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3-D Structures Built Out of Liquid Metal At Room Temperature
ph4cr writes with news that a few researchers have discovered an alloy that allows them to print 3D structures from liquid metal at room temperature. From the article: "'It's difficult to create structures out of liquids, because liquids want to bead up. But we’ve found that a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium reacts to the oxygen in the air at room temperature to form a "skin" that allows the liquid metal structures to retain their shapes,' says Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the work. ... One technique involves stacking droplets of liquid metal on top of each other, much like a stack of oranges at the supermarket. The droplets adhere to one another, but retain their shape – they do not merge into a single, larger droplet. ... Another technique injects liquid metal into a polymer template, so that the metal takes on a specific shape. The template is then dissolved, leaving the bare, liquid metal in the desired shape. The researchers also developed techniques for creating liquid metal wires, which retain their shape even when held perpendicular to the substrate."
The paper is available online. There's also a video of the process in action, below the fold.
That's quite impressive. The obvious "next step" in 3D printing, but how realistic is it to a home user? We already have myriad ways to lay circuits etc. out, and the point of 3D printing is not that we could never make little plastic shapes before, but that it's something I can do as much as I like if I buy a 3D printer, raw materials and some model plans, without requiring specialist knowledge or handling.
Does this let me add metals into my 3d plans? Does this allow me to print circuit boards (hmmm... sounds familiar....)? Or is it just an impractical way of doing the same things with a single alloy that we can do any number of other ways.
What's the killer application here? Could I 3D print a working set of Christmas lights without having to worry about bulbs, cables, wires, circuits boards, etc? Just have a device with two nozzles that does all the hard work and just churns out the completed product from a plan? I'm guessing not, or at least not before something else will come along and make that possible.
But, still, it's very nice to watch and dream.
Can it form complex machines? guns and explosives that have chemicals and moving parts -- or is it limited to forming solid metal shapes like knives and stabbing weapons?
Price, Quality, Time. Pick none. What, you thought you had a choice?
That's the real question that needs to be answered? Will I finally be able to manufacture my own actual, metallic pistol using this process? (Perfectly legal to do so in the US, BTW)
Liquid metal has been around for a while in fiction, but now in the real world?
I think the better use for the material is in self healing wires. Stretchable, bendable, maybe even cutable.. then the liquid can re attack to itself.
I'm paying $25 for a kilogram of 3D-printable ABS filament. A kilogram of gallium is probably close to $1000, based on prices I've seen on ebay.
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The fabathome.org 3D printer is open source, has been available for years, and can print a wide range of materials, including conductors. It's never really taken off, probably due to having lower resolution than the popular FDM printers that print with melted plastic. But if you want a home printer that can print objects with a range of materials, including conductors, check it out.
I have written a truly remarkable program which this sig is too small to contain.
Vid from 0:14 to 0:41 looks a bit like World of Goo...
At least this one has high resolution. They didn't show it making complicated things though.
Is it really a structure built out of liquid metal, or is it a structure containing liquid metal?
I like my coffee the way I like my women - roasted and ground up into little tiny pieces.
The obsession with printing a gun is annoying. How come no one is printing cars? or actual devices...
3d printing used to be called rapid prototyping...which used to lead to questions like... "That IS cool looking! Does it shoot?" ...and answers like "No, it's a prototype"
Anyone else watch that video and feel a strange compulsion to play World of Goo?
The sound of the T-1000's blade-arm swinging right over your head.
Americans are obsessed with guns. They supposedly have the right to own them in case they need to overthrow a corrupt government but for the last two or three decades they haven't even blinked.
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Don't expect to make anything useful. In-Ga alloys are very low melting, often in the hand or even below room temperature.
Depends on your definition of corrupt government I suppose. It seems like we have over thrown quite a bunch of governments lately. Not that I like the idea of my country stomping and poking every country around.
I, for one, welcome our Robert Patick-esque liquid-metal killer-android 3D-printed overlords!
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
the last 3 or 4 decades we faced massive gun control.
I spotted a bug in the video.
I don't care how practical it is, I could watch this thing all day long.
Anyone else thinking about what items to buy for their Sims?
I think the better use for the material is in self healing wires. Stretchable, bendable, maybe even cutable.. then the liquid can re attack to itself. http://equipmentbds.blogspot.com/">please visit it