A research group led by Dr. Jose Marques-Hueso of the Institute of Sensors, Signals & Systems at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has developed a new method of 3D printing that uses near-infrared (NIR) to create complex structures from different materials and colors.
Dr Marques-Hueso explains: “The novelty of our new method, which has never been done before, is to use the NIR invisibility windows of materials to print at a depth of over 5 cm, whereas the conventional technology has a depth limit of around 0.1 mm. This means that you can print with one material and later add a second material, solidifying it at any position of the 3D space, and not only on top of the outer surfaces.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology was already capable of mixing materials together. But it has low resolution and visible layers. In contrast, this novel technique delivers smooth samples with resolutions below five micrometers.
Dr. Adilet Zhakeyev, a PhD researcher at Heriot-Watt University who has worked on the project for nearly three years, adds: “Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology was already able to intermix materials, but FDM has a low resolution, where the layers are visible, while light-based technologies, such as stereolitho
The method is also cost-effective, said Dr Marques-Hueso: “A clear advantage of this technique is that the full machine can be built for less than £400. Some other advanced technologies that use lasers, such as Two-Photon Polymerisation (2PP), require expensive ultrafast lasers in the order of tens of thousands of pounds, but this is not our case because our specialist materials allow the use of inexpensive lasers.”
The results of this research project, which received £280,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), were published in the journal Applied Materials Today.
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