It used to be that, when designing a new military jet fighter, performance and capability took priority over cost. However, with the end of the cold war, defence contractors are finding that cost and ...

Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) have for the first time created complex 3D parts directly from a blank sheet of metal using only a laser cutter. Laser cutters typically cut 2D ...

Earth’s gravity has long dictated how we build, but a University of Florida engineering team is determined to rewrite the rules – by leaving the planet behind altogether. Associate Professor Victoria ...

Kirigami enhances the Japanese art form of origami, which involves folding paper to create 3D designs, by strategically incorporating cuts to the paper prior to folding. The method enables artists to ...

The idea was conceived by Prof. Andrew Forbes of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), who also led the collaboration while all the key experiments were performed by Dr Darryl Naidoo of the ...

Using geometric phase inside lasers for the first time, researchers find a way to change the orbital angular momentum of laser beams. Nature Photonics today published research by a team from South ...

The optical laser has grown to a $10 billion global technology market since it was invented in 1960, and has led to Nobel prizes for Art Ashkin for developing optical tweezing and Gerard Mourou and ...

The range of materials suitable for even the cheapest laser cutter is part of what makes them such versatile and desirable tools. As long as you temper your expectations, there’s plenty of material to ...