Video: Super High-Res 3-D Laser Printer Prints at Five Meters Per Second

Monday, March 12, 2012 - 16:10 in Physics & Chemistry

A 285-Micrometer Indy Car Printed With Two-Photon Lithography Captured by a scanning electron microscope. Vienna University of Technology What's the point of 3-D printing an Indy car if it's not ultra-fast? Using a high-resolution 3-D printing technology known as "two-photon lithography"--a technique that is normally quite slow--researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have made a huge breakthrough in printing speed, setting a new high-speed record by printing orders of magnitude faster than was previously possible. The new super-fast printing technology relies on a liquid resin filled with photoactive molecules that harden when they absorb two photons from a laser beam. This resin is actually a breakthrough in itself, as it allows a fast-moving, highly focused laser beam to quickly harden the liquid medium in just the right places. By improving the control mechanism of the mirrors that guide the laser, the team was able to vastly increase the speed with which...

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