laser

NASA 3D Prints Space-Bound Parts with Formlabs Machines

SpaceX’s 25th commercial resupply services (CRS-25) mission will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the International Space Station (ISS) crew, including 3D printed electroplated samples. The supporting parts…

Fraunhofer ILT Develops Lasers That Can Cut Glass Into Any Shape

Cutting glass can be a dangerous and difficult process – but with specially shaped, ultrashort laser pulses developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, it doesn’t have to…

NIST Achieving Better Laser Powder Bed Fusion 3D Printing Melt Pool Control By Implementing Laser Control

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 3D printing uses a focused, high power laser to selectively melt geometric patterns into metal powder and build an almost fully dense, freeform object. The process,…

LLNL Researchers Use Laser Beam Shaping to Enhance Properties During Metal 3D Printing

From bioprinting blood vessels and using 3D printing to control reactive materials to 3D printing nanoporous gold and researching metal 3D printing flaws, the scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory…

Rice University Researchers Continue Work with 3D Graphene Foam

Foam, which is used in industries ranging from packaging and aerospace to infrastructure and sports, can be 3D printed, which can provide better durability and long-term mechanical performance than foam products…

3D Printing News Briefs: April 10, 2018

We’re sharing news about awards and new products in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. DWS Systems has won the Red Dot design award for its DFAB 3D printer, while the…

The Princess Leia Project: Researchers Use Lasers to Create 3D Image Projections

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll remember the iconic scene from the very first movie where R2D2 projects an image of Princess Leia to Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi,…

GE Global Research Developing Cold Spray Technology, Speeding Up Laser 3D Printing Processes

Cold spray technology involves metal powder fed through a supersonic nozzle, attached to a robotic arm, at high pressure and into a heated nitrogen or helium gas stream. Then, many…

MIT’s FastFFF Desktop 3D Printing System is Up to 10x Faster Than Commercial 3D Printers

Unsurprisingly, some of the most innovative 3D printing research has come from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), whether the university is working on faster 3D design, developing improved protective gear, making…

ORNL Reaching Out to Future Scientists with World’s Smallest 3D Printed Fidget Spinner

If you have a child or know one, you have probably heard about fidget spinners. Maybe you first saw one when it stole the show during an SNL skit featuring…

Formalloy Releases Latest Metal 3D Printing System: L-Series Machine with Blue Wavelength Laser Technology

Metal 3D printing company Formalloy, established last January in sunny San Diego, has been keeping very busy. In addition to developing and then showcasing its flagship A222 3D printer, which…

Fraunhofer ILT Researching Green Lasers for 3D Printing Copper

I remember how surprised I was when I first learned that a laser was not only a light-emitting device, but also an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of…

Femtosecond Lasers for Use in Additive Manufacturing

“All I ask for is one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!” (Credit: Dr. Evil, Austin Powers Goldmember). Perhaps, if…

Researchers in Guatemala Use LIDAR 3D Scanning in Mirador Basin, Discover Ancient Network of Superhighways

It’s one thing to use a 3D scanner to scan a person, animal, or object, and use the scan to 3D print an object you can pick up and hold,…

Project ALISE Uses Lasers and Satellites to Study Global Climate Change

While there are some who still insist that climate change isn’t a problem, or that human activity has had little to no impact on the climate, it’s getting harder and…

Can You 3D Print a Laser? In Fact, You Can! Sort of.

It is getting to the point where I’m pretty comfortable in saying that there really isn’t much that 3D printing can’t be used for these days. In the past few…

Piranha Fx All-in-one 3D Printer/Laser Engraver/CNC Machine Launches on Kickstarter

There are two technological trends that seem to compete in cycles: combining everything in one place for convenience, or splitting everything up for focused high quality. The new Piranha Fx…