Technology is constantly evolving, but 3D printing is still used to create models or parts that shouldn't undergo major changes or wear. But that's not always the case, as researchers at Rice have found a way to 3D print complex designs that can be made into plastic objects as hard and durable as a diamond.
The complex patterns, crisscrosses and zigzags, used to create these structures are anything but random. They are strategically calculated and constructed to give these objects their incredible strength, but also to allow them to be modified and adjusted to exhibit other amazing properties.
The designs are based on tubulanes, which are theoretically microscopic structures made of cross-linked carbon nanotubes. Tubulanes could be used to make revolutionary materials since they are strong and lightweight, but to date, the structures have not been successfully created given the difficult logistical infrastructure of manufacturing with carbon.
The researchers fired two cubes – one made of solid polymer, and one made of a polymer printed with a tubular structure – with a projectile traveling at 5.8 kilometers per second. Neither cube was destroyed.
The hypothesis is that a porous structure reduces the termination power of an object.
This research could have broad implications for countless fields that rely on materials that are both lightweight and strong. Aerospace, architecture, and even the military could benefit from this new approach to manufacturing and could once again use 3D printing.
