On June 4, 2025, according to the resource library, the MIT research team recently developed a whole new 3D printing technology which should completely change the method of printing complex structures. This technology not only considerably improves printing efficiency, but also makes a key step to reduce material waste and promote sustainable manufacturing.
Source: MIT
In traditional 3D printing, especially in the photocurage printing process for printing fine components such as hearing aids and dental implants, in order to maintain structural stability, a support structure must be used during the printing process. The problem is that these support structures are generally made of the same resin material as the main body, and must be deleted manually after printing, which takes time and at high workforce, and these materials are often rejected directly, causing a lot of waste.
To solve this problem, the MIT research team has designed an “intelligent” resin material which can form two solids of different properties depending on the type of light received. Under the ultraviolet rays, this resin can quickly cure in a hard and elastic structural material.
Under visible light, a temporary support structure is formed, which can be easily dissolved in ordinary solvents, such as the use of baby oil or even the use of a liquid substrate of the resin itself, which can be “washed”. The dissolved material can also be recycled and reused for the following printing, really realizing the closed loop of the material.
Source: MIT
“Now, you just have to print only once to create complex structures that contain several mobile parts at the same time, and there is little or no manual deletion of the support structure,” said Nicholas Diaco, a graduate student at MIT. “These support materials can be deleted with cleaning of simple solution and can be recycled on site and reused. This is exactly what we continue – reducing waste and effective printing. ”
During the experience, the researchers used a visible and ultraviolet light combination to print the structural body and the support equipment at the same time. After printing, place the finished product in the solution and clean the support structure in a few minutes without manual elimination.
At first, they also encountered technical difficulties, such as the energy of ultraviolet rays in the amplified printing test were insufficient to completely cure the structure. To solve this problem, the research team added a resin “punctuated” monomer, which made the hardening process a more difficult and more stable molecular network, thus guaranteeing structural force.
Source: MIT
With this technology, the team has printed many complex representative models, including equipment systems, grid structures and a small “trapped” dinosaur in an egg -shaped shell. After printing, the support shell dissolves quickly and the dinosaurs “Review daylight”. This experience shows not only the feasibility of technology, but also demonstrates its enormous potential in the production of multi-component, mobile and refined products.
“We explore the limits of this technology more, in the hope of developing high -performance resin materials that meet different light wavelength lengths and have the mechanical properties required by industry. Combined with automated components treatment and a closed loop recycling of support materials, this technology opens up a new exciting path to achieve resources.
The research was published in the journal Advanced Materials Technology and was led by Nicholas Diako, and other participants include Carl Thrasher, Max Hughes, Kevin Zhou, Michael Durso, Saechow Yap, Professor Robert Macfarla and Professor John Hart. The project is funded by the Hong Kong innovation and research platform (Innov), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the USARMY and Naval Research Office.
