Brainstorm: Rapid Prototyping Materials

In the Product Design & Development Brainstorm we talk with industry leaders to get their perspective on issues critical to the design engineering marketplace

What are the newest advancements in rapid prototyping materials? What are your expectations for future materials?

The 3D printing industry has seen remarkable growth in the last decade, opening opportunities across diverse manufacturing dimensions.

The idea of printing a 3D object is no longer a question of interest; the focus today, is on identification of new advanced materials to extend the reach of 3D printing across diverse domains.

READ: Brainstorm: Rapid Prototyping Materials (Part 2)

The immense contribution from researchers studying the feasibility of different materials has made it possible to predict a bright future for additive manufacturing technology.

A breakthrough example is the use of human cells as a 3D printing material to develop tissues for testing during drug development. The bioink uses tens of thousands of cells printed over hydrogels, such as collagen or gelatin, which gets dissolved once the tissue is printed.

Organova, a bioprinting pioneer, printed the first blood vessels using cells cultured from a single person, and is expecting to leverage the technology further to develop on-demand organs during surgical procedures.

Additionally, an entire range of biocompatible materials, such as thermoplastics, photopolymers, and metals, are expected to be increasingly adopted to test 3D printing compatibility.

Food ingredients can also be a good material for 3D printing food items.

While this may sound a bit impractical on earth, printing food for long duration space missions can provide required food quality and nutrient stability, rather than today’s ready-to-eat pouches that are tasteless and lose nutrient stability over time. As a matter of fact, NASA is already funding a project which is expected to bring a breakthrough in food technology.

From the manufacturing perspective, the pursuit to identify advanced materials for 3D printing applications is at its peak. More recent advancements, include the use of composite materials, such as carbon fiber, Kevlar, fiberglass, and nylon to print mechanical parts that require higher strength without adding weight. MARKFORG3D has demonstrated the use of these materials effectively by developing the world’s first carbon fiber 3D printer.

READ: Brainstorm: Rapid Prototyping Materials (Part 3)

The future of 3D printing materials is also greatly dependent on printing technologies. Two matured 3D printing techniques exist today: one focusing on details and surface finish, and the other focusing on structural strength, each having its own disadvantage.

As such, future technologies of 3D printing will be more focused on fulfilling strength and surface finish. HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology is one initiative that will help fill the gap in present additive manufacturing technology.

Additionally, existing printing capabilities are restricted to only printing single materials. In order to develop more useful products,

3D printers will need to process multiple materials in a single build cycle. Although recent advances have made the use of multiple materials from a single family of materials possible, future efforts are still required to combine different families of materials, such as plastics and metals to build more innovative products.