More research developments on printing very, very small! 3D printing builds a nanowall, shared on 3ders.org:
3D printing in nanofabrication could make processes cheaper, faster, and reduce waste. Armed with pre-patterned substrates and 3D printing technology, researchers may be able to realize new complexity in nanoscale 3D fabrication. The most recent development in 3D printing on the nano-scale comes from a team led by Ho-Young Kim, a professor at Seoul National University in South Korea.
Last week, in a paper entitled “Toward Nanoscale Three-Dimensional Printing: Nanowalls Built of Electrospun Nanofibers,” Minhee Lee and professor Kim showed that free-standing nanowalls and other nano-scale 3D objects may be built using 3D printing. They introduce a new method of fabrication which involves depositing electrospun polymer nanofibers in a precise, repetitive manner.
Electrospinning is a technique which uses an electrical charge to draw a micro or nano-scale fibers from a liquid. It’s a relatively cheap and easy way to produce polymer nanojets which may be used to create nanoscale fibers. According to professor Kim, nano-scale fiber streams are often so chaotic that it is difficult – if not impossible – to control individual fibers. In their recent work such nano-scale fiber streams are kept in relative order using a thin metal electrode line.
Using this line, the polymer nanojet may be stacked to form a wall-like structure. The team showed that tension in the polymer fiber may be balanced using the electrostatic interaction of the fiber and a metal ground, and that the length of a nanowall may be controlled translating the substrate….
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the MakerBot Digitizer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!