A conversation between Würth Additive Group and Vestas at the 2025 AMUG Conference discusses additive manufacturing as a scalable tool for managing supply chain risk, reducing downtime, and aligning with digital and sustainability strategies.  AJ Strandquist, CEO of Würth Additive Group, and Jeremy Haight, Principal Engineer & Lead Specialist – Additive Manufacturing & Advanced Concepts, at wind turbine leader Vestas, unpacked how tightly controlled digital workflows, qualified platforms, and strategic deployment are unlocking real-world value from 3D printing.  Jeremy Haight, Vestas and AJ Strandquist, Würth Additive Group [L-R]. Photo by Michael Petch. TLDR? Key Insights Pressed for time? Here are the core insights from the experience of Würth Additive Group and Vestas with additive manufacturing. Think in terms of systems Standards and qualification are lagging but crucial Additive manufacturing’s strength is in the supply chainDigital control and lockdown of processes are essential The industry suffers from a lack of interoperability Backward compatibility is hard, forward integration is better Quality failures require root cause analysis, not blame Additive Manufacturing’s Supply Chain Moment: Würth and Vestas Eye Scale with Digital Inventory, Quality Controls Würth Additive Group and Vestas are building the infrastructure for additive manufacturing to move beyond niche applications and into global-scale, supply chain-critical roles. Strandquist framed the opportunity—and the challenge—with a touch of dry humor. “All the party animals are in this room talking about liabilities and quality concerns,” opening the session in Chicago. The two leaders are overseeing the deployment of additive manufacturing as a foundational capability within highly structured industrial ecosystems. Strandquist’s mandate is to integrate additive manufacturing into Würth’s global logistics and distribution networks, embedding digital part fulfillment into traditional supply chains. The goal, he explained, is to ensure that customers can order 3D printed parts with the same ease and procedural traceability as legacy components. “For us, wherever that demand comes from… they’re going to place an order into a system,” he said. “From that system, we are going to integrate so a buyer sees the part on the screen just like anybody else does… [with] complete traceability.” The underlying vision is a seamless supply experience—whether parts are made traditionally, pulled from stock, or 3D printed locally on demand. This includes modalities as diverse as vending machines and e-commerce. The Würth AM leader draws a distinction between cost-driven components and critical engineered parts, noting that “quality is not consistent”—and shouldn’t be. “I specialize in parts that are very low cost… like automotive clips,” he said, contrasting this with Vestas’s use cases, which include R&D prototypes and operational components in high-risk environments. These differences demand scalable quality regimes, such as Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), with levels ranging from “use any machine and any vendor” flexibility to traceability down to raw material origins. Haight highlighted the need to balance internal and external production while ensuring the sanctity of quality documentation and design control. Both executives stressed that additive manufacturing often steps in as a second-source or emergency solution. As Strandquist put it: “3D printing always does best in [special] situations. The price point doesn’t matter when something’s missing.” This flexibility introduces new considerations around intellectual property and digital security. Ensuring that only approved files are used, and that they are not modified or leaked, is critical. Vestas and Würth Advance AM Supply Chains with Rigorous Controls and Distributed Infrastructure The transition of additive manufacturing to an industrial-scale technology demands enterprise-grade systems, traceability, and precise vendor control—alongside the physical decentralization that defines the technology’s core advantage. “Across industry, especially in heavy industry, additive is seen either as novelty—or something exclusive to aerospace and medical. Digital manufacturing removes that mental barrier,” said Haight. For some time, the term “digital manufacturing,” or DVM was used at Vestas to remove this artificial barrier to adoption. Haight oversees a program that spans composite tooling, metal components, and concrete printing, all integrated into a global enterprise stack. The architecture ties in AM part production with Vestas’s existing ERP, PLM, and asset management systems. “Right off the printer, they get the part and the ISO 17025-qualified inspection report with it. That’s all tied into our enterprise asset management system—fluid and automated,” he explained. The Vestas roadmap, already partially implemented, includes mobile units embedded in EVs that 3D print parts en route to remote wind farms.  Würth Additive Group is aligning its infrastructure accordingly. The CEO noted the importance of preserving manufacturing fidelity without introducing complexity at the customer interface. Repeatability often hinges on process discipline, especially in mid-volume applications. One contributor described a production run of “under 100,000 per year,” developed over seven years with a QA/QC pipeline embedded directly into the partner company’s systems. The bottlenecks, unsurprisingly, have been in material consistency and knowledge loss as teams changed. Strandquist underscored this as a known risk. “That was a living process, not a frozen one. I always say: freeze it, then you can thaw it and freeze it again. But you never want to be out of that frozen state very long if you have a production part.” To combat fragmentation and maintain data discipline, Vestas operates on a strict ‘recipe’ model when outsourcing AM work. “We have a qualified machine, qualified materials with batch and lot traceability, and we simply provide [vendors] a recipe,” Haight said. “They can run it, do visual inspection, but that’s the limit of what they can do.” Sensitive IP is protected using classic techniques such as segmented production and robust NDAs—“sometimes you’re not going to get around it.” Internally, Vestas has mapped out the additive landscape by technology and business function—composites, metals, base polymers, concrete—and tied them to process families, use cases, and ROI thresholds. The logic is surgical: match material and process capabilities directly to component types, from turbine blade precast molds to rotor-stator assemblies and directional fiber reinforcement. “We want something that’s going to merge with your ecosystem, not fight it,” Haight emphasized.  