Post by ChrisB on Jul 19, 2014 22:25:00 GMT
A few years ago I wondered about the potential for 3D-printing in hi-fi components and I found out that it was great for prototyping work but because of an inherent brittleness of objects produced this way, it wasn't really being used in finished products. There was a cartridge body and now we have a tonearm, but that's it, I think.
According to a paper published in Advanced Materials journal there has been a new development.
Until now it's not been possible produce high strength or stiff results. The project at Harvard looked at the microscopic structure of balsa for clues because of it's combined properties of lightness and strength.
The result is that they developed a way to 3D-print a cellular composite with record lightness and stiffness using an epoxy resin - the first time that epoxy has been used for 3D-printing. The epoxy overcomes the problems of brittleness in normal 3D-printing systems.
They built their new composite using an epoxy-based resin containing nanoclay platelets to increase viscosity, as well as two types of fillers – silicon carbide "whiskers" and discrete carbon fibres. The exact stiffness of the material can be selected by changing the orientation of the fillers as needed. The 'grain' of the silicon carbide whiskers, when arranged perpendicularly to the direction which will face the most load makes the material stronger in a similar way to the alignment of fibres in wood gives enhanced strength across the grain of a piece of timber.
This means that designers can digitally integrate the appropriate stiffness and toughness of an object from the very beginning to comply with the desired specifications.
A cellular structure allows lightness.
It's a significant step because it paves the way for 3D-printing using materials, such as epoxies, which can be used for structural applications, as opposed to the thermoplastics that standard 3D-printers use. Using this resin,they made composites as stiff as wood, up to 20 times stiffer than commercial 3D-printed polymers, and twice as strong as the strongest printed polymer composites.
They are thinking about more efficient wind turbines and light but safe cars with hugely improved fuel economy but I'm thinking speaker cabinets, racks, chassis, arms.......
I found a video about it. It's not so different from other clips of 3D-printing but it's still fascinating!
Don't blame me for the dodgy music.
According to a paper published in Advanced Materials journal there has been a new development.
Until now it's not been possible produce high strength or stiff results. The project at Harvard looked at the microscopic structure of balsa for clues because of it's combined properties of lightness and strength.
The result is that they developed a way to 3D-print a cellular composite with record lightness and stiffness using an epoxy resin - the first time that epoxy has been used for 3D-printing. The epoxy overcomes the problems of brittleness in normal 3D-printing systems.
They built their new composite using an epoxy-based resin containing nanoclay platelets to increase viscosity, as well as two types of fillers – silicon carbide "whiskers" and discrete carbon fibres. The exact stiffness of the material can be selected by changing the orientation of the fillers as needed. The 'grain' of the silicon carbide whiskers, when arranged perpendicularly to the direction which will face the most load makes the material stronger in a similar way to the alignment of fibres in wood gives enhanced strength across the grain of a piece of timber.
This means that designers can digitally integrate the appropriate stiffness and toughness of an object from the very beginning to comply with the desired specifications.
A cellular structure allows lightness.
It's a significant step because it paves the way for 3D-printing using materials, such as epoxies, which can be used for structural applications, as opposed to the thermoplastics that standard 3D-printers use. Using this resin,they made composites as stiff as wood, up to 20 times stiffer than commercial 3D-printed polymers, and twice as strong as the strongest printed polymer composites.
They are thinking about more efficient wind turbines and light but safe cars with hugely improved fuel economy but I'm thinking speaker cabinets, racks, chassis, arms.......
I found a video about it. It's not so different from other clips of 3D-printing but it's still fascinating!
Don't blame me for the dodgy music.
