The global 3D printing market is projected to grow from $27.52 billion in 2024 to $150.2 billion by 2032.
The manufacturing industry has benefitted from the growth of 3D printing technology in several ways, including lower production costs, increased customization, optimized operational efficiency, reduced waste generation, and rapid prototyping. In addition, 3D printing drives democratization — designs can be shared, downloaded, and printed anywhere in the world — and mitigates the impacts of supply chain shortages and disruptions.
Let’s review some of the latest and most exciting innovations in 3D printing, which range from a new technique for 3D printing ultra-strong stainless steel to the development of an eco-friendly photopolymer resin.
Stainless Steel 17-4 PH
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are successfully 3D-printing a special type of stainless steel, known as 17-4 PH. The alloy, known for its consistent strength and corrosion resistance, has numerous applications across various industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, oil and gas, and chemical processing.
Historic attempts to 3D print 17-4 PH were unsuccessful because the hot lasers used in traditional printers altered the material’s composition and reduced its strength.
To monitor the rapid temperature changes that occur during the 3D printing process, the team of Wisconsin-Madision researchers deployed bright X-ray beams. These beams captured images of the material every few milliseconds as it was heated and cooled. Any changes to its composition were registered and compensated for in real time, resulting in a more durable end product.
This method will drive manufacturing flexibility and reduce the costs associated with producing one of the world’s strongest and most durable materials.
Speed-Modulated Ironing
Multi-material 3D printing uses more than one type of material in a continuous printing process to fabricate objects or components. The process has benefitted several industries. In healthcare, for example, it is used to produce patient-specific anatomical models, implants, prosthetics, precision sensors, and drug delivery systems. Industrial manufacturers leverage the technique to 3D print everything from sensors and soft robotics components to batteries, mechanical actuators, and automotive parts.
While the resulting products are highly customized, the process is time-consuming and often wasteful since 3D printers must switch between multiple nozzles, discarding one material before using another.
To address these shortcomings, researchers from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Delft University of Technology have developed a more efficient, less wasteful, and more precise technique known as speed-modulating ironing, which leverages heat-responsive materials to produce objects in multiple colors, shades, and textures in a single step.
The 3D printer is fitted with two nozzles: one for depositing a heat-responsive filament and another for passing over the material, heating it to specific temperatures to activate different responses.
The researchers are already using the device to fine-tune the color, shade, and roughness of three heat-responsive materials: a foaming polymer and filaments containing wood and cork fibers. With further developments, speed-modulated ironing will enable manufacturers to 3D print a wide array of intricately designed objects using fewer materials.
Semiconductor-Free Logic Gates
Active electronic components, including amplifiers, vacuum tubes, and transistors, use external power sources to supply energy to an electric circuit. The largest group of these devices is classified as semiconductor-based and must be developed in clean conditions using advanced fabrication technology.
This technology is only available at a few highly specialized manufacturing centers, which means any external disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can result in worldwide semiconductor shortages and surging electronics costs. Without the need for semiconductors, it would be possible to bring electronics fabrication to industrial organizations worldwide.
A team of MIT researchers has taken the first steps towards this reality, using standard 3D printing hardware and an inexpensive, biodegradable material to produce resettable fuses. Although less effective than a silicon-based transistor, the device performs the same switching functions as its semiconductor-based counterparts and can be used for simple control operations such as regulating the speed of an electric motor or turning a motor on and off. Further developments will expand the logic gates’ functionality for additional use cases.
3D-Printed Solenoids
Solenoids — a type of electromagnet — consist of a copper wire coil wound tightly into a helix, an iron or steel housing, and a magnetic plunger. Designed to convert electrical current into mechanical motion, these devices serve a critical purpose in a wide range of devices, from life-saving hospital machinery such as respirators to everyday household appliances like washing machines.
The manufacturing of solenoids is fairly complex, requiring careful calculations and the assembly of various materials, which can limit the size and shape of the parts. However, as one MIT team has discovered, it is possible to mitigate these challenges using 3D printing.
The researchers adapted their multi-material 3D printer to superimpose three different filaments and produce a compact, higher-performing single-piece solenoid. A dielectric material serves as the insulator, a conductive material is used for the electric coil, and a soft magnetic material forms the core.
Remarkably, the resulting 3D-printed 25 mm-diameter solenoid can withstand twice the electric current and generate a magnetic field three times stronger than its conventionally manufactured equivalent.
Nuclear Fusion Fuel Capsules
Fusion energy is hailed as the future of clean and abundant power, but there are countless challenges associated with its large-scale production. These include the production of the deuterium- and titanium-filled fuel capsules used in fusion reactors, which must be almost perfectly spherical and can take months to manufacture. A single viable power plant would require around one million fuel capsules per day.
In the hopes of advancing the fusion energy sector more quickly, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has launched a new research project, which seeks to develop 3D-printed fuel capsules. The first-of-its-kind dual-wavelength, two-photon polymerization (DW-2PP) approach to 3D printing leverages two light sources to selectively print different materials, enabling the creation of components with complex geometries and sub-micron resolution. Although still in its early stages, the project has delivered some promising results, hopefully bringing us closer to a world with limitless clean energy.
Eco-Friendly Bio-Based Resin
Most of the resins used in 3D printing are epoxies or acrylics. These materials are derived from petrochemical products, are not biodegradable, and are prone to releasing harmful chemicals during production and disposal.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new type of photocurable bio-based resin using lipoic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid molecule that is 100% bio-sourced. The resin can be 3D-printed at high resolution, before being broken down into its constituent parts and then recycled and reprinted, creating an almost entirely closed-loop system. The resin is intended for use in sustainable packaging, rapid prototyping, and electronics components.
“Our approach is an important step away from relying on 3D-printable resins made from petrochemicals, which cannot be efficiently recycled,” said lead researcher Professor Andrew Dove. “While we still have improvements to make to the properties of the new resin, this research opens up exciting new avenues for development.”
Image credit: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
