3D-Printing of Glass Now Possible
Three-dimensional printing allows extremely small and complex structures to be made even in small series. A method developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the first time allows also glass to be used for this technique.
Complicated high-precision structures made of glass can be manufactured in a 3D-printing process developed at the KIT.
Glass is one of mankind’s oldest materials. It was used as far back as in ancient Egypt and ancient Rome and has found a place now also in manufacturing technology of the 21st century. An interdisciplinary team at the KIT led by mechanical engineer Dr. Bastian E. Rapp developed a process using glass for additive manufacturing techniques.
The variety of 3D-printing techniques available so far have been used on polymers or metals, but never on glass. Where glass was processed into structures, for instance by melting and application by means of a nozzle, the surface turned out to be very rough, the material was porous and contained voids.
Complicated high-precision structures made of glass can be manufactured in a 3D-printing process developed at the KIT.
3D-formed glass can be used, for instance, in data technology. “The next plus one generation of computers will use light, which requires complicated processor structures; 3D-technology could be used, for instance, to make small, complex structures out of a large number of very small optical components of different orientations,” explains the mechanical engineer. For biological and medical technologies, very small analytical systems could be made out of miniaturized glass tubes. In addition, 3D-shaped microstructures of glass could be employed in a variety of optical areas, from eyeglasses meeting special requirements to lenses in laptop cameras.
Photos: KIT
The development by scientists under Junior Scientist Group Leader Bastian E. Rapp is a result of the “NanoMatFutur” junior scientist funding scheme run by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to support the development of innovative materials for industry and society. The work performed by the research group headed by Rapp has been funded by the BMBF since 2014 for a total of four years to the tune of approx. € 2.8 million.
Contacts and sources:
Margarete Lehné
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/04/3d-printing-of-glass-now-possible.html
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