A swift 3-D printing revolution
Feb. 16th, 2020 10:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zeeth_kyrahResearchers find a way to 3D print whole objects in seconds
Essentially they use a light-sensitive resin and dose it with lasers from multiple angles in a holographic pattern, leading to shape-locking intensity along the body of focus. It's not only fast, it's more precise than other high-speed methods, and being entirely hands-off you can use it on transparent containers -- leading to use under truly sterile conditions. Right now the scale is small (a couple of centimeters, or about an inch), but the developers intend to scale it up to at least 15cm (about 6 inches).
I imagine this is one of the ways that MEMS devices could be produced, including nanites; or maybe we could do micro-fluidics such as material sorters and mini-hydraulic engines. Once you start doping the resin to give it new properties, and adding non-plastic components to the build, the sky is pretty much the limit!
Essentially they use a light-sensitive resin and dose it with lasers from multiple angles in a holographic pattern, leading to shape-locking intensity along the body of focus. It's not only fast, it's more precise than other high-speed methods, and being entirely hands-off you can use it on transparent containers -- leading to use under truly sterile conditions. Right now the scale is small (a couple of centimeters, or about an inch), but the developers intend to scale it up to at least 15cm (about 6 inches).
I imagine this is one of the ways that MEMS devices could be produced, including nanites; or maybe we could do micro-fluidics such as material sorters and mini-hydraulic engines. Once you start doping the resin to give it new properties, and adding non-plastic components to the build, the sky is pretty much the limit!
