This 3D printer can watch itself fabricate objects

Posted under: Emerging technologies
Date: 2023-11-17
This 3D printer can watch itself fabricate objects

Researchers from MIT, Inkbit, and ETH Zurich have developed a groundbreaking 3D inkjet printing system that employs computer vision for real-time adjustments. Unlike traditional systems, it doesn't require mechanical smoothing, allowing it to work with slower-curing materials, offering enhanced properties like elasticity. The contactless system is 660 times faster than comparable printers, creating hybrid structures with soft and rigid components. Using a technique called vision-controlled jetting, the printer adjusts resin deposition with 16,000 nozzles based on high-resolution depth maps, enabling precise printing with various materials, such as thiol-based ones, contributing to the creation of complex robotic devices like a tendon-driven robotic hand and a six-legged walking robot. The system's versatility opens avenues for printing with hydrogels, silicon, epoxies, and more. This research, published in Nature, promises to revolutionize 3D printing capabilities.

Read more at: news.mit.edu