3D Printing
Fabrication technology in the fourth dimension
Scientists use the term 4D printing to refer to the simple production of objects that can transform their shape at different times. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now taken this approach one major step further by developing a construction principle that can produce load-bearing and predictable structures. 3D printers have become a standard fixture in many research laboratories – and now a select number of researchers are alre...
3D printing offers latest method to making buildings
The list of materials that can be produced by 3D printing has grown to include not just plastics but also metal, glass, and even food. Now, MIT researchers are expanding the list further, with the design of a system that can 3D print the basic structure of an entire building. Structures built with this system could be produced faster and less expensively than traditional construction methods allow, the researchers say.
Interdisciplinary team aims to 4D print metals and alloys
A team of researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University is collaborating to 4D print nickel-titanium shape memory alloys.
CT inspection advances production of 3D printed medical implants
Lithuanian medical company, Ortho Baltic is the first manufacturer of patient-specific, temporomandibular joint endoprostheses in the Baltic States and one of only three in Europe. The implants replace loss or lack of functionality of jaw movement. To underpin their production, the firm invested in 2012 in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology and recently acquired CT (Computed Tomography) inspection equipment from Nikon Metrology for quali...
Become a 3D printing expert with training courses
A 3D printing training course, has been announced by EOS, collaborating with two leading universities in the UK and Germany. For this six month ‘Additive Manufacturing Application Engineer’ programme, EOS will work directly with the University of Wolverhampton, a long-standing partner of EOS with an existing high-level metal AM expertise especially in automotive, Formula 1 and aerospace and SRH Hochschule Berlin, a German univers...
Printed transistors consist entirely of 2D nanomaterials
Researchers in AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science research centre hosted in Trinity College Dublin, have fabricated printed transistors consisting entirely of 2-dimensional nanomaterials for the first time. These 2D materials combine exciting electronic properties with the potential for low-cost production.
3D printing is no threat to IP claims report
New research from law firm DMH Stallard has found that while many companies are excited by the use and potential of 3D printing, they currently don’t see it posing much of a threat to their intellectual property (IP). This is despite the fact that 3D printing can make counterfeiting goods easier.
Reinventing metal 3D printing with direct writing process
Metal 3D printing has enormous potential to revolutionise modern manufacturing. However, the most popular metal printing processes, which use lasers to fuse together fine metal powder, have their limitations. Parts produced using selective laser melting (SLM) and other powder-based metal techniques often end up with gaps or defects caused by a variety of factors.
3D printing produces model blood vessels
Creating model blood vessels to aid in the study of diseases, such as strokes, can be complicated, costly and time-consuming. And the results may not always be truly representative of a human vessel. Assistant Professor Pranav Soman and his research team have engineered a new method to create model blood vessels that is more efficient, less expensive and more exact.
3D-printed device changes colour when prodded
In this age of smartphones and tablet computers, touch-sensitive surfaces are everywhere. They’re also brittle, as people with cracked phone screens everywhere can attest. Covering a robot — or an airplane or a bridge — with sensors will require a technology that is both flexible and cost-effective to manufacture in bulk. A team of researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory thinks tha...