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 | A P R I L 2 0 2 2 7 2 3D PRINTSHOP A building envelope prefabricated using 3D printing. Courtesy of Mehdi Chougan. LIFE-SIZE 3D-PRINTED STATUES CELEBRATE WOMEN IN STEM The largest collection of statues of women were on display in Washington in March to help the Smithsonian commemorate Women’s History Month. Each of the 120 life-size sculptures included a QR code with information about the women, who are all modern STEM innovators and role models from various fields. The statues have been previously displayed in Dallas, and a handful of them were in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Titled “#IfThenSheCan—The Exhibit,” each statue was 3D printed in acrylic, cured with UV light, and then painted with a bright neon orange weather-resistant paint. Ellen Stofan, the Smithsonian’s under secretary for science and research, said in a statement that the exhibit, “provides the perfect opportunity for us to show that women have successfully thrived in STEM for decades, while also illustrating the innumerable role models young women can find in every field.” ifthenexhibit.org. A MORE SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE FROM RECYCLED GLASS By replacing sand with glass as the aggregate in concrete mix and then 3D printing the material, researchers hope to reduce the environmental impact in the construction industry. The scientists at Brunel University London and West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin also note the 3D printed concrete can be used to produce previously unattainable shapes and forms. They started with brown soda- lime beverage glass obtained from a local recycling company. The glass bottles were first crushed using a crushing machine and then the crushed pieces were washed, dried, milled, and sieved. The resulting particles were smaller than a millimeter square. The crushed glass was then used to make concrete in the same way that sand would be. They used this concrete to 3D print wall elements and prefabricated building blocks that could be fitted together to make a whole building. The presence of glass not only solves the problem of waste but also contributes to the development of a concrete with superior properties than that containing natural sand. The thermal conductivity of soda-lime glass— the most common type of glass, found in windows and bottles—is more than three times lower than that of quartz aggregate, which is used extensively in concrete. This means that concrete containing recycled glass has better insulation properties and could substantially decrease the costs required for cooling or heating during summer or winter. Researchers made other changes to the concrete mixture to make it more sustainable as a building material, including replacing some of the Portland cement with limestone powder. They found it can be used in 3D printing without a reduction in the quality of the printing mixture. brunel.ac.uk. Desktop Metal, Boston, has launched ETEC, a new 3D printing brand that will enable EnvisionTEC, the original inventor of digital light processing (DLP) technology, to better connect with industrial customers. Desktop Metal acquired EnvisionTEC in 2021. ETEC will focus on bringing its high-speed, photopolymer 3D printing solutions to volume manufacturers of consumer and industrial products. desktopmetal.com. BRIEF Part of the “#IfThenSheCan-The Exhibit” on display at the Smithsonian in Washington.
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