3D printinghas proven to be a true revolution for home users without the need for expensive industrial molds. Are your glasses broken? Just print the new temple. Do you need a prosthesis? Just download the blueprint and create it.However, despite its versatility, this technology It does not have a significant impact on the scale of the industry. Outside of areas such as printing construction modules and full-size homes, manufacturers have not taken it into industrial production.anyone you know 3D printer I can see why, but it tends to be very slow. In order to complete the final product, it is necessary to stack the materials layer after layer. This is called additive printing and is time consuming. Nevertheless, there are some options to speed up the process. The most radical approach is to do away with regular extruders and replace them with light beams. Developed by researchers at the University of Michigan (USA), this new 3D printing system is 100 times faster than other techniques he has used so far.
Their technique shoots two beams of light into a resin tank, which instantly solidifies through a polymerization process. The resin flows under the print and is gradually solidified by the light source. Objects are printed in a single piece instead of having layers, making them much more robust and durable than their additive manufacturing counterparts. Thus, the research team announced it as one of the world’s first real 3D printers.
Issues in printing with light
One of the main problems caused by printing with light Objects can stick to the surface because the resin at the bottom of the tank has a tendency to solidify. This was previously solved by adding oxygen to the bottom layer, the element that keeps the resin fluid. The layer of resin exposed to oxygen was so thin that only high-flow resins that could fill the space fast enough could be used.But 3D printed object Those manufactured with this type of resin are much more fragile.
A new solution relies on a second light beam that prevents the solidification process. That is, two different wavelengths are used. One plays a role in photoactivation and the other is photoinhibition.with this New technologythe liquid layer in contact with the window can be several millimeters thick, allowing the resin to flow much faster.
Nevertheless, this innovative technology The one developed by the University of Michigan is not yet commercially available. Already seen is a digital photosynthesis system developed by Carbon 3D, one of the first manufacturers in this field. Types of 3D printingTheir approach uses oxygen to keep the resin flowing. Then, when the object is printed, a heat curing or hardening process is applied to achieve the desired stiffness.
sauce: University of Michigan
