The fins of an engine turbine usually take days to finish. GE’s new Blue Arc machining gear does it in hours. How? Instead of just drilling away metal with a harder material, it’s scorched off with an electric blast.
This isn’t exactly gear you’ll find in your basement someday, but seeing the thing whiz to through a delicate manufacturing process with ease is neat. GE has also guaranteed that at least a few people will kind of care about this by ascribing two incredibly awesome nouns—”Superman” and “Blue Arc”—to the equipment. [GE]
