3D Printing is growing in popularity. All sorts of objects have been made, and some tested to be pretty useful. It’s the technology of the future thats soared in development. Now, researchers are saying they’ll be able to produce beams to be used in construction; and they’re strong! Hit the jump
ZCorp has very high-end 3D printers capable of making very useful products. Above you’ll see a wrench scanned, and printed. Then they will use the wrench, as you would one from the store, watch the video to see how well the wrench performed!
A team of researchers in Europe has shown that the density of large structures can be dramatically reduced, if they are designed using a fractal pattern. The researchers have worked out a way to calculate an optimal “hierarchal structure” built from a certain material so that it can withstand a given load. They claim that using such techniques could help in building highly efficient load-bearing structures that could be used in solar sails, cranes or other lightweight-yet-strong constructs.
