3D printers work by laboriously printing objects layer by layer, right? For larger objects, this process can take hours or even days. Now, a team of scientists at the University of California at Berkeley (USA) has found a shortcut: a printer that can make objects in one go with light, and that could potentially revolutionize rapid manufacturing technology.
The research, published in the journal Science , describes a printer that researchers dubbed a “replicator” after the Star Trek device that creates – and recycles – objects.
How does it work?
The new device works more like a computed tomography (CT) scan than a conventional 3D printer. Here’s how it works: build a 3D image by scanning an object from multiple angles, then project it onto a synthetic resin tube that solidifies when exposed to certain light intensities.
In two minutes, for example, the team was able to fabricate a small figure of Auguste Rodin’s famous “The Thinker” statue.
The replicator can have groundbreaking implications, but it also has some inherent limitations : The objects it produces are small and require a special synthetic resin to produce them. But it is an exciting new technology.
CT scans and Star Trek
As we can see, the Berkeley team was inspired by CT scans that capture 2D X-ray images of the patient, and then a computer reassembles those cuts into a 3D model so that doctors can look inside the body. The replicator essentially runs that process in reverse.
It starts with a 3D model, and software builds 2D segments from that model. Those cuts are composed into a video sequence that shows the rotation of the object. To get that virtual representation in the real world, you just need a little light at the correct wavelength.
Researchers are excited about what this technology could do to make 3D printing more useful for rapid prototyping and production of custom medical devices. Because the material is liquid and solidifies quickly, even solid objects can be inserted into the resin.
The replicator is still a long way from replacing all current 3D printers, of course. For one thing, it only works on centimeter scale objects. Some shapes are also more difficult to print in resin than others. It will take time to be a viable product on the market in the short term. Still, it could have real potential to give a boost to a rather slowly evolving industry.
Referencia: Volumetric additive manufacturing via tomographic reconstruction. Brett E. Kelly, Indrasen Bhattacharya, Hossein Heidari,Maxim Shusteff, Christopher M. Spadaccini, Hayden K. Taylor. Revista Science 31 de enero de 2019: DOI: 10.1126/science.aau7114
