Successful 3D printing of glass, revolution of consumer goods production

In the future, this technique is expected to create many useful items.

German scientists have begun to research and successfully apply 3D printing technology to create small glass objects.

In the future, this technique is expected to create many useful items such as camera lenses, image filters and even sophisticated decorations that need skilled craftsmen.

A glass product is successfully 3D printed.

According to an article published in Nature, the researchers used a "liquid glass " to create complex shapes but still maintain a smooth, transparent and very resolution. high.

More importantly, glass objects are created using standard 3D printers. However, this technique also requires a combination of a dedicated high-temperature furnace.

Research opens up the ability to use one of the most revolutionary technologies of the era to create materials that are extremely popular in everyday life.

Not only transparent, the product also has high resolution and sophistication.

Today, 3D printers are used to make everything - from shoes to removable parts of the aircraft - with a variety of materials, most commonly plastic and metal and ceramic.

Glass has some unique characteristics - hard, durable, can resist heat and electricity and is the key to creating the highest quality lenses for anything from eyeglasses to your camera. But this material is very difficult to use 3D printing technology because it is only melted at very high temperatures.

The co-author of the study of Bastian Rapp of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology said: "Glass is one of the oldest materials in the history of human development" , and it will be unfortunate if it is not applied in the print revolution of the 21st century.

Previously, MIT scientists made transparent glass objects using a special 3D printer capable of raising the temperature to about 1037 degrees C (equivalent to 1900 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the created objects have a weak glass structure and white ripples on the surface, not as transparent as desired.

In this study, scientists have applied standard 3D printing technology and this really makes a difference.

But the key to success must include "liquid glass" made of glass powder mixed with a liquid polymer. This material will then be poured into a 3D printer according to today's standard technology.

The next step is to process the material in a high-temperature furnace, where glass beads combine and become transparent. This technique has created interesting objects such as the castle gate, Pretzel cake and honeycomb structure of a few millimeters in size and even a few dozen micrometers. The object can also withstand temperatures as high as 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees F).

High heat resistance, up to 800 degrees C.

Rapp excitedly expects: "This allows us to hope to handle one of the oldest materials with some complex optical, mechanical and physical properties using a modern 3D printer system."

In the future, this technique could be used to print 3D complex lenses for smartphone cameras, parts for new-generation processors - Rapp said.

But in reality, the ability to apply from extremely wide glass materials - from glass ornaments to super-hard glass panels for high-rise buildings.

However, Rapp also shared: "I just hope 3D printing will not really replace traditional glass blowing techniques in craft villages like Murano, Italy. I am always excited to admire the art. Red fire, just turn the tube and blow the shape of glass products, I'm pretty sure a 3D printer is not art! ".