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Scientists have developed an advanced technique for 3D printing that is set to revolutionize the manufacturing industry.

The group, led by Dr. Jose Marques-Hueso from the Institute of Sensors, Signals & Systems at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has created a new method of 3D printing that uses near-infrared (NIR) light to create complex structures containing multiple materials and colors.

They achieved this by modifying a well-established 3D printing process known as stereolithography to push the boundaries of multi-material integration. A conventional 3D printer would normally apply a blue or UV laser to a liquid resin that is then selectively solidified, layer by layer, to build a desired object. But a major drawback of this approach has been the limitations in intermixing materials.

In 2018, just as 3D printing was starting to take off as a construction method, Dubai set an ambitious goal: the city wanted to become the 3D printing capital of the world, aiming for a quarter of its new buildings to be printed rather than conventionally constructed.

Follow-through was swift, with the Dubai municipality building becoming the world’s largest 3D-printed structure in 2019. The city is continuing to make good on its goal—and breaking its own record—with an even bigger building, and the first of its kind: the world’s first 3D-printed mosque will be built there this year. At 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet), it will accommodate 600 people and have more than twice the square footage of the municipal building.

The mosque is a collaboration between the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) and architectural firm JT+Partners. There will also be a construction company involved, but a name hasn’t yet been released (the municipality building was constructed by Boston-based Apis Cor; the city could be looking to work with them again, or could take a different direction entirely).

A nanoprinting technique developed by a chemist allows 3D printing of materials atom by atom and opens up various opportunities in electrochemistry. Read the article to find out more.

The 3D-printing process, carried out by PERI 3D construction, will finalize by end of july 2023.

From 2021

A new method called tensor holography could enable the creation of holograms for virtual reality, 3D printing, medical imaging, and more — and it can run on a smartphone.

Continue reading “Tensor Holography MIT Student creates AI learning advancing Holograms” »

The world’s first flexible, transparent augmented reality (AR) display screen using 3D printing and low-cost materials has been created by researchers at the University of Melbourne, KDH Design Corporation and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN). The development of the new display screen is set to advance how AR is used across a wide range of industries and applications.

AR technology overlays digital content onto the real world, enhancing the user’s real-time perception and interaction with their environment. Until now, creating flexible AR technology that can adjust to different angles of light sources has been a challenge, as current mainstream AR manufacturing uses glass substrates, which must undergo photomasking, lamination, cutting, or etching microstructure patterns. These time-consuming processes are expensive, have a poor yield rate and are difficult to seamlessly integrate with product appearance designs.

Led by University of Melbourne researchers Associate Professor Ranjith Unnithan, Professor Christina Lim and Professor Thas Nirmalathas, in collaboration with Taiwanese KDH Design Corporation, the team has successfully developed a transparent AR display screen using low-cost, optical-quality polymer and plastic—a first-of-its-kind achievement in the field of AR displays.

In the three-dimensional printing process of ceramic with low-angle structures, additional supporting structures are usually employed to avoid collapse of overhanging parts. However, the extra supporting structures not only affect printing efficiency, but the problems caused by their removal are also a matter of concern. Herein, we present a ceramic printing method, which can realize printing of unsupported multi-scale and large-span ceramics through the combination of direct ink writing and near-infrared induced up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization. This printing technology enables in-situ curing of multi-scale filaments with diameters ranging from 410 µm to 3.50 mm, and ceramic structures of torsion spring, three-dimensional bending and cantilever beam were successfully constructed through unsupported printing. This method will bring more innovation to the unsupported 3D manufacturing of complex shape ceramics.

In 3D ceramic printing, the need for additional supports can increase processing time and introduce defects during post-processing removal. Here, authors merge direct ink writing and up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization under near-infrared irradiation for support-free printing with controlled curing rates reducing material waste, printing time, and post-processing steps.

How to build VR Haptic gloves to feel in VR, for really cheap.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to build your own budget VR Haptic Gloves! (Prototype 4)

Continue reading “How to build cheap VR Haptic Gloves to FEEL VR” »

A lightweight, customized mouse delivering maximum comfort and peak performance that fits snugly into your palm and your palm alone.

In this day and age, where we spend hours hunched over a computer, there is a case for everything being ergonomic.

Into this niche steps Formify, a team based out of Toronto with the belief that individualized design should be accessible to everyone.