Quick as a blink: Chinese scientists unveil 3D printing in under a second
Showing broad applicability, researchers use biocompatible materials to make helical tubes and branched structures mimicking blood vessels
3D printing is no longer a novel concept – whether it is tech enthusiasts creating digital objects, metal printing conducted in space, customised bone structures for patients or even military units using 3D-printed parts for weapon repairs.
However, these technologies still rely on mechanical scanning by a printing nozzle, building objects layer by layer over minutes or even hours. In some cases, improving precision slows down the process.
They placed the printing material inside a transparent container and, with the flip of a switch, transformed it into a solid structure in less than a second using a holographic projection.
This method, somewhere between carving and printing, achieved both high speed and high precision, printing millimetre-scale components in just 0.6 seconds.