Materials
Researchers develop a new method of 3D printing with latex
Widely used in different industries, latex is the most flexible material known so far. It has a natural origin and is composed of long polymer chains rolled into water-dispersed nanoparticles. Although, in general, latex is very well known, little has…
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Widely used in different industries, latex is the most flexible material known so far. It has a natural origin and is composed of long polymer chains rolled into water-dispersed nanoparticles. Although, in general, latex is very well known, little has been said about it within the additive manufacturing context, as very precise characteristics are needed to be able to print with this material. This week a group of researchers from Virginia Tech University (VTU), in collaboration with the team from Michelin North America, have developed a new method for 3D printing with latex, which opens the way for printing with more elastic materials.
Phil Scott, a fifth-year student at the Long Research Group and part of the research team, had been trying for some time to synthesize latex to achieve the molecular weight and mechanical properties needed for 3D printing. By using liquid latex, he realized that the material that was extremely brittle and difficult to alter chemically.
Chemists and engineers of the project’s research group. (Image credits: VTU)
“Latex is in a Zen state,” explained Viswanath Meenakshisundaram, a PhD student in mechanical engineering who is collaborating on the project. “If you add something to it, it will completely lose its stability and break.” To address the issue, the VTU team used water-soluble network precursors (photoinitiators) to create a tunable scaffold, surrounding the latex particles and allowing them to fuse together. This technique was successful and resulted in a latex variant that can be used in stereolithography.
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