October_2021_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 6 8 3D PRINTSHOP The 2022 Cadillac Blackwing V-series includes a binder- jet printed knob shifter. Courtesy of Azoth. 3D PRINTED KNOB SHIFTER IS FIRST TO HIT PRODUCTION The first metal 3D printed part made with binder jetting is now being used in production on a General Motors vehicle. The 3D printed medallion is produced by Azoth and sits on the man- ual shifter knob of the new 2022 Cadil- lac Blackwing V-series models, which also feature additional 3D-printed parts developed by General Motors. “Binder jetting enables quantities at the speeds and quality levels de- manded by automotive production,” says Azoth’s general manager and co- founder Cody Cochran. “We use a dis- ruptive process that is more efficient than other technologies. We can print the prototype of a part every five or six days, while other processes and tech- nology can take three to six months building molds, retooling, and going through multiple suppliers.” “I believe this is a breakthrough application for the 3D printing industry and a major win for metal binder jet- ting, proving this is a production ready process,” he said. In a release issued last year, Cadil- lac said that by leveraging additive manufacturing, it was able to reduce costs and waste when developing the manual transmission. azoth3d.com . NASA SENDS REGOLITH 3D PRINTER TO ISS NASA’s recent re- supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) included a machine to test 3D printing of regolith, which is loose rock and soil. The Redwire Regolith Print project will work in tandem with ManD, an exist- ing printer system, to demonstrate 3D printing using a material simulating regolith, such as that found on the surfaces of plan- etary bodies such as the Moon. The results could help determine the fea- sibility of using regolith as a raw mate- rial and 3D printing as a technique for on-demand construction of habitats and other structures on future space exploration missions . nasa.gov. A LIQUID-CRYSTAL INK FOR DIRECT-INK-WRITING Cholesteric liquid crystals are an ideal material for healthcare applica- tions because they mimic iridescent materials found in nature. But until re- cently it has been difficult to use them in advanced, rapid production methods. Researchers from the de- partment of Chemical Engineer- ing and Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology, in col- laboration with TNO, DSM, Bright- lands Materials Center, and SABIC have created a nature-inspired liquid crystal elastomer-based ink that can be 3D printed on a surface via direct-ink-writing (DIW). DIW is an extrusion-based 3D printing approach where an ink is dispensed from a small nozzle onto a surface on a layer-by-layer basis. The new liquid crystal ink has several key properties. First, the light reflective properties of the ink rely on the precise helical alignment of mol- ecules throughout the material which requires fine tuning of the printing pro- cess. Second, the molecules in the ink can self-assemble into such structures that display colors similar to natural ir- idescent materials, like those in butter- fly wings. Third, the new ink has great- er viscosity than previous inks, which makes it suitable for DIW printing. “To successfully print the new ink with DIW, we varied parameters like print speed and temperature. And to get the ink to print properly, we also made an ink containing low-molecular weight liquid crystals,” says lead author and Ph.D. candidate Jeroen Sol. Researchers were able to control the nanoscale molecular alignment very accurately by varying the print speed. This allowed them to have great- er control over the appearance and light reflecting properties of the material. Given that the new liquid crystal ink can be printed with DIW, it could be used in future printing procedures for personalized medical devices such as thin wearable biosensors that interact visually and colorfully with the wearer. www.tue.nl/en/. Researchers were able to use a new liquid-crystal ink to print synthetic butterfly wings. Courtesy of Eindhoven University of Technology.