A team from the University of Buffalo has published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials a new biocompatible 3D printing method that they claim is between 10-50 times faster than those existing until now.
3D printing has enormous potential and we don't have to go far to find manufacturers that even print rockets like Rocket Lab with their Electron rocket, but it can be quite daunting knowing that it takes hours and even days to print something.
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| Stereolithography Printing |
This research team has developed a method with which they have managed to print a hand of a flexible material in 19 minutes, this is a great feat when with current methods it took 6 hours to create this same model.
The printing method they have used is called Stereolithography and is based on using lasers to harden a liquid resin and hydrogels. Hydrogels, which absorb large amounts of water without dissolving, are commonly used for contact lenses.
What is Stereolithography?
Stereolithography is a rapid prototyping process that uses layering to construct a design model. The technology uses photopolymeric liquid resins that solidify when exposed to ultraviolet light. A computer program translates a 3D CAD model into an electronic "STL" format used by stereolithographic machines, organizing the information in layers. An ultraviolet beam laser traces each section of the CAD model on the surface of a photopolymer resin vat, thus materializing the CAD model of the part, layer by layer. In addition to the technology described in the introduction, the use of suitable materials represents a good part of the success of stereolithography.
Stereolithography is not a new method, but it has been adapted to make it faster and ideal for flexible materials, but a new technique is known as FLOAT "Fast hydrogel stereolithography printing" is used in which a continuous flow of hydrogel is created in the part bottom of the impression and the curing zone so that the lasers harden the liquid of which the final object is composed.
This method is especially interesting according to its creators when it comes to printing artificial organs since they are usually made of flexible materials to imitate natural ones and need to be adapted to each patient. Also with this method, cells with networks of blood vessels can be printed, something of great help for the construction of human tissue and organs in the future.
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