来自的新研究提供了有关如何构建低成本3D打印悬浮器的说明。该设备使用声波来容纳诸如流体，昆虫或小电气组件之类的样品。
Creating a microgravity environment
悬浮剂旨在促进微重力研究中的化学，光谱或生物的研究。科学家写道：“这项技术以前曾仅限于几个研究实验室，但现在您可以在家里做到这一点。”
In a video accompanying the research, Dr. Asier Marzo, from the University of Bristol’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, demonstrators applications of the levitator including the suspension of an ant. 3D Printing Industry caught up with Marzo earlier this year to discuss how the technology works and answer the question most likely on your mind right now –can you 3D print a Death Star style tractor beam?
The TinyLev was created a team from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Engineering and School of Physics. In the research paper the authors note,
“当前levitators构造使用朗之万horns that need to be manufactured to high tolerance with carefully matched resonant frequencies. This resonance condition is hard to maintain as their temperature changes due to transduction heating.”
此外，实验室量表悬浮器以高压的高压运行，通常大于100伏。这些因素意味着使用Langevin样式设备可能是有问题的。
The TinyLev by comparison, uses low-voltage (ca. 20 V) ultrasonic transducers. The device functions at 40 kHz in air and “can trap objects above 2.2 g/cm3 density and 4 mm in diameter whilst consuming 10 W of input power.”
Application for container-less transportation and nano-technology
与使用磁铁的悬浮设备不同，TinyLev与声波一起使用。与仅具有磁性的材料相比，这使得可以悬浮的材料范围更广泛。其他形式的悬浮也有局限性，例如空气动力悬浮可以“搅动和改变”样品，而静电悬浮需要复杂的控制系统。
The authors explain that airborne acoustic levitation is advantageous due to its versatility. The range of applications includes, container-less transportation, pharmaceutics, nano-assemblies, or “even small animals.”
“液体的声悬浮可用于研究新的流体动力学并测量其表面张力或表面活性剂溶液的流变特性。其他应用包括形成悬浮的冰片，熔融金属中的共晶晶体生长，二进制液体的蒸发，相变的研究以及样品的快速结晶或电离。”
The levitator uses 72 transducers mounted on a 3D printed frame. The researchers explain, “We selected 3D printing since it easily allowed us to obtain accurate sockets for the transducers that fix their position and orientation angle. 3D printing the frame in one piece provides stability and simplicity.” The video accompanying the research shows an Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printer used to make the levitator.
If you want to make your levitator then the bill of materials, STL file and instructions are all availablehere。
可以阅读完整的论文“ Tinylev：多发射器单轴的声音悬浮器”here。
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