© Dr. Jian Lin 3D printing lab June 3, 2024. Sam O’Keefe/University of Missouri
The manufacturing process for multilayered products such as sensors is currently complicated, requires many work steps and pollutes the environment with waste products. But this could soon be over: Researchers led by Bujingda Zheng from the University of Missouri have constructed a machine that is able to combine different materials in one production step.
The new technology is called “Freeform Multi-material Assembly Process”, or FMAP for short. Not only is it simpler than all previous methods, production is also faster and therefore significantly cheaper. The new 3D printer combines metal, plastic and other materials such as semiconductors to create complex sensors that can be used in a variety of ways. The main functional features are three components: a nozzle for ink-like material, a laser for cutting, burning and shaping and a cannula for adding other materials.
The new 3D printer can be seen in action in the picture. It combines the technologies of classic 3D printing with laser technology. A printing process is divided into three parts: First, the basic structure is made from a plastic filament using 3D printing, which is then shot at with the laser in the second step. This irradiation creates what is known as “laser-induced graphene”, which can act as a conductor, among other things. Finally, as in a kit, additional materials such as LEDs or UV sensors can be connected, which, despite the direct printing, are highly stable, react quickly and function accurately.
Further improvements to the equipment, such as an expansion of the laser system for even greater accuracy (more accurate than 100 µm line width), are still to come.
In the future, this technology will make it much easier for companies to produce prototypes of their products. Devices printed in this way can, for example, look like stones or shells and be used in natural research to measure temperature changes or pressure conditions. Clothing with electronic components built into it that can track health data such as blood pressure is also conceivable. “This is the first time that such a process has been used and it opens up new possibilities,” says Zheng.