sandia national laboratories

Arm-based supercomputer prototype to be deployed at Sandia National Laboratories by Department of Energy

Microprocessors designed by Arm are ubiquitous in automobile electronics, cellphones, and other embedded applications, but until recently they have not provided the performance necessary to make them practical for high-performance computing.

Astra, one of the first supercomputers to use processors based on the Arm architecture in a large-scale high-performance computing platform, is expected to be deployed in late summer at Sandia National Laboratories.

The US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration says that Astra, the first of a potential series of advanced architecture prototype platforms, will be deployed as part of the Vanguard program. [Read more…] about US unveils first supercomputer built using Arm chips

Automation speeds up 3D-printed part testing, materials science data collection

Today with 3D printing you can make almost anything in a matter of hours. However, making sure that part works reliably takes weeks or even months.

Until now, according to a group of scientists.

Sandia National Laboratories has designed and built a six-sided work cell, similar to a circular desk, with a commercial robot at its center that conducts high-throughput testing to quickly determine the performance and properties of the part.

They call this flexible, modular and scalable system Alinstante, Spanish for “in an instant” (see video below). Sandia is seeking industry partners to help expand or discover more uses for the new robotic testing system. [Read more…] about Sandia’s robotic work cell conducts high-throughput testing ‘in an instant’