[An electronic chip. Image Credit to Pixabay]

On June 6th, researchers at MIT released new research aimed at realizing a chip-level 3D printer that requires no bulky or complex mechanical systems.

Traditionally, all types of 3D printing systems have required mechanical frames to integrate essential functionality into actual 3D printers.

For example, SLA (Stereolithography Apparatus) printers, which use a laser beam to cure resin into solid objects, have never been smaller than the volume of a desktop computer due to these mechanical requirements.

However, a team of researchers at MIT came up with the idea of using a chip-based curing device to create a chip-based 3D printer, which, in theory, could be small enough to be held in one hand.

The team mainly focused on developing a chip that would be used to form a solidifying beam, a crucial component for curing the material into the intended shape within a highly compact volume.

To achieve this, they applied a silicon photonics-based approach.

Silicon photonics is usually considered a groundbreaking optical microsystem due to its performance, small size, low power consumption, and is widely used in fields requiring light-based signals.

The team, however, shifted their perspective and conceived of creating a silicon photonics-enabled chip for curing resin, rather than just signaling.

Despite its usual application in optical signaling, the silicon photonics chip alone was not capable of steering a beam, which is essential for solidifying resin into an intended shape.

To solve this and achieve their goal of a chip-based 3D printer, they applied a measure called phased array.

Phased array, an old but effective method for steering transduced signals like sound or light, has been widely used in sensory applications such as LiDAR.

There have been few cases of combining these two technologies, and none in the field of 3D printing.

The team succeeded in creating a silicon-photonics-enabled chip for resin curing with a non-mechanical steerable beam.

The final chip designed for demonstration was smaller than a quarter coin, and thanks to the phased array system, it was immediately applicable to a testing condition without any actuating parts.

The testing condition setup was similar to that of conventional resin printers, with the projection system using their chip and a chamber for keeping resin.

Still, one critical difference other than the projection system was the resin.

Since their silicon photonics chip was yet unable to form a beam that reaches the UV wavelength commonly used to solidify conventional resin for 3D printing, they had to use a visible-light curable resin for their chip to operate normally.

When they finally tested their setup, the results were promising.

They successfully printed a simple line-shaped object and the logo of MIT using their experimental printer.

Nonetheless, their setup still lacks the precision of print due to limited beam steering capability, cannot print layer-by-layer, and has material limitations.

Despite these deficiencies, considering the research's proof-of-concept nature, the team plans to further their research and overcome these limitations.

“The chip-based 3D-printing technology has the potential to enable a highly-compact, portable, and low-cost solution for the next generation of 3D printers. It would offer a more accessible and rapid mechanism, impacting a wide range of application areas, including military, medical, engineering, and consumer,” the team concludes.