Faculty in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology (MMET) group, at Texas A&M, have developed unique capabilities to manufacture microcomponents for medical and other robust applications. (At left, a microtool and an ant leg for comparison in the background)
Super alloys for machinery, biocompatible materials such as stainless steels, Nitinol shape memory alloys, and titanium alloys for medical implants can be micromachined on five axes to produce true three-dimensional components. Complex parts can also be shaped using electrical discharge micromachining, electrochemical micromachining/polishing, or laser micromachining/joining.
Net-shaped microcomponents from hard to machined materials can be produced using our newly developed vacuum-assisted investment microcasting. Advanced contact and noncontact metrology techniques allow precise quantification of dimension, shape and surface topography.
The research group has been assisting faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering to manufacture unique shape components, and collaborating with industry (Agilent Technologies, Performance MicroTool, Haas Automation, Unist and Swiss Tech) as well as national research centersin Mexico (COMIMSA, CIDETEQ) to develop new technologies in micromanufacturing.
More information on Micro/Nano Manufacturing Lab can be found at http://mnmlab.tamu.edu.