New 3D Printing Technique Lets You Print Customized Devices with Multiple Colors and Textures - TechEBlog

Delft University of Technology and MIT researchers have developed a new 3D printing technique that lets you print customized devices with multiple colors as well as varied textures.

Called speed-modulated ironing, this technique utilizes a dual-nozzle 3D printer. The first nozzle basically deposits a heat-responsive filament, while the second passes over the printed material to activate certain responses, like changes in opacity or coarseness, using heat. Controlling the speed of the second nozzle enables the researchers to heat the material to specific temperatures, finely tune the color, shade, and roughness of the heat-responsive filaments. Best of all, this technique does not require any hardware modifications.

As we modulate the speed, that allows the printed layer we are ironing to reach different temperatures. It is similar to what happens if you move your finger over a flame. If you move it quickly, you might not be burned, but if you drag it across the flame slowly, your finger will reach a higher temperature,” said Marwa AlAlawi, a mechanical engineering graduate student at MIT.

[Source]

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