Additive manufacturing with NIR lasers forms micro-sized parts

Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing is hitting the headlines with ever-spectacular developments. While AM has been used for years as the de facto standard for rapid prototyping in architectural, aerospace, and engineering applications, the technology has disruptive potenti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Laser focus world 2014-08, Vol.50 (8), p.39-39
Main Authors: Niesler, Fabian, Hermatschweiler, Martin, Werner, Anke
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D printers
3D printing
Additive manufacturing
Additives
Aircraft components
Lasers
Lithography
Manufacturing
Micrometers
Miniaturization
Rapid prototyping
Three dimensional
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing is hitting the headlines with ever-spectacular developments. While AM has been used for years as the de facto standard for rapid prototyping in architectural, aerospace, and engineering applications, the technology has disruptive potential for mass-produced, final-parts production in a variety of industries. Driven by the general trend of miniaturization, there is a growing demand for high-resolution 3D printers. On the micrometer scale, AM or 3D printing overcomes size and shape complexity constraints in conventional manufacturing methods and enables the fabrication of micro-scaled parts. Here, Niesler et al explain that when common additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies like stereolithography reach their limitations in resolution, 3D laser lithography achieves its full potential in the fabrication of high-resolution 3D polymer objects.
ISSN:1043-8092