A Wall Street Journal article in 2018 explored the then-shortcomings of 3D printing regarding the constraint that feedstock materials pose for fabrication and manufacturing. They wrote: Some plastics cannot be made in a form suitable for 3D printing or require specialized equipment. Metals are most commonly printed using metal powder. Since cross-contamination must be avoided, cleaning the equipment between runs of different materials is very time-consuming, so that most metal 3D printers run only one type of material. This could be changing as researchers are now finding ways to alleviate this problem. Ordinarily we think of 3D printing as utilizing a feedstock that’s homogenous to produce one particular part or component. Recently, however, researchers at Washington State University have succeeded in using 3D printing as a one-step process that prints structures using two different materials. This advancement is somewhat disruptive. It could potentially help manufacturers expedite manufacturing steps and […]

Click here to view original web page at blog.grabcad.com