A $20 trillion rock could turn Planetary Resources into the richest company on Earth

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Amun 3554 is a little more than a mile wide and it’s one of the smallest M-class (metal-bearing) asteroids yet discovered. Unless it ever decides to smash into us — a theoretical possibility, but extremely unlikely over the next few centuries — it will continue orbiting the sun, unknown and unmolested.

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Dutch designer plans to 3-D print a steel bridge in mid-air

mx3d_robot

Dutch designer Joris Laarman will build a bridge in 2017 by wheeling a robot to the brink of a canal in Amsterdam. He will push an “on” button and then walk away. When he returns in two months, the Netherlands will have a new, one-of-a-kind bridge, 3-D printed in a steel arc over the waters. This isn’t some proof-of-concept, either: when it’s done, it will be as strong and as any other bridge. People will be able to walk back and forth over it for decades.

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Electric car travels over 1,100 miles without a recharge on a new aluminum-air battery

phinergy-aluminum-air-battery

Together the Israeli company, Phinergy, and the aluminum giant, Alcoa Canada, demonstrated an electric vehicle (EV) capable of driving over 1,100 miles between charges using a combination of aluminum-air and lithium-ion storage technologies.

 

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MX3D-Metal – an incredible new technique for printing 3D metal in midair

mx3d_metal_printing

We are able to 3D print plastic goods, fabric for clothing, food, and possibly in the future, human organs. But metal has been less accessible. Now, a collaboration between Dutch designer Joris Laarman and software company Autodesk has yielded something groundbreaking: an affordable technique for printing large metal structures, called MX3D-Metal. (Video)

 

 

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Mini Metal Maker: A $1000 3D printer that prints metal

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/78961565[/vimeo]

The Mini Metal Maker prints 3D objects from digital files directly in precious metal clay, rather than in plastic. Once these clay objects air-dry, they are fired in a kiln to produce beautiful solid metal objects of high purity and precision. Using metal clay essentially replaces the entire wax-casting or lost-wax process ordinarily needed to do this. The Mini Metal Maker will add new capability for the DIY inventor or artist by making fabrication in metal easy and direct. It will be a boon for anyone interested in creating their own gears, miniature mechanisms, or printing detailed jewelry or metal ornaments. The Mini Metal Maker is built around the concept of using the minimum number of parts, reducing the cost to produce and also eliminating many chances for error during assembly.

 

 

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Amaze project to take 3D printing ‘into metal age’

Concept of a Mars probe.

The European Space Agency has unveiled plans to “take 3D printing into the metal age.”  They will be building parts for jets, spacecraft and fusion projects.  The Amaze project brings together 28 institutions to develop new metal components which are lighter, stronger and cheaper than conventional parts.

 

 

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MIT researchers discover self-healing metal

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9poznjfOLA[/youtube]

MIT has had a number of off-the-wall discoveries, so it takes something truly unexpected to throw the researchers there for a loop. MIT researchers have recently discovered the self-healing properties of metal. If their discovery means what we think it means, we could just have witnessed to the birth of the T-1000.

 

 

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