While additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is enabling engineers and scientists to build parts in configurations and designs never possible before, the impact of the technology has been limited by layer-based printing methods, which can take up to hours or days to build three-dimensional parts depending on their complexity. However, by using laser-generated,…
Breakthrough With 3D Printed Stainless Steel
“Marine grade” stainless steel is valued for its performance under corrosive environments and for its high ductility — the ability to bend without breaking under stress — making it a preferred choice for oil pipelines, welding, kitchen utensils, chemical equipment, medical implants, engine parts and nuclear waste storage. However, conventional techniques for strengthening this class…
Lab Breakthrough In 3-D Printing Of Glass
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and academic collaborators have demonstrated the synthesis of transparent glass through 3-D printing, a development that could ultimately lead to altering the design and structure of lasers and other devices that incorporate optics. A team of LLNL researchers, along with scientists from the University of Minnesota and Oklahoma State University…
Lab Researchers 3D Print with High-Performance Carbon Fiber
Lawrence Livermore National Lab researchers have become the first to 3D print aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites, opening the door to greater control and optimization of the lightweight, yet stronger than steel material. The research, published by the journal Nature Scientific Reports online on Feb. 28 represents a “significant advance” in the development of micro-extrusion 3D…
‘4-D Printing’ a New Dimension for Additive Manufacturing
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated the 3D printing of shape-shifting structures that can fold or unfold to reshape themselves when exposed to heat or electricity. The micro-architected structures were fabricated from a conductive, environmentally responsive polymer ink developed at the Lab. In an article published by the journal Scientific Reports…
The Art of Shaping Experimental Design
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers was honored with the Neill Griffiths Award this month, recognizing the most significant contribution to shaped charge technology. The award was presented at the annual International Symposium on Ballistics. The research helped solve a challenge Shell International Exploration and Production faced: how to sever the connection…
3D-printed Foam Outperforms Standard Materials
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) material scientists have found that 3D-printed foam works better than standard cellular materials in terms of durability and long-term mechanical performance. Foams, also known as cellular solids, are an important class of materials with applications ranging from thermal insulation and shock-absorbing support cushions to lightweight structural and floatation components. Such…
Lawrence Libermore, IBM Collaborate to Build New Brain-Inspired Supercomputer
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) today announced it will receive a first-of-a-kind brain-inspired supercomputing platform for deep learning developed by IBM Research. Based on a breakthrough neurosynaptic computer chip called IBM TrueNorth, the scalable platform will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses and consume the energy equivalent of a hearing…
Research Explores Asteroid Deflection Using Crashing Spacecraft
Asteroids headed for a collision with the Earth, if found early enough, can be acted upon to prevent the potentially devastating consequences of an impact. One technique to divert an asteroid, called kinetic impact, uses a spacecraft to crash into the body at high speeds. This approach delivers the momentum of the spacecraft, while also…
Researchers Develop Efficient Approach to Manufacture 3D Metal Parts
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have developed a new and more efficient approach to a challenging problem in additive manufacturing – using selective laser melting, namely, the selection of appropriate process parameters that result in parts with desired properties. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a powder-based, additive manufacturing process where a 3D part is…
How to Detect Threats, Explosives & Drugs with Nanotube Jungles
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich have developed a new method of using nanotubes to detect molecules at extremely low concentrations enabling trace detection of biological threats, explosives and drugs. The joint research team, led by LLNL Engineer Tiziana Bond and ETH Scientist Hyung…