Diversified 3D printing materials

Although 3D print technology has grown dramatically in recent years, most machines still print solid objects with only one material.

A team of researchers at the School of Computer Science at MIT and the Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) have developed a new software capable of printing plastic or plastics. other materials.

Photo: supercal.newsblur.com

3D printing hardware supports printing from a variety of materials, but it is difficult to write code that can analyze a 3D model and create instructions that allow printing of different physical properties. Up to now, 3D printing of an object in a variety of materials means using a high resolution printer, defining the materials for each specific part of the object. In this way, even if only a small print, but with differences (in texture, size, color, surface properties) and the amount of processing data is too large, the printing process will cost. extremely high.

To simplify the whole process, the CSAIL team has built a software link called 'OpenFab' , similar to the rendering paths used in the 3D film industry. OpenFab reduces the cost of printing by transferring only a fraction of the data required by the printer. Since only a small part of the data is stored in the system memory at any one time, the entire calculation process becomes easier and very little slowdown occurs.

This breakthrough technology not only allows for diversification of print materials, but also enables users to change the way they look at the single material used for printing. It is possible to print an object with hardware and compression, even if it is non-flexible raw material. The team used OpenFab to print a rhinoceros with tiny thorns on zebra-like skins, a butterfly wrapped in opaque amber, a rabbit and soft teddy bears.