3D printers are becoming more and more accessible to the public. Pretty soon every homeowner will have one next to their computers on their desks. They can be used for home repairs, art, biomedical prosthetics, and many other things. Innovations in 3D Printing come out every year, and the latest one is very exciting. Researchers at Northwestern University have created a giant 3D printer.
This new printer is called HARP, and can build objects the size of an adult. It can accomplish this feat in only a couple of hours, which makes it the fastest 3D printer on the market today. It uses stereolithography, or SLA for short, to create the material. SLA converts solid plastic into a liquid using heat, and then it cools to form the desired shape. The new cooling system installed on HARP makes printing large objects possible. The production leader, Chad A. Mirkin, commented, “If we could print fast without limitations on materials and size, we could revolutionize manufacturing. HARP is poised to do that.”
A giant 3D printer can be helpful for many reasons. Larger prosthetic body parts, affordable housing in third world countries, and factory repairs are all obtainable with this mammoth of a 3D printer. Look out for the HARP, as it will be released to the public in about 18 months.
Article Link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a29518345/giant-3d-printer-harp/