Science & Technology
TU Delft Researchers Discuss Microstructural Optimization for 3D Printing Trabecular Bone
Trabecular bone, also known as spongy or cancellous bone, is one of two types of bone found in the human body. It is found at the end of long bones, in the pelvic bones, ribs, skull and vertebrae. Trabecular bone is one of many microstructures with spatially varying...
Researchers Investigate Tensile Properties of 3D Printed PLA Specimens: Is 80% Infill Best?
Plastic is still one of the most popular, least expensive 3D printing materials, and polylactic acid, better known as PLA, is at the top of the bunch, due to its high strength, biocompatibility, and biodegradable nature. A lot of studies have been completed regarding...
University of Michigan Researchers Develop New Ultrafast 3D Printing Technique: Two-Color Irradiation
University of Michigan researchers have developed a new vat polymerization 3D printing technique that produces objects at up to 100 times faster than current 3D printing techniques, as detailed in a paper entitled “Rapid, continuous additive manufacturing by...
Researchers Improve Femtosecond Selective Chemical Etching
In a paper entitled “Polarization-insensitive space-selective etching in fused silica induced by picosecond laser irradiation,” a group of researchers discusses space selective chemical etching, which can be achieved when fused silica is irradiated with...
Massachusetts Researchers Develop In-Line Rheometer for FDM 3D Printing
Rheology is the study of the flow of matter, and the flow rate of 3D printing materials is fairly important when it comes to the final print. According to a pair of researchers from Massachusetts, it’s actually “the most critical material property”...
3D Printing Cell Cultures Using PulMA Hydrogels
Biomimetic hydrogels offer several opportunities in medical applications, according to a group of researchers in a paper entitlted “Polysaccharide hydrogels for multiscale 3D printing of pullulal scaffolds.” But the generation of synthetic...
3D Printing News Briefs: December 30, 2018
In this week’s abbreviated 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ve got a story on a new type of 3D printing that makes it easy to 3D print small objects, and a distinguished professor gives a TEDx talk about the importance of interdisciplinary research. Wrapping...
Electro-Assisted 3D Bioprinting Method for Low-Concentration GelMA Microdroplets
While low-concentration gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is biocompatible with 3D bioprinted cell‐laden structures, because of its low viscosity it’s hard to stably make organoids, and even microdroplets, with the material. A team of researchers from Zhejiang...
LLNL: Magnetically Responsive Metamaterials Instantly Stiffen 3D Printed Structures
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) frequently does impressive work with 3D printing materials, including metamaterials. Now the lab has introduced a new class of metamaterial that can almost instantly respond and stiffen 3D printed structures when exposed...
Researchers Study the Microstructure of Laser Cladding
While metal additive manufacturing has plenty of benefits, it has its drawbacks as well. Two of those drawbacks are high production costs and often unpredictable failure of parts. Laser cladding (LC) is one commonly used method of metal 3D printing, but has an...
Creating Living Materials Using Bacteria and 3D Printing
In a paper entitled “Programmable and printable Bacillus subtilis biofilms as engineered living materials,” a team of researchers discusses how they used 3D printing to produce custom nanoscale biomaterials from the natural secretion of amyloid fibers from...
Fraunhofer ILT Develops Lasers That Can Cut Glass Into Any Shape
Cutting glass can be a dangerous and difficult process – but with specially shaped, ultrashort laser pulses developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, it doesn’t have to be. It was smartphone displays, in fact, that made the scientists...
3D Printing Chiral Metamaterials Using Cobalt Chromium
In a paper entitled “3D-Printed Chiral Metasurface as Dichroic Dual-Band Polarization Converter,” a team of researchers discusses designing a 3D chiral metasurface behaving as a spatial polarization converter with asymmetric transmission. “The...
Custom 3D Printer Creates Better Microfluidic Devices
Microfluidic systems are used to improve the analysis of biological and chemical processes by providing a more controlled fluid-handling environment. They are usually created in monolithic form through microfabrication techniques that limit designers to working in a...
Marine-Based Hydrogels Used to Develop New Bioink for 3D Bioprinting
One of the challenges in the field of bioprinting is developing bioinks that are safe and effective. In a paper entitled “Marine Biomaterial-Based Bioinks for Generating 3D Printed Tissue Constructs,” a group of researchers discusses the development of a...
Researchers Use Robotic Arm 3D Printing Process for Mold Fabrication
Many objects that we call 3D printed, from crayons and chess pieces to turbines and dental aligners, and were actually created using 3D printed molds, rather than being fully printed themselves. A trio of researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and...
3D Printing Helps Scientists to Understand How Seeds Fly
Have you ever gone out into your yard and been surprised by a particular plant or tree that seems to have sprung up out of nowhere? It certainly wasn’t planted by you, so how did it get there? There is more than one possible way it may have happened – a...
Investigating the Deformation of 3D Printed PLA
In a paper entitled “Improved Model and Experimental Validation of Deformation in Fused Filament Fabrication of Poly Lactic Acid,” a group of researchers evaluates deformation in 3D printed PLA. Because PLA is mostly 3D printed with relatively small...
Researchers Demonstrate Use of Tomographic, Volumetric 3D Printing Method for Soft Medical Devices
A trio of researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne used a tomographic, volumetric 3D printing method in order to get past the limitations affecting the process chain and patient care that result from the use of casting and 3D printing to...
Researchers Develop Tough Hydrogels for 3D Printing Applications in Repairing Load-Bearing Soft Tissues
The water-swollen polymer networks we know as hydrogels have many applications in the biomedical industry, but in order to use them to repair and regenerate load-bearing soft tissues, such as cartilage, blood vessels, and tendons, we need to create tougher...
Researchers Qualify 3D Printed Aerospace Brackets and use Thermoelastic Stress Analysis for Testing
3D printed aerospace brackets made from titanium alloys are becoming more common in the design of spacecraft and satellites. Any aerospace component, however, cannot just be 3D printed and stuck onto the spacecraft – it must be tested and qualified to make sure...
Researchers Develop Helpful AMCET Tool for Estimating Total Costs of 3D Printing
While many companies are working hard to lower the overall cost of 3D printing, whether it’s through eliminating post-processing or offering less expensive materials, sometimes it’s just not possible to make the technology less expensive. That’s why...
3D Printing News Briefs: November 23, 2018
We’re starting with a little business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs – Intech confirmed its first order for Additive Industries’ MetalFAB1 3D printer, and Roboze CEO Alessio Lorusso has won a prestigious Ernst & Young award. Moving...
How Argon and Nitrogen Shielding Gases Affect 3D Printed Stainless Steel
In a paper entitled “Mechanical Properties of 17-4 PH Stainless Steel Additively Manufactured under Ar and N2 Shielding Gas,” a group of researchers investigates the effect on using either argon or nitrogen as the shielding gas on the final...
