2004 Trx 400ex Steering Stem Mount 400 Ex on 2040-parts.com

Video: FiDU technology creating lightweight, inflatable metal structures

This short video, featuring designer Oskar Zieta, details the process and design possibilities behind products developed with FiDU (Freie Innendruck Umformung – "free internal pressure forming") technology. Zieta, a Polish designer, explains how the lightweight yet robust metal appears as a soft object yet when you touch it you realize that it is actually a hard metal. "Working with FIDU technology is similar to carving clay," Zieta explains.

Chevrolet Volt uses parts made from oil-collecting booms

General Motors is transforming about 100 miles of boom material used to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico into auto parts for the Chevrolet Volt. The oil-soaked plastic material collected off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts will keep more than 100,000 pounds of waste from the nation's landfills. The project is expected to make enough plastic to supply the first-year production of Volts with plastic parts for under the hood.

New Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip tyres promise better grip when worn and 60,000 miles

New Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip tyres (pictured) promise better grip when worn and 60,000 miles We all know that tyres for a car don’t seem to last five minutes, and every mile you drive from new makes the tyres less effective. But Michelin reckon they’ve turned that logic on its head with their new Premier A/S with Evergrip. Due to launch in the US in spring – and hopefully the UK and Europe later in the year – the Michelin Premier A/S with EverGrip has new tyre technology that actually improves grip as the tyre wears, and promises 60,000 miles of useful life.