When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
Polymers are everywhere. Look around yourself right now, and try to count the number of things that are made out of polymers – you'll probably lose count. This is because polymers can be designed with all sorts of different attributes. They can be soft and pliable, like the sticky tack that college kids use to put up posters in their dorms, or they can be hard and rigid like the protective cases that people put on their cell phones. Polymers can even be hardened further for use in the automotive industry. Recently, a group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have concluded research that may lead to stronger plastics with higher thermal thresholds thanks to a novel automated fabrication process that allows for the production of highly aligned polymer films.
According to a university press release, by aligning the molecular chains within polymers, the scientists are able to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the materials. But the MIT scientists weren't the first on the scene – highly aligned polymer films, or HAPFs, have been around for a while. The difference is that previous methods for fabricating these films were limited to manual, lab-scale batch processes. MIT's research takes this technology out of the materials science lab and into the hands of engineers by making it easier to produce en masse and on the cheap.
HAPFs are happening
The trick, according to the press release, is to take advantage of the inherent high thermal conductivity of polymers' C-C bond, and a corresponding reduction in chain entanglements and defects. The new fabrication method is a three-step sol-gel extrusion, structure freezing and drying, and mechanical drawing process, but the important thing to get out of it is that they can make the highly aligned polymeric film quickly, efficiently and repeatedly. And what does that mean? Mass-production.
The trick, according to the press release, is to take advantage of the inherent high thermal conductivity of polymers' C-C bond, and a corresponding reduction in chain entanglements and defects. The new fabrication method is a three-step sol-gel extrusion, structure freezing and drying, and mechanical drawing process, but the important thing to get out of it is that they can make the highly aligned polymeric film quickly, efficiently and repeatedly. And what does that mean? Mass-production.
At this point, the material is all but market ready, and will likely be in the hands of engineers and designers in the very near future. Already, speculation in the press release indicates that this material will be useful in textiles. However, it will also see use in other more practical applications, such as fins in heat exchangers, casings for electronic systems and biomedical treatments for improved cooling.
Polymers already make up a lot of our world, but with improved mechanical and thermal properties, the versatile material will open all kinds of new doors and new design opportunities.
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