Micron3DP, a 3-D printing company that develops and builds all-metal extruders, based in Hod Hasharon, Israel, has successfully experimented with advanced 3-D printing methods for what may be the final frontier in 3-D printed materials: glass.
“This is the first time that glass has been printed in liquid hot form,” according to a Micron3DP press release. “Micron had succeeded in printing ‘soft’ glass at a temperature of 850 degrees, as well as borosilicate glass at a melting temperature of 1640 degrees Celsius.”
The printer extrudes hot molten glass in single layers, which quickly harden before the next layer is laid down, to build up complex architectures.
Eran Gal-Or, R&D manager at Micron3DP, said that “Micron3DP made a successful 3-D printing test, and although efforts have been made in the past by other companies to print with this medium, this is the first time that glass has been printed in liquid hot form—and Micron has accomplished it by means of its innovative way of 3-D printing in an extremely hot extruder.”
According to Gal-Or the company has a patent pending for the glass-printing technology, so it’s not yet releasing any further technical details.
According to the release, Micron3DP is “looking for a strategic investor for the molten glass-printing field, which is fast becoming the next HOT area.”