Princeton Uses 3D Printers for Custom Lab Equipment
Three-dimensional (3D) printers have emerged as an important tool to help
researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory (PPPL) at Princeton
University produce laboratory equipment.
Three-dimensional printers can create objects made of plastic, metal, ceramic
or organic material by extruding thin layers of material according to
computer-aided design (CAD) specifications. The researchers at PPPL conducted a
series of experiments to determine how well a 3D printer could produce various
types of lab equipment. They used the 3D printers to create plastic parts and
tested those parts for use as electrical insulators and for operation in a
vacuum. They published the results of their experiments in a paper in the American Journal of Physics.
The researchers discovered that while 3D printers can print many laboratory
parts adequately, they aren't suitable for printing parts that require a high
level of precision because the size of the individual layers of the printed part
tend to vary from the specifications by a fraction of a millimeter. For parts
that don't require that level of precision, the printers performed well.
The parts also passed the vacuum and stress tests. The strength of the
resulting parts matched that of bulk plastic parts, and the 3D parts could
withstand pulling. They also performed well in a vacuum, as long as they were
kept below 75 degrees Celsius. When they exceeded that temperature, they emitted
hydrocarbon gas, which can contaminate the vacuum and affect plasma experiments.
The 3D-printed parts also proved suitable as dielectric insulators for
electrodes.
"The ability to print this material in any size, shape or configuration
provided an unmatched flexibility to quickly and efficiently test new
configuration ideas for different experimental conditions," said Andrew Zwicker,
the head of Science Education at PPPL, in a prepared statement.
The research paper, "The suitability of 3D printed plastic parts for
laboratory use," can be found on the American Journal of Physics site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].