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2018 has proven to be yet another great year to be working in manufacturing, especially building micro devices for biotech, microfluidics, cancer research, medical diagnostics, microelectronics, consumer products and more.  Our customers continue to challenge us with problems that push the advanced manufacturing technical envelope.  We especially appreciate these opportunities since we work with so…

  All complex systems are made of fundamental building blocks that underpin basic functions, processes and connections.  The brain’s seemingly infinite ability to carry on a wide range of capabilities from speech to sensory perception is no different:  the nerve cell and the synaptic junction are the elementary units upon which all brain activity is…

Potomac has been at the forefront of microfluidics device manufacturing and most of our customers’ early applications have been strongly centered on medical work, such as cancer research and Point-Of-Care Diagnostics.  A strong example is work being done in Ester Segal’s Lab at the Israel Institute of Technology [Technion] to increase antibiotic susceptibility detection speeds. …

For the past few decades, we’ve been living in the Third Industrial Revolution where advanced manufacturing meant production utilizing computers and automation.  CAD-driven machine tools, robots and lasers were the order of the day. In recent years, Industry 4.0 has come on the manufacturing scene.  What does this change mean and how does it impact…

Back in 1776, colonial America could not survive without the ingenuity of its people to devise the things needed for everyday life.  Supplies were a sea passage away and many of the colonies were rural, requiring long overland deliveries by horse-drawn wagons.  One would expect that people who were willing to venture to a new…

In the last few years, microfluidics has come into its own as a process and also a micro-manufacturing technology.  The methodology is rapidly changing many diverse fields from Point-of-Care diagnostics to cancer research, environmental studies to Organs-on-a-Chip, drug discovery to micro fuel cells, and much more.  By using a small drop of fluid, microfluidics speeds…

One of the main reasons Potomac relocated to the BWTech@UMBC South Technology Park was to access the talent being cultivated at one of the country’s leading STEM education universities.  While recently grabbing basketball headlines, the University of Maryland Baltimore County is better known for its commitment to training scientists and engineers and we are lucky…

Nearly one year ago, the fashion brand, 828 Movement, LLC was formed with one mission in mind; assist struggling urban area schools by donating 15% of the product proceeds to benefit education equality in the US. This new line of bracelets was developed to pay tribute to the past efforts for equality, stand by the…

The recent 2018 RAPID + TCT conference and trade show demonstrated a wide range of new machines for rapid prototyping with emphasis on additive manufacturing.  Many new 3D Printing machines were launched, with particular emphasis on materials especially in the metals category.  While these new technologies open up capabilities for new product manufacturing, one talk…

The word “light” has many definitions; the foremost being, “something that makes vision possible.” Arguably, second to that, would be, “electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that travels in a vacuum with a speed of 299,792,458 meters per second; specifically: such radiation that is visible to the human eye.”[1] Today, one might find any number of ways to define…

SME’s RAPID Conference and trade show clearly has its finger on the pulse of additive manufacturing.  In the last few years we’ve seen exponential 3D Printing developments that are driving advanced manufacturing in the Biotech, microfluidics, microelectronics, consumer products and medical fields.   At Potomac, 3D Printing is an integral tool on our factory floor.…

Potomac has spent many years developing and optimizing laser cutting and drilling of silicon wafers for a broad range of applications.  In this article we examine this unique material. Swedish chemist Baron John Jacob Berzelius first isolated Silicon in 1824. The shimmering blue and gray element is as fascinating as it is plentiful: it is…