3D Printing
No ink required: paper can be printed with light
In an effort to curb the adverse environmental impacts of paper production, researchers in a new study have developed a light-printable paper—paper that can be printed with UV light, erased by heating to 120°C (250°F), and rewritten more than 80 times. The secret to printing with light lies in the color-changing chemistry of nanoparticles, a thin coating of which can be easily applied to conventional paper to transform it into the l...
Accelerating car production with disruptive 3D print process
Engineers at The University of Nottingham are developing lightweight automotive components using additive manufacturing processes to boost vehicle fuel efficiency, while cutting noise and CO2 emissions. The components will be constructed using selective laser melting (SLM). SLM uses a 3D Computer Aided Design model to digitally reproduce the object in a number of layers.
Printed organic electronics review wins best paper award
Researchers at Sumitomo Chemical describe some of the key developments in printed organic devices over the years and their thoughts on winning the award. While the world of electronics devices was radically different 30 years ago when Sumitomo Chemical (SC) began developing printed electronics technology, the company had already felt it was an area where they could make a significant contribution.
Chemically active 3D prints win the 2016 Altmetrics Award
Intense interest in results demonstrating the chemical reactivity of nanocomposites in 3D printed structures on social media leads to STAM 2016 Altmetrics Award. “People (secretly, sometimes) love having control. They love to be able to design and create and build. 3D printing facilitates this kind of creative control,” suggests Matthew Hartings, a researcher at the American University. “With the technologies that we are de...
Liquid metal 3D printing could transform manufacturing
A father and son team in the START-UP NY program have invented a liquid metal printing machine that could represent a significant transformation in manufacturing. An idea five years ago by former University at Buffalo student Zack Vader, then 19, has created a machine that prints three-dimensional objects using liquid metal. Vader Systems is innovating and building the machines in a factory in the CrossPoint Business Park in Getzville. ...
Technique enables adaptable 3D printing
3D printing technology makes it possible to rapidly manufacture objects by depositing layer upon layer of polymers in a precisely determined pattern. Once these objects are completed, the polymers that form the material are “dead” — that is, they cannot be extended to form new polymer chains. MIT chemists have now developed a technique that allows them to print objects and then go back and add new polymers that alter the ma...
Metal 3D printing enables lighter Renault engines
A team of Renault Trucks engineers and designers is working on an additive manufacturing process – metal 3D printing – that is set to boost the performance of engines. Technology of the future is fast becoming a reality, as can be seen from the complex parts that have already been successfully tested inside a Euro-6 engine. The Renault Trucks Lyon Powertrain Engineering department has focused on using metal additive manufacturing...
3D printing could transform future membrane technology
Researchers at the University of Bath suggest developments in 3D printing techniques could open the door to the advancement of membrane capabilities. This work is part of the University's Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE) and is the first time the properties of different 3D printing techniques available to membrane fabrication have been assessed.
A new twist for stretchable electronics?
Electronic components that can be elongated or twisted - known as "stretchable" electronics - could soon be used to power electronic gadgets, the onboard systems of vehicles, medical devices and other products. And a 3D printing-like approach to manufacturing may help make stretchable electronics more prevalent, say researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology.
How to 3D print your own sonic tractor beam
Last year Asier Marzo, then a doctoral student at the Public University of Navarre, helped develop the first single-sided acoustic tractor beam - that is, the first realisation of trapping and pulling an object using sound waves from only one direction. Now a research assistant at the University of Bristol, Marzo has lead a team that adapted the technology to be, for all intents and purposes, 3D printable by anyone (with some assembly r...