Page 43 - Glass Machinery Plants & Accessories no. 4-2019

layer. The team applied the stere- according to market demand,
olithography process to a special academics are not always simi-
ink containing glass nanopow- larly constrained. The MIT
der suspended in a photocurable team has continued to improve
polymer, and then they fired the its G3DP2 system and recently
piece at 1,300ºC to burn off the published a paper describing the
polymer and densify the glass. advancements.
Hungry for a pretzel? You may In the US, researchers at On the other side of the world,
not want to take a bite out Lawrence Livermore National another group is preparing to
of this one – it is made from Laboratory, University of enter the game. Nick Birbilis and
glass, using a stereolithog- Minnesota, and Oklahoma State Darren Feenstra, professor and
raphy technique developed University also used a special ink PhD candidate, respectively, at
at the Karlsruhe Institute of to 3D print glass, but instead of Monash University in Australia,
Technology in Germany.
Credit: Karslruhe Institute stereolithography, their method founded their company, Maple
of Technology relied on a direct ink writing pro- Glass Printing, as an outlet
cess to print 3D objects at room through which to file their pro-
temperature. visional patent and seek industry
partners to commercialize their
poor resolution. Artistic expres- WHERE WE ARE NOW glass 3D printer. Unique to their
sions such as vases and bowls Since 2017, some groups have system is an emphasis on reduc-
may not suffer from lack of discontinued their work, while ing glass waste, and Birbilis and
precision, but high-tech applica- others – and new ones – have Feenstra worked to specifically
tions requiring precise micro- continued to advance glass 3D design a system that can handle
structures will. printing processes. mixed glass.
Fortunately, 2017 was not lim- Micron3DP is no longer As the AM market continues
ited to molten glass 3D print- actively developing glass 3D to develop and as other forms
ing advancements. Two sepa- printing, instead focusing on of AM take off, advancements in
rate groups in Germany and the metal AM. In a 3D Printing glass 3D printing are bound to
United States debuted alternative Media Network interview with progress – and ACerS will keep
glass 3D printing methods, each Micron3DP’s CTO Eran Galor, you informed about new develop-
featuring a different technique. he explains that building a mar- ments along the way! O
The German group from ket for 3D-printed glass is more
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology difficult than developing the tech-
used a stereolithography process nology. Until a suitable market This article was first published in
to create intricate glass objects. emerges, “[we] will not continue Ceramic Tech Today, ACerS online
In stereolithography, light is used to actively develop [3D-printed news blog, on 26 March 2019.
to selectively harden liquid mate- glass],” Galor says. www.ceramics.org
rials into solid parts, layer by Though industry may build

ACERS

The American Ceramic Society

Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society The Society has witnessed many changes through
was formed at a convention of the National Brick the years, but the core mission has stayed the same:
Manufacturers’ Association in Pittsburgh, PA. During to advance the study, understanding, and use of
these early years, the Society mirrored the ceramics DFSBNJD BOE SFMBUFE NBUFSJBMT GPS UIF CFOFmU PG PVS
industry and was truly clay-based, with the most com- members and society. Now, the Society has grown
mon ceramic products being bricks, sewer pipes, to more than 11,000 members consisting of scien-
tiles, glass, dinnerware, and china. The American tists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant
Ceramic Society played a large role in turning the personnel, educators, students, marketing, and sales
industry from narrow commercial interests to a broa- professionals from more than 70 countries – with 40%
EFS TDJFOUJmD PVUMPPL of members based outside of the United States.

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