Researchers have developed an innovative 3D printing approach capable of producing complex objects, such as a human hand.
Using readily available materials and affordable 3D printers, they have produced replicas with highly varied properties, such as hardness and transparency, on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
The method, described in the journal Science by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, Sandia National Laboratories, and two other national laboratories, could be used to create realistic models of body parts for medical students to practise surgical procedures.
Zak Page, a UT associate professor of chemistry and author of the paper, said: ‘We can control molecular-level order in three-dimensional space, and in doing so, completely change the mechanical and optical properties of a material. And we can do that all from a really simple, inexpensive feedstock by just changing the light intensity. It’s the simplicity at the heart of it that’s really exciting.’
The new 3D printing method, called Crystallinity Regulation in Additive Fabrication of Thermoplastics (CRAFT), uses a commercial printer with varying light patterns to transform a widely available liquid resin, cyclooctene, into a solid plastic object.
The process involves projecting a series of grayscale images onto a platform that moves up and down through the liquid, building the object from a series of microscopically thin 2D layers of polymeric material.
One potential application of the method is the creation of models of the human body for medical students.
CRAFT can simulate complex, interconnected structures made of different materials, from bone to ligament to muscle. Previously, 3D-printed models have not been a realistic alternative to cadavers, which medical schools must continually secure, often at high cost and with difficulty.
Current printing methods depend on costly inkjet printers and materials that don’t bond well, resulting in interfaces that don't accurately mimic natural human tissue. CRAFT produces models free of these issues.
