This is a really good beginning that makes me finally bullish on 3D print technology. From this we leap quickly into metglas and this produces an array of characteristics otherwise difficult to manufacture.
It is taking years to advance these technologies ,but that is prehaps inevitable. We are certainly getting there.
Sooner that later we must peroduce a real star ship and we need all of this..
.
New 3-D Glass Printer Is a Lot Like What They Did 4,000 Years Ago
By Jonathan Zhou, Epoch Times | August 23, 2015
Last Updated: August 24, 2015 8:40 am
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1733198-new-3d-glass-printer-is-a-lot-like-what-they-did-4000-years-ago/
In the world of 3-D printing,
plastic has been the base material of choice for most purposes. Metal,
ceramics, and graphite are also used, but on a smaller scale. Now, that
list is being expanded to include transparent glass.
The basic concept of 3-D printing with glass is the same as with
other materials: the glass is heated until it becomes a liquid, and is
then extruded in 0.4 inch thick filaments through a software-controlled
nozzle.
Ironically, the production of glassware by coiling strands of molten
glass is a throwback to the earliest methods of glass-making that
originated in Mesopotamia more than 4,000 years ago, before
glass-blowing and molding was discovered.
The production of glassware by coiling strands of molten glass is a throwback to the earliest methods of glass-making
The manufacturing of glass products through extrusion is already in
use in different industries, but researchers at MIT were only recently
able to come up with a way to produce optically transparent glass.
The researchers had to overcome a number of challenges posed by the
qualities of glass: they relied on gravity to pull the molten glass out
of a crucible, which was heated to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, so the
diameter of the filaments were inconsistent as the pressure changed; the
glass would often stick to the nozzle instead of the preceding layer;
and the glass would often cool prematurely.
To make things work, the researchers had to switch to a ceramic
nozzle and keep the production in a temperature controlled chamber to
maintain even cooling.
In addition, the ceramic nozzle has to be manually shut off with
compressed air as a cooling agent and turned on with a propane torch.
Lime glass was used by the researchers because of its low
melting-temperature, but the researchers wrote that they plan on
experimenting with different glass materials in the future, but the
print would have to be modified first to raise its temperature
tolerance.
As a demonstration of the method, the researchers produced a number
of decorative glassware, mostly vases of various shapes and colors, a
selection of which will be exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum,
located in New York City, in 2016.
As with plastic, 3-D printing would give hobbyists and enthusiasts
the capability to toy with their own designs for glassware, and empower
suppliers to produce objects on a nonindustrial scale. Glass bottles,
for instance, are manufactured with cast-iron molds, encouraging
standardization in shape and design of the products.
“Additional complexity in product scale is now possible without
negatively affecting its production rate, cost, or quality,” the
researchers wrote in a paper detailing their invention.
The biggest breakthrough accomplished by this discovery may
ultimately be aesthetic. The caustic light patterns created by glass are
often things of remarkable beauty, one that could be greatly enhanced
by calculated distortions designed to project shapes and figures.
If the thickness of the filaments appear rather crude and inelegant,
that’s because the products serve only as a proof of concept that 3-D
printing of transparent glass is possible. As the technology is refined,
the diameter of the extrusion will become smaller if needed, and the
designs more complex.
The researchers’ finished products were limited by a number of
resource restraints. The reliance on gravity as the pulling mechanism
forced the crucible to be constantly filled. A plunger or compressed air
is being considered as a replacement for that force. Different
materials are also being considered for the nozzle, and a disposable
foil has been considered.
The printer’s software also faces needs to undergo consolidation of
the several programs that are being run simultaneously, so that there’s
more control of the process in real time.
No comments:
Post a Comment