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3D Printing News Briefs, September 29, 2021: Research, Molds, & Bridges https://ift.tt/3F3aS8T We’re starting off with some heavy-duty research in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs as scientists from Pusan National University are 4D printing humidity-responsive polymers and 3D printed components are helping to improve the performance of an electrochemical reactor. Astronomers are 3D printing handheld stellar nurseries, and we don’t mean the kind where your baby goes to sleep. Hybrid AM technology is being used to fabricate carbon fiber-filled molds for an automotive project, and finally, a 21-meter-long 3D printed bridge was unveiled in China. 4D Printing Humidity-Responsive Polymers Innovations like sensors, smart textiles, soft robots, and weather-responsive architecture are typically based on materials that respond to external stimuli, such as light, temperature, and humidity, by changing shape. Liquid crystal (LC)-based lightly crosslinked polymers, or LC elastomers (LCEs), have this actuating ability, but most don’t respond to humidity changes, or if they do, they’re brittle. A team of scientists from Pusan National University in Korea, have developed a new class of smart LCEs, which can be 3D printed, are very deformable, and respond to environmental humidity—making them 4D printed. First, they prepared LC ink using dimethylamino group functionalized LC oligomers, which were then 3D printed, using UV-assisted direct-ink-writing technology, in a variety of geometries. Finally, an acidic solution was used to activate the 3D printed LCE surfaces, and the resulting novel humidity-responsive LCEs can undergo both programmed and reversible shape changes, such as twisting, bending, and forming the letters ‘P,’ ‘N,’ and ‘U.’
You can learn more by reading the Pusan team’s published study. 3D Printing Improves Performance of Electrochemical Reactor Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, collaborating with Stanford University and oil and gas company Total American Services, recently used 3D printing to rapidly enhance the performance of electrochemical reactors used for converting CO2 into chemicals, material feedstocks, and energy sources. The collaborating researchers are working under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), and published a paper proving the 3D printed components allowed the vapor-fed electrochemical systems to produce higher yields of feedstocks and fuels, like ethanol and ethylene, and majorly speed up the process of building the reactors. The team used projection micro-stereolithography and other photochemical-based 3D printing processes at LLNL to design and print new housings for the reactors, in an effort to find better ways to control the environment around the catalyst. By using the technology to optimize the design, they were able to improve the overall mass transport for delivering reactants to, and removing products from, the catalyst surroundings, as well as introduce what the researchers call a “paradigm-shifting approach to designing future reactors and rethinking how chemical reactions are done.”
3D Printed Handheld Stellar Nurseries Artist and astrophysicist Nia Imara, a professor of astronomy at the University of California Santa Cruz, has combined both of her passions to help scientists better visualize the giant clouds of gas and dust that birth stars, also known as a stellar nursery. She and her team used high-resolution, bitmap-based 3D printing to fabricate polished orbs—small enough to fit in your hand—that resemble giant marbles containing beautiful swirling patterns. These 3D printed stellar nursery models feature patterns that come from simulations that were run of star-forming clouds, showing how the nurseries are affected by different processes, such as magnetic fields and turbulence. Opaque resin was used to print the models, and Amara’s team also printed half-spheres to offer a simulated view into the cross sections of the stellar nurseries. Quote request Are you looking to buy a 3D printer or 3D scanner? We're here to help. Get free expert advice and quotes from trusted suppliers in your area. Powered by Aniwaa
Imara plans to use the 3D printed models in an astrophysics course she will be teaching this fall. To learn more, you can read the published paper here. Hybrid Manufacturing Helps with Custom Vehicle Restoration In June, multi-axis machining specialist CMS SpA, based in Italy and the US, introduced its hybrid composite large-format Kreator 3D printer and multi-axis milling machine, and has now announced the first commercial project developed with the technology. Together with Italian company Bercella S.r.l., which specializes in large and complex structures, CMS is using the new hybrid Kreator to fabricate carbon fiber-filled molds for Bercella’s custom Restomod Maserati vehicle restoration project. CMS worked with Fraunhofer IWU to develop the Kreator, which combines milling with large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM), and the first use case was the redesign of 26 body components, including the bumpers, door, roof, and hood, for the Restomod Maserati MV 3200 GTC. Using the CMS Kreator, the components were built from carbon fiber prepreg, manufactured via hand layup on molds—3D printed out of 40% carbon fiber-filled PA6—and then cured in an autoclave. The ultimate goal is to produce an entire carbon fiber restoration vehicle out of 3D printed molds.
3D Printed Bridge Unveiled in Chengdu Finally, a park in Chengdu, China is now home to a 3D printed bridge that’s over 21 meters long. The bridge, 3D printed out of polymer composite materials instead of concrete or metal, is actually part of the larger Liuyun Bridge in the city’s Yimahe Park. This bridge measures 66.8 meters long, and the flexible 21.58-meter-long 3D printed portion is 8 meters at its widest point and 2.68 meters at its highest point. Made from 12 tonnes of polymer ASA and glass fiber for more strength and weather resistance, the design team of China Southwest Architecture cooperated with a printing team in Shanghai, and used the country’s largest polymer printer to build the bridge, which was inspired by the “free running form of the Stage Horse River and the dancing silk.” The fully automated printing system took 35 days to complete the 3D printed portion of the Liuyun Bridge.
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com September 29, 2021 at 08:36AM
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