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    photopolymerization tagged posts

    Low-cost 3D printers could gain medical-grade precision from ultrathin light-control film

    April 29, 2026, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Ultra-thin optical film sharpens 3D printing precision
    Researchers designed and fabricated a double-sided structure collimation film (DSSCF) with better collimation characteristics thanks to additional trapezoidal microstructures that prevent the large-angle leakage light seen with single-sided structure collimation film (SSSCF). The DSSCF also improves the light intensity uniformity when combined with a diffuser module. Credit: Ding-Zheng Lin, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

    Researchers have developed an ultra-thin optical film that improves the quality of the light used in LCD resin-based 3D printers. The advance helps ensure that tiny details are reproduced with precision, which could make it possible to 3D-print medical-grade or industrial-grade products at a lower cost.

    Resin-based 3D printing, or vat photopoly...

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    Engineers discover new process for Synthetic Material Growth, enabling Soft Robots that Grow like Plants

    September 30, 2022, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Ph.D. student Matt Hausladen with a soft robot in the lab
    University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have developed a plant-inspired extrusion process that allows soft robots to build their own solid bodies from liquid to navigate hard-to-reach places and complicated terrain.

    Soft robots can navigate hard-to-reach places like pipes or inside the human body. An interdisciplinary team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities scientists and engineers has developed a first-of-its-kind, plant-inspired extrusion process that enables synthetic material growth. The new approach will allow researchers to build better soft robots that can navigate hard-to-reach places, complicated terrain, and potentially areas within the human body.

    The paper is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

    “This is the first time t...

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