MIT’s New 3D Printing Technology Promises Vastly Improved Speeds

November 2017 – MIT’s new 3D printing technology adapts existing fused disposition modeling (FDM) techniques with a novel screw mechanism that vastly increases the speed at which the FDM filaments can be layered. Reportedly, objects that take existing 3D printers an hour to print can be completed in minutes with the new method. 3D printers are capable of quickly and cost-effectively developing medical devices such as casts and prosthetics compared to traditional technologies. This ability to create prototypes rapidly could lead to more people receiving the medical devices and applications they require for a fraction of the cost of existing production techniques, such as providing limb prosthetics that can be replaced as a child grows. 

 

The team also included a laser which can melt and mold plastic rapidly, which coupled with the improved layering technique, leads to dramatically reduced time to print. Associate Professor John Hart, one of the authors of the project, wrote “I would be thrilled if it reaches the market. We’re not sure of the path it will take yet. We may start our own company that will make or sell these faster desktop printers or work with an existing 3D printer company to license the technology into their current machines.” The team hopes to continue their research in providing useful real-world applications in 3D printing. Source: Brian Heater, Tech Crunch.