On Tuesday, researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) announced a new 3D printing technology capable of creating intricately detailed structures at the nanometer scale with unprecedented speed.
The process, called two-photon lithography (TPL), works by tracing a finely focused laser beam through a pool of resin. As the beam’s focal point—just two photons wide—pulses into the liquid, the resin hardens on that point and leaves behind a solid structure. As a demonstration of the printer’s capabilities, researchers printed a 285-micrometer-long Indycar replica. It’s just larger than a few strands of hair.
Why a race car? Jan Torgersen, project assistant at TU Vienna’s Institute of Materials Science and Technology, says “It just fits high-speed printing.”
The process, called two-photon lithography (TPL), works by tracing a finely focused laser beam through a pool of resin. As the beam’s focal point—just two photons wide—pulses into the liquid, the resin hardens on that point and leaves behind a solid structure. As a demonstration of the printer’s capabilities, researchers printed a 285-micrometer-long Indycar replica. It’s just larger than a few strands of hair.
Why a race car? Jan Torgersen, project assistant at TU Vienna’s Institute of Materials Science and Technology, says “It just fits high-speed printing.”
Read more: Advanced 3D Printer Creates Nano-Indycar – Popular Mechanics
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