A few days ago, computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) achieved a breakthrough in the ability to simultaneously print solids and liquids using commercial 3D printers . This technology has the potential to implement 3D printing of complete robots in the future.
It is understood that scientists from the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a 3D printing technology called "Printable Hydraulics", which is based on a light-cured 3D printer. It enables the latter to increase the ability to print liquids while printing solid objects, and to store liquids in solid materials when printing objects.
“We have a 3D printer that can print either solid or liquid, and then we have an algorithm to determine whether the printer should be placed with water droplets or curable droplets. This allows us to create objects that were previously impossible to manufacture.†CSAIL Director Daniela Rus said.
“This allows us to 3D print the hydraulics and incorporate them into the robotic system. The reason these liquids can be kept is that they are enclosed in a piping system.â€
It is reported that the new 3D printing technology developed by scientists is mainly based on the principle of light curing, and is similar to desktop inkjet printers, except that the technology ejects a liquid plastic droplet that can be cured, and then uses an ultraviolet laser to make it Hardens to form a solid object.
“When these parts are printed, they are printed layer by layer, and each layer is very thin. At such scales, and under such layer height conditions, the droplets we deposit can make all materials solid and liquid. The patterns are placed next to each other, the reason for which is the surface tension of these droplets," said Robert MacCurdy, a postdoctoral fellow at CSAIL and co-author of the study.
“Those materials that are set to solid are cured by UV light, but are set to liquid without being exposed. This allows us to embed very thin hydraulic pipes to drive the robot and electromechanical components. In fact, we are not embedding them, but leaving them as part of a complete part, we don't need to add or remove anything."
Researchers at MIT use a commercial photopolymer 3D printer. After a year of research, they found a way to add a liquid from the alcohol to the 3D printer, making this combination of liquid and solid printing possible.
Scientists claim that through this technology consumers may be able to print out robots at home in the future. It is well known that under current conditions, assembling robots is very time consuming and complicated, and robots do not have enough intelligence to assemble other robots. But the researchers imagine that with this technology, people in the future can easily print robots with specific uses at home.
"The ultimate goal of this research effort is to be able to tell a 3D printer to print out a robot and enable it to perform specific functions, such as cleaning the floor, climbing over gravel or picking up books on hold," Rus said.
The paper titled this paper is "Printable Hydraulics: A Method for Fabricating Robots by 3D Co-Printing Solids and Liquids", currently published in Kang The open source database of the University Library of Nair.
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