{"id":5805,"date":"2017-12-06T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T00:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=5805"},"modified":"2019-09-03T09:11:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T09:11:25","slug":"mit-10x-faster-3d-printer-011220174","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/mit-10x-faster-3d-printer-011220174\/","title":{"rendered":"MIT Engineers make a 10X Faster FDM 3D Printer!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an FDM 3D\u00a0printer<\/a> that, with the help of a laser, prints 10 times faster than normal office machines. Though it uses a laser, it is still considered a fused deposition modeling<\/a> process. We recently wrote about a way to double your printer’s speed<\/a>, but this is in another ballpark. The print head uses a laser and a new, innovative screw mechanism to increase the machine’s speed.<\/p>\n

The key to this innovative 3D printer is due to its extruder<\/a>, created by two MIT students. It uses a laser, like in stereolithography<\/a> or selective laser sintering<\/a> technologies. FDM printers do not usually do this, instead using a print head which warms the filament to create successive layers.<\/p>\n

How to increase the speed of a FDM 3D printer?<\/h3>\n

Interestingly, MIT have recently offered a 3D printing university<\/a> course. MIT developed their 3D printer using an extruder that features a laser-assisted screw mechanism instead. This feeds the plastic filament nozzle while the laser quickly heats up and melts the filament.<\/p>

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The screw mechanism replaces the traditional mechanism of usual printheads that cannot print as quickly without losing filament adhesion. The machine processes a specially developed filament that increases adhesion and allows faster feeding of the extruder. Therefore, the laser heats and melts the filament before it gets to the nozzle.<\/p>\n

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The printer could significantly speed up production.<\/p><\/div>\n

Solving 3D FDM Printer Problems<\/h3>\n

John Hart, an MIT student and one of the printer’s creators, believes this could make FDM a more viable production technique. Since a 1 hour print could be reduced to just 6 minutes, this provides more opportunities in the workplace. In addition, factories could print spare parts more easily. Hart also explains that this FDM 3D printer could be a viable solution in medical emergencies.<\/p>\n

Its creators added that it was made to solve three problems associated with FDM: speed, low extrusion force, and slow heat transfer. Hart explained that\u00a0“Given our understanding of what limits these three variables, we wondered how we could design a printer ourselves that would improve all three in one system.<\/em>\u00a0We developed it and it works pretty well<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Here is a live impression with the said 3D printer, without any acceleration:<\/p>\n

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