Imagine being able to build an entire dialysis machine using nothing more than a 3D printer.
This could not only reduce costs and eliminate manufacturing waste, but since this machine could be produced outside a factory, people with limited resources or those who live in remote areas may be able to access this medical device more easily.
While multiple hurdles must be overcome to develop electronic devices that are entirely 3D printed, a team at MIT has taken an important step in this direction by demonstrating fully 3D-printed, three-dimensional solenoids.
Solenoids, electromagnets formed by a coil of wire wrapped around a magnetic core, are a fundamental building block of many electronics, from dialysis machines and respirators to washing machines and dishwashers.
The researchers modified a multimaterial 3D printer so it could print compact, magnetic-cored solenoids in one step. This eliminates defects that might be introduced during post-assembly processes.
This customized printer, which could utilize higher-performing materials than typical commercial printers, enabled the researchers to produce solenoids that could withstand twice as much electric current and generate a magnetic field that was three times larger than other 3D-printed devices.
In addition to making electronics cheaper on Earth, this printing hardware could be particularly useful in space exploration. For example, instead of shipping replacement electronic parts to a base on Mars, which could take years and cost millions of dollars, one could send a signal containing files for the 3D printer, says Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist in MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL).
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