A team of scientists and developers from both the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has put together an impressive resin 3D printer that is able to create more than one material from the same resin. Even more exciting is that one of those materials is dissolvable, making it an ideal option for printing supports in place.
In the world of 3D printing, there are two types of printers leading the way: fused deposition modeling (FDM) and resin printers. FDM printers are the ones you see squeezing filament out of an extruder onto a print bed. Resin printers rely on precise light exposure to build layers in a vat of liquid resin. It’s through this technology that the team was able to hone in on specific wavelengths to generate the differing materials.
According to the team, the resin is comprised mostly of acrylate monomers and epoxy, which is crucial. The printer is designed to use two different types of light beams when printing. One is ultraviolet, while the other is just visible light. Focusing these lights in tandem allows the printer to develop multiple materials from a single resin.
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When the UV light is focused into the resin, solid permanent structures are formed. This is used for the main object you’re printing. When visible light hits the same resin, a solid material is formed that will dissolve in 15 minutes when placed in a lye solution. This is what makes the material ideal for printing supports.