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 ...
NASA scientists have devised a polymer aerogel that is at least 100 times stronger and more insulating than silica aerogels, a development that could lead to super-insulated clothing and buildings, unique filters, better insulation of pipes and water heaters, refrigerators with thinner walls, and even inflatable heat shields.
Once called “frozen smoke,” aerogels were invented in 1931 when two chemists challenged each other to remove water from pectin, a gelatin, without shrinking the volume. They are among the least dense solids and act as good insulators.
Traditional aerogels, however, made from silica, are brittle. The new aerogels, made with polymers, are strong, flexible, and hold up well against folding, 
creasing, and crushing, reports Gizmag.
creasing, and crushing, reports Gizmag.
“The new aerogels are up to 500 times stronger than their silica counterparts,” says Mary Ann B. Meador, a chemist at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio, where the development occurred. “A thick piece actually can support the weight of a car. And they can be produced in a thin form, a film so flexible that a wide variety of commercial and industrial uses are possible.”
How did the scientists make the new aerogels? At first they coated silica aerogels with polymers by using chemical vapor deposition, reports ZME Science. But the polymers that could be deposited using this method melted at low temperatures, making the aerogel unfit for most intended applications.
So the scientists took another route. They formed polymer aerogels that didn’t have any coating, forming them directly. ZME Science explains:
The team of researchers tried a cross-linking approach, where linear polyamides were reacted with a bridging compound to form a three-dimensional covalent polymer. The resulting density of the polymer aerogel was 0.14 g/cc, with 90% porosity. Silica gels were made with much better specs, but the polymer more than makes up for scale in strength.
These three-dimensional covalent polymers are more stiff than linear polymers, much like an I-beam is stronger than a solid round rod. Moreover, the scientists formed the gel at room temperature and achieved virtually total coupling between the different three-dimensional polymers.
NASA is considering using the new polymer aerogels in inflatable heat shields. Whether they can be used in other applications depends on the cost of the aerogel in commercial quantities. Nevertheless, another application in design is available.
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