Jeremy Haight shows how Vestas maps the landscape. Photo by Michael Petch. Locking Down the Digital Factory: Vestas and Würth Tackle IP Control, Operator Simplicity, and Legacy Parts in AM Supply Chains Additive manufacturing’s promise of distributed, on-demand production hinges not just on technology readiness but on governance, security, and organizational alignment. That means managing everything from untrained field operators to multi-million-part inventories with automation, policy enforcement, and strategic vendor selection. “The people in the field don’t need to be experts,” said Haight. “We use RBAC—role-based access control. These are pre-fixed recipes stored in our PLM. They can’t be modified. It’s locked down by design.” This is not only a matter of usability, but also of trust and compliance. Strandquist noted that errors and deviations are rarely technological. “If you can’t trust your people to follow a standard operating procedure, you can’t trust them with anything else,” he said. “There’s no fixing deviancy. The best you can do is design systems so it’s hard to cheat.” Vestas, operating across dozens of countries, avoids such risk by choosing closed ecosystem platforms and suppliers. Their initial AM rollout centered on closed-loop systems with tight administrative controls. “We own the mandate for additive,” said Haight. “We want to discourage non-compliant printers or materials entering our factories.” In some cases, such as concrete tower components, Vestas ships the entire printing process while sourcing raw materials locally. This avoids cross-border complexity while aligning with longer-term ambitions around circularity. “We’re working on reclaiming materials and recomposing them into new AM workflows,” said Haight. “Digital twin meets recyclability.” That model also opens a unique geopolitical advantage. “There are no tariffs on emails yet,” Strandquist quipped. “You can transform material in-country, avoid customs issues entirely, and still deliver a spec-inspected part. That’s a huge advantage when things get stuck at the border.” Still, the most enduring challenge lies in managing the legacy footprint. “We’ve got close to 32 million SKUs in our PLM and DMS,” Haight said. “So that’s a job for software.” Vestas uses automated part screening platforms to identify additive-suitable candidates, and in some cases, works directly with operators under right-to-repair laws. Their field qualification metric is straightforward: one year of continuous fault-free operation. For new parts, however, additive has more traction—particularly in long-lifecycle support. “Looking backward for AM is inherently hard,” said Strandquist. “The strength is in designing for additive from the beginning. Once your production tooling wears out, the 3D printed version is already certified because it was in the original test batch.” This forward-looking view also supports dynamic sourcing strategies. Both Haight and Strandquist described additive as a bridge and fallback in the face of tooling delays or vendor outages. “It opens up alternative supply options,” Haight said. “You never want to be single-source.” Standards, Supply Chains, and Stakeholder Trust: AM Leaders Urge Structural Maturity in Digital Manufacturing The industry’s next evolution depends less on technology than it does on institutional trust, interoperable standards, and system-wide process controls. Despite the focus on automation and documentation, failures still require forensic analysis. “If a part breaks after 10,000 units, that’s not an AM issue. That’s a design issue,” said Strandquist. “But if one breaks on its own, you start looking at the black box.” Resistance from inside organisations remains a hurdle, especially among engineers accustomed to legacy systems. “A lot of them have been jaded by automation that only delivered 30% of what was promised,” Haight said. The response has been to demonstrate performance directly: “Put the part in their hand. Prove it.” Environmental metrics—another critical performance area—remain difficult to quantify with confidence. While Vestas aligns its AM programme with decarbonisation goals and Industry 4.0 principles, the carbon math is elusive. “It’s an incredibly complex model,” said Haight. “We try, but it’s mostly qualitative.” Strandquist agreed: “I haven’t seen a tool I would bet my reputation on. There’s too much nuance for a punch-in algorithm.” Still, the industrial logic is hard to dispute. AM cuts downtime risk and inventory costs. Yet the broader industry remains fragmented by design. Standardised machine communications and cross-platform compatibility are still missing. “It’s like early railroads,” Strandquist said. “Every state had a different gauge. They didn’t think nationally.” He warned that locking users into proprietary systems was self-defeating: “You don’t buy computers that can’t talk to each other. AM should be the same.” There are signs of movement. Both leaders acknowledged the progress of groups like ASTM F42, which is working on standardised data packaging and pedigree handling. “To unlock AM’s full value, new technologies must enter with robust vetting and a clear business case. “We look at technology readiness level and match it to a real customer need,” said Strandquist. “That proof of concept is where we learn the most.”  “If we’re strategic and objectively seeking business results, we’ll find a path,” Haight said. “But you need the mandate, the metrics—and the buy-in.” The path forward demands standardisation, openness, and the recognition that AM is not a magic bullet—it’s a business tool. “It’s a shortcut for your supply chain,” Strandquist noted, “but only if you treat it like part of the system, not something separate from it.” Read more from the 2025 AMUG Conference. Ready to discover who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights. Featured image shows a 3D printed part made with DF2+. Photo via Würth Additive Group. Michael Petch Michael Petch is the editor-in-chief at 3DPI and the author of several books on 3D printing. He is a regular keynote speaker at technology conferences where he has delivered presentations such as 3D printing with graphene and ceramics and the use of technology to enhance food security. Michael is most interested in the science behind emerging technology and the accompanying economic and social implications.

