http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/12/3d_printer_speed_nanotechnology
Speedy 3D printer creates 285um Formula-1 speedster
I had to take a look. I have a number of interests, but 3D printing and Formula 1 are high on my list, and anything that is "geeky" attracts my attention too, so a 3D-printed microscopic Formula 1 car is about as cool as it gets for me!
It seems that a team at the Vienna Institute of Technology has pushed the technology of laser-cured polymers to new limits, both in scale and speed.
"Until now, this technique used to be quite slow," said Professor Jürgen Stampfl from the Institute of Materials Science and Technology in a statement. "The printing speed used to be measured in millimeters per second – our device can do five meters in one second."
OK, so they are only doing this on a microscopic scale (the Formula 1 car is less than a third of a millimetre long!) - but imagine when they can scale up - you could print yourself a full-size car in a few minutes!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete