3D Printing to Fabricate Metal and Advanced Structures at Room Temperature

Operates at Normal Environmental Conditions to Print Metallic, Ceramic, and Composite Parts More Efficiently

This binder-based 3D printing process allows the production of metallic, ceramic, and composite structures at room temperature and normal atmospheric conditions. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, creates structures by successively adding material layers on top of each other. 3D printing of metal and other advanced material parts is increasingly common in the medical, automotive, aerospace, and defense industries. The global 3D printing metal market is expected to exceed $796 million by 2026. The widely adopted metal 3D printing technologies require high temperature, high energy output steps in highly controlled environments, which can make printing metal parts inefficient and inconvenient. Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a metal 3D printing system that prints metallic as well as ceramic and composite parts at room temperature and ambient environmental conditions.

Application

3D printing that creates metallic, ceramic, and composite parts at room temperature, useful for on-demand replacement parts, functional prototypes, electronics, and much more

Advantages

• Prints 3D metal parts at room temperature and normal environmental conditions, increasing efficiency, convenience, and cost-effectiveness
• Prints from any metal and ceramic powder, forming constructs with various chemical compositions and environmental properties
• Supports mixtures of metal and other powders, enabling on-demand production of homogenous and heterogenous components
• Allows for tunable structural densities and porosities, making porous parts for applications requiring high specific surface area, absorbability, and flow-through, such as biomedical implants, damping materials, and filters
• Uses binding polymer dissolvable with non-hazardous recyclable solvents, reducing environmental impact, cost and waste.

Technology

This 3D printing process uses a liquid polymer binding material mixed with the metallic and/or ceramic powders to form a suspension that functions as an ink, later extruded using the proper printing equipment. This setup is used to print the metallic, ceramic, or composite part in-air under an induced binder phase-separation environmental conditions and/or ambient conditions. Subsequent thermal sintering of the print burns away the binding material and fuses the metallic or other particles to form the final part. The densification degree of the final part is tunable, serving as a manufacturing platform for widely different application-related needs, making both porous and dense structures manufacturing feasible. As needed, users can mix various metal and/or ceramic powders at different ratios to design parts with a functional gradient based on desired alloys.