3D Printing
Magnetic ink can print self-healing batteries
A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a magnetic ink that can be used to make self-healing batteries, electrochemical sensors and wearable, textile-based electrical circuits. The key ingredient for the ink is microparticles oriented in a certain configuration by a magnetic field. Because of the way they're oriented, particles on both sides of a tear are magnetically attracted to one another, causing a de...
Beam-scanning devices enable faster 2D and 3D printing
A major technological advance in the field of high-speed beam-scanning devices has increased the speed of 2D and 3D printing by up to 1000 times, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Engineering. Using a space-charge-controlled KTN beam deflector - a kind of crystal made of potassium tantalate and potassium niobate - with a large electro-optic effect, researchers have found that scanning at a much higher speed is possible.
Service offers to 3D-print injection mould tools
igus has announced it offers a service to 3D print injection mould tools, enabling fast and cost effective production of custom parts. This new service complements a range of products and services igus now offers across the design, prototyping, testing and manufacturing cycle.
3D-printed magnets outperform conventional versions
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that permanent magnets produced by additive manufacturing can outperform bonded magnets made using traditional techniques while conserving critical materials. Scientists fabricated isotropic, near-net-shape, neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) bonded magnets at DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) ...
Using conductive ink to produce electrical circuits
A new generation of FluidWRITER printers that create printed electronics directly on 3D surfaces have been introduced by Pulse Electronics.
Magnets can be made with a 3D printer
Today, manufacturing strong magnets is no problem from a technical perspective. It is, however, difficult to produce a permanent magnet with a magnetic field of a specific pre-determined shape. That is, until now, thanks to the new solution devised at TU Wien: for the first time ever, permanent magnets can be produced using a 3D printer. This allows magnets to be produced in complex forms and precisely customised magnetic fields, required, for ex...
Controlling ultrasound with 3D printed devices
Ultrasound is more than sound. Obstetricians use it to peer inside a woman's uterus and observe a growing baby. Surgeons use powerful beams of ultrasound to destroy cancer cells. Researchers fire ultrasound into materials to test their properties. But these high-frequency acoustic waves can do even more. Researchers have now 3D printed a new kind of device that can harness high-pressure ultrasound to move, manipulate, or destroy tiny objects...
3D-printed structures shrink when heated
Almost all solid materials, from rubber and glass to granite and steel, inevitably expand when heated. Only in very rare instances do certain materials buck this thermodynamic trend and shrink with heat. For instance, cold water will contract when heated between 0 and 4ºC, before expanding. Engineers from MIT, the University of Southern California, and elsewhere are now adding to this curious class of heat-shrinking materials.
Printing your own house can become a reality
A house made by a 3D printer could one day be a reality. The façade of the ‘Europa-Haus’ in the Amsterdam Marine Quarter, built for the duration of the Dutch Presidency of the EU, was partly constructed in this way. Based in Amsterdam, DUS Architects have used a mobile 3D printer in extra-extra-large (XXL) format, which is housed in a shipping container. For the construction of the building, the architects worked closely w...
3D printing speeds up production for testing material strength
Advanced 3D printing promises to redefine manufacturing in critical industries such as aerospace, transportation and defense, and now, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is exploring the use of 3D printing to achieve unprecedented flexibility in producing "on-demand" targets for testing how materials behave under extreme conditions.