The start-up company T3DP has developed a new process for shaping glass. In contrast to conventional methods, shaping takes place at room temperature or even below 0 degrees Celsius.
According to the company, a mixture of 60 percent glass powder and 40 percent UV-curable synthetic resin mixture is first brought into the desired shape. The resin then hardens under UV light, anchoring the glass particles in the mold.
An accelerated sintering process then ensures that the glass particles fuse together and form a solid structure. The synthetic resin is removed from the glass in just 15 seconds. The entire process to produce the final glass mold takes less than a minute.
As T3DP development partner Nanoscribe confirms, even filigree structures made of quartz glass can be faithfully reproduced in this way.
According to T3DP, the process not only saves a lot of energy compared to conventional hot molding processes. The short process times also open up completely new possibilities for the series production of glass components.
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