UC Berkley researchers have developed a 3D printer that uses light to materialize objects from synthetic resin.
Called replicator, the 3D printer is able to create an object all at once, rather than printing layers on top of each other like conventional 3D printers. By doing so, objects can be printed that are smoother, more flexible and more intricate than their counterparts.
“We’ve invented a new category of 3D printing process inspired by the principles of computed tomography (CT),” Hayden Taylor, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and senior author of the research paper, told Digital Trends. “CT is widely used in 3D medical and industrial imaging, but hasn’t previously been applied to fabrication.”
“Our new process is called Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), and prints entire 3D objects into light-sensitive materials all at once. The process involves rotating a container of light-sensitive material, while projecting into it a sequence of computed light intensity patterns that are synchronized with the rotation. Over time, a 3D pattern of light energy is delivered to the material by more than a thousand different projections. Where the energy delivered exceeds a critical threshold, the material undergoes a chemical reaction and the part is formed.”
“It makes 3D printing truly three-dimensional,” added Brett Kelly, a co-first author of the paper.
The researchers have stated that the replicator has the potential to revolutionize how products such as prosthetics to eyeglass lenses are designed and manufactured.
“I think this is a route to being able to mass-customize objects even more, whether they are prosthetics or running shoes,” said Taylor. “The fact that you could take a metallic component or something from another manufacturing process and add on customizable geometry, I think that may change the way products are designed.”
With objects that measure up to 4 inches (102 mm) in diameter taking a few minutes to materialize, the researchers have created Auguste Rodin’s sculpture “The Thinker” and various other objects as proof of concept.
The resin is made from liquid polymers, photosensitive molecules and dissolved oxygen. Any uncured resin can also be reused by heating it up in an oxygen atmosphere.
“Our technique generates almost no material waste and the uncured material is 100 percent reusable,” noted Hossein Heidari, a co-first author of the paper.
To learn more, click the link below.
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/01/30/science.aau7114
