Highly Expandable Foam 3D Printing
UC San Diego NanoEngineering researchers have developed a highly expandable foaming resin for use with SLA 3D printers. This material expands with heat after UV-curing, which enables you to make parts significantly larger than the build volume of the printer used to fabricate them. It could eventually be used for architecture, manufacturing, aerospace, energy, biomedicine, and even to build flotation devices.



The models you see above were 3D printed on an Anycubic Photon at 1x scale and heated at 200°C for up to 10-minutes, and once the desired temperature was achieved, it decomposed the blowing agent, thus activating the foaming action of the resin and expanding their size. Researchers calculated the volumetric expansions of up to 40x, making it perfect for aerofoils or buoyancy aids in the real world.

ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer UV Photocuring LCD Resin 3D Printer with 6.08 inch 2K Monochrome LCD,...
2,668 Reviews
ELEGOO Mars 2 Mono MSLA 3D Printer UV Photocuring LCD Resin 3D Printer with 6.08 inch 2K Monochrome LCD,...
  • 【Fast Printing and less maintenance】Mars 2 comes with a 6.08 inch monochrome LCD of 2K HD resolution and only takes 2 seconds per layer exposure...
  • 【Outstanding prints and ultra accuracy】Brand new light source structure provides more even UV light emission and working together with 2K mono...
  • 【Sturdy build quality】CNC machined aluminum body makes Mars 2 a very formidable machine. Newly-designed build plate has a much stronger adherence...

Author

A technology, gadget and video game enthusiast that loves covering the latest industry news. Favorite trade show? Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.