Computed Axial Lithography.

[just Warren]

Using lasers to instantly make resin objects.

Computed Axial Lithography is the first printer of it's kind. It can shape objects, all-at-once, using specialized synthetic resin and rays of light.

How much of a game changer this can be is likely dependent on just how much utility this resin can provide.


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I thought we had a catch-all thread for this sort of thing, but I couldn't find it. So if a mod (or a rocker) wants to merge this with that, that would be cool.

[Hawkmoon]

This sounds like an extension/expansion of the polymer resin technology that dentists use for fillings. The stuff dentists use today is cured by light.

[230RN]

There was a glue advertised a couple of years ago which was cured by a UV light source.

Haven't seen it advertised for a while. I wonder if they found some hideous product safety problem with it.

I had a porcelain crown put on one of my teeth and they used a UV lamp to cure the adhesive.... whatever it was.  Probably toothpoxy.

[Brad Johnson]

Materials aren't new. UV-sensitive polymers shaped via laser have been around a while but they are 2d systems. The layer scans the surface of a pool of polymer, building a layer. The pool moves down a smidge and another layer is deposited. Lather, rinse, repeat.

This, however, is cool as heck. Building the object in native 3d rather than building it in layers. Impressive.

Brad

[Hawkmoon]

There was a glue advertised a couple of years ago which was cured by a UV light source.

The magic juice they use to inject windshield cracks is UV-cured, as well.

[RoadKingLarry]

Rapid prototyping.
CAD design a part, zap out a sample.
Cool.

[just Warren]

How much energy would be required to make things out of metal using this process?

[AJ Dual]

How much energy would be required to make things out of metal using this process?

Not possible,  as the metal is opaque.  The resin is mostly transparent,  and the UV/blue light that excites the polymers to harden can pass through,  and won't trigger the hardening. unless it's focused down to a certain intensity.

You could use the polymer 3D printed model for a mold positive for metal casting though.

There are several sorts of metal 3D printers though.  Ones that print with the plastic weed whacker line,  but it's actually glue and metal powder,  and you bake it in a kiln. Ones that spray glue on metal powder a layer at a time, then you bake it. Ones that shine a laser on the metal powder melting it together layer by layer. And ones that use a laser, gas flow, and metal powder coming out of the nozzle to build up metal parts in empty space.

SpaceX makes some rocket nozzles with the "shine a laser layer by layer on metal powder" method,  so the parts can be quite tough.