Tips to avoid couch sagging | © Sherzod Gulomov via Unsplash Furniture is the backbone of each lounge and provides comfort and beauty to the living space. Even if it was initially very comfortable, a couch that sinks in can quickly lose appeal and attractiveness. Knowing how to avoid this common problem also helps ensure that the sofa continues to look inviting and retains its strength through the years. This guide provides you with some relevant information on how to maintain the shape and function of your couch. Choose Quality Materials It all starts with the materials used to build a couch—these play a major role in helping it last. When buying new furnishings, pick better-quality furniture than the regular ones. Seek out contemporary couches with strong wooden frames, hardy textiles, and heavyweight payloads. These materials are more resistant to wear and tear than the cheaper options, meaning the couch will last longer. Rotate and Fluff Cushions Cushions should be rotated and fluffed regularly to avoid uneven wear. They have a habit of taking the hit and will often compress and sag over time. Rotating them on a regular basis keeps the pressure evenly distributed, which helps maintain their shape. Standing cushions up to their original fluffiness, too, makes them easier to lay over and recapture shape, as well as keeping them cozy and supportive. Invest in Supportive Inserts Supportive inserts are the perfect answer to help revive droopy cushions. You can add foam inserts or extra padding where you want more firmness. You can tuck these inserts under or inside your existing cushions for a support boost without the expense of new furniture. This technique allows for comfortable seating while keeping it durable. Mindful Usage A couch can only retain its shape if used mindfully. Do not sit on the armrests or put pressure on one part by sitting too heavily. These habits pressure the frame and cushions and make it sag faster. Use the whole seating space to support balance. This exercise minimizes concentrated pressure, ensuring the couch holds its shape. Routine Cleaning and Maintenance © Inside Weather via Unsplash The cleanliness and maintenance of furniture play a significant role in ensuring its longevity. Over time, dust and debris settle in the fabric and cushions, leading to deterioration. Materials withdrawn through frequent vacuuming and gentle washing are protected from deterioration. You can also put on covers or drape your throws to mitigate the dangers of spills and stains, keeping your fabric free from these damages. Consider Professional Reupholstering If preventative measures have been taken but the droop still shows up, a professional reupholsterer may be a good option. Expert upholstery technicians can re-stuff the couch to make it firm again and clean the fabric, restoring its original gleam. While this is not the cheapest option, it completely refreshes the furniture, giving it a new feel and extending its life by years. Avoid Direct Sunlight and Moisture The fabric and surface material of the sofa are weakened by sunlight and moisture, both of which can happen in heavy doses during the warm weather months, which can also increase sagging. Prevent UV damage by positioning your furniture out of reach of windows and using blinds and curtains. Moreover, maintaining low humidity levels in the living space safeguards against moisture problems. All these precautions can help keep the couch pristine in all its glory. Use Sliders and Furniture Protectors Furniture sliders and protectors are immensely helpful in preserving your couch. Sliders also help move bulky furniture without damaging the frame and legs. Meanwhile, protectors secure the base so it does not touch the ground, thus reducing wear and tear. These additions individually assist the couch in retaining its structure and function. Conclusion It takes a combination of preventative care and active measures to prevent a couch from sagging. With good materials, regular maintenance, and supportive solutions, you can keep them comfortable and looking good for many years. Adopting these strategies not only prolongs the life of the couch but also improves the overall atmosphere of the living room. Furniture by ArchEyes Team Leave a comment

World Play Day is June 11. To commemorate, the Serpentine Galleries and LEGO Group are working with Archigram’s Peter Cook to deliver a Play Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens. Bettina Korek, Serpentine Gallery CEO, and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist are working with Cook on the venture. The Play Pavilion will be built in Serpentine South out of LEGO® Bricks, the design team said. Cook’s design will mingle near the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion by Marina Tabassum Architects, A Capsule in Time, aligned with Serpentine South’s iconic bell tower. Cook, in a statement, called Play Pavilion “a piece of theatre.” Visuals reveal Play Pavilion as topped by a geodesic dome of sorts that recalls past structures by Buckminster Fuller. Beneath the domed roof will be a semi-enclosed space encircled by polychromatic, jagged planes awash with colors that evoke the plastic toys. “From a distance, intriguing shapes rise from within the structure, although partly obscured,” Cook said in describing the design. “Activities inside can be viewed through pierced and scooped walls, as if teasing ‘come closer, there’s more.’ A child might pop out on a slide, another may crawl through a hole on the ground, mystifying conventional entrance routes.” Cook added: “Another mouth-shaped opening reveals an orator, performer, or singer entertaining eavesdroppers beyond.” In a joint statement, Korek and Obrist noted that Play Pavilion marks a major milestone. Before her death, Zaha Hadid envisioned a project between Cook and the Serpentine, the pair said. “Hadid’s legacy will be fittingly honored through this project, which reflects her pioneering spirit and relentless pursuit of innovation.” “Play transcends survival, achievement, and common sense,” Cook continued.  “It encourages, or at least permits us, to explore and idly delight in a territory between the wayward and the speculative towards unashamed amusement.” The temporary structure will touch down in the location other past works have been installed, including STRIP-TOWER by Gerhard Richter. The Play Pavilion will host public programming through August 10. The Royal Parks and CONSUL are also project collaborators.

