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Category: 3D printing – Page 7

A team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania introduced a novel wet chemical etching process that modifies the surface of conventional metal powders used in 3D printing.

In a significant advancement for metal additive manufacturing, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and their academic partners have developed a groundbreaking technique that enhances the optical absorptivity of metal powders used in 3D printing.

The innovative approach, which involves creating nanoscale surface features on metal powders, promises to improve the efficiency and quality of printed metal parts, particularly for challenging materials like copper and tungsten, according to researchers.

Additive manufacturing (AM) — more commonly known as 3D printing — has transformed the way products are designed and produced, allowing for the creation of complex geometries and customized components that traditional manufacturing methods struggle to achieve. However, one of the persistent challenges in laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) metal 3D printing is the high reflectivity of certain metals, which can lead to inefficient energy absorption during the printing process and can even damage some printing machines. This inefficiency often results in inadequate print quality and increased energy consumption, according to researchers.

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The interlocking bricks, which can be repurposed many times over, can withstand similar pressures as their concrete counterparts. Engineers developed a new kind of reconfigurable masonry made from 3D-printed, recycled glass. The bricks could be reused many times over in building facades and internal walls.

What if construction materials could be put together and taken apart as easily as LEGO bricks? Such reconfigurable masonry would be disassembled at the end of a building’s lifetime and reassembled into a new structure, in a sustainable cycle that could supply generations of buildings using the same physical building blocks.

That’s the idea behind circular construction, which aims to reuse and repurpose a building’s materials whenever possible, to minimize the manufacturing of new materials and reduce the construction industry’s “embodied carbon,” which refers to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with every process throughout a building’s construction, from manufacturing to demolition.

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While 3D printing has exploded in popularity, many of the plastic materials these printers use to create objects cannot be easily recycled.

The automatically generated parameters can replace about half of the parameters that typically must be tuned by hand. In a series of test prints with unique materials, including several renewable materials, the researchers showed that their method can consistently produce viable parameters.

This research could help to reduce the environmental impact of additive manufacturing, which typically relies on nonrecyclable polymers and resins derived from fossil fuels.

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El Cosmico Campground Hotel in the Texas desert is billed as the world’s first 3D-printed hotel. Following the project’s announcement earlier this year, 3D-printed architecture firm Icon is busy constructing the ambitious hotel.

El Cosmico is an expansion and reimagining of an already-existing campground hotel on the outskirts of Marfa, Texas. According to Icon, it will include camping areas, vacation homes, shared amenities, and permanent residences for sale. Connected to the hotel is the collection of the BIG-designed three and four-bedroom “Sunday Homes.” Pricing on the Sunday Homes starts at a cool $2.29M.

The company says the new hotel and homes feature organic curves and domes, a design that is only possible with 3D printing. The project was created in collaboration with architecture firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

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Arizona-based startup Mechnano has exited “stealth mode” in the research and development of its carbon nanotube (CNT) technology for 3D printing materials.

The company has developed its first product, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) resin that delivers dissipative properties to 3D printed parts without compromising mechanical properties.

“These are extraordinary breakthroughs for additive manufacturing materials,” said Steven Lowder, Mechnano’s Founder and CEO. “By focusing on the nanoscale, or the molecular level, we are able to make exponential improvements in AM materials at the macro-level.

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Related: Future moon astronauts may 3D-print their supplies using lunar minerals

“With the printing of the first metal 3D shape in space, ESA Exploration teams have achieved a significant milestone in establishing in-orbit manufacturing capabilities. This accomplishment, made possible by an international and multidisciplinary team, paves the way for long-distance and long-duration missions where creating spare parts, construction components, and tools on demand will be essential,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA, in a statement.

This groundbreaking technology continues to expand its applications on Earth, revolutionizing fields such as medicine, fashion, art, construction, food production and manufacturing. In space, as long-duration missions to the moon and potentially Mars take shape, astronauts will need a means of independently repairing or creating tools or parts for machinery or structures that would be difficult to carry onboard a spacecraft, which have limited capacity.

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A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory identified and successfully demonstrated a new method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%. The approach was discovered using molecular simulations run on the lab’s supercomputers, followed by pilot testing and analysis.

The method, leveraging a solvent of sodium hydroxide and urea in water, can significantly lower the production cost of nanocellulosic fiber — a strong, lightweight biomaterial ideal as a composite for 3D-printing structures such as sustainable housing and vehicle assemblies. The findings support the development of a circular bioeconomy in which renewable, biodegradable materials replace petroleum-based resources, decarbonizing the economy and reducing waste.

Colleagues at ORNL, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Maine’s Process Development Center collaborated on the project that targets a more efficient method of producing a highly desirable material. Nanocellulose is a form of the natural polymer cellulose found in plant cell walls that is up to eight times stronger than steel.

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One contract focuses on Canopy’s transpiration-cooled TBS. Under a second contract, Canopy will embed high-temperature sensors in the TPS material.

Denver-based Canopy was founded in 2021 to develop manufacturing processes that rely on software, automation and 3D-printing to supply heat shields for spacecraft and hypersonic vehicles.

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