Researchers Are Making Microstructures Using Ice 3D Printing

At Carnegie Mellon University, located in Pennsylvania, engineering researchers claim to have succeeded in 3D printing microstructures of ice. They plan to use these structures as sacrificial templates, allowing them to create internal channels or conduits with the highest finesse and precision. With this ice 3D printing process, the researchers hope to develop useful applications for biomedical engineering, advanced manufacturing and art.

While we usually cover advances in the field of thermoplastics or metals, it is more rare to find innovations using water as a printing material! It was chosen by these researchers thanks to its biocompatibility and its ability to transform quickly and easily into ice. Of course, the downside to the using ice was that the team understandably faced many challenges in defining the 3D printing parameters.

The developed manufacturing method (photo credits: Carnegie Mellon University)

The Ice 3D Printing Process

Akash Garg, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, and Saigopalakrishna Yerneni, a postdoctoral associate in chemical engineering, developed the ice 3D printing process. Specifically, they deposited water droplets on a cold build platform that was maintained at -35°C, allowing the water to be turned into ice extremely quickly. It took multiple iterations before they found the right printing trajectory, the speed of the nozzle movement and the droplet deposition frequency to be able to create smooth structures with well-defined geometries. All while providing a reproducible pattern. Thanks to the rapid phase change of water and the resistance of ice, the researchers were able to imagine all kinds of shapes without the need for supports.