“Harmonizing With an Architect” (2025), gouache and ink on paper, 42 1/2 x 60 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Western Exhibitions, shared with permission Geometric Scaffolding Structures Geoffrey Todd Smith’s Gouache-and-Ink Portraits April 10, 2025 Art Grace Ebert From the center of a gridded structure made of striped orbs and oblong shapes are two elements redolent of eyes. Seeming to peer out from the largely abstract composition, these facial features are augmented by forms that mimic ears, noses, and mouths all nested within the vivid patterns. The work of Chicago-based artist Geoffrey Todd Smith, these ambiguous portraits rendered in gouache and ink reference masks or mirrored reflections, revealing a distant figure without a defined identity. “To be honest, I keep thinking of them as evolving forms,” he tells Colossal. “I try to find new things in them when I look at them. I’m not entirely sure I want to figure them out because I probably won’t want to make them if I understand them.” “Picture of Dorian Greige” (2024), gouache and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches Continually drawn to abstraction and geometry, Smith is known for his mesmerizing works that infuse elaborate, often zigzagged motifs with simple structures. Vibrant spheres seem to spill across the paper, creating trippy, symmetric compositions bursting with energy. The artist departs from pure abstraction in this new body of work as he incorporates humanoid components amid his interlocked shapes. Geometry still provides a scaffolding, though. He adds: If there is a break from logic, that sense of order can quickly collapse, creating tension, sort of like removing the bottom pieces in a game of Jenga. Either way, geometry helps me construct a sort of game board to which I respond with more decorative or ornamental decisions. Even the decorative hand-drawn elements play an optical and structural role. They either assert or interfere with order, depending on how I manipulate them. These ornamental additions are the product of a slow, introspective process. Smith prefers not to mix colors and instead layers materials to achieve a particular palette. “Medieval Knievel” (2025), gouache and ink on paper, 33 x 29 inches “The mark from a gel pen is so immediate and relatable. I like that they were marketed to teenagers because nobody feels quite as deeply as they do at that age,” he says. “I think of the intensity and rigor of my marks as mysterious emoting or like writing a gut-wrenching, abstract love letter.” If you’re in Chicago, you can see Smith’s solo show Assembly at Western Exhibitions through April 12. Otherwise, find more of his work on his website and Instagram. “Frock Of Regals” (2023), gouache and ink on paper, 22 x 30 inches “King Cobralabra” (2024), gouache, acrylic and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches “Beastmaster General” (2024), gouache and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches “Mixed-Message Magician” (2025), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 37 1/2 x 29 inches “Chicago Armadillo” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 30 x 22 1/4 inches “Atom Bomb Boom Box” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 30 x 22 1/4 inches “Molotov Pineapple” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 22 1/4 x 30 inches Next article

During the Second World War, there were an estimated 250 signals intelligence (Sigint) sites across the UK from as far south as Cornwall to as far north as the Orkneys. Many important sites are now in danger of disappearing, either being demolished for housing or simply being left to decay, and their significance is being lost to history. Dave Abrutat, the official historian at GCHQ, is on a mission to preserve this history before it is lost and the folk memories are forgotten. Bletchley Park, the home of wartime codebreaking, is one of the best preserved and most famous sites, but it represents only seven years of GCHQ’s history. Abrutat estimates that since the First World War, tens of thousands of people have worked in signals intelligence and communications security in organisations as diverse as the Post Office, the Admiralty, the Royal Signals and the Foreign Office, and US Airforce sites such as Chicksands in Bedfordshire, known for its “elephant cage” radio receiver (pictured above). “You know, it’s a huge story, and it’s the richest story in the world, and we have got to look after it,” Abrutat tells Computer Weekly. Abrutat is the driving force behind a charity that aims to preserve the UK’s signals intelligence and communications security history. The National Signals Intelligence and Security Trust (NSIST) will fill a gap by helping to record and preserve archives, folk memories and historic sites that fall outside the remit of existing bodies. Although GCHQ has a department of four people working in its historical archives, it does not have the funding or resources to preserve or manage the nation’s signals intelligence and communications security history. Abrutat has pulled together what he calls a “coalition” of volunteers to run the charity, and hopes to attract sponsorship from businesses and grant-awarding bodies. People who are interested can sign up to the NSIST website for £10 a year to receive newsletters and access articles and rare photographs about the history of the UK’s communications and signals intelligence operations. The charity’s remit covers more than the preservation of historic radio interception sites. The history of communications security, cyber security, and even the millennium bug that threatened to bring the world’s computers to a halt in 2000, feature in its newsletters. “I am essentially doing all that in my spare time, so I am working seven days a week,” he says. “How sustainable that is, I don’t know, but I am driven by the passion and enthusiasm I have for heritage.” I am doing all [the NSIST charity work] in my spare time, so I am working seven days a week. How sustainable that is, I don’t know, but I am driven by the passion and enthusiasm I have for heritage Dave AbrutatGCHQ historian Abrutat is the author of two books on the history of signals intelligence. His first, Vanguard, revealed the little-known signals intelligence and reconnaissance