3D Printing Research

The Chemical Insights Research Institute (CIRI), a non-profit arm of safety research specialist Underwriters Laboratories, has found that 3D printing emissions can be damaging to human health, even in small quantities.  In a recent CIRI toxicity study, researchers found that exposure to the fumes created when printing ABS or PLA filaments, can “contribute to airway cellular injury and inflammation.” Based on their research, the scientists say that operating extrusion 3D printers from a safe distance, as well as ventilation and filtration mitigation strategies, should be discussed in the safety guidance around these machines.  Researchers working at Underwriters Laboratories’ CIRI institute. Photo via Underwriters Laboratories. Getting to the bottom of emissions  According to the researchers behind the paper, Dr. Christa Wright, now formerly of Georgia State University, and CIRI graduate student Jennifer Jeon, their study was prompted by concerns over the harmfulness of fumes emitted by certain printers.  Specifically, as FFF…    read more 

The University of Amsterdam (UVA) has agreed to license a hybrid stereolithography (SLA) technology to Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printer manufacturer atum3D. Developed at the university’s Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, this hybrid SLA process combines photo and stereolithography to enable the production of parts with high-resolution features at scale. Once commercialized, the UVA says the technology could be used to address medical R&D needs, such as the creation of tissue scaffolds or microfluidic devices with clinical research applications.  The University of Amsterdam campus. Photo via the UVA. atum3D’s DLP 3D printing portfolio  Based in the city of Gouda in the Netherlands, atum3D specializes in the development of DLP technologies designed to address serial manufacturing applications. The firm’s main offering revolves around the DLP Station 5-405, DLP Station 5-365 EXZ and DLP Station 5-405 EXZ, 3D printers with build volumes up to 192 x 108 x 450…    read more 

Researchers at Stanford University have announced the development of a polymerization process that’s “five to ten times faster” than the current quickest high-resolution resin 3D printers on the market. Essentially a fresh take on the Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) method developed by Carbon, the team’s ‘iCLIP’ approach involves repurposing an oxygen-filled ‘dead zone’ at the bottom of a CLIP printer’s resin pool. By pumping extra material into this space, the scientists have managed to accelerate the process, and unlock unique conduit-integrated part designs.  “This new technology will help to fully realize the potential of 3D printing,” says one of the study’s authors and Carbon Co-Founder, Joseph DeSimone. “It will allow us to print much faster, helping to usher in a new era of digital manufacturing, as well as to enable the fabrication of complex, multi-material objects in a single step.” A comparison of Carbon’s CLIP process and the ‘iCLIP’…    read more 

Researchers at Japan’s RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) have used 3D printing to create a device which transforms cockroaches into remote control cyborgs. 3D printed from an elastic polymer that allows it to follow the curved surface of the insect’s thorax, the team’s tiny backpack enables the carrying of a locomotion control module and solar cell. These, in turn, provide users with a means of electrically stimulating a cockroach’s cercus to issue navigational commands, and preventing it from breaking free by keeping its battery charged via the sun.  “Keeping the battery adequately charged is fundamental – nobody wants a suddenly out-of-control team of cyborg cockroaches roaming around,” says the RIKEN scientific research institute’s Masataka Sasabe. “While it’s possible to build docking stations for recharging the battery, the need to return and recharge could disrupt time-sensitive missions. Therefore, the best solution is to include an onboard solar cell that…    read more 

Researchers at Stanford University have used 3D printing to develop a novel device that could help boost solar arrays’ energy-capturing capabilities and remove the need for mechanized tracking systems. Shaped like a tipless inverted pyramid, the team’s Axially Graded Index Lens (AGILE) device captures over 90% of the light it’s exposed to and funnels it in a way that trebles its brightness. Compared to existing solar arrays, which follow the sun across the sky, the AGILE can also catch light passively from any angle, lending it the potential to help make solar panels smaller, cheaper, and more efficient. “We wanted to create something that takes in light and concentrates it at the same position, even as the source changes direction,” explains the device’s developer Nina Vaidya. “It’s a completely passive system – it doesn’t need energy to track the source or have any moving parts. Without optical focus that moves…    read more