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3D printing liquid metal could offer a new range of flexible electronics
- anigbrowl 13y agoFull paper with annotations: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1002/adma.201301400 http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1002/adma.201301400? Meanwhile, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57592867-1/3d-printing-with-liquid-metal-at-room-temperature/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57592867-1/3d-printing-w... has a video which I really recommend you watch. I don't often use the phrase 'mindblowing' but it applies here.
- tonylemesmer 13y agoslightly unnecessary use of an insect's face to support the "printed" structure.
- anigbrowl 13y agoI though the same thing, but apparently it had been killed earlier by a spider which was not an employee of the lab.
- cookingrobot 13y agoThe way it behaves looks a lot like hot solder. I wonder if anyone has tried using a syringe based printer (with heated tip) to print 3d metal shapes.
- anigbrowl 13y agoExactly my thought; my understanding is that conventional solder doesn't flow very well and that this has been a problem for printing circuits, but perhaps a little doping with this compound would alleviate that. Even if it's not up to commercial standards, it could be a great benefit for rapid protoyping.
- Widdershin 13y agoAlso, it means we're one step closer to Rep Rap!
- tonylemesmer 13y agoA minor problem but you'd probably need some kind of mechanism to get rid of the "slag" that builds up if you keep the solder molten for a prolonged time. Or use a solder formulation that is less prone to this.
- swamp40 13y agoIt's not exactly clear in the video, but the structures remain liquid at all times - unlike solder which solidifies on cooling. A thin layer of semi-rigid oxide holds the liquid in place - like a conductive water balloon. Very cool stuff, although it seems too delicate to me for any immediate real world uses. Perhaps a layer of Parylene or some other type of vapor-deposited polymer could make the structures more durable, while retaining its flexibility?
- waster 13y agoThe video link from anigbrowl noted these structures could be used in headphone wires and other such applications where flexibility and self-healing capability is critical. I do also imagine an outer protective layer could increase durability and thus expand the range of applications. That layer could, in theory, be either more rigid or equally flexible.