operations that made the D-Day landings possible. His second book, Radio War, tells the story of the secret army of volunteer radio operators – the Radio Security Service – that monitored German intelligence signals traffic during the Second World War. Piecing together this secret history involves painstaking detective work, gathering information from public and private archives and newspaper libraries, and talking to people who have worked in the services. Abrutat has found that important signals intelligence material that should be in the National Archives, often, inexplicably, has not been preserved. “Sometimes there is nothing. It’s probably just been destroyed, and that history is gone,” he says. “It’s mind-boggling that we would do that.” Meet GCHQ’s official historian, Dave Abrutat  Dave Abrutat Dave Abrutat, a former Royal Marines commando, RAF officer and retired zoologist, joined GCHQ in 2002, where he has worked in a variety of roles. When he hit 40, Abrutat says he “had a bit of an epiphany” when he realised there was a significant gap in the records of the UK’s signals intelligence history. “I was fascinated that there wasn’t a comprehensive book about the intelligence and reconnaissance missions behind D-Day, so I wrote it,” he says. It took him six-and-a-half years, working in his spare time, with help from the then GCHQ departmental historian, Tony Comer. Abrutat followed it with another book, Radio War, looking into the history of a secret army of volunteers who spent their time monitoring short-wave radio, looking for and transcribing the faint Morse code signals transmitted by the German intelligence services. When Comer retired as GCHQ historian, Abrutat threw his hat into the ring for the job – and was “lucky enough to get it”. “You know, it sounds like a pretty cushy number, but it’s a really hard job … and the busiest job I have had, on steroids,” he says. The historian says he could really do with a team three times the size to preserve and maintain the GCHQ archive. “But it’s a privilege to have the job, it genuinely is, and I am trying to do it as much justice as I can.” One of his roles is to run the oral history programme at GCHQ, recording the experiences of retired signals intelligence specialists and spies. Occasionally, that means talking to veterans outside of GCHQ premises, or “outside the wire” as he puts it, if that is the only way to reach them. Usually, such conversations have to be conducted on GCHQ’s premises if they aim to record classified or secret information. For its size, GCHQ punches way above its weight, he says. It has a special relationship with the US through the UKUSA intelligence agreement. “A lot of the post-war work we can’t talk about because it’s classified, but you know, the work hasn’t stopped since the Second World War,” he says. Abrutat grew up in the north-east coastal town of Scarborough. The town, now the home of a GCHQ outpost, lays claim to being the longest continually serving signals intelligence site in the world. Scarborough’s original wireless telegraphy station was set up on Sandybed Lane by the Admiralty in 1912. During the First World War, radio operators intercepted German naval messages, which were then sent to the Admiralty for decoding. The station’s direction finders were able to locate German ships by triangulating their position from radio transmissions. During the Second World War, Sandybed Lane tracked German battleship Bismark, enabling it to be destroyed by an RAF plane. Abrutat had no idea about the history of Sandybed Lane when he was growing up in the area. “The fact that one of the most important [signals intelligence] sites was just literally around the corner from where I used to live sparked my interest,” he says. “It’s disappeared from the consciousness of the community, and it’s a site that the town should be very proud of.” When he began researching Sandybed Lane, Abrutat found there was very little information in GCHQ, the Admiralty and other government archives. A chance encounter with a volunteer at a library led him to find descriptions of the site and photographs of its staff in local newspaper archives. The station’s mascot was a dog called Bob, who was said to be skilled at climbing ladders and sending Morse code, Abrutat discovered. Bob ran away when the town was attacked by a gunboat in 1914, and as a joke received an ‘iron cross’ for bravery from station staff. “One of the reasons we want to create this charity is to instil within local communities the sense of community pride in what happens at these sites, some of which have long since gone, some of which there are archaeological remains, some of which still exist,” he says. Much of the special equipment developed for signals intelligence and secure communications no longer survives. The Colossus machines – the first semi-programmable digital computers that were built at Bletchley Park to break the German Lorenz code – were destroyed after the war to preserve their secrecy. Other equipment has simply become obsolete over time, thrown away or recycled for spare parts. It’s rare to find equipment tucked away in a cupboard that could be given to a museum, says Abrutat. “I regularly find media in our archives – for example, reel-to-reel tapes – but we haven’t got the kit to listen to them after things were thrown away decades ago,” he says. NSIST also has plans for one of the best-preserved sites outside Bletchley Park. Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire, a wireless interception or Y station, played a vital role in gathering radio intelligence during the Second World War. More than 1,500 people worked there. Intercept personnel stationed in buildings disguised as cottages, barns and stables transcribed encrypted German and Italian messages. The intercepts were recorded by hand and sent by motorcycle courier to the Bletchley Park codebreaking centre. The charity plans to work with Leicestershire County Council to preserve the buildings at the site and to remove asbestos from the roof of the main operations building so that it can be opened to visitors. There are also plans to fund an archaeological dig. At the end of the war, according to local lore, the war office dumped signals equipment in underground icehouses on the estate and buried it. Recently, a World War Two motorcycle was found on the site. “There’s never been any archaeology done,” says Abrutat. “There could be [radio] receivers, direction-finding equipment … we don’t know.” For Abrutat, one of the most important historic Sigint sites, and perhaps one of the least known, is in a small village in Cambridgeshire. Although Whaddon is a tiny settlement, it became one of the most important hubs for signals traffic for Britain and its allies during the Second World War. From there, a transmitter at Windy Ridge received “ultra” intelligence sent over a teleprinter wire from nearby Bletchley Park and disseminated it over the airwaves to commanders in the field. The Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, operated from the grounds of Whaddon Hall, providing radio communications services to British embassies and agents of the Special Operations Executive working in occupied Europe. Rare wartime footage of MI6 officers working at Whaddon Hall and the only known footage linked to the codebreaking operations at Bletchley Park were discovered in 2020 and provide a unique historical record of the people who worked there. “This was one of the most important sites, not just on a national level but at an international level. It’s a small village, but it became one of the hubs for Bletchley Park and British and allied Sigint during the Second World War,” says Abrutat. By working with the Parish council, local landowners, military and archaeological societies, NSIST has plans for an archaeological survey of four sites around the village. There are also plans to run cyber security outreach programmes that could combine training in cyber security with tours of historic sites. “You then educate the next generation, so you keep the flame burning in the local community about what went on in their town,” he says. One of Abrutat’s aims is to build a national heritage collection that will conserve and preserve historical records of signals intelligence and communications security, both classified and unclassified. GCHQ’s small team of historians fulfils that role as best it can, but the organisation doesn’t have the resources or the money to make conservation a main priority. “We almost need to divorce GCHQ out of it and potentially use the charity to get in proper conservation specialists to manage the collection,” he says. The GCHQ historian says one of the things he has learned through his research is that there are deposits of archival material “all over the place”. Abrutat’s book on the Radio Security Service took years of work as he pieced material together from multiple sources. “If you want to try and pull a narrative together about just that one single story, you have to go everywhere, all across the country. Some are in private archives, some in the National Archives, some in GCHQ,” he says. Although a curated national collection is some years away, Abrutat is optimistic he can secure the grants and sponsorship to make it happen. Patricia Moon Patricia Moon, a global technology sales strategist who has volunteered as a trustee of NSIST, developed an interest in technology at a young age. Brought up on Langley Airforce Base in Virginia, many of her friends, relatives and neighbours worked for the military or were members of the intelligence community. She says NSIST is about more than preserving historic sites, it’s about preserving the stories of people who worked in intelligence and security, and preserving their expertise for future generations. She would like to see NSIST play a role in developing a spy museum in the UK, perhaps modelled on the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. “It would be a scientific space for younger generations interested in technology, for the community at large and for future generations to understand just how hard some of these unsung heroes worked for so many decades,” she says. NSIST had a low-key launch in February 2025, when some 75 people, including many current or former members of GCHQ, the armed forces, local firms and high-tech businesses, gathered for drinks and canapes in Cheltenham. Jack Marley is founder of PM3, a Cheltenham-based cyber security company that helped to sponsor NSIST’s low-key launch. He has a keen interest in history. “We don’t really do anything to formally protect our heritage in this space at the moment, so NSIST is the first big effort to look at signals and look at how intelligence works and how we protect that, along with the rest of our associated heritage,” he tells Computer Weekly. In addition to preserving historic sites, he says it is important to keep a record of how people worked and the processes they followed in the past, as that can inform solutions to today’s problems. NSIST is a chance to preserve, conserve and celebrate an important part of the UK’s national security legacy, and record and share the personal stories of those who worked in signals intelligence and security Gaven SmithChair of the trustees, NSIST “It would be a sort of tragedy if all these sites, processes, tools and equipment were just forgotten,” he adds. Gaven Smith, a former director general for technology at GCHQ and now a professor of cyber security and a non-executive director at Beyond Blue and other technology focused companies, is chair of the trustees at NSIST. “NSIST is a chance to do something amazing,” he tells Computer Weekly. “A chance to preserve, conserve and celebrate an important part of the UK’s national security legacy, and record and share the personal stories of the thousands of people who worked in signals intelligence and security. “It is a chance to look after our history, understand that national security has always been a team sport, and never forget how the experiences of the 20th century have paved the way for the successes of today.” Abrutat is on the look-out for other enthusiasts who are interested in history, communications security and signals intelligence to join NSIST, attend events and contribute to the organisation “Any specialists who are deep into the communications security world or have an interest in signals intelligence would certainly be welcome,” he says.

AI is only as good as the data behind it. But an AI-ready data architecture is a different beast than traditional approaches to data delivery.

