than 113,000 people are currently awaiting word that their wait has ended. Artificial organs could lessen or eliminate the shortage. 3D printing human organs could also give doctors an opportunity to practice difficult surgical procedures, a chance to enhance their skills without fear of doing harm to human patients. Similarly, 3D-printed organs could remove the need to try out new pharmaceutical drugs on human or even animal test subjects. The ink is barely dry on the Harvard researchers' test, but the scientific world is hoping their discovery can be replicated for years to come.

A 3D-Printed Organ Transplant Gives Hope to Patients

For centuries, prosthetic limbs evolved so slowly that the ambulatory and functional gains they provided were offset by their limitations. An artificial device just couldn't possibly replace a natural arm or leg. But now, amputees are benefiting from innovative prosthetics — including hands that grasp and legs that support athletics. They look less artificial and behave more like near-natural extensions of the intricately mobile human body. The field of prosthetics is still far from perfect, but several advances are making artificial limbs "connect" more seamlessly to an amputee's actions. War Prompted First Innovation Cycle Before recent advances in bionics and neurology accelerated the pace of prosthetic development, artificial limbs and support devices were constructed of wood, metal and various fibers. A wood and leather toe attached to a foot of an Egyptian mummy from as far back as 950 B.C. is considered by Smithsonian Magazine as the earliest example of a prosthetic device. Over the centuries, the materials and shapes of prostheses changed — including a 16th century metal hand, pictured in Atlas Obscura, that looked like it was taken from a knight's suit of armor — but expectations largely remained modest. These rudimentary substitutions offered little help with grasping objects and walking. They were also uncomfortable. It's widely accepted that the estimated 60,000 amputations performed on soldiers in the Civil War prompted science to improve prosthetics, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Indeed, an artificial arm developed between the Civil War and World War I had a wrist that turned clockwise while the elbow bent, letting amputee veterans feed themselves. Artificial hands created after World War I featured movable fingers, said the BBC. Enhancements continued throughout the 20th century; plastics made for more flexible prostheses, and electronics were incorporated in an attempt to give amputees more control of them. A Time of Rapid Advancements Flash forward to this century, and prosthetics have reached a point where artificial hands and legs are more intuitive, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Amputees can more aptly grasp objects with prosthetic hands and rigorously compete in athletics with artificial legs. Microprocessors drive these improvements, making prosthetic limbs responsive and easy to control, while synthetics make limbs seem more like real flesh. And rapid prototyping has reduced the cost of prosthetic limbs. "I've been amazed at how impactful rapid prototyping technology can be to the design process," said Oscar Castillo, a Northrop Grumman engineering manager who leads the company's FabLab in Redondo Beach, Calif. "Here at the FabLab, I've seen engineers leverage these technologies and their experience towards improving the lives of others with disabilities, from 3-D printed prosthetic hands to helping an artist with muscular dystrophy paint a little easier. It's incredibly exciting and fulfilling work." Recent advancements are too numerous to completely cite here, but some innovative prosthetics include "power" knees that support climbing as well as bionic hands with motors in each finger to work off electronic signals, enabling responsive movement and gripping. Science and Medicine Team Up As The Engineer noted, prosthetic development focuses on two areas: refining current socket-based technology or creating new systems that directly integrate into the body. Integration tries to overcome the longstanding hurdle of artificial limbs being unable to communicate with the brain. U.K. company Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems is attempting the difficult step of integration by developing an interface that could be surgically implanted into the stump of an arm or a leg, where it would assimilate with bone and connect directly to nerves. On that same track, MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital are hoping new treatments in medicine enable seamless integration of prosthetics and technology. Created by MIT and performed by Brigham and Women's on a patient last year, a new surgery aims to pave the way for movement commands to be sent from the central nervous system to a robotic prosthesis. A "Hero Arm" Builds Esteem All these technological and scientific leaps also try to make amputees feel more confident with prosthetic limbs. Perhaps no product illustrates this more than Open Bionics' Hero Arm, a 3D-printed prosthesis that, through its design, tries to make amputees feel like superheroes. Luke Skywalker's lifelike bionic arm isn't here — yet. But prosthetic limbs are no longer uncomfortable, unseemly and unmanageable. They are helping amputees lead rich lives.

Interested in a career with Northrop Grumman? Check out our open positions.