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Category: 3D printing – Page 5

Students develop novel multi-metal 3D printing process

Students at ETH Zurich have developed a laser powder bed fusion machine that follows a circular tool path to print round components, which allows the processing of multiple metals at once. The system significantly reduces manufacturing time and opens up new possibilities for aerospace and industry. ETH has filed a patent application for the machine, and the results are published in the CIRP Annals.

Today, virtually all modern rocket engines rely on 3D printing to maximize their performance with tight coupling between structure and function. Students at ETH Zurich have now built a high-speed multi-material metal printer: a laser powder bed fusion machine that rotates the powder deposition and gas flow nozzles while it prints, which means it can process several metals simultaneously and without process dead time. The machine could fundamentally change the 3D printing of metal parts, resulting in significant reductions in production time and cost.

The team of six Bachelor’s students in their fifth and sixth semesters developed the new machine in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab under the guidance of ETH Professor Markus Bambach and Senior Scientist Michael Tucker as part of the Focus Project RAPTURE. In a mere nine months, the students realized, built and tested their idea. The machine is particularly aimed at applications in aerospace featuring approximately cylindrical geometries, such as rocket nozzles and turbomachinery, but is also of broad interest for mechanical engineering.

Advanced model unlocks granular hydrogel mechanics for biomedical applications

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel framework for understanding and controlling the flow behavior of granular hydrogels—a class of material made up of densely packed, microscopic gel particles with promising applications in medicine, 3D bioprinting, and tissue repair.

The new study, published in Advanced Materials, was led by chemical and biomolecular engineering professors Brendan A. Harley and Simon A. Rogers, whose research groups specialize in biomaterials engineering and rheology, respectively.

Granular hydrogels have a unique ability to mimic the of living tissue, which makes them ideal candidates for encapsulating and delivering cells directly into the body. By integrating material synthesis and characterization with rheological modeling, the researchers created a that captures the essential physics of how granular hydrogels deform—reducing a complex problem to a few controllable parameters.

Elon Musk’s Secret ‘Starfall’ Programme for SpaceX Starship

SpaceX’s rumored “Starfall” program, related to its Starship initiative, aims to revolutionize in-space manufacturing, enabling advancements in various fields and reducing cargo transportation costs to unlock economic potential in space ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

In-Orbit Manufacturing Potential.

🚀 Q: What unique advantages does in-orbit manufacturing offer? A: In-orbit manufacturing provides no gravity, perfect fluid flow, stable heat flow, and no air moving heat around, enabling growth of structures without scaffolding and benefiting industries like pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and military logistics.

🏭 Q: Which industries could be disrupted by in-orbit manufacturing in the 2040s? A: In-orbit manufacturing could disrupt terrestrial industries in the 2040s, particularly pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and military logistics, allowing production of high-value goods like protein crystals, retinal organoids, ZBLAN fiber, and semiconductor ingots in space.

Starfall Program.

🛰️ Q: What is SpaceX’s Starfall program? A: Starfall is a secret SpaceX program using small return pods from Starship to bring high-value goods back from orbit, potentially slashing the $40,000/kg cost of returning materials to Earth.

Continue reading “Elon Musk’s Secret ‘Starfall’ Programme for SpaceX Starship” | >

Tiny hologram inside a fiber lets scientists control light with incredible precision

Researchers in Germany have unveiled the Metafiber, a breakthrough device that allows ultra-precise, rapid, and compact control of light focus directly within an optical fiber. Unlike traditional systems that rely on bulky moving parts, the Metafiber uses a tiny 3D nanoprinted hologram on a dual-core fiber to steer light by adjusting power between its cores. This enables seamless, continuous focus shifts over microns with excellent beam quality.

3D-printed superconductor achieves record performance with soft matter approach

Nearly a decade after they first demonstrated that soft materials could guide the formation of superconductors, Cornell researchers have achieved a one-step, 3D printing method that produces superconductors with record properties.

The advance, detailed in Nature Communications, builds on years of interdisciplinary work led by Ulrich Wiesner, the Spencer T. Olin Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and could improve technologies such as and quantum devices.

Wiesner and colleagues reported in 2016 the first self-assembled superconductor using block copolymers—soft, chain-like molecules that naturally arrange themselves into orderly, repeating nanoscale structures. By 2021, the group found that these soft material approaches could produce superconducting properties on par with conventional methods.

Austrian hook-and-loop fastener to cut building repair costs

What the hook? 3D-printed joints cut repair costs, prevent construction waste.

Scientists in Austria have developed a new hook-and-loop fastening system that has the potential to dramatically reduce construction waste and make buildings easier to adapt, repair, and reuse.

The innovative component was designed by an interdisciplinary research team at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in the Austrian province of Styria as part of the ReCon project.

Inspired by Velcro, the original hook-and-loop fastener invented in 1948 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, the novel product enables structural components to be securely connected and easily separated when needed.

3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand

3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand ‘…small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables…’ — Fritz Leiber, 1968.

Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold ‘Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system…’ — Philip K. Dick, 1966.

Carpentopod Walking Table ‘Twoflower’s Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs…’

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