Páramo's $830 Halkon 360° jacket features a chemically-recycled "pump liner".Carlton Reid You may own a fleece top or two made from plastic soda bottles. Recycled polyester, or polyethylene terephthalate, known in the industry as PET or just “chip,” is old hat. US outdoor clothing brand Patagonia first transformed trash into fluffy fleece in 1993. So far, so normal. But it’s not anywhere near normal for a polyester outdoor jacket to be recycled into PET and then remade as another polyester outdoor jacket. British outdoor clothing brand Páramo has achieved this feat, although at a premium. The employee-owned company’s $830 Halkon 360° jacket—360° as in full circle, a nod to the product’s recycled nature—has a fabric liner made from recycled chip, but it’s twice the price of its Halkon jacket that does not have a liner made from recycled chip. “Performance-wise, the jackets are exactly the same,” says Páramo CEO Richard Pyne. “They will both keep you dry and comfortable out on the hill.” Both are also made by the Miquelina Foundation, a nun-run sewing workshop offering practical help to women rescued from the streets of Bogotá, Colombia. Páramo has partnered with this educational body since 1992 when the company was spun out of Nikwax, a British brand of waterproofing products for outdoor kit. (Páramo is a grassland habitat ecosystem of South America’s Andes mountains.) Páramo CEO Richard Pyne.Páramo Páramo and Nikwax—both based in the market town of Wadhurst in rural East Sussex (population: 3,407)—were founded by Nick Brown, an extremely tall outdoors enthusiast who concocted an eco-friendly boot waterproofing product in the late 1970s while fresh out of university. MORE FOR YOU Nikwax still makes this boot wax as well as wash-in PFAS-free water-based waterproofing products using Durable Water Repellent (DWR) polymer coatings; these are hydrophobic or water-hating, and it’s this “hate” that does the repelling. Nikwax products are free of solvents, persistent chemicals of concern, and perfluorochemicals, or PFCs. “The 360° [version of the Halkon] arrived at the end of a seven-year development cycle for us,” says Pyne. “We’ve always manufactured in polyester, keeping to a single material to eventually make it easier to solve the end-of-life problem [for our products]. We believe that the onus is on the brand, rather than the customer, to collect and deal with end-of-life garments. If consumers put jackets into bins, nobody really knows where anything goes, whereas a business can collect it all and know what’s what. We’ve been working with a chemical recycling facility in Japan for several years, sending them a few tons of jackets collected each year. Chemical recycling for textiles is still relatively new. When we started collecting old jackets, the chemical recycling technology was not available.” Two years ago, the recycling technology was ready for commercialization. “Our [Japanese] facility got to the point where their chemically recycled PET chips—the building blocks of polyester—was the same quality as virgin polyester; that was a breakthrough. Up until that point, we’d had either mechanical recycling, where whatever you put in is what you get out, so any impurities, including dyes, become part of the output, leading to a drop-off in quality; not great for high-performance outdoor clothing.” The Japanese recycled chip was now as good as virgin polyester but was fiendish expensive. “The [new-process] chip was fifteen times the price of the standard recycled chip,” says Pyne, “and that wouldn’t be something that could we ordinarily move forwards with.” But, by making a halo product—and that’s the Halkon 360° jacket—“we could show the world that it *is* possible [to use this technology],” says Pyne. “We’re a small business, but if we were willing to do this, others might be convinced to do it, too.” With other companies working with the technology, prices will come down. “There are many businesses out there that are much bigger than us, and not just in the outdoor industry, who can and should be doing this. The fifteen-times-more expensive technology can come down to something that’s actually affordable.”Páramo Halkon 360° jacket is available in green only.Carlton Reid Making and selling the Halkon 360° jacket was, confirms Pyne, done to “start a conversation” around the full-circle recycling technology. According to Pyne, companies such as Nike and Adidas could use the chemically recycled PET chip. “We shouldn’t be paying fifteen times more for fully sustainable textiles,” he says. “It’s still cheaper to make virgin polyester than to chemically recover it, but that needs to change.” Páramo has worked with a vertically integrated fabric mill in Colombia for 26 years. “They can spin their own yarns and then make their own textiles,” says Pyne, “and they said we’ll buy some chip, and we’ll make your lining fabric for you.” Páramo’s outdoor garments don’t work like jackets made from Gore-Tex, a waterproof barrier fabric made with a partially breathable expanded PTFE membrane. Gore-Tex jackets must be joined with “welded” seams, stuck down with powerful glues. Such glues and taped seams make Gore-tex jackets unsuitable for chemical recycling. Once a Gore-tex fabric has been punctured, water seeps in, rendering that part of the jacket ineffective. Páramo jackets, on the other hand, are not made with barrier membranes and still work when punctured. The fabrics used for the outers are not impervious to rain, but water ingress is slowed through the use of (Nikwax) chemical treatments. While water can seemingly soak the outer fabric of a Páramo jacket, the jacket’s hydrophilic, i.e., water-loving, internal liner sucks up water droplets and sweat vapor and “pumps” it outside the jacket via capillary action known as “wicking.” “Nick’s about eight foot tall,” jokes Pyne, “and he struggled in membranes. He got very hot [when walking outdoors] and didn’t find [membranes] worked for him, so he started thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way of doing this.’ He’s pretty stubborn—as most entrepreneurs are—and he looked at how mammals keep themselves dry. He worked with textile mills to develop a fabric that mimicked animal fur. He used his TX-10 [waterproofing liquid, now known as TX-Direct] to replicate the oil in animal fur and got this movement of water from one side of the material to the other. [Páramo] keeps you dry in a different way [to membranes]. You don’t have that horrible, sweaty feel on the inside. You can stick pins in [a Páramo garment], pierce it with nails, and then take them out, and it will perform exactly the same. It means you can darn it if you get it caught on something, and it rips.” The raw material used to make polyester is crude oil. “Extracting oil from the ground is a dirty business, laden with environmental and social risks,” says a Páramo statement. “By recycling polyester, we conserve the material we’ve already extracted and help reduce the need for more drilling.” Both Nikwax and Páramo have operated as an employee-owned business since 2022, when Brown transferred his shares to the firm’s Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Páramo’s sales are seasonal (the brand has few products for summer use), but the firm’s long-term manufacturing contract with the Miquelina Foundation ensures year-round production. One hundred twenty women are employed by the project, with Páramo saying its work with the Miquelina Foundation has helped more than 10,000 local women since 1992. 85% of Páramo Clothing is produced by the Miquelina Foundation. “Whereas most brands will book a production space over in the Far East for spring, summer and another one for [fall] and winter, we maintain level production throughout the year so that Miquelina have steady income coming in,” says Pyne. “There are no peaks and troughs, so Miquelina can maintain staffing.” The Colombian workers are part of Páramo’s EOT structure. “For them, it’s amazing,” says Pyne. “They’re part of this Western company. We’re very open with our finances; everyone wins.” The Halkon 360° jacket is available in green only. “We make jackets that last a long time,” says Pyne. “We don’t use fashion colors that might be popular for just six months, and then our retailers feel the need to sell them all off cheap and buy new ones in. That would feed the problem. We design with longevity in mind.”

