3D Printing News & Discussions

UnixT
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Re: 3D Printing News & Discussions

Post by UnixT »

Science fiction envisions rapid 3D printing processes that can quickly create new objects out of any number of materials. But in reality, 3D printing is still limited in the properties and types of materials that are available for use, especially when printing at very small scales.

Researchers at Stanford have developed a new material for printing at the nanoscale—creating structures that are a fraction of the width of a human hair—and used it to print minuscule lattices that are both strong and light. In a paper published in Science, the researchers demonstrated that the new material is able to absorb twice as much energy than other 3D-printed materials of a comparable density. In the future, their invention could be used to create better lightweight protection for fragile pieces of satellites, drones, and microelectronics.
Research in the field of 3D printing is now popular. I think that soon new achievements will surprise us.
weatheriscool
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Post by weatheriscool »

New procedure allows micro-printing inside existing materials with greater accuracy
https://phys.org/news/2023-05-procedure ... uracy.html
by Michael O'Boyle, University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering
3D printers form objects by layering melted plastic or metal, but this only works on large scales. What you need to fabricate microdevices for which the layering step is not feasible? What if it were possible to print directly into the bulk of an existing three-dimensional material?

The research groups of Lynford Goddard and Paul Braun, professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, have been collaborating to develop such a process. They use the technique of multiphoton lithography to print inside an existing porous material with high intensity laser light.

This allows the researchers to selectively modify regions of the interior and manufacture custom small-scale optical devices in a procedure called subsurface controllable refractive index via beam exposure, or SCRIBE. The two research groups recently announced a refinement to this procedure that gives them significantly tighter control over the resulting devices. The new procedure was recently published in ACS Photonics.
weatheriscool
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3D printed elastic conductors for stretchable electronics
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https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-3d- ... onics.html
by Ingrid Fadelli , Tech Xplore
Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become increasingly advanced over the past few years and has been successfully used to create countless items, including toys, furniture and electronic components. As 3D printing equipment becomes more affordable, it could potentially also be used to fabricate soft electronic components for wearable devices.

Despite its promise in this area, so far 3D printing has rarely been successfully used to produce complex and flexible electronics. One reason for this is that solid-state elastic materials that can conduct electricity are difficult to print using existing inks.

Researchers at Korea Institute of Science and Technology recently demonstrated the successful use of 3D printing to create elastic components that can conduct electricity. Their proposed printing strategy, outlined in a paper in Nature Electronics, could potentially pave the way toward the large-scale printing of multi-functional and stretchable components for wearable devices.

The team's realization of elastic conductors using 3D printing was in great part enabled by a new emulsion-based composite ink they devised. This special ink consists of liquid components dispersed within a conductive elastomer, a rubbery material that conducts electricity.
weatheriscool
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Re: 3D Printing News & Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

A breakthrough in ceramic 3D printing
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-bre ... ic-3d.html
by Peter Grad , Tech Xplore

For Chinese scientists at Jiangnan University, the shape of things to come rests on a ceramic slurry and 3D printing.

Led by Professor Liu Ren, university scientists developed a technique that permits the construction of complex shapes never before possible with traditional 3D printing. They achieved this by creating a ceramic concoction that turns solid almost instantly upon exposure to near-infrared light.

The benefits of earlier processes used in 3D printing were often offset by issues of accuracy, speed and economy.

Stereolithography, for instance, which employs laser beams to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, glass or ceramic powder into a solid object, generally requires the production of support structures to hold large-scale or oddly shaped structures in place until the components are solidified. This adds time and cost to large projects.

The use of supportive structures—whether in stereolithography or other related approaches—also requires their eventual removal. This introduces potential problems regarding dimensional precision and surface smoothness. Furthermore, removal of support structures could introduce micro-cracks and even structural failure due to added weight stress.
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Suspected 3D-printing weapons factory uncovered by NCA

1 hour ago

A man has been remanded in custody after police uncovered what is thought to be a 3D-printing weapons factory.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers believe an industrial unit in Merton, south-west London, was being used to convert blank-firing guns into lethal weapons using 3D-printed parts.

Evan Girdlestone, 47, appeared before magistrates in Croydon on Saturday morning charged with offences under the Firearms Act. No pleas were entered.

[...]

Officers from the NCA's armed operations unit said they initially recovered what they believe to be a functioning converted weapon, and magazines filled with 9mm ammunition, from a car.

During a separate search of an industrial unit in the Lombard Road area of Merton, officers found an array of tools and machinery, including parts used in the manufacture of weapons and ammunition.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65656305


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Image source, National Crime Agency
weatheriscool
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'You can 3D print one material through another, as if it were invisible': New 3D printing technique
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-3d- ... nique.html
by Heriot-Watt University, Heriot-Watt University
Scientists have developed an advanced technique for 3D printing that is set to revolutionize the manufacturing industry.

The group, led by Dr. Jose Marques-Hueso from the Institute of Sensors, Signals & Systems at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has created a new method of 3D printing that uses near-infrared (NIR) light to create complex structures containing multiple materials and colors.

They achieved this by modifying a well-established 3D printing process known as stereolithography to push the boundaries of multi-material integration. A conventional 3D printer would normally apply a blue or UV laser to a liquid resin that is then selectively solidified, layer by layer, to build a desired object. But a major drawback of this approach has been the limitations in intermixing materials.

What is different about this latest project is that the scientists use a NIR light source capable of printing at far greater depths into the resin vat, and with no need to print in layers.

The findings hold tremendous opportunities for industry, particularly those that rely on specialist parts such as in health and electrical sectors.
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3D printing near net shape parts with no post-processing
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-3d-net-po ... ssing.html
by Lynn Shea, Carnegie Mellon University Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University Professor Rahul Panat, and his team, were developing a new type of 3D printed Brain-Computer Interface (or BCI) device where custom micropillars capture the communication signals from neurons when they stumbled upon an unexpected problem: the micropillars in the array bent during sintering. These BCI devices, now called "CMU Arrays," stack millions of metal nanoparticles in 3D space and then sinter, i.e., fuse them together.

In a rather dramatic illustration, a time-lapse film from their experiment, the silver micropillars opened in a highly coordinated fashion like a blooming flower during the 12-hour sintering process to 150-300 °C. This phenomenon was completely unexpected as sintering theory predicts no permanent distortion, even under variable temperatures.
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"Bimetallic" 3D printing tech produces better, stronger metal items
By Ben Coxworth
June 22, 2023
https://newatlas.com/3d-printing/bimeta ... le-metals/
Different types of metal have different qualities, so combining them can result in items that outperform those made of any one metal. A new technique now allows such mixing to be performed by 3D printers, faster and easier than ever before.

Currently, one of the most common methods of 3D printing objects out of multiple metals incorporates a technique known as wire arc additive manufacturing.

In a nutshell, this involves utilizing a weld head to produce an electrical arc that melts a metal wire. That molten metal is deposited in successive layers, incrementally building up the desired item. And every time that a different metal is required within one print job, the process has to be paused so that a wire made of one metal can be swapped out for one made of another.

Seeking to streamline that process, a Washington State University team led by Prof. Amit Bandyopadhyay developed a new technique which incorporates two commercially available weld heads, each one loaded with a wire made of a different metal.

One head initially deposits one metal in a circular pattern, forming a ring. The other head then rushes in and deposits the other type of metal inside that ring, giving the structure a solid core. As the two metals proceed to cool, the outer ring shrinks at a faster rate than the inner core. This produces pressure at the interface between the two metals, binding them together.

The process is repeated over and over, layer by layer, ultimately resulting in a single "bimetallic" column.

So far the scientists have created bimetallic structures – such as a column with a stainless steel core contained within a milder steel casing – which were 33% to 42% stronger than equivalent structures made of either metal on its own.
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Revolutionary gel allows metal items to be 3D printed at room temperature
By Ben Coxworth
July 06, 2023
https://newatlas.com/3d-printing/copper ... mperature/

Although there are several methods of 3D-printing metal objects, all of them involve the application of heat – which isn't conducive to producing certain heat-sensitive electronics, among other things. A new gel, however, can be used to print such items at room temperature.

Created by a team of scientists at North Carolina State University, the material starts out as a solution consisting of copper microparticles suspended in water. Microparticles of another metal, known as eutectic gallium indium alloy (EGaIn) are then added, as is hydrochloric acid.

The latter sets the pH of the water to 1.0, removing oxides from the EGaln and thus temporarily turning it to a liquid-metal state. This causes the EGaln particles (now globules) to cling to the firmer copper particles, forming a network of copper particles connected by EGaln bridges. Methylcellulose is also added, to bulk up the mixture.

The resulting viscous gel can be extruded from the nozzle of an ordinary 3D printer at room temperature, building an item up one layer at a time. When the finished object is left to dry – at that same temperature – the water and hydrochloric acid evaporate. The end result is a rigid, highly electrically conductive three-dimensional object which is up to 97.5% metal (the rest being methylcellulose).
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Re: 3D Printing News & Discussions

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Anker makes high-speed 3D printing even more affordable with the M5C
By Paul Ridden
August 02, 2023

https://newatlas.com/3d-printing/ankermake-m5c/

Last year, Anker breezed into the desktop 3D printing space with the AnkerMake M5, launching on Kickstarter to test the market and fund production. Now the company has announced a more affordable follow up called the M5C.

The M5 Kickstarter was a resounding success for Anker, with more than 11,000 backers helping to raise a funding pot of nearly US$9 million. The company's first 3D printer promised easy setup, super-fast print speeds, AI-based project monitoring, a built-in cooling system, and auto leveling. All for $499 if you were quick enough or $799 at the retail price.

The MC5 now features a one-piece design for easier setup, with an aluminum-alloy base that's reported to offer stability and reduce machine jitter. It does have a slightly smaller print volume of 220 x 220 x 150 mm (8.66 x 8.66 x 5.9 in), but retains the PEI magnetic plate for trouble-free removal of models, and features the same 49-point automatic bed leveling system as before.
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