Keep up-to-date on: © 2020 Smithsonian Magazine. Emily Matchar is a writer based in Hong Kong and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Newsletter is sent in accordance with our privacy policy and to advertise products and services of MYKITA GmbH and its affiliated companies (for details click here).

The soaring structure has a façade of some 2,000 flat and curved glass panels, giving the impression of a wave about to break.

Though Rapp’s technique isn’t the first example of 3D printing glass—MIT researchers developed a method for extruding molten glass two years ago, while other teams have used lower-temperature techniques that produce a weak, cloudy product—it is the first to print clear glass at low temperatures. In a 3D Printing Media Network interview with Micron3DP’s CTO Eran Galor, he explains that building a market for 3D-printed glass is more difficult than developing the technology.

Rapp has created a company to commercialize the technique. Yet other forms of AM are far from reaching industrial capacity. He hopes to have a first product on the market by the end of the year. Formed layer by layer according to a digital data set, the high-tech material allows for ultimate freedom in design. As the AM market continues to develop and as other forms of AM take off, advancements in glass 3D printing are bound to progress—and we’ll keep you informed about new developments along the way! The German group from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology used a stereolithography process to create intricate glass objects. On the other side of the world, another group is preparing to enter the game. We have just sent you a link to confirm your subscription. The MIT team has continued to improve its G3DP2 system and recently published a paper describing the advancements. We work with our partners to 3D print high-quality lenses ranging from everyday and complex lenses, lenses with active features, and smart glasses.

Then, in April, MIT demonstrated the results of G3DP2, its second glass 3D printing project, during Milan Design Week.

Light and durable frames.

Since 2017, some groups have discontinued their work, while others—and new ones—have continued to advance glass 3D printing processes. In the U.S., researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of Minnesota, and Oklahoma State University also used a special ink to 3D print glass, but instead of stereolithography, their method relied on a direct ink writing process to print 3D objects at room temperature.

Video: Another way to grieve—Oregon artist creates unique glass pieces from ash, Other materials stories that may be of interest, From automation to sustainability, the Virtual Conference on Glass Problems covers the gamut of glass manufacturing innovation. Unique to their system is an emphasis on reducing glass waste, and Birbilis and Feenstra worked to specifically design a system that can handle mixed glass. Their project, called G3DP (Glass 3D Printing), used printed glass as both art and science. First, in March, Micron3DP completed installation of its first fully operational high-resolution glass 3D printers inside its Kfar-Saba facility—and subsequently began negotiations for external beta testing. Please check your email to complete your sign-up. Smithsonian Institution. High quality camera lenses are always glass for this reason, Rapp says, while smartphones’ lenses are usually plastic. If you’re not convinced, just send them back within 30 days. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Washington Post and other publications. Plus, receive a 5% discount on your next online purchase. [Image above] There have been multiple developments in glass 3D printing methods since MIT debuted its prototypes from project G3DP in 2015. Credit: Chikara Inamura, MIT News Office. It could be used for tiny, intricate objects like jewelry, lenses or computer parts, or for large objects such as windows. Prior to 2015, some groups found success 3D printing using glass powders. Though additive manufacturing (AM) is still pitched as the up-and-coming technology in contrast to traditional subtractive manufacturing techniques, certain forms of AM—particularly metal AM—are fast approaching mainstream. She is the author of Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity. But for glass, you need temperatures well over a thousand degrees Celsius for melting to take place. The HYBRID line exemplifies beauty in construction by bringing together two core competences of the modern manufactory: precision craftsmanship and advanced technologies.

or Until now, this wouldn’t have been possible at all.

MYKITA® MYLON 3D printed eyewear for men & women. Two separate groups in Germany and the United States debuted alternative glass 3D printing methods, each featuring a different technique. Until a suitable market emerges, “[w]e will not continue to actively develop [3D-printed glass],” Galor says. Your consent is revocable at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our newsletter. For polymers, only a couple hundred degrees Celsius are required to initiate material melt. Glass also has a transparency unmatched by other materials. Advertising Notice Thingiverse is a universe of things. This is accentuated when paired with sleek steel or mirrored lenses, referencing the textured design language of sportswear. This very useful and easy project will enable you to 3D print a new frame in which you simply have to insert a pair of prescription lenses. But the project was six years late and hundreds of millions of euros over budget, with some of the overage due to the ancient, time-consuming molding technique used to curve the glass panels. 2017 saw both Micron3DP and MIT improve on their 2015 technologies.

Terms of Use In these powder-based systems, an inkjet printer deposits droplets of binder solution on a thin layer of powder, and the binder and powder react to bind particles together and create a 3D object.

“The only thing we made was the bridge in between.”. For their research, Rapp’s team used an inexpensive, unmodified printer of a type that could be bought by any home enthusiast. Try our glasses worry-free! “Glass is one of the oldest materials that mankind has used, and it’s astonishing to see the 3D printing revolution of the 21st century has ignored glass until now,” says Bastian Rapp, a researcher at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Light doesn’t pass nearly as well through even the clearest plastics, which is the reason houses have glass windows, despite their breakability. Cookie Policy “There is almost no material that can be exposed to such high temperatures as glass can be exposed to,” he says.

But what if the glass panels could simply have been printed with a 3D printer? Fitz delivers 3D-printed glasses for kids and parents who care about fit, style and convenience. As a pair of designer glasses … Handmade in Berlin. “It’s a well-established technological platform in terms of machinery, and it’s a well-recognized and well-known material,” Rapp says. The unmistakeable look and feel of the MYLON material is achieved by a proprietary finishing treatment.

The team applied the stereolithography process to a special ink containing glass nanopowder suspended in a photocurable polymer, and then they fired the piece at 1,300ºC to burn off the polymer and densify the glass. In a 3D Printing Media Network interview with Micron3DP’s CTO Eran Galor, he explains that building a market for 3D-printed glass is more difficult than developing the technology. What are they? Though industry may build according to market demand, academics are not always similarly constrained. In the almost four years since then, what new advances have been made in glass 3D printing? Micron3DP is no longer actively developing glass 3D printing, instead focusing on metal AM. The collection illustrates this unrestraint with shapes ranging from discreet to defiant. State-of-the-art design coupled with a high-tech material. Plus, receive a 5% discount on your next online purchase.