Method allows faster miniature 3D-printing

Researchers have developed a new system in which special optics are used to split a single laser into nine partial beams

Spotted: At Springwise, we have seen 3D-printing used for increasingly large objects. Now, a research team at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is using 3D-printing to create objects just a few millimetres long. 

The standard method for 3D-printing tiny objects, or objects with tiny features, is to use a laser to selectively harden parts of a light-sensitive liquid polymer, called a photoresist. By hardening very small sections at a time, the laser beam gradually builds up the three-dimensional structure. However, this process is very slow.

The KIT researchers, in conjunction with researchers at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology, developed a new system in which special optics are used to split a single laser into nine partial beams. These nine ‘sub-beams’ are then be used in parallel, with each one focusing on a different part of the photoresist. 

The researchers also developed improved electronic controls to move the beams more precisely. Using these improvements, the researchers were able to achieve printing speeds of around 10 million voxels per second (a voxel is the 3D equivalent of a pixel in an image). This is around the speed of a 2D inkjet printer. Lead researcher Vincent Hahn suggests that the new method will allow the printing of highly precise filigree structures for use applications such as optics and photonics, material sciences or bioengineering.

At Springwise, we have covered a number of innovations in 3D-printing at large scales, including a printed B&B and on-demand furniture. KIT’s innovation could now make possible faster printing of 3D objects at the microscopic scale.