Laboratory Working to Perfect 3D Printing Process.

The Argonne National Laboratory is developing technology aimed at improving the 3D printing process, according to the principal investigator for the project.

Scientists at the lab--which is based in Washington, D.C.--are examining ways to detect deficiencies while an item is being printed, Aaron Greco said.

"That's kind of the main technical hurdle," he said. "Nobody really knows as they are printing things if they are going to form a defect." Rather, deficiencies in an item are usually found after it has already been printed, which requires the user to reprint the item and stop multiple times. Such defects include unwelded metal, he noted.

The standard process for metal 3D printing usually involves either using a laser across a bed of metal powder to weld the materials or spraying the components and melting them together with a laser, Greco explained. The complexity of the process can lead to defects.

To mitigate these problems, the laboratory is trying to "tune" parameters such as the power and the speed of the laser beam, he said. Part of this includes using high-powered synchrotron X-rays that allow the user to see the item from a submicron-level resolution, he said. However, this technology is not likely to be included in all 3D printers, he said, noting that it costs $100 million.

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