Reviewers Liked Powerful performance Impressive battery life Amazing value Excellent cameras Improved IP68 rating Useful Google AI Seven-year software support commitment Reviewers Didn't Like Lacks mmWave 5G No reverse wireless charging Bezels could be smaller No charger in the box Some rivals have telephoto cameras No Pixel Screenshot app Boring design Competitors and Related Products Our editors hand-pick related products using a variety of criteria: direct competitors targeting the same market segment, or devices that are similar in size, performance, or feature sets. Expert reviews and ratings 90 The Google Pixel 9a delivers flagship-level performance, terrific camera quality, and long-term software support, making it the best midrange Android phone you can buy. By PCMag on April 10, 2025 90 Google’s Pixel 9a is its latest mid-range phone that updates last year’s Pixel 8a with a larger screen, a better Tensor processor, a bigger battery and faster charging. By Hot Hardware on April 10, 2025 100 If you already have a Pixel 8a, it’s not worth upgrading, but for anyone else the Google Pixel 9a is the best mid-range phone around. If you have around $500 to spend this is the smartphone to splash it on. By ExpertReviews on April 10, 2025 90 Even if you don't use many of the smart features in Google's Pixel phones, the Pixel 9a delivers a well-rounded smartphone experience that's hard to find elsewhere at its $499 price (though Nothing's Phone (3a) Pro comes close). Once you take advantage of Google's AI prowess, there are quite a few enriching features that are helpful day to day, like the long-standing Now Playing function that offers up the name of the song playing in your surroundings before you even think to ask. By Wired on April 10, 2025 91 Between having the biggest battery on any Pixel yet, a simple but solid build, a nice screen and support for nearly all of Google's AI features, the $499 Pixel 9a might be the best value of any Android phone out right now. By Engadget on April 10, 2025 80 At its best, the Pixel 9A feels like an absolute steal. At its worst, it feels like, well, a $500 phone. Maybe the distance between $499 and $799 — the Pixel 9’s going rate — isn’t much if you’re paying for it in installments, but it’s a sizable difference if you’re paying out of pocket. By The Verge on April 10, 2025 88 At the end of the day, the best budget phones are a balance of features, price and smart compromises. While the Pixel 9A is far from perfect, it does the majority of tasks that I value. And when I view the Pixel 9A through the lens of the world's recent economic turmoil, that value is what makes it stand out for me. If you're looking for a phone for $500 or less, I don't think you'll find a better one than the Pixel 9A. By cnet on April 10, 2025 80 With affordable phones like this, who needs flagships? The Pixel 9a is all the essentials packed into a friendlier price point. By Gizmodo on April 10, 2025 90 Google gave the Pixel 9a a new identity. No, not by replacing the camera bar with a Pixel Watch-esque teardrop; I mean the best battery life on any Pixel phone across nine generations, paired with strong Tensor performance, a great display, and a nice array of AI tools. It costs $300 less than the Pixel 9, but you'll barely notice the differences between them. By AndroidCentral on April 10, 2025 100 Complete with a sleek redesign, upgraded main camera and Gemini built in – the Google Pixel 9a proves you don’t need to spend big bucks to get a premium phone experience. By Stuff on April 10, 2025 Load More Reviews…

If you want to own one of the best TVs on the market, we’re willing to bet the all-new LG G5 Series 4K OLED will blow your mind. But since this latest model dropped, now is also a fantastic time to save on last year’s award-winning G4 Series. And it just so happens that most sizes of the LG G4 OLED are on sale this week:  Right now, when you purchase the LG 65-inch G4 Series 4K OLED at Amazon, Best Buy, and LG, you’ll only pay $2,000. The full MSRP on this model is $2,800.  Our resident TV expert, Caleb Denison, tested the LG G4 back in May 2024 and said, “The LG G4 is a triumph of modern television engineering.” Thanks to LG’s decision to use an MLA display, the G4 OLED delivers SDR brightness levels more on par with a midrange QLED TV. This makes it a good choice for well-lit rooms, though we’d recommend trying to keep bright lamps away from the screen to avoid any type of glare.  Related The LG G4 Series is able to display a wide color gamut and near-perfect contrast levels. LG also made sure to include a Filmmaker Mode to preserve as many cinematic details as possible when watching modern releases. The G4 also delivers exceptional HDR performance and supports every format except HDR10+.  Smart TV features are made possible by LG’s webOS 24, which gives you access to apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus, along with hundreds of free live TV stations.  Save $800 on the LG 65-inch G4 Series 4K OLED when you purchase today, and be sure to take a look at our lists of the best LG TV deals, best OLED TV deals, and best TV deals for even more markdowns on LG tech! Editors’ Recommendations

This ‘American Masters’ presentation profiles the graphic novelist, who took on the intertwined history of his family and the Holocaust in his pioneering, transgressive work.