Researchers have 3D printed the world’s smallest wine glass – almost invisible to the naked eye – with a rim smaller than the width of a human hair. But the idea is not to meet the needs of those who drink too much. Instead, the glass was published to demonstrate a new, simple process for creating silica glass structures for a variety of applications from communications to robotics.
Developed at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, this new method overcomes problems, such as the need for heat treatment, when 3D printing the critical silica glass material, said KTH Professor Frank Niklaus. Niklaus says that it can be used for custom lenses for medical machines that perform minimal surgery, micro robots that move around the environment, or filters and connectors for fiber optic networks, in to name just a few applications.
Such a fiber optic filter is being developed as part of the study. The researchers showed that the technique allows devices to be printed directly on the tip of the optic nerve as thin as a human hair.
“The backbone of the Internet is based on fiber optics. In these systems, all types of filters and partners are required and can now be printed with our 3D system,” said co-author Kristinn Gylfason, assistant professor of micro and nanosystems at KTH. “It opens up many new possibilities.”
This method reduces the energy needed to 3D print silica glass, which usually requires materials heated to hundreds of degrees for hours, said paper author Po-Han Huang, a PhD student at KTH. “The advantage of our method is that there is no need for heat treatment and the glass can withstand high temperatures and applications.”
Another advantage, he says, is that the process can produce silica glass using readily available commercial materials.
Eliminating the need for heat treatment increases the chances of this process being used in a variety of applications, he says. “Concerns when combining 3D printing methods are often different for different applications. Although optimization of our process is still necessary for different applications, we believe that our process provides important improvements in which is important for 3D glass printing to be used in practical situations.
And that glass of wine? Is it really the smallest in the world? After all, people have 3D printed many objects, such as statues and model cars. Niklaus said that the difference is that this exhibition is glass. “Really, no one has a 3D printed glass wine glass as printed,” he says. Isi mmalite: KTH The Royal Institute of Technology
Source: KTH The Royal Institute of Technology
