Using light to 3D print liquid resins is hardly a new idea. But researchers at the University of Texas at Austin want to double down on the idea. Specifically, they use a resin with different physical properties when cured using different wavelengths of light.
Natural constructions like bone and cartilage inspired the researchers. With violet light, the resin cures into a rubbery material. However, ultraviolet light produces a rigid cured material. Many of their test prints are bio-analogs, unsurprisingly.
Even more importantly, the resin materials connect naturally, so you don’t have as much worry about a piece made with two materials delaminating at the interface. You can control the exact properties by shifting the light frequency one way or another. We read the actual paper, but it wasn’t clear to us if, after curing in a rubbery state, the part could still cure hard in, for example, sunlight. The paper is available in Nature Materials, but if you don’t have a subscription, try your local library or University.
Maybe just the thing for that tunable laser project. Of course, you can use multicolor FDM printers with two types of filaments. You only need to convert the model over.
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