提名2021 3D印刷行业奖are now open. Who do you think should make the shortlists for this year’s show? Have your say now.
科学家埃因霍温大学(TUE) have broken new ground with the development of a novel color-changing liquid crystal ink that is compatible with 3D printing technology.
The nature-inspired liquid crystal ink can be printed onto surfaces using direct ink writing, a form of extremely precise extrusion-based 3D printing. Until now, it’s been extremely difficult to print such materials into complex structures and devices, so the team believes its work could have major implications for applications such as decorative lighting, soft wearable sensors for health monitoring, and even augmented reality optics.
Jeroen Sol, lead author of the study, states, “DIW is an extrusion-based 3D printing approach where an ink is dispensed from a small nozzle onto a surface on a layer-by-layer basis. Current cholesteric liquid crystal inks cannot be printed with DIW, so we created a liquid crystal ink compatible with DIW.”
胆固醇液晶
Out in nature, materials that change colors based on the angle they’re viewed at are called iridescent materials. Prime examples are certain butterfly wings, the exteriors of jewel beetles, and a material known as nacre (aka mother of pearl), which is found on the inside of mollusks’ shells.
我们还提供了这些称为胆汁淤积液晶的材料的人造替代品，该材料具有液体和固体晶体的性质。胆固醇液体晶体以及在LCD中使用的，在光反射器，可开关的窗户甚至太阳能电池板中作为智能材料具有高级应用。
Unfortunately, cholesteric liquid crystals aren’t viscous enough to craft into solid structures, so it’s so far been impossible to use them with advanced manufacturing processes like 3D printing, limiting their applications somewhat. The TUE researchers have jumped this hurdle with the development of a custom light-reflective liquid crystal ink, one that can be extruded and carefully aligned to produce complex color gradients.
3D可打印的液晶墨水
Eindhoven墨水的反射质量取决于材料分子的精确螺旋比对，可以通过不同的参数（例如打印速度）在打印过程中密切控制。墨水的分子还能够自组装成模仿天然虹彩材料的结构，这意味着自然风格的颜色变化是完全可能的。此外，墨水易于生产和粘稠，这使得通过直接墨水写作易于处理。
SOL补充说：“为了成功地用DIW打印新墨水，我们的参数等参数如打印速度和温度。为了使墨水正确打印，我们还制作了一个墨水，其中包含低分子量的液晶。传统上，只有使用非常专业的制造设备才能进行这种控制水平，因此，使用新的墨水和DIW 3D打印来做到这一点，这是一个真正的突破。”
尽管墨水仅用于打印迄今为止变色的蝴蝶，但SOL认为它可以应用于个性化的医疗设备，例如视觉动态的可穿戴生物传感器。墨水在增强现实耳机的光学结构中也可能具有潜在的应用。
索尔总结说：“新材料可以进入未来的群众，现在这将是非凡的！”
该研究的更多细节可以在标题为“”的论文中找到直接墨水写入手性光子聚合物中的各向异性虹彩和极化模式’。它由Jeroen Sol等人合着。
Innovations in 3D printing materials are a major contributor to the advancement of functional additive manufacturing applications. Earlier this month, scientists fromNanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore和California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院）3D printed a flexible chain mail-inspired fabric可以按需加强。3D由尼龙塑料聚合物八面体互相互锁，织物可以变成刚性结构，比其松弛的形式僵硬。
在其他地方，Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies(ISN) recently used 3D printing technology at the nanoscale to form a material that is reportedlymore effective at stopping a projectile than Kevlar or steel。该材料比单个人的头发薄，由小碳撑杆制成，形成相互连接的四甲虫（具有14张面的结构），这些结构是通过两光刻的光刻制成的。
订阅3D打印行业通讯有关增材制造中的最新消息。您也可以通过关注我们来保持联系推特，喜欢我们Facebook，然后调查3D Printing Industry YouTube Channel。
寻找添加剂制造业的职业？访问3D Printing Jobsfor a selection of roles in the industry.
特色图显示了使用新液晶墨水打印的蝴蝶3D。通过Eindhoven技术大学的照片。
