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Virginia Tech researchers have discovered a novel process to 3-D print latex rubber, unlocking the ability to print a variety of elastic materials with complex geometric shapes.
[...] 3-D printed latex has been documented only a handful of times in scientific literature. None of the previous examples come close to the mechanical properties of the latex printed by an interdisciplinary team affiliated with the Macromolecules Innovation Institute (MII), the College of Science, and the College of Engineering.
[...] Even with the custom printer, the fluid latex particles caused scattering outside of the projected UV light on the latex resin surface, which resulted in printing inaccurate parts, so Meenakshisundaram devised a second novel idea. He embedded a camera onto the printer to capture an image of each vat of latex resin. With his custom algorithm, the machine is able to "see" the UV light's interaction on the resin surface and then automatically adjust the printing parameters to correct for the resin scattering to cure just the intended shape.
Now you can print your own complex objects out of latex.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Thursday July 16 2020, @03:24PM (2 children)
The picture shows a 2cm part. I imagine this is proof-of-concept, but I'm unsure if this will scale as it requires a live-image of the printing to make corrections for optical defraction (my understanding).
Even at 2cm, I can imagine use cases like custom gasketing or medical applications. It will be tough to compete with RTV molds for these types of materials though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @03:35PM (1 child)
2cm part? So it is enough to print a realistic mold of my penis.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday July 16 2020, @05:36PM
Dear Mr. President, I don't think most people want to know.
Or were you asking for a friend?
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