Liquid 3-D printing inspired by sci-fi
Cutting-edge development called 'continuous liquid interface production' is reminiscent of technology featured in Terminator sequel
In an iconic scene in the movie Terminator 2, the robotic villain T-1000 rises fully formed from a puddle of metallic goo.
The newest innovation in 3-D printing looks pretty similar, and that's no mistake: Its creators were inspired by that very scene.
The company Carbon3D came out of two years of secret development on Monday night with a Technology Entertainment Design (TED) conference talk and the simultaneous publication of a paper in Science magazine.
Carbon3D's new technology, which its creators believe could be used in industrial applications within the next year, makes current 3-D printers look like child's play.
"We think that popular 3-D printing is misnamed - it's really just 2-D printing over and over again," said Joseph DeSimone, a professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina and one of Carbon3D's co-founders.
"The strides in that area have mostly been driven by mechanical engineers figuring our how to make things layer by layer to precisely create an object. We're two chemists and a physicist, so we came in with a different perspective," he added.