Powder metallurgy is an important metal-forming procedure used in manufacturing essential materials like cutting tools, bearing parts, magnets, etc. Contributing to the automation of the industrial sector, powder metallurgy has continued to attract manufacturers who are looking to lower the cost of manufacturing through forging and machining. This post walks you through the meaning of...Continue Reading
Metal casting is an industrial manufacturing process that is more than 5,000 years old. To date, it continues to play a critical role in the production of essential manufacturing components for the production of automobiles, aircraft, ships, heavy equipment, machining tools, and even plant machinery. In this post, you’ll discover what metal casting is, the...Continue Reading
Introduction Electron beam evaporation and thermal evaporation are types of physical vapor deposition methods. Both processes have some similarities as well as differences. Ever wondered which of these processes is best for coating a substrate you’re working on? Read on. What is Physical Vapor Deposition? Physical vapor deposition is a method of coating substrates below...Continue Reading
Introduction Plasma spray coating is a form of thermal spraying. It involves heating a material electrically and spraying it on the substrate to be coated. This process can be used on a large surface area at a higher deposition rate than most other methods of thin-film deposition. A wide range of materials can be used...Continue Reading
Introduction Chemical vapor deposition is a coating method that is commonly used to produce thin films and coatings of very high quality. Gaseous reactants are usually used in this process. In chemical vapor deposition, you transport one or more volatile precursors to the reaction chamber. The volatile precursors usually decompose on a heated substrate surface...Continue Reading
Introduction A solar panel is an arrangement of connected solar cells. It is also referred to as a photovoltaic module. In solar panels, solar/light energy is converted into electrical energy by solar cells. An American named Charles Fritts produced the first commercial solar panel in 1881. Many technological advancements have transformed the first solar panels...Continue Reading
Introduction Thin-film solar panels are becoming more popular all over the world. There are various types of thin-film solar panels and each type has its advantages and disadvantages. This begs the question, of which thin-film solar panel is better suited for you. In this post, we will be exploring two types of thin-film solar panels...Continue Reading
What is CIGS Thin-Film Photovoltaic? Thin-film photovoltaics, also called solar cells, are devices that convert light energy into electrical energy using the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect explains how voltage is produced when light strikes a material. CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) is a semiconductor material most popularly known for its use in solar cells with...Continue Reading
The rare earth element ytterbium is a soft, malleable, and ductile element known for its bright silvery luster. Ytterbium is the fourteenth and penultimate element in the lanthanide series, an occurrence that explains the relative stability of its +2 oxidation state. But like the other lanthanides, the most common or stable oxidation state of Ytterbium...Continue Reading
