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ORNL’s convergent manufacturing platform, on display at IMTS 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, integrates multiple systems into one.

A new convergent manufacturing platform, developed in only five months at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is debuting at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, or IMTS, in Chicago, Sept. 9–12, 2024.

Team of four people seated in front of four people standing in the network operations center at EPB at Chattanooga.

For the first time, ORNL will run equipment developed at its research facilities on a commercially available quantum network at EPB Quantum Network powered by Qubitekk to help validate the technology's commercial viability.

ORNL researchers demonstrated the use of drones equipped with cameras and other sensors to check power lines at an EPB of Chattanooga training center for electrical line workers.

Researchers at ORNL recently demonstrated an automated drone-inspection technology at EPB of Chattanooga that will allow utilities to more quickly and easily check remote power lines for malfunctions, catching problems before outages occur.

Weyl semimetal

At ORNL, a group of scientists used neutron scattering techniques to investigate a relatively new functional material called a Weyl semimetal. These Weyl fermions move very quickly in a material and can carry electrical charge at room temperature. Scientists think that Weyl semimetals, if used in future electronics, could allow electricity to flow more efficiently and enable more energy-efficient computers and other electronic devices.

Green and blue background of a graphic image that says Honors and Awards

Two additive manufacturing researchers from ORNL received prestigious awards from national organizations. Amy Elliott and Nadim Hmeidat, who both work in the Manufacturing Science Division, were recognized recently for their early career accomplishments.

Researcher Brittany Rodriguez works with an ORNL-developed Additive Manufacturing/Compression Molding system that 3D prints large-scale, high-volume parts made from lightweight composites. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Brittany Rodriguez never imagined she would pursue a science career at a Department of Energy national laboratory. However, after some encouraging words from her mother, input from key mentors at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, or UTRGV, and a lot of hard work, Rodriguez landed at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, or MDF, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The photo is of a 3D-printed part -- a big grey block with a grey fan like structure coming out from the top. To the right shows a digital copy in an AI model.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has publicly released a new set of additive manufacturing data that industry and researchers can use to evaluate and improve the quality of 3D-printed components. The breadth of the datasets can significantly boost efforts to verify the quality of additively manufactured parts using only information gathered during printing, without requiring expensive and time-consuming post-production analysis.

Five girls stand outside of a red brick building with iron gate out front, Stephen King's house.

Participants in the SM2ART Research Experience for Undergraduates program got the chance to see what life is like in a research setting. REU participant Brianna Greer studied banana fibers as a reinforcing material in making lightweight parts for cars and bicycles.

Ariel view of Oak Ridge National Lab with mountains in the background and buildings and a pond in the foreground

Advanced materials research to enable energy-efficient, cost-competitive and environmentally friendly technologies for the United States and Japan is the goal of a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science.

Sphere that has the top right fourth removed (exposed) Colors from left are orange, dark blue with orange dots, light blue with horizontal lines, then black. Inside the exposure is green and black with boxes.

Researchers at ORNL have developed the first additive manufacturing slicing computer application to simultaneously speed and simplify digital conversion of accurate, large-format three-dimensional parts in a factory production setting.