'Replicator' 3D Printer Transforms Syrupy Liquid into Complex Objects

A 3D printer developed at UC Berkeley  uses light to transform liquids into complex, solid objects. The research team nicknamed their device the "Replicator" after the Star Trek device that makes any object materialize on demand. The team formulated a syrupy liquid that hardens into a solid when exposed to a certain threshold of light. This 3D printing resin is composed of liquid polymers mixed with photosensitive molecules and dissolved oxygen. The new 3D printer works by shining changing patterns of light through a rotating vial of liquid, and a computer algorithm calculates the exact patterns of light needed to shape a specific object.

Transcript

00:00:00 3-D Printing with Light(background music and a shot of the 3-D printer and the yellow liquid) A new 3-D printing technique shines light rays onto this yellow liquid creating solid, 3-D objects The syrupy liquid is light sensitive and hardens when exposed to a certain amount of light nicknamed the "Replicator," the printer custom-makes objects like a model of a jaw a mini-screwdriver or even The Thinker Researchers generate a 3-D model of an object(There are screenshots of all angels of The Thinker)

00:01:07 and a computer program converts the 3-D model into a movie The liquid rotates and reacts to the movie's patterns of light (A close up shot The Thinker being 3-D printed into the yellow liquid) (A closeup of a 3-D print of The Thinker)The "Replicator's" objects are more smooth, flexible, and complex than traditional 3-D printed objects University of California Berkeley