Harald Rupp
Researchers have developed a 3D printing process that allows for a combination of both liquid and solid material in the finished process. Pictured shows the inside of the 3D-printed material (right), with a lattice structure (left) containing the added liquids.
However, for 3D printing to evolve, it must integrate more complex methods that combine several production steps. That is why we were looking for a way to integrate liquids directly into the material during the printing process,” Binder said in a press statement.
To achieve this goal, Binder, working with colleague Professor Harald Rupp married common 3D printing processes with traditional printing methods, such as those used in inkjet or laser printers. The new method adds liquids drop by drop in a specified location during the extrusion of the basic material, which allows them to be “printed” directly into the product as it’s forming, they said.
Researchers develop new combined process for 3D printing
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Crean nueva técnica de impresión hibrida en 3D que permite fabricar objetos llenos de líquido
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Harald Rupp
Ordinarily, if you want to make a 3D-printed liquid-filled object, you have to inject the liquid after the object has been printed. A new process, however, allows such items to be printed all in one step – and the technology could have some valuable applications.
The technique was developed by a team at Germany s Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, led by Prof. Wolfgang Binder and researcher Harald Rupp. It utilizes a unique system that incorporates two 3D printing heads – one builds objects up by extruding successive layers of molten polymer, while the other (an inkjet print head) deposits tiny droplets of liquid.
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Credit: Harald Rupp / Uni Halle
Chemists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a way to integrate liquids directly into materials during the 3D printing process. This allows, for example, active medical agents to be incorporated into pharmaceutical products or luminous liquids to be integrated into materials, which allow monitoring of damage. The study was published in
Advanced Materials Technologies .
3D printing is now widely used for a range of applications. Generally, however, the method is limited to materials which are liquefied through heat and become solid after printing. If the finished product is to contain liquid components, these are usually added afterwards. This is time-consuming and costly. The future lies in more complex methods that combine several production steps, says Professor Wolfgang Binder from the Institute of Chemistry at MLU. That is why we were looking for a way to integrate liquids